Let's pretend for a moment that a Gameboy could feel heartbreak.
If so, this is what it would sound like:
Digital veins pulsing with harmonic electronic heartbeats. Optimism crystalized in a perfect sequence of microchips and waves. Welcome to Tristan, one of the most achingly gorgeous pieces of chiptune I've ever encountered.
Chiptune, in brief, is music that uses the sound boards of old video game consoles (think Nintendo, SNES and Gameboy) to create new compositions. This particular track comes from Hungarian artist Failotron, real name Áron Birtalan.
The track is a masterclass in simplicity. Much of chiptune feels overwrought, the musicians a little too enthused by the superhuman speeds which they can push the melody and instrumentation towards. Tristan however is content to allow the listener some breathing space, and is all the more emotionally resonant for it.
The melody is carried by glittering bell tones which sing out like golden flashes of lightning over a thunderous rubbery baseline. Brushed highhats and thumping snares rush through the song like water. It's a rain shower of digital love, by turns retro and thoroughly modern. You need this song in your life.
Androids may dream of electric sheep, but video games dream of crushes and high school love letters. I know which one I'd rather be with.
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