Remember last year, when I was extremely honored to have an original chiptune called “Tides” included on the Chiptune = WIN: Vol. 7 sampler?

Now, I’m equally as excited to announce that I made it onto this year’s compilation, Chiptune = WIN: Vol. 8, as well! Yet another original song called “Supersonic Proving Grounds” was recently featured there, and it has something of a history: it started out as a level music for a space shoot ’em up game, got re-arranged for my heavy metal band, Zero Division, and then went full circle to become a five-and-a-half-minutes-long progressive chiptune metal extravaganza!

Like last year, the track was composed entirely inside the limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System using a software called FamiTracker. And I’m super proud of the result!

But don’t take my word for it, see what reviewer Pixel_Guy wrote:

The progressive and vigorous nature of this track gives me goosebumps. Blake Inc. builds an enchanting piece of music that will take the listener through the different stages of an incredible adventure. The amazing evolution of the theme is the engaging point that will keep the people at the edge of the seat all the time. With an undeniable allusion to VGM, ‘Supersonic Proving Grounds’ makes exquisite use of the tension and release principle to boost the storytelling and take the melodic and rhythmic development to the next level. Blake Inc. doesn’t contain himself and, using just the base channels for the NES, gives us a track that feels full all the time and makes sure to keep the listener’s attention for over five minutes – that’s something not everyone can make achieving such level of greatness, which makes of it a sublime piece of music.

Hey, I’m the one having goosebumps here!

There’s a ton of other amazing artists on the record that need equal as much (if not more) checking out than I do, so please do yourself the favor and listen to the whole compilation. It. Is. Lit.

Here’s how to listen to the song:

Bandcamp | Soundcloud | YouTube

New Chiptune Section

As I can’t see myself quitting chiptunes anytime soon and I also have an original chiptune album in the works, I decided to create a chiptune section on this very website.

So, if you haven’t already — maybe check it out, yes?

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As a lover of music, there are some seminal albums that I missed out on. Shame on me for that! Since I love discovering new music — new as in new to me — I decided to share what way I came up with to help in that endeavor, especially in genres I wouldn’t normally consider.

The 1047 Album Challenge

There is a book called “1001 Albums You Need to Hear Before You Die” that I would recommend you guys check out. They revise this book regularly, replacing albums with newer releases that have stood the test of time.

Here’s a compiled list of what should be all albums featured in at least one of its editions, amounting to 1047 in total.

What’s the challenge? Simple: listen to all of these albums! You can copy the table linked above and start your own checklist. At the top, there’s some information to track your progress and you’ll find a random suggestion out of all the albums you haven’t yet listened to.

Timeframe and Goals

I will be aiming for one album a day. But the timeframe is all up to you. Feel free to set your own pace.

I do realize that most if not all of these albums do merit repeated listens — and perhaps you can’t do the more complex works justice by just listening to them once. I’m aware of that. But this challenge is a means to bring myself to listen to music I would never choose otherwise.

Also, I decided to start with a clean state. Obviously, I have heard some of the albums listed there, but I’m seeing this as an opportunity to try and rediscover those with fresh ears.

Care to join me in this challenge? Let me know via Twitter or Facebook!

Photo by Mark Solarski on Unsplash

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Chiptunes = WIN releases a compilation of kick-ass chiptunes each year. A track of mine made it onto the seventh volume!

I’ve previously announced it on Facebook and Twitter, now it’s time to share it here!

Legendary chiptune community/netlabel Chiptunes = WIN has just released the seventh volume of their compilation — and I’m one of the lucky 51 people to have made it onto the record. This is a tremendous honor and with my first publicly released chiptune no less!

“Tides” is heavily inspired by ’70s heavy metal and modern occult rock, but composed entirely on a Nintendo Entertainment System — you know, the old gray lunchbox — or rather an emulation of its soundchip. I’m pretty confident it would play like that on the actual console, though.

Veteran chiptune composer Heosphoros put it best:

“I feel like [Tim] Follin just got back from a Judas Priest concert”

That being said: Do definitely get the whole compilation, this is as good as chiptune gets. There’s such incredibly talent on this record, I’m not sure where I fit in, but I trust the judges’ judgment.

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Either you play the game or you don’t. In any case, you can’t avoid it. And of the people who don’t play it, a sizeable number tends to have strong opinions about both the game and the people who play it.

Cliche suggests these players are virtually glued to their smartphone screens, completely disconnected from their surroundings like mindless husks. It also suggests that playing Pokémon Go is an inherently anti-social endeavour — you interact with your phone and not with your environment after all — and just the latest example of a society that increasingly devalues human interaction.

I found the opposite to be true.

Let me give you a practical example:

I have a spot. It’s a promenade along the Rhein river. People run, bike, and walk their dogs there or just stop by to sit on one of the many benches and enjoy the scenery. It’s a lovely place to be — especially in the summer — when you grab a beer at the supermarket or one of the shoreline cafes and sit and talk to friends until it’s dark outside.

As you probably got from my description, I’m really fond of this place. Sadly, I had few reasons to venture there all by myself. It was hard to find the motivation to get up from the couch or the computer and actually go somewhere without having anything in particular to do. And I know that wasn’t just my problem.

But now, every evening, the place is brimming with people like me: Pokémon Go players. It’s got four so-called Pokéstops (places that are highly relevant and sought-after in the game’s mechanic) in very close proximity, with about a dozen more within a short distance.

When a middle-aged man saw the dozens of people sitting on the meadow near the river or strolling along the promenade, all with their smartphones out, he said to what I presumed to be his wife: “This is the downfall of society.” And it’s easy to see it that way if you have no knowledge whatsoever about the phenomenon.

Nostalgia and the Apocalypse

For instance, this couple can’t have the same connection to Pokémon I have. For them, a Charmander is just a funny-looking orange reptile, whereas I have spent countless hours training such a monster in the video games. In the TV series, I’ve seen the protagonist, Ash Ketchum, save this poor critter’s life and then train it to become a powerful fire-breathing dragon even he couldn’t control.

I’m fully aware I’m not impartial to Pokémon: it’s a cherished childhood memory for me. Back when Pokémon were little more than pixelated characters on a tiny Game Boy screen, most kids like me dreamt about being a real-life Pokémon trainer: catching these monsters in our world, training them and competing against other trainers. Now, all that is (somewhat) possible — it’s a childhood dream come true.

But let’s disregard all romanticisation and nostalgia. In media science there is a popular theory by Hans Magnus Enzensberger: with every new form of media, there are evangelists — those who we now tend to call digital natives or early adopters (and a plethora of other buzzwords) who embrace new technology — and so-called apocalyptics. For those, every new type of media is at least inferior to the previous ones — or the final nail on the coffin of culture and the society as we know it.

Luckily, for the rest of us, the apocalyptics tend to be on the losing side of history: the same rhetoric has been spun about the invention of print, radio, TV and the internet. That didn’t impair their success. It seems like new developments will always discourage people who don’t understand them and since Pokémon Go is huge, it serves as a particularly effective divider.

There will be new technologies that I won’t understand. And it has already started: I don’t “get” Snapchat. I know it’s is huge. I just don’t see why. The difference between me and the previously-mentioned apocalyptics is that just because I don’t know how to use a certain piece of software, doesn’t mean that everybody else won’t. While the app might be useful for most people, it’s not for me and neither the software nor the people who use it are to blame for that.

Playing in public

The reason Pokémon Go players are today’s favourite subject of criticism (other than the sheer size of the following) is because they are visible in public. It’s easy to spot groups of people who frequently look down on their smartphone (most of which visibly hooked up to a portable battery), talking about Pidgeys, Pikachus and Rattatas.

This invites critics of all ages to lose themselves in lengthy rants about how Pokémon Go players are essentially anti-social geeks, who — through some pointless game (aren’t they all?) — emerge from the darkness of their basement to clutter up streets, parks and public spaces to take precious room away from the “normal” people. Statements like “I don’t play Pokémon Go, I get laid” (Congratulations! Surely your sex life is the gold standard of personal success) are of course silly, but they perpetuate the cliche of lifeless nerds meeting with lifeless nerds to play a game for lifeless nerds. The reality, of course, is entirely different.

From my experience, players are very diverse: I’ve seen people half my age and people twice my age and everything in-between, I’ve seen people of different religion, ethnicity, education and social standing — all playing peacefully together, sharing insights and tips or just chatting about their achievements and experiences. I’ve had fun discussions with total strangers. I’ve helped people advance in the game, and in turn have been helped. And Pokémon Go, though at this point with only limited multiplayer capabilities, is a game that’s meant to play with others.

A quick explanation: there is a mechanic in the games called lures. These are rare objects that can be placed into various sights, points of interest, murals – any sort of landmark recognized by the game (of which there are many) – that will spawn Pokémon (the critters the game is about) for 30 minutes. When one person places such a lure, everybody benefits: the appearing monsters can be “caught” by every player in proximity.

These lures are visible on the map, effectively not only luring Pokémon but Human players as well. Certain spots (like my previously-mentioned promenade) are almost permanently equipped with those lures, making it pivotal points of gameplay and points where a lot of players gather.

While the game technically rewards players for playing parallel to each other (though not necessarily together), the game is most fun in a group of friends. Strolling around town with your friends, catching Pokémon on the way and sharing stories with people who know and don’t know – that’s just plain fun. And with solitary players in a vast minority, describing the game as an anti-social activity won’t work.

More so, the game itself becomes background noise and the social gathering of people is the true success of the game. It’s fun because there are so many people playing it. Yes, the Pokémon Go app might be open and the smartphone readied, but permanently looking at the screen is in no way mandatory. Much rather, you’ll check the game periodically to see if anything new popped up, then resume whatever you were doing in the first place.

The Smartphone Zombie Myth

Still, there’s this myth that Pokémon Go converts us players to the Human equivalent of a horse with blinkers. From my personal experience, I find that I’m more aware of my surroundings than before, especially when it comes to landmarks, architecture and murals.

In this first week of playing the game alone I discovered (thanks to Pokémon Go):

• A new burger place that now ranks among my favourites in town
• An interesting looking store for collectors items
• Some beautiful half-timbered houses that contain a small local museum
• A half-circle/plaza by the riverside where you can chill and meet with your friends

All of that in a one mile radius of home. When was the last time you and your friends met and said: “Let’s take a four hour stroll around our neighbourhood”?

Idiots will be idiots

Of course, there is criticism that is justified. There are various accounts of Pokémon Go players putting themselves (or others) at risk, or just breaking the law: a Bosnian Pokémon Go player stepped into a minefield, two American players fell down a cliff trying to a catch a rare Pokémon, people were mugged and stabbed after being lured to certain spots, and I wouldn’t want to imagine the numbers of traffic accidents and trespasses Pokémon Go players have caused.

By it’s funny how people blame an app when it’s just people blatantly ignoring common sense. We are being taught, from a young age:

• Don’t go in dark alleys at night
• Don’t venture off too far from civilisation if you don’t know the way
• Try to stay in crowded areas in potentially dangerous neighborhoods
• Pay attention to your surroundings

These rules still apply. Laws still apply. A video game is neither an excuse nor an explanation for unlawful (or plain stupid) behaviour. People who play Pokémon and drive are – quite simply put — idiots. So are people who run into traffic or fall from cliffs. The game is not worth putting your life (or that of others) at risk. Most players realize that. Still critics feel it’s somehow justified to lump the rest of us with a few bad apples.

But for every terrible account of Pokémon Go players misbehaving, there are innumerable accounts of situations where Pokémon Go has brought families, communities and total strangers together. And I think that’s a good thing.

The best about it: I found Pokémon Go to be an app that’s not exclusive, but inclusive. So for every person who’s quick to judge people: join the community, if just for a day. Download the app, go to a popular spot and ask one of the players to explain the game to you. And perhaps you’ll find you’re the ones missing out, not us.

(header image copyright: ©2016 Niantic, Inc. ©2016 Pokémon. ©1995–2016 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc.)

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I’m very happy to announce that after years of inactivity and uncertainty concerning the Vampires Dawn franchise, Marlex has released a prototype / playable teaser of the long-awaited sequel Vampires Dawn 3: The Crimson Realm, of which I wrote the title track.

You may see his announcement and download the prototype via this website.

While the details of my involvement into this project are still not set in stone, I’m positive the title music will not be the only track I contribute to VD3 and hope you’re as excited about the project as I am!

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We’ve all been there. There’s a gig that you’ve been looking forward to for months and now that the day is approaching, a cold has got you firmly in its grasp. The result: your throat is sore and your voice is all but gone.

Now, if you were a guitar player, you’d still be able to deliver a decent show. As a vocalist, however, a sore throat can be a major, performance-threatening condition. While there is no sure-fire way of fixing your voice, here’s a few tips that have helped me in the past.

#1 Drink only water and tea — and lots

Water is a vocalist’s best friend. This holds especially true when you have a cold. Just don’t spill it all — like in this stock picture.

I know this is a no-brainer, but watching your fluid intake is the single most important step you can do to help cure your voice. Your go-to drink should be non-carbonated room-temperature water. Warm (not hot!) herbal teas with a bit of honey and lemon also can have positive effects on your voice, but expect no instant remedy.

Most vocalists also know that alcohol and caffeine are a singer’s enemy. Even if you’re a coffee addict or a few beer belong to your pre-gig-routine, you should make any exception when you’re sick. Your voice — and performance — will thank you.

#2 Rest your voice

I mean this in the most affectionate way: Shut. Up.

A cold puts a lot of strain on your voice. Talking and singing excessively will only make the situation worse. Your voice can only recover if it isn’t put under stress, so give it a lot of rest. If possible, stop talking altogether. Carry a notebook around to answer simple questions or let your band mates do the talking for a change.

#3 Warm up properly

While you shouldn’t talk or sing more than necessary, warming your voice up properly is absolutely mandatory. Take extra time for your vocal warm-up routine. Start very small, then gradually increase exercises in scope and demand. Stop if you feel pain or discomfort and never over-exercise.

#4 Inhale with chamomile tea

At the day of your gig, do a chamomile tea steam inhalation. For that, pour boiling water into a bowl, then add chamomile tea (or chamomile concentrate from the pharmacy). Put your face over the bowl and a towel over your head, and inhale the steam for a few minutes.

This is another great way to lubricate your vocal cords. If you can, do another one of these inhalations at the venue after sound-checking and before your performance.

#5 Avoid air conditioning and heating

While air conditioners and heaters might make the room temperature more bearable, they also remove humidity from the air. This dry air isn’t exactly good for your voice. Humidifiers aren’t very expensive and can help with this problem.

If you’re on the road and don’t have access to a humidifier, turn off the A/C or heating. Breathe through your nose rather your mouth. Be sure to keep your voice lubricated at all times (see #1)

#6 Cancel the show

If your voice fails to recover even after you followed all these tips, you should seriously consider cancelling the show. Ask yourself two questions:

1. Are you going to deliver a performance that sheds a positive light on you and your band or are you going to dissatisfy your fans?
2. Is the gig really worth putting the health of your voice at risk?

If you answer both questions with no, then you should cancel. There’s always the middle ground of playing a reduced set, getting a replacement vocalist or playing (depending on the setup of the band) a (largely) instrumental set.

Vocalists: What tricks have helped you in the past? Please comment!

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The best thing is: you may use these tracks for your (non-commercial) projects! Just head to my free music page for more information.

I also redesigned my Blake Inc. page. You should have a more visually appealing view (including thumbnails) of the videos now. The broken links should be fixed, too!

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The first tutorial, called “How to Arrange for Instruments You Don’t Play“ is already online. If that’s something you’d be interested in it’d be super awesome if you gave it a read.

Other than that, I have finally gotten around to creating a Facebook page for myself. I’d really appreciate a like. Thanks a ton!

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