Is Chiptune A Fad? Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu Thinks So
Posted by Joshua_Kopstein on Friday, May 07, 2010
If you grew up in the 70’s or 80’s, you probably have fond memories of the bleeps and bloops that blurted out from the primitive sound chips inside the videogame consoles and computer systems of yore. So it’s no surprise that modern musicians who experienced this brief era of computer audio have been re-purposing the now-obsolete systems as instruments, composing new, original compositions using nothing but the chipsets found within their antiquated innards.
Now removed from its function in early computer entertainment, the contemporary chipmusic movement — or “chiptune,” as the resulting product is often called — has become less about nostalgia and style and more focused on form and limitations. But among those who utilized this technology in its heyday, there are some who have begun to question the staying power of chipmusic and the niche subculture that surrounds it.
For almost 20 years, Nobuo Uematsu was the lead music composer at Squaresoft (now Square Enix), responsible for a vast majority of the music from their long-running Final Fantasy series. Since his first experience writing music for the original Final Fantasy on Nintendo’s Famicom (which later became the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States), he has scored countless other games and gone on to become one of the most widely known and respected composers in the videogames industry. A few months ago, during a Q & A session at Anime Boston, Uematsu was asked for his opinion on the chipmusic phenemenon. His answer was a bit surprising:
I acknowledge the returning popularity [of chiptune]. Perhaps it is because its “rough” sound texture is really fresh for the current generation. The trend comes and goes so I think this chiptune movement will go away at certain point just like any other trends.
Granted, Uematsu may be referring to chiptune — or the ‘style’ of chiptune — as it relates to modern videogames. Plenty of game developers have seen the rising popularity of the ‘retro’ aesthetic and embraced it, in some cases creating software that looks and sounds like it was developed on consoles of old (eg. Mega Man 9 and 10). Then again, in Japan, ‘chiptune’ itself is more of a stylistic choice than a community of artists experimenting with the capabilities of old hardware. Still, Uematsu did acknowledge the idea of artistic challenge. When asked about the differences between composing chiptune and making game music with modern tools and software, he had this to say:
There are different challenges, different difficulties, for each. On the one hand [with chiptune], you are limited, and limitations can be hard. Today, we have nearly endless choices [for sound production], and those choices can be hard to make as well.
While it’s unlikely that Uematsu is completely unaware of chiptune existing beyond the realm of videogames, it’s still a bit disappointing to hear one of the most respected names in videogame music speak so dismissively of a creative movement that has thus far shown no signs of slowing down. But as more and more artists are emerging to create new permutations of the 8-bit aesthetic, perhaps we’ll soon be seeing a change in outlook from old school hold-outs like good ’ol Nobuo.
Interview text courtesy of Original Sound VersionFiled under:
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Electronic musician and computer culture journalist. Contact: josh ◢at◣ motherboard ◐dot◑ tv
