After about half a year of polish, sheen and organizing, we are happy to present to you the first Weekly Treats project! If you're new to the idea, let me break down what we've got planned:
Every Friday throughout 2013 we'll be showcasing a different chiptune-related artist with a brand new, original, unreleased and exclusive track, all alongside an interview and some individual artwork by Love Through Cannibalism!
So without further ado, we'd like to bring you our first artist of the new year>>> Cheapshot
WT: What originally got you into chiptune, where did you start and
what program was the first you used?
Cheapshot: I used to make techno and house under the
guise "Yorkii" but then a friend of mine introduced me to chip and
8bit music. It amazed me what people were doing with old technology and thought
about putting some chip elements into the tracks I was making. Then I
discovered Quarta330. That shit blew me away. THEN, I met him in Tokyo (along
with Lazerbeat, too) and I was smitten, so I HAD to get a gameboy and have a go
at it!
The first program I used then was LSDJ.
WT: Have you always had a dub-inspired style or
did that take shape naturally following a particular incident?
C: The dub-inspired style was definitely an
afterthought. I just wanted to get away from the chip tune soaring melodies,
mad fast arps and unce as much as possible. bass-heavy music has definitely always
been my thing though ;)
WT: Could you please tell us a bit more about
Square Sounds Festival and your involvement in it?
C: Square Sounds was originally thought up by
Eugene (celsius) and Kristy (dosPrompt), the guys behind Soundbytes in
Melbourne and Blip Australia. We all know each other from IRC and meeting up at
various events. They knew that we (me and Lazerbeat) run cheapbeats in Tokyo and that we were planning on
expanding into a festival after Blip and so they asked us if we wanted to join
up with them as "Square Sounds" together. We have BIG ambitions with
the festival, so keep your eyes peeled. The first one will be in Melbourne in
February, followed up with Tokyo in September. Dates for a US and EU Square
Sounds are yet to be confirmed, but watch this space!!
WT: With you taking over live shows, starting a
new label and forming this exciting new series of festivals, are we seeing you
move away from a music creator to a music curator?
C: Definitely not. repeat: DEFINITELY not. I
will always be primarily a music creator. :)
WT: In that case, can you give us a sneak preview
or clue about what is next for ‘Cheapshot’?
C: Sneak peak of 2013-- lots of collabs. New
LSDJ EP from me, and maybe some new piggy stuff too :)
For more Cheapshot tracks head over here! Join us again next week for your second helping of Weekly Treats!
