Noisewaves is a post rock duo from Michigan. Loud guitars, heavy drums, and the Nintendo Entertainment System’s 2a03 sound chip bombard the senses with a sound that has been described by some as “absorbing and effortless.

Blip: How did you first become aware of the possibility of creating art using vintage hardware or using vintage equipment?

In 2006 I saw a segment on a t.v. gaming channel that talked a little bit about chiptune/8 bit music. I found myself saying “is that a Game Boy? seriously?, no way!” as I witnessed artists like Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, and 8Bit Weapon creating these awesome and complex pieces of music that I was immediately drawn to. And it was pretty much then that I decided, “this is something I want to be a part of.” After a few days of research I ordered my first nanoloop cartridge and the rest is pretty much history.

Blip: What kinds of influences do you draw upon to make your work?

My inspiration comes from so many different places, its hard to pin point just one. I guess what I’m most influenced by is the music created by my friends, my friends bands, and fellow chiptune acts alike. It’s very exciting to see and hear what people you care about are creating.

Blip: What type of tools do you use to create your work?

I primarily use a tracking program called Famitracker. Essentially what it is, is a program that lets you compose music in the Nintendo Entertainment System or Famicom’s native CPU language, and thus, lets you play it back on the actual system itself.

Blip Festival: Do you have anything special planned for your set?

We’re going to be premiering new songs for the first time at Blip Fest off of our first full length album, coming out at the end of the summer.

Blip: What do you think of the scene as a whole? Do you feel your music is representative of it, or exists in opposition to the community?

Its becoming recognized as a very interesting and legitimate form of music. I feel like what we do exists on what i would consider the more “experimental” reaches of the genre, as it isn’t just straight hardware, coupling it with guitars and drums is something i felt was necessary because I feel my compositions couldn’t hold their own on just the NES hardware.

Blip: What are your hopes for the future of the chipscene?

More growth, more recognition, and more amazing artists. I really feel like it can only go up from here.

Noisewaves are playing Sautrday 5/21 at 8pm with visuals by Party Time! Hexcellent!