Where you’ll be when you find out this news.
What’s that you say? Toronto Thumbs alumnus Shaun Hatton has done music for Drinkbox Studios’ upcoming Playstation Vita game: Mutant Blobs Attack?
The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is yes.
Recognizing games of the year is hard because we all want our favorites to win. Review averages and copies sold are one thing, but I feel that it ultimately it comes down to a matter of a player’s personal preference. Before we officially move into 2012, I wanted to look back on 2011 and mention several soundtracks that game music buffs (such as myself) should not overlook.
Poppa Thumbs and Smallest Thumb will sing you a song if you click on this picture.
Greetings reader,
We here at Toronto Thumbs love the holiday season. We’re those people Scrooge scowls at while he walks down the street. We wanted to spread that cheer to all of you, dear readers, this holiday season. So we got together with our good friend Oxvylu and created a couple of classic holiday tunes to give to you as a gift. Feel free to download the songs and watch the wonderful music video created using Harmonix iPhone game VidRythm. We hope that you enjoy what you hear and wish you Happy Holidays. Next year is going to be a killer year. We’ll see you then.
Oxvylu does Winter Wonderland »
Ricky’s version of The Little Drummer Boy »
Deck the Thumbs video starring Poppa Thumbs and Smallest Thumb »
One of the keynote speakers for X-Summit 2011 was a man named Scott Snibbe. Scott, the founder of Scott Snibbe Studio and Snibbe Interactive, is a quiet gentleman with a wide smile and an appreciation of all things musical (and musical appreciation of all things). As someone who visualizes music, Scott seems to be very much in touch with the subtle layers of the world around him, and seems to be able to key in to patterns in nature and show us what they are.
Click the pic to see the trailer!
Edgy, rebellious, underground, quasi-outdated, immersive. These are all common adjectives for one of the most colourful music scenes out there: chiptunes. Worldwide, the chiptunes music scene is booming, becoming underground staples for bands and solo projects in Japan, Europe, North America and beyond. Toronto, Canada is quickly becoming a prime location for many chiptunes artists, each offering their own unique sound and presence.
Join us on October 1st and 2nd at Toronto’s yearly Nuit Blanche festival as we rule the city with some kickass beats. You will find the Chiptunes Orchestra at Cinema 1 of TIFF Bell Lightbox at 350 King St. West, where we’ll be offering a night-long series of concerts celebrating the chiptunes music scene and video game culture as a whole. We will be offering two rousing performances by The Royal Canadian Chiptunes Orchestra, a collection of musicians each playing custom-hacked Gameboys and homemade circuit bent instruments (I mean, who doesn’t like circuit bending?) courtesy of Site 3. For the rest of the evening we have invited various chiptunes artists and many other musical groups to present their original chiptunes music or interpretations of canonical video game music. Plus, fans of the Toronto indie game developer Spooky Squid Games will be happy to know they can get a live and almost needlessly loud preview of songs from They Bleed Pixels at this event as well.
Curated by members of TIFF’s Gaming and New Media Think Tank (in partnership with Site 3 coLaboratory), this small team of chiptunes and game enthusiasts has put together an event unlike any other in Toronto.
Be sure to check out our awesome schedule or just watch the video above!
We hope you can join us for this awesome night of fun and mayhem!
brentalfloss throws it down!
If you happen to be a fan of music, specifically the kind that’s seasoned with references from the best nerd culture has to offer, there’s an upcoming event that was made for you: Nerd-Approved Music. With FanExpo coming up next week, a lot of fans of comics, movies, videogames, horror, anime, and all things awesome will be descending upon Toronto for a weekend full of fun. The convention has all the bases of popular nerd and geek culture covered, but once the convention doors close each night, you may find yourself looking for something to do around town. This is where Nerd-Approved Music comes in!
With the assistance of FanExpo Canada, I’ve put together a night of music at The Rivoli featuring my favourite local hip-hop acts who I’ve also had the pleasure of featuring on The Electric Playground. Peter Project, apart from producing some of the best hip-hop beats I’ve ever heard, has worked on music for the games ModNation Racers and Tales From Space: About a Blob. He’ll be spinning beats as Wordburglar and More or Les wow the crowd with their lyrical skills.
As the night continues, we’ll be switching genres to rock as my band Cobra takes the stage. The one and only brentalfloss will be headlining the event. As if this already wasn’t a totally sweet lineup, I’ll be hosting the night, offering jokes and some very cool prize giveaways (toys and videogames!) to trivia winners between acts!
If you’re going to FanExpo, you have the added bonus of getting into the show for half price, but you need to have your FanExpo badge with you. Otherwise, it’s still a great price for admission: $10! This includes a free hug!
Nerd-Approved Music is happening at The Rivoli on Friday, August, 26 at 8pm. You can buy tickets at the door but if you’re worried they’ll sell out (they will) you can also purchase them in advance online. If you’re going to the show and you want to brag about it, RSVP on Facebook and tell your friends!
Click for the full poster, in all of its awesomeness!
This Saturday (July 9), Bryan Lee O’Malley (the creator of Sciott Pilgrim) will be at The Beguiling* for a Scott Pilgrim Anniversary Party. The party is from 14:00-16:00. There will be games, bands and an overall awesome time! Bryan will be hanging out, signing books and just chatting with folks who want to chat with him.
However, more importantly, Cobra will be playing The Central** at 13:00 and 15:00. You know what you have to do, folks.
At Toronto Thumbs, we definitely put the RTS in ARTS; that is, we support that which pleases the eyes and ears – especially when 8 bits are involved. Therefore, as envoys of culture, we are telling you that you don’t want to miss the chiptunes show at Duffy’s Tavern on July 2nd. The lineup is pretty sweet.
Feeling like you need some vitamin C*? Head on down to the Tiger Bar this Thursday to fill your ears with awesome chiptunes goodness. The Tiger Bar [Chiptune] Groove will feature Jefftheworld, Starpilot, Oxvylu and DJ Eastern Blok. That’s right folks, Gold Soundz and T. Comics are bringing round 3 of the chiptune groove: fight!
Also, there will be a video game tourney (most likely Street Fighter II). It all goes down on June 2, starting at 21:00! $5 at the door.
The Crown and Tiger Bar is located here! »
Check out some of DJ Eastern Blok’s here! »
Additionally, here is someone that I have been listening to lately. Check out his stuff! »
He sits in his hidden castle; his hands move like lightning, barely keeping up with the magnificent speed of his creative mind: Oxvylu has done it again. His latest creation, Password, will have you tapping your fingers on whatever surface your hand is resting on. While Dungeons took you on a trip to the dark and dangerous, Password takes you on a lavish trip to some kind of crazy all-inclusive 8-bit resort.
Best of all, this album is free!
Go grab your download, folks! »
