Back in those 80s when computer game music was often just beeps and blips, there was an emergence of a musical style which was notably recognised by the infamous C64 SID chip. I am of course referring to chip music, the computer generated soundtracks generated and played in real time using the onboard sound chips of whichever computer or console your particular preference lay. Early chip music was just beeps and bops which is not surprising considering these old machines had next to no dedicated hardware for generating sound. This all changed when in 1982 Commodore introduced the C64 a machine that went on to define a large percentage of my teen years. It offered great graphics, if a little chunky from a palette of 16 unusual yet workable colours. But one of the most remarkable things it offered was a proper synthesizer chip, the 6581 MOS Technologies Sound Interface Device (SID) designed in 1981 by Rob Yannes – a man who certainly knew what he was doing when it came to sound chips!
My first encounter with what the SID could do beyond the generic beeps and bops was hearing Crazy Comets by Rob Hubbard; I was round my mate Paul’s house after school, the game loaded up, and then…. WOW! The title tune started to play, we were shocked at how damn good it sounded. Up until that point most of the games used very simple sounds and arrangements which though sounded okay were hardly something you would want to listen to like you would say a record or CD. Proper Chip Music had arrived and with it came a torrent of cool tunes all pushing the SID chip with each release.
Alongside this emergence of sound was an already established genre of electronic music, made famous in the main stream by the likes of Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and such like. This synth sound was fresh, and was an audio representation of the technology of its day, many artists embracing the latest synths and sounds to hone their sound. While the SID chip was a synth it lacked the studio polish you would hear from pro gear and composers but that didn’t matter to a teenager getting into computers, the SID sound was something unique and in the right hands could sing the most wonderful melodies.
With all this interest in computer music and synths it was no surprise someone would think about recording some of the tunes that made the C64 stand out from the crowd, WhSmith a UK chain of shops that at the time sold home computers, games and music, released a tape cassette which to my knowledge was one of (if not) the first mix of chip music with professional grade synth electronica published. I still have the original tape not sure it plays but that doesn’t matter as Chris Abbott over at C64 Audio has published a nifty remake of this once almost lost release. This awesome work has been carried out by Dan Tootill, so if you want to download a copy for yourself head over to the link below or check out the links via the YouTube video I’ve embedded. It’s a proper slice of nostalgia and the amazing thing is…. it’s completely free to download! Nice work to all involved!
https://c64audio.com/collections/datahits-rewound
