Various Artists - Nanoloop 1.0
(Disco Bruit)
In 1977, the Atari VCS (Video Computer System—later renamed the Atari 2600) is released. Also in 1977, Trans-Europe Express is released, "which marked an increased movement towards seeming musical mechaninization" (AMG).
It is in 1977 that both Atari and Kraftwerk made their first true strides towards electronifying their fields. Kraftwerk's music leads to and helps inspire hip hop and techno. Similarly, one could say that the first true computer many houses had was an Atari 2600. The two are linked not just in time, though, as the similarities between "video game music" and the automaton-created rhythms and sythensizers of Kraftwerk are obvious and unarguable.
This all brings us to Nanoloop 1.0, a compilation of music made entirely on a Nintendo Gameboy. If there was any way of avoiding the term "video game music" when describing techno, let Nanoloop be the end of it. Started as a school project, Nanoloop (www.nanoloop.de) is a Gameboy cartridge you can buy and create techno with, using the synthesizer tones and noise creators built into the Gameboy hardware to create music. Nanoloop 1.0 is a compilation of 15 artists using this software to create music.
And what does it sound like? Video game music. Yes, it is inescapable. The arrangements are at times abstract, ambient, and noisy, however the palate of the Gameboy synthesizer keeps this music purely in the realm of "video game music." Included on this compilation are Merzbow, Pita, Dat Politics, Hrvatski, Stock, Hausen, and Walkman, and several other forward thinking electronic artists, so, even though the sounds are pure "video game music," the compositions are alive and, at least, interesting. The music might not be the most exciting thing, but it is fun to listen to for what it is.
The compilation is much more successful at being an advertisement for the Nanoloop software. The cartridge will cost you a pretty penny (or deutschmark) since they are expensive to make in small runs, however a demo ROM is available for use with your favorite Gameboy emulator (see www.nanoloop.de for download information). The interface is a little hard to get a hold of at first, but after you get used to it, you will be creating your own Nanoloop compilation in no time.
25 years later, and a video game is all you need for a DIY Kraftwerk.
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