Guest Review| Auxcide - Omnia

With Andrew Kilpatrick gallivanting across Europe, Bertrand Guérin-Williams has stepped up to review the upcoming double album release by Auxcide (the first part of which comes out later today). Taking the position flawlessly, TWG are very grateful and excited to introduce our first guest review (in what will hopefully be a long line!)

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Auxcide has been busy since December. For Omnia, his latest release, he’s written two albums’ worth of fairly consistent material acting as a soundtrack for a fictional video game. Within, Bryan Dobbins, aka Auxcide, throws his hat in the already overflowing chip/VGM ring with as much flair as he can muster.

The clear focus on thematic melodies, leitmotifs, and a healthy dosage of grandeur lends itself to this album’s structure due to its positioning as a soundtrack. As with past releases, Auxcide utilizes a narrative-grouping structure to order tracks. For instance, the smooth transitions between the first three and last two tracks allow for some awe-inspiring moments in the songs they lead into. The sweeping, introductory duo of 'Past Beginnings' and 'The Not So Distant Memory' crash into the bass and percussion hits of 'Deep Space Drifting' to create a powerful opener. It works as a reminder that, though Omnia is a 'soundtrack,' Auxcide is still writing the music with all the typically lavish trappings his style usually employs. 'Starship Nova' and follow-up 'Horizon Line' both exemplify this; they’re thematically tied to the songs around them, but retain the danceable-yet-intense nature of Auxcide's previous work. The rhythms and memorable solos draw the listener in; most notable are the slow, steady melodies in 'Spectrum' that soar above pulsating backgrounds or the searing main synth that counterbalance the cathartic rise and fall of chords in 'Omnia' in hypnotic fashion.

Omnia's striking melodies show Auxcide's progress from his previous double release SPECK/PIXEL, and EP [Dimensions]. Whereas his original songs there sounded relatively similar, many on Omnia have distinct melodic and stylistic differences. Nowhere is this contrast more obvious than in the format change between discs. For the first disc, Dobbins uses three copies of LSDJ on GBA SPs MIDI-synced with synths, a drum machine, and an effects pad. However, the second disc brings the power of LSDJ and his composition skills to the fore. Stripping out the synths in Gameboy-only tracks on the second disc like “Horizon Line” show off effective use of LSDJ’s limited track economy and the wide variety of textures and sounds he can pull out of LSDJ.

The frenzied nature of his music has drawbacks, though. Like SPECK and PIXEL, after listening to this album for a while, the distorted sounds Dobbins often uses begin to grate. While he does allow respite in songs like 'Nihil,' the abrasive noise and WAV channel instruments characteristic of his sound, doubled with the album length, eventually wear. So too does the somewhat repetitive nature of his sound; reliance on danceable, recursive styles in rhythms and thematic 16th-note arpeggios becomes glaringly apparent after a while. Since this is a faux-soundtrack, similarities between some songs are inevitable, but the fact that Dobbins isn’t more eclectic with his track listing is becoming a trend following the release of two double albums in a row.

This problem is particularly evident in his choice to leave in the middling song 'Second Strike'. The song is short enough to be inoffensive, but it doesn’t fit in the album's context, and is especially out of place being surrounded by 'Horizon Line' and 'Nihil', two songs that follow the echoic, vast themes seen in almost every other song on this album. 'Star-Crossed Stars' is another questionable inclusion. The intro and bridge —though reminiscent of older VGM’s simplicity—don’t follow the trend of the rest of Omnia which is built on taking old VGM tropes and fusing them with modern dance conventions.

Omnia moves away from these problems by experimenting with comparatively unique sounds. 'Heavy Cannons' takes a deeper stab at hardcore and progressive trance styles briefly flirted with on SPECK's 'Varia'. While the emotive intro mimics piano, the bulk of the song churns and roars like an army en route. In contrast, the 80s sci-fi noir, Infinity Shred style of 'Starship Nova (Infinity Mix)' is an example of where Auxcide could go next. Though not the album's best, it's an interesting filter to hear Auxcide's typically chaotic style through.

Auxcide does alleviate some of the repetition within songs with solos during and melodic breakdowns between “looped” sections. Overall, however, Omnia sometimes falls into the same traps as his previous releases, becoming repetitive over time. Don’t let the negatives scare you away, though: a clearer focus on memorable, melodic songs and the interesting new directions dabbled with carry this release. Everyone will find more of what makes Auxcide great, and VGM composers should take note of Omnia as a varied and unique approach to the field.

Favourite track: Heavy Cannons
Grab part one of the release here.

Review| Auxcide- Pixel & Speck

Earlier today, Auxcide released a double album, Pixel and Speck, on 8static’s label. At his request I’ve taken on the task of reviewing the 22 track behemoth, though first some background info. My working relationship with Bryan (Auxcide) spreads back to before his debut, where we worked with him through Pxl-Bot to release and promote ‘of Atoms and Stardust’. Following this we released another EP and a remix album of the aforementioned debut on Pxl-Bot by him, as well as signing him up for various compilations and projects (WeeklyTreats to name but one) during the time I’ve known him. None of this is a secret to anyone, but such a lengthy partnership (though it was always a fairly passive undertaking for Alex and I; whatever Bryan brought to us was instantly releasable, infectious and easily sellable) could potentially result in bias. Hopefully my emphasising of this point, along with the subsequent paragraph where I slag off all that is wrong with this release, will go to some way in proving my later gushing to be disconnected from enamoured hyperbole.

So; my main bone of contention. Out of the 22 tracks here, most of which are stylistically mono-tonal, half are covers and half are new tracks, though they are dispersed evenly throughout the two albums. Whilst this works to an extent on the far superior ‘Pixel’, on ‘Speck’ where the quality overall is lop-sided, what results is a disjointed and confusing mess of often disposable tracks mixed in with higher quality, often original, compositions, which on the whole serve only to highlight how tedious the lesser tracks actually are. The cover of Signalrunners’ ‘Corrupted’ is ruined by weak drums, causing a track that would otherwise have flourished fall flat. Elsewhere, ‘Theme of Everything’ and ‘The Moon’ (covers from Street Fighter and Duck Tales respectively) breach the threshold of stomachable cheese by some margin, only bested in biliousness by the album’s Skrillex knock-off ‘Speck’, a track that whilst having extremely impressive programming, suffers from a dangerous mixture of being a tedious and an instantly forgettable cheap thrill, a situation repeated in ‘Yung Lyfe’, though in a far more repetitive and grating manner. Speck doesn’t feel like a fully formed album as much as it does a collection of B-Sides.

Pixel, however, is everything Speck is not. Beginning with the huge ‘Creation’, where hauntingly pretty melodies overlap and swoon, the album moves on to the equally breath-taking ‘Morphine’ and ‘Source’, forming a trifecta of some of the best Auxcide in existence. Later, Auxcide’s take on Roboctopus’ ‘Your Stars at Dawn’ and Pacific Rim cover ‘Restart The Clock!’ froth at the bit with adrenaline and epic space thematics, and whilst the album dips a bit with the Game of Thrones and RoccoW covers, the final four tracks (‘Cherry’ through to ‘The Planet is Asleep’) are among, if not the, best in Auxcide’s discography.

All this praised directed at Pixel is unfair however. Speck does have its high points: Metroid cover ‘Varia’ makes use of eclectic piano and slowly evolving melodies to emotionally overwhelm, album opener ‘The Universe Fights Back’ mixes the ‘Auxcide’ sound with Ubik-esque melodic play, ‘Catalyst’, when its hooks are finally revealed, spits J-Pop/anime theme phrases to make one of the most uplifting tracks around. Also, Speck's crowning piece, ‘Nitrous’, shows up all that precedes, filled with intoxicatingly memorable melodies and grooves the size of pylons, the type of track that proves any naysayers that Auxcide is one of chiptune’s greatest and most affective artists around today.

Overall, then, Pixel and Speck are a slightly uneven duo hampered by a few irrelevant or uninteresting tracks, but mostly comprised of incredible, mind-bogglingly expert offerings. In my opinion either one album of covers and one of originals, or the cutting of 8 or so unnecessaries to form one bulkier full length, would have framed the quality content more effectively.

Saying that, with tracks as throat-catchingly euphoric as Pixel’s title track, which is even more emotive than anything from [Dimensions] (or any of his work before that, in fact) the few qualitative discrepancies should be ignored and all gut emotions favoured. Pixel is an incredible piece of work, and unrestrained by Speck’s lesser appeal, is easily in the top five of the year’s best releases. No question. For those that enjoy Pixel’s charms I would, of course, also recommend a cautious exploration of Speck, but the real star of the show, and Auxcide’s best and most definitive work to date, is certainly the former.

Favourite track: Pixel

Pixel is available here, and Speck here.

Week #44| Auxcide- Genesis

Week 44: And this week we've got Pxl-Bot Posterboy/ Chiptune's-Sweetheart Auxcide!! Epic space jams and pumpin' beats? Double-check. Grab the track here! 

WT: What was your first introduction to the chiptune scene?

Auxcide: I was never too big into scenes before I started posting on Chipmusic.org. I sort of fell into the new generation of chipartists like Vince Kaichan, Parallelis, Frostbyte, HunterQuinn, AndaruGO, etc. and they started friending me on Facebook and we made our own little collective. I didn't feel like I saw the scene until the first show I saw in San Francisco where trash80 play earlier this year. At that moment, I felt the scene. And then at BRKfest, I reallllly felt it.

WT: Where did the name ‘Auxcide’ originate?

A: "Auxcide" is a combination of the words "Auxiliary" (as in auxiliary input) and the prefix "-cide", like in "homicide" or "suicide". It came to mind as I was trying to develop a new artist name for a new direction my music was taking. I happened to look over at my stereo and saw the 'aux' button. I made it be like "sound death" and also liked the play on "oxide". One day I plan on putting out a Nitrous Auxcide EP.

WT: What artists, musically, influence your sound?

A: I draw from a lot of different sources: Björk, Knife Party, Noisia, Nullsleep, Anamanaguchi, Klaxons, Innerpartysystem, trash80, Nero, not to mention videogames such as MegaMan, and Final Fantasy. I try and get those memorable, catchy melodies with a strong beat reminiscent of techno or (good) dubstep.

WT: You are known for using three LSDJ as well as having a huge, layered sound, what prompted and influenced these decisions?

A: trash80. The entire reason why I got into the arduinoboy. I mainly got into LSDJ to use it in the ways that people weren't used to. First to control another Gameboy and then to control other hardware. I wanted to have this overwhelming soundscape made with actual hardware. Of course space and the universe played a big part in my sound too.

WT: Do you reject the ‘doing-more-with-less’ ethos of most chiptune programmers?

A: Absolutely not. I enjoy doing stuff with just 1 cart just as much as using 3. And there are sooo many artists that bring more life to the soundchip then I could do with 5. It's just a matter of preferences sometimes. Sometimes I’ll be in the mood for a certain sound, other times I won't.

WT: What set up do you use when playing live?

A: When I play live I almost always use my full setup minus a full keyboard. The main equipment I use is: 3 Gameboy advance SPs, an arduinoboy, korg microkorg, arturia minibrute, korg es-1 mkII, korg kaoss pad 3, korg kaoss pad 4, and a korg mini kp. It's a lot to lug around but I wouldn't be the same without it.

WT: What has been the release you most enjoyed creating thus far and why?

A: [ Dimensions ] was the most inspirational work I had done. It was an experiment in exploring my new MiniBrute and using my arduinoboy in a fuller capacity. The way those songs came together was so effortless I couldn't believe it. Everyone wonders how long it took to program those songs but it was surprisingly fast. It's like they were in my head and I was just speaking them. But my other 2 releases were amazing in their own reasons, as well. of Atoms and Stardust was my early explorations in turning melodies I wrote on piano into tracked music. And the remix album for that was interesting in taking something I had created and building it again from different perspectives.

WT: What spurred the choice to also feature LSDJ mixes of the tracks on [ Dimensions ]?

A: Those songs used so much stuff to create a big sound but I wanted to show that the Gameboys’ soundchips could create their own type of atmosphere. I think the addition made the EP fit together quite well. It also helped with the whole "different dimensions" motif.

WT: What went in to creating your WeeklyTreat?

A: "Genesis" was originally a song I had written to be played at BRKfest one night. It was made in the same style as stuff from my [ Dimensions ] "era". . . and just as fluidly too. The main melody was all improvised in one shot and then input into the tracker. The main idea was composed during a piano session I had. That main arp and chords were the main drive to the creation process.

WT: What does the future hold for Auxcide?

A: Motherflippin'MAGfest, son. I also have 2 full albums in the works. The first one, "Blue Planet", I had started right after my first album, of Atoms and Stardust. It draws on some of my older 2xLSDJ styles but in a way I don't think I've ever conveyed before. Although it's more 2xLSDJ sound centred, most songs incorporate other hardware too. I've often told people how it is my magnum opus and how I’ll never be able to surpass its writing. The other is my newest workings in LSDJ. It is also a mixture of different mediums. But more importantly it is a mixture of different styles. Its working title is "Speck" and includes a lot of hard hitting dance tracks as well as a lot of chipartist, videogame, and electronic musician remixes. A big bowl of various things basically. I've also gotten a lot of requests for collabs and I'm hoping to do live shows in and around the PA area.

Preview| V/A - µCollective, Vol. 1

Following the dramatic closure of 8bitcollective, Sam Wray, 8bc’s then last hope, created a site to fill the hole the collective’s ruin would leave. µCollective was the end result, launching in October of 2012. In a bid to expand, µCollective is putting out their first compilation, a physical-only collection of sixteen tracks to debut at SuperByte. Featuring hugely revered acts (cTrix, Paza, nordloef), lesser known artists (Balloonbear, Skin Walker, <3an) and those somewhere in between (Auxcide, Holy Konni, Decktonic), ‘Vol. 1’ hosts a hugely varied selection of talent.

Getting the negative out of the way: the album’s introduction is weak. Beginning with Byzanite’s inessential take on EDM, ‘Cakebomber’, most listeners are going to quickly see through the thinly veiled lack of substance. ‘Cakebomber’ is followed by the underwhelming ‘Mysterio Guitar Sloth’ by Holy Konni, a track that’s nice enough, but doesn’t even touch the quality of his recent output (though the guitar sampling is a nice touch). Elsewhere, Paza throws up the compilation’s most disappointing moment. ‘Damn Lokki’ constantly builds to absolutely nothing, all grating ‘melodies’ and tiresome percussion in a faux-gabber abomination. 

Elsewhere though, the quality is incredibly high. PANDAstar‘s ‘Delirium’ features the album’s most euphoric melody, unforgettable and beautifully sweet, whilst <3an’s ‘Mariana Trench’ seeps watery, lucid delivery, a blend of slow-moving bass and deep ambient undercurrents. Kubbi manages to meld progressive electro with pop melodies and danceable beats on ‘Void Pt 2 (Renovation Mix), and Auxcide supplies those trademark, epic space melodies, slathered over thick layers of gorgeous harmony.

The best tracks on ‘Vol. 1’ are those where the artists outdo themselves. Decktonic’s ‘Dancing Is Permitted’ is a vigorous froth of summer melodies and strong kicks that are irresistible. ‘Czar’, Cheapshot’s contribution, is swagger at its most effective, conveying groove through enormous beats, making it the most exciting Cheapshot track in some time. nordloef’s outstanding ‘Mark II’, repeats this excitement, showing the veteran’s ability to remain as fresh and melodically robust as ever. The album’s crowning glory, however, is the final track, Vince Kaichan’s ‘Sailboat’. Full of striking motifs, harmonies, and layers of delicate nuance, ‘Sailboat’ is a testament to Vince’s growing prowess. It not only sounds strong beside the likes of cTrix and xyce, but it towers above them, sounding like an off-cut from Roboctopus' recent and fantastic 'Disco.txt'.

Minus problems with the track sequencing, some of the thematic jumps are too violent to create a cohesive listening experience; µCollective’s debut compilation is fantastic. Sam Wray’s curation deserves special praise, his fusing of the old established and the new revolutionaries works perfectly, and almost every track brims with quality. With all proceeds going to support µCollective plus mastering by DJ Cutman and art by Love Through Cannibalism, this is one package you owe yourself to get if you’re attending SuperByte this year.

PS: If you are attending Superbyte this year, come and say hi! I'll be on the dancefloor or at the bar wearing a bison t-shirt and a ponytail xo 

Tracklist:
01. Byzanite- Cakebomber
02. Holy Konni- Mysterio Guitar Sloth
03. PANDAstar- Delirium
04. xyce- Arbre De Viw
05. Paza- Damn Lokki
06. <3an- Mariana Trench
07. Cheapshot- Czar
08. Decktonic- Dancing Is Permitted 
09. Balloonbear- HAVOK
10. Skin Walker- Shanghai At Night
11. nordloef- Mark II
12. Auxcide- Threads
13. gwEm- High Gain
14. cTrix- Ion Cruising 
15. Kubbi- Void Pt 2 (Renovation Mix)
16. Vince Kaichan- Sailboat