Blip Fest Rocks NYC 8-bit Style

Four nights of crazy live music made with old videogame hardware kicks off next week. Don't miss out.

The digital underground will converge on Brooklyn for a long weekend filled with arpeggiated blips and bleeps pumped out of a killer sound system at high volume next week. A rotating array of chiptune artists will take turns blasting ears out and setting the dance floor alight with their rocking 8-bit beats at Blip Festival 2008.

Sponsored by NYC chiptune artist collective (and DIY record label) 8bitpeoples and Manhattan art organization The Tank, this year's Blip Festival will feature close to 40 chiptune artists from around the world. The line-up includes veterans like Nullsleep, Bubblyfish, Bit Shifter, and Glomag, alongside other performers like Anamanaguchi, Unicorn Dream Attack, and Starscream.

Yes, people around the world are actually making fresh, original music using outmoded gaming hardware of days long past including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari, Commodore 64, and GameBoy. While that may sound odd to some, it totally rocks. Literally. Check it out for yourself; full mp3 albums of nearly every release offered by 8bitpeoples are available to download at the label's website.

Blip Festival is now in its third year, and the line-up represents a wide swath of music from the wider chiptune community. The all-ages event runs from Dec. 4 until Dec. 7 at The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY. Admission is $15 a night, $50 for a festival pass, and $60 for a festival pass plus a Blip Festival 2006: The Videos DVD. Workshops, screenings, and other activities will be held during the day, and the retro sounds will heat up when night falls. If you're in the area, it's an experience you won't want to miss.