Zen Albatross processes anxiety into a cathartic expressions of audible violence, crafting colossal obelisks of hip-shaking sound using the antiquated circuitry of a Nintendo Game Boy.

Hawkins: First off, how did you find out about chiptunes and how did you get involved?

Kopstein; It was a homework assignment, sort of. I was studying computer art as an undergrad in upstate NY and my professor had us watch episodes of Glomag/Chris Burke’s machinima talk show This Spartan Life. One of the characters would “DJ” 8-bit-sounding music in the background and soon it hit me that what I was hearing was original works, not music from a videogame. I was vaguely familiar with demoscene but never made the connection until I took a quick look at those show notes — All of a sudden I was discovering this community of people in New York City who were not only writing this stuff but performing it on the live hardware.

Exploring it first-hand seemed like the next logical step, so I graduated and moved to NYC right when all the recession bullshit started. I had no job and no money so I just sat at home and taught myself LSDJ. When I could afford to start actually leaving my apartment, I started coming to shows and eventually jumped on an open mic.

After that it gets fuzzy. People started booking me for shows and I started hanging out with those same artists I had been admiring from afar. New York’s community is just so welcoming and so full of talent. It’s been genuinely rewarding to be around these folks, with or without the bonus of performing alongside them.

Hawkins: What and who has been the biggest influence as it pertains to your work?

Kopstein: I wouldn’t call it an “influence” but I think the tone of my most recent works is born of an unshakable, perhaps somewhat neurotic political claustrophobia with regards to technology. The internet in particular has been such an important mechanism of liberation for knowledge and creativity that watching the U.S. and others allowing it to be hijacked and ransomed by the private sector has become insanely frightening to observe. It’s like a daily dose of dehumanization popping up in my news feed. I lose sleep over it weekly.

I’ve always been fascinated with composers that capture that sense of irreversible change, hopelessness, dread. Stuff by Philip Glass and Krzysztof Penderecki always seems to jive with the cinematic cadence with which these anxieties play out in my head. Or maybe I’m just a total nutter.

Hawkins: What tools do you use to create your music? Can you describe the process?

Kopstein: Right now I’m using two Game Boys running the homebrew software LSDJ. I like the idea of “building” sound so my process usually involves slowly adding textures around repetitive structures. Shaping the raw waveforms to sound a certain way is also a huge part of it. It’s something pretty unique to chip music that provides a kind of intimacy with the hardware, instead of just letting you tweak knobs on a bunch of presets.

Electronic music had always seemed so intimidating to me because of the insane amounts of gear artists like Aphex Twin would use. Many people have described the chip music process as the antithesis of that — You can get these really satisfying and unique results without having to spend thousands of dollars on software and equipment.

Hawkins: You’re a solo artist… Has that always been the case? Have you collaborated with anyone before?

Kopstein: I started out collaborating with my friend Shael Riley, a really talented singer-songwriter. My first few shows involved arrangements for his songs I had written on Game Boy. I reverted to solo stuff because I found it a little frustrating in my early stages holding back some of the hardware’s capability to make room for other live instruments. I also wanted to experiment with creating new textures and compositions that didn’t really go well with pop music.

Hawkins: Describe the difference between creating and performing your music in a studio or relatively isolated space and being on stage, in front of a large crowd.

Kopstein:I don’t know why but I usually arrange compositions with live performance in mind. So in many cases, there really aren’t any “studio” versions. I like the idea of not having a definitive version of something. Without any reference points, the works becomes more like oral histories, changing the programming beforehand and interacting with/breaking what’s available to me.

Hawkins: Describe the state of chip today, and where you see things going.

Kopstein: I wasn’t “there” when Blip first started, but from what I’ve observed it’s come a pretty long way in a short period of time. One thing we’re starting to see is more experimentation with these sound chips as part of a larger musical whole. Bands like Anamanaguchi are giving credence to the idea that chips are musical instruments in their own right with their own unique palette of timbres. I expect to see more of that happening, and even more implementations of chips to create a new wave of hybrid music based on established genres and styles.

Hawkins: What do you think of the assumption that chiptunes is just video game music?

Kopstein: Well, it’s an incorrect assumption, but a common one. I think it’s this misunderstanding that usually either compels or repulses people. But since what holds peoples’ attention about chip music often lies outside the realm of videogames, it’s easier to avoid this confusion if the works are presented in the right way. It’s always good to have fun, obviously, but I think it’s also important for artists — chip or otherwise — to always consider how they are presenting their art, and avoid things like fetishization of technology and gimmicks. That way it’s easier to find an audience that’s genuinely interested in your music because of the music itself, and not as a default for being a nostalgia junkie/videogame enthusiast.

Hawkins: Any thoughts on the mainstream audience and it’s possible connection to chiptunes? It’s already been a part of pop music, though most don’t seem to recognize it as a full-fledged genre. Will it happen? Is it happening? Any reservations, or is it a day worth looking forward to?

Kopstein: I don’t really see what’s going on in the mainstream as the same thing that’s going on at events like Blip. That’s not to say it should be scoffed at, but when you’re talking about mainstream appeal, most of the examples I’ve heard seem to begin and end with an appreciation of the aesthetic. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I feel that the most interesting examples of chip music are the ones that value the process as more than an aesthetic ornamentation and don’t try to establish chip as a “genre.” The more you try and convince people that something is a “thing,” the more silly and flavor-of-the-week it seems. I’d rather just see this become a new generation of electronic instruments that can be used to make any kind of music, not just “chiptune.”

Hawkins: What was the first Blip you went to? Any fond memories?

Kopstein: 2008. I remember being shit-poor, not knowing many people and worrying about whether my friends would have extra passes each night for me to get in. I remember minusbaby’s set pretty vividly in particular, and was really impressed with the variety of styles and how much sound could be squeezed out of these shitty electronics.

Hawkins: Who are you looking forward to the most this year?

Kopstein: From afar: definitely Noisewaves. I played with them at a music showcase in the D.C. area earlier this year and was kind of shocked when they told me it was their first show. They’ve got such an incredibly warm and powerful sound, I’m actually kind of mad that more people haven’t heard of them. But I’m fully expecting them to blow everyone away at Blip.

Zen Albatross performs Thursday at 8:40 with visuals by Vade

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