8 Bit Construction

Written by Scott Shellhamer Sunday, 07 September 2003 06:26

The 8 Bit Construction Set and the Beige Programming Ensemble have completed such projects as a 12" containing software executable on Atari and Commodore computers, re-programmed Nintendo cartridges, collaborated with Bodenstandig 2000, and initiated the World Cassette Jockey Championship competition. Scott Shelhamer takes on the Beige boys in an email interview in which they disclose their favorite kernal routines, debate the importance of hardware and software, and discuss the degree to which their 8-Bit basslines induce booty-shaking.

Scott: What is up with the The 5kHz low energy U-Haul disk?

Cory: Check it: http://www.beigerecords.com/Cory/5.img You're going to need a MAC, and a program called disk copy to un archive the image.It was made on operating system 7.1 [circa 1990] so it might not even work anymore...and it is in mono. But it was a floppy disk I made with 5 songs on it.

Scott: So as musicians, do you try to tread new ground or reiterate / replicate what those before you have already done? How do you feel your music is unique?

Joe: I think its obvious that the ability to "reiterate / replicate" previously marked territory lends itself to the crafting of something unique. On the 8-Bit record, we attempt to match the quality of tracks written by the likes of Ron Hubbard, DeBarge etc., And in doing so create tracks that stand on their own. Sure you might say our songs sound like the stuff you hear on video game sound tracks from the 80s, But did those games boast bass lines like the one in "Dollars" Or did they claim to possess 'the sauce' ?

The techno buyer for Gramaphone records once said to Paul and myself (after having just sold him some records) "You guys really have your finger on the pulse." He said this because another record under the guise "Sid Musique" Or something like that had just come out (one year post 8-bit release). The record featured a C64 controller on the cover and a multitude of mediocre tracks written with samples and drum machines. Upon inspection beyond the jacket design, the release of this record only made "The 8-Bit Construction Set" stand out in its originality. In a way, It confirmed why the four of us had gone to such painstaking efforts to create this record. It wasn't for the sake of being retro or clever, nor was It an attempt to feign a music style. The 8-Bit was created in the spirit of computer music as a craft.

Scott: No…the bass lines did not make my booty shake as that of “Dollars,” nor did they have the sauce. You said "The 8-Bit was created in the spirit of computer music as a craft."Does this mean like popsicle houses / model airplanes, or more like making swords on an anvil?

Cory: [Paul,] true or false: “Acid is the name of a sound, can you feel it when you dance? Acid has a certain groove that makes your body want to move, when you hear it when the acid hits your soul. It makes you lose control of your body, it has a sound so unique you just have to move your feet when you hear it.”

Paul:: Very true. Except on the 12" that I have that song doesn't use a 303 in it, it uses those early techno pitch shifted minor chords. Never understood that. But I have a UK remix 12"; I don't have the original.

Joe: [Cory, Paul,] Which kernel routine from the original commodore 64 ROMs do you hate the most?

Cory: Not zure about my != favorite kernal routine, but I can add that my favorite 6502 opcode is: TAX and least favorite is: NOP.

Paul:: I would say I hate CHKIN [FFC6] the most. Although if you squint your eyes it looks like CHINK.

Joe:: $e72a...yeah.

Scott: I don't really care, but I'm sure someone reading this wants to know about your gear / software / process. What is 6502 assembly language exactly?

Paul: How old are you and why is it that you don't seem to care about someone's process or software? I'm curious because it's just this sort of phenomena that we're trying to combat with our main long-term project -- a series of computer programming books for boys and girls.

Scott: I really just don't give a shit how someone makes music as long as it sounds good going into the sides of my head. Granted I can appreciate the effort that certain processes require, but in the end I just don't care. I realize y'all are probably on the opposite side of the "end justifying the means" music debate…

Paul: I think you have a good point, because music that sounds good maybe would have to be produced with new ways or processes, otherwise it would sound stale. More of the same ol’ same ol’. But another side is that maybe you like stale music, and maybe we all do? It would explain a lot.

Also I am a firm believer in exploring what's behind the things I consume, because it gives More meaning to my decisions. with music, maybe I hear something I don't think quite succeeds, But I learn that the girl who made it wrote all her own software and built her own weird string instrument to make it with. It would mean something then just to buy it and support what she's doing. Or when I go into Weekend [Records and Soap] and listen to about 40 records and maybe like two of them. Sure, the others might be passable But It's all the same structure, all the same software, all the same shit and it means something to leave It on the racks.

Likewise when I buy food and try to keep away from the genetically modified stuff or whatever. These days It's a huge pain in the ass to learn about what you're doing as a consumer, But I think It's worth It in the end, especially with the arts, because you (Or at least I do) feel slightly less at a loss when trying to explain yourself to the world.

And that's also why we're working on the kids’ books, because if we could help these younger kids to realize that they can make their OWN games and programs, and that the computer is truly most interactive when It's being programmed, I think it would be a huge benefit to them.So when issues come up like digital copyright/distribution or government data collection/privacy invasion or just getting tired of first person shooters and wanting to make a truly new style of game, they would know what's up And they would know it much better than us because someone showed them the deal when they were at an age where they picked up stuff faster And had tons of time to make things.

Scott: Hmm... I think you have an interesting point. I do think educating kids on the technology they use is a darn right spiffy idea. I also agree with you in many ways regarding redundancy in electronic music due to similar usages of software. But at the same time feel you are contradicting yourself. Although you are indeed writing your own music creation software, is the end result not derivative, if not the same as, sounds we heard in the 80s from our computing devices and/or gaming systems?

Joe: Michael McDonald recorded songs using technology now considered obsolete. Yet, every musician aspires to reproduce his style And tone. What's the point? Michael McDonald. That's the point.

Scott: Mr. McDonald's "technology" (yeah I'm making that annoying quotation mark motion with my hands) may be obsolete now.. But his music isn't. End result over process perhaps? And for the sake of argument, let's say his achievements are a result of pushing the boundaries of what was considered music at the time via technology... not pushing the boundaries of what is considered technology via music.

Paul: Scott, in regards to a contradiction, I think you said it best with "No…the bass lines did not make my booty shake as that of “Dollars,” nor did they have the sauce. "

In other words, there is no contradiction because the things we do are a new take on obsolete technologies using a path of thinking which has seemingly been forgotten about nowadays - computational craft. So “Dollars,” for example, can't be derivative and makes your "booty shake" more than any Commodore 64 song you might have heard 20 years ago (assuming you were alive then). It would be like saying Bartok string quartets are the same as Handel string quartets simply because they are both pieces for string quartet.

Plus the fact that dollars was recorded direct from a Commodore 64 and is coming off of a vinyl record mastered at +8db RCA which is also, unfortunately a relatively new idea.. You didn't hear many people treating music produced on home computers as a legitimate art worthy of a traditional medium for music distribution in the 80s, people usually only listened to them coming off the computers themselves and usually considered it toy music or something. Anyway at this point we've left the record behind for other projects (making Nintendo music cartridges, the kids books, etc.), It's well over 3 years old now, And aside from the live 10" with 8bit and Bodenstandig 2000 which we're still waiting to put out we don't have any other 8bit records in the immediate future. I think there will be at least one more eventually, But we haven't figured out what to do for it next And we hate doing the same thing twice. In the meantime people can still get the 8bit from us www.beigerecords.com Or at your favorite record shop (like Weekend Records in Chicago), Or purchase a remastered version of “Dollars” on the "Other Mistakes" 12" off of Matthew Herbert's Soundslike label, Or Also hear us on DJ Q-Bert's Wavetwisters DVD.

Scott: how did y'all end up on the Soundslike "other mistakes" 12"?

Joe: We played, he paid.

Check out the Beige crew at http://www.beigerecords.com

*images from http://www.beigerecords.com/cory

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