Micron 64
| Micron 64 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) |
Minimal Electro Bitpop |
| founding | 1998 |
| Website | http://www.mikimikron.de/ |
| Current occupation | |
| Marcus Noll | |
Mikron 64 is a German music project that was founded in 1998 by Marcus Noll in Hamburg. The sound aesthetics of the project is based on the sound generation of the Commodore 64 (C64).
Due to the fact that the C64 with the SID sound chip has one of the best sound generators that has ever been used in a computer (modern computers play samples and music with a sound card, but can hardly generate their own sounds) this is ideal for creating suitable for digital, analog and minimal music. The music of Mikron 64 is therefore called Bitpop , a subspecies of Minimal Electro .
history
Hardly any original C64 was used in the studio. The first release only has two C64 sounds (arpeggio sound in “Was ich weiß” and clap sound in “Sunset”). The remaining songs were created with synthesizers such as the Roland Juno-106 and Yamaha TX 802 . Samplitude was used for recording and mixing, a Clavia Nord Modular and a notebook for live performances .
Marcus Noll about Mikron 64 : “The central idea behind Mikron 64 is called reduction. Mikron 64 pieces are brightly colored, but like a computer they don't represent an infinite number of colors; Color values repeat themselves. Pictures and stories are rasterized to make something general visible in them. The music is composed of the simplest elements, including the gap. Great importance is attached to a transparent arrangement of these elements. Mikron 64 pieces are open in front of the listener. "
On January 1, 2000 the Mikron 64 album SYS49152 was released (with only German lyrics). There are a total of six songs on the disc, which deal primarily with the subject of Weltschmerz or simply love songs. There are also music videos for the songs What I know and Something Time , which at that time were regularly broadcast on the German music channel VIVA Zwei . Both videos show excerpts from various C64 games. "SYS49152" is a BASIC command that starts a machine program at memory location 49152 (hex: $ c000). The upper free RAM area (hexadecimal C000 to CFFF) is freely available, there Tracker music programs were often (z. B. Sound Monitor ) with their music files stored. The second release, the Etwas Zeit vinyl EP (2000), was listed in the de: bug editorial charts when it was released.
Today, Mikron 64 is considered dissolved. Marcus Noll has since turned to other electronic music styles under the name of Miki Mikron . The Mikron 64 was able to achieve a certain popularity in circles of 80s nostalgics and C64 lovers.
Others
- The minimal electro group Welle: Erdball , who also increasingly use the C64 for their music , became aware of Mikron 64 and send him greetings in the booklet of their 2002 album Die Wunderwelt der Technik .
Discography
Albums
- 1999: SYS49152
EPs
- 2000: Some Time (12 "vinyl EP)