Tree Wave Releases Atari 2600 & C64 Music CD

TheAlchemist writes "Tree Wave, a two piece band from Texas that makes pop songs using obsolete computer and video game equipment as instruments, has released their first music CD, Cabana EP+. Paul Slocum, creator of the Atari 2600 Synthcart, Testcart, and upcoming Homestar Runner RPG, codes the music primarily on an Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Compaq 286, and Epson dot matrix printer, and Lauren Gray adds lush vocals. You can listen to two of the Cabana EP+ tracks, and visit the Tree Wave web site to learn more about the band."

Forget MP3...

[NanoGator]

.. just rip this disc to RLE compression and you'll get the same ratio!

it sounded good...

[Anonymous Coward]

... until that chick started blurring her vague, ifnot dumb, lyrics :/

*presses Post AC button*

Re:it sounded good...

[Night Goat]

I hear you. If they wanted to do it right, they should have had the singing done by the synthesized Mac voices, or that Dr. Zbatso or however you spell it!

Another reason to "Forget MP3"...

[Dr.Dubious DDQ]

They have Ogg Vorbis [observatoryonline.org] as well...

Re:Another reason to "Forget MP3"...

[NanoGator]

"They have Ogg Vorbis as well..."

Yeah but if I download the MP3 version, I'm flipping off the RIAA!

I was skeptical

[kevn]

but this is pretty good! wow, someone mentioned the lyrics, yea they are hard to understand, but aside from that I can say this is pretty good it reminds me of the sugarcubes or something like that... They should use an Atari 800 too, though, the pokey chip on that machine can do some unique sound effects that the SID could never emulate. kvn

Just Bought It

[blueZhift]

Well I liked the sample tracks so I just bought it on AtariAge! Feels good to support independent artists, not to mention finding a place to get new games for my 2600. :-)

Other Great Sources

[robbway]

If SID nostalgia is your thing, also check out C64 Audio [c64audio.com], a group (and sometimes consortium) of musicians (often the original composers/performers) that specialize in new arrangements of the classic C64 themes. I have bought several of their CDs, and the ordering process is very international-friendly (no VAT outside of the EU). Of special interest to me were the Forbidden Forest and Trap. Original material all the time is on C64 Remixes [kwed.org], including SID versions if you have an emulator.

another great paul slocum track

[Anonymous Coward]

I like the idea of having vocals with chipmusic if only because you don't usually see it happen, but I think the vocals on the sample tracks could use some work. If you like the music though, Paul Slocum has a great track on the 8 bit peoples' "the 8 bits of christmas" album. It's one of my favorites.
http://www.8bitpeoples.com/discography _gfx.php

lyrics are fine - long live the lyrics

[gulag picture radio]

I've never been a guy who wants his lyrics handed to him, so I like how the CD sounds. Even if it were all arrant nonsense, I think that the sound of the singer is gorgeous. Calling the vocals "lush" is no exaggeration.

A lot of my favorite bands do songs where the lyrics are little more than gibberish because sometimes the sound of the words can be far more important than content. Tree Wave manages to have more depth than that by having something interesting to say while not making it totally obvious.

Been there, seen that

[CrisDias]

Nothing that Goldenshower [goldenshower.gs] hasn't done already.

Don't miss Video computer system [goldenshower.gs].