Holy smokes, now these were some great bands. We’ll have some announcements for MAGFest 2020 soon enough, but in the meantime, feel free to browse the awesome bands from yesteryear.
They have the real-time strategy for melting your face off
“Frank Klepacki is a world renown video game composer and musician, most famous for his Command & Conquer soundtracks. His song “Hell March” is regarded as one of the top video game themes of all time. The Tiberian Sons are no strangers to MAGFest, specializing in performing their brutally impressive signature arrangements of various video game themes. Frank Klepacki has invited them to join forces in order to bring you for the very first time in history: The music of Command & Conquer LIVE!”
Pounding party tunes from the Pacific Northwest
“Graz is a Seattle based multi-genre electronic dance music producer focusing on hi-energy rave, hard dance, and hardware chiptune. Beyond producing Graz specializes in vinyl djing, is the labelhead of digital imprint Ravertooth Tiger (ravertoothtiger.com) and hosts a weekday radio segment on KNHC 89.5FM (c895.org) called the 8bit Work Break. The program showcases chiptune and other adjacent genres every weekday on the FM in Seattle, bringing the underground to the masses.”
Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
the peculiar, the saccharine, the oddball, and just maybe, the surprisingly profound
“bryface is a bipedal organism based in Vancouver, Canada. A world-class composer and one of the chip scene’s foremost innovators, his music routinely challenges scene-wide assumptions about your favourite chip platforms’ capabilities. Complex rhythms and textures playfully intertwine with nimble, expressive melodies that not only convey a deep reverence for computer music’s rich history but also speculate earnestly about its future. All of these elements combine to form a sound that has been widely labeled - by peers and scene luminaries the world over - as “good”.”
Beware the weeping angels
“Hailing from Oklahoma City, OK, Don’t Blink Or You’ll Die (aka DBOYD) consists of one being and an aural display of various emotions with intense, energetic music written through old game consoles, accompanied by a high energy, furious live show. He is also a member of the chipmusic duo “Rock Candy”.
DBOYD’s main weapon of choice is the original Nintendo Gameboy running the music tracker Little Sound DJ. His music is best described as Dance Pop w/ a Noise Rock mentality.”
Audible thoughts and desires
“chibi-tech is an American music composer and sound designer living in Japan, working in gamedev. A prominent specialist within the Japanese game industry especially for her chiptune craft, she’s contributed various works for companies such as Capcom, Cave, Marvelous, Sega, SNK, 5pb., amongst others.
But with great power comes great responsibility... with the potential of that power to be greatly abused. On stage, she loves to cause havoc with her chiptune arsenal of NES consoles... each packed with megatons of audible heat to ignite the dancefloor.”
Its not a phase, Mum
“Wielding a couple of Gameboy SPs HarleyLikesMusic will be bringing the underground sounds of the Steel City (Sheffield, UK) to MAGFest!
Expect gooves and sounds that will make your face crease in disgust and your body wonder what the hell happened the night before.”
The cutest EDM you’ve ever heard
“Embark on a vibrant, candy-plucked adventure through hyper-pop cyberspace with Blood Code, an electronic artist that bridges the gaps between traditional video game music, kawaii culture, and modern EDM. With several hit tracks featured on netlabels and blogs like Nest HQ, Attack The Music, and EarMilk.
Blood Code quickly developed a strong presence in the electronic music scene with his cute, yet heavy brand of music and style. Blood Code strives to pioneer his sound and engages his audience with positivity, empowering support, and creativity in this new and thriving musical landscape.
You won’t want to miss a second of Blood Code’s bubbly delightful and high-energy performance!”
BLOODCO.DE | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Charlie Puth’s cuter, VGM loving cousin
“With over a decade of experience, James Landino is a leading force in video game music. He is a game composer and touring DJ bridging the gap of video games and electronic music together, amassing millions plays across multiple platforms.
His major composing credits include: DropMix, Cytus II, Amplitude HD, RWBY and Crypt of the Necrodancer. As of 2018, James has headlined at numerous events such as MAGFest, Pax East, Anime Expo, Super Smash Con, and more. James has shared the stage with major Japanese acts such as Teddyloid, Taku Takahashi, and contributed official remixes for pop star Koda Kumi.”
JamesLandino.com | YouTube | Soundcloud | Patreon | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
His hair is the source of his super powers
“Clarke Nordhauser, known professionally as GRIMECRAFT, is a producer, DJ, artist and tech entrepreneur based in San Francisco, California. A former video game environment artist at Harmonix, Nordhauser took the GRIMECRAFT project full-time in 2014. He’s produced hit singles with a variety of labels including Maltine Records, Trekkie Trax, and GameChops for over four years, cleverly blending EDM, hip-hop and rock with samples from beloved video games.”
Professional Anime Boi
“DJ/Producer for GameChops and TinyWaves, anime enthusiast, and a regular performer at one of MAGfest’ events, “Megaman-a-thon”! Bringing in a mix of both heavy hitting video game and anime remixes to his high-energy sets that combines a wide range of genres that everyone can get down to. From starting with a simple EP with Dj Cutman, to remixing Splatoon, Undertale, and Pokemon! Pop culture, memes, nerd scene, and nostalgia; all of these are to be expected on his performance! An artist that doesn’t stick with one style, get ready to be surprised on what he’s about to do next!”
Spotify | Twitter | Soundcloud
Koalas and Cosplay and Fire, OH MY
“Hailing all the way from the Land Down Under, ready to bring the noise and Thunder - D*Jadeabella is back in the US of A and joining the MAGfest roster.
Considered as Australias top Anime/Gaming DJ, D*Jadeabella has fast made a name for herself with her stunning cosplays, fast paced DJ sets, occasional Fire/LED spinning and energetic dance moves - she’s on a mission to bring the party.
Playing multiple shows all across Australia, she’s been on tour as one of the headliners for Neko Nation, Australias number one Anime and Cosplay themed rave. Playing alongside names such a DJ S3rl, The Living Tombstone and Teddyloid.
So get ready to throw another Shrimp on the barbie (like honestly, no one says that here..) because Crikey we are in for a ripper.”
Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram
We made a deal with the devil to make this happen
“Kristofer Maddigan is a percussionist, drummer, BAFTA award winning and Juno nominated composer based in Toronto, Canada. Principal percussionist of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra (of which he has been a member since 2010), Kris also performs regularly with a wide range of groups including The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The National Arts Center Orchestra, The Hannaford Street Silver Band, The Esprit Orchestra, The Toronto Concert Orchestra, The Thunder-Bay Symphony, A Fantastica Batteria, and the Devah Quartet. Kris also works with numerous jazz, theatre and new music groups around the city.
As a composer, Kris contributed music for the ‘My Virtual Dream’ project which premiered at Toronto’s Nuit Blanche in 2013, and composed the soundtrack for the award winning video game ‘Cuphead‘, released to widespread acclaim on X-Box One, Windows 10 and Steam in 2017.”
Get ready to move your feet, shake your tail feathers, whatever you’re into
“ConSoul is a New York-based fusion band specializing in funky arrangements of music from classic and contemporary video games. The goal is to make the music danceable ‐ from salsa and swing to rock, pop, disco etc. The current playlist includes many titles including Super Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Undertale, Street fighter, Sonic, Tetris, Banjo‐Tooie, The Banner Saga, Civilization series, and many other games, and we are constantly expanding the playbook to include new themes. ConSoul has collaborated with other original composers to further the creative spirit and persona of the band.
Our crew includes Grammy award winning/participating musicians, and other world renowned musicians. Including Mitch Friedman (GRAMMY winner), Felipe Fournier (Latin Grammy Nominee) Danny Flam (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, GRAMMY Winning Participant with Kanye West) and other notables. In 2015 the late trumpet player legend Mike McGovern (Buddy Rich, a fifth of beethoven) and saxophone Ron Bertolet joined to record first releases.
METRO.US : “Video game themes were as much a part of our childhoods as anything on Top 40 radio. ConSoul VGM captures that nostalgia with the intense big‐brass sound of a 15‐piece band specializing in the soundtracks to classics like Super Mario, Sonic, Tetris, Zelda and more. ConSoul’s members include Grammy Award‐winning musicians”
Bushwick‐Daily : “Get Nerdy and Dance to Brass Arrangements of the Pokemon Theme and Others at Sunnyvale, Consoul VGM take nostalgic classics and transform them into infectiously fun tunes with the help of world‐renowned musicians”
TheOuterhaven gaming blog: “To get an idea of what you’ll be treated to during the show, check out some of their previous recordings below. They’ve even performed a rendition of the Konami’s X‐Men arcade game theme and even some Undertale music going on, how freaking awesome is that? No need to answer, I’ll do it for you… it’s amazingly freaking awesome.””
ConSoul.NYC | Bandcamp | YouTube | Facebook
They’re all super excited that Bowsette is their real mom now
“The Koopa Kids are a video game band from the North Shore of Massachusetts. We play our favorite video game songs from our favorite games. We play a lot of games too! Our 7 piece line-up is primed to deliver on high-octane arrangements with wailing guitars and howling horns!”
Its like watching Twitch, but irl.
“Bit Brigade performs rock covers of full NES game soundtracks as their gamer speedruns the game live on stage.
”When was the last time you attended a live music performance with a genuine element of risk involved? And no, going to a Gwar show with a white t-shirt on doesn’t count. When Bit Brigade takes the stage your mind will frantically oscillate between “Oh! Agh!! Please don’t die!!” and “YES! He’s doing it!!” Combining the dread and daring of a live video game speed run with the spot-on technique of a live band covering the musical accompaniment to everything you’re seeing on-screen in real time, Bit Brigade will have you swinging between the two mediums. From thrashing about to live renditions of your favorite stage themes, fingers yearning to the sky in a rock ‘n roll parody of sea anemones seeming to silently plead, “Please, feed us more fretboard pyrotechnics!,” to being locked in stock-still rapture as the infallible maestro of the d-pad, Noah McCarthy, takes on the final boss and risks his video game life under the threat of intense peer scorn (or the reward of night-long glory and a credits score). No matter the outcome, Bit Brigade must play on until the deed is done - which it always is - on the first (and last) try. Once Noah’s NES buzzes on, there’s no turning back.” - Metalhead Mike of The Shizz, summer 2011”
nothing beats the forced ignorance of failed scholastics like loud auditory diversions
“From 2000 - 2007, CHROMELODEON helped pave the 1st wave of the VGM & chiptune live scene. A full band ensemble of 7-9 members, including visual artists, CHROMELODEON toured nationally in the early days, bringing both VGM covers and original albums to confused audiences. Having performed at many of the early MAGFESTs, they will be coming out of retirement for one night only to bring back selections of analog media and epic video game rock songs spanning their history.”
Grab your chocobo and summon some metal
“Based out of the Chicagoland area, Knight of the Round are unlike most Video Game Music bands you may have heard. Their arrangements pay homage to the memorable Final Fantasy soundtracks while bringing an assault of two crushing 8-string guitars, grinding and thunderous bass, and aggressive poly-rhythmic percussion with hard hitting blast beats.
Spanning over a wide variety of the metal genre from classic thrash to modern progressive metal, the four piece delivers the iconic themes from Final Fantasy in the heaviest way possible.”
The Grand Grammarian himself
“MC Frontalot is the world’s 579th-greatest rapper. He is the progenitor of Nerdcore Hip-Hop and remains that subgenre’s final boss. His brand new album, Net Split, concerns your newfound distaste for online itself.”
Frontalot.com | YouTube | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter
Do not anger the Monitor
“Please Lose Battle sets itself apart by an explosive mixture of chiptune, power pop and mathcore. It’s an efficient recipe cooked up six-handedly: electronic and pop tunes composed on a Nintendo NES, raging bass and drums, a kaleidoscopic video stage design.
The project: to bridge the gap between digital machines and manned instruments, with the help of Monitor, our violently emotional computer and front-man.
The achievements of those last 4 years: 3 EPs, 40 european dates, an infinity of screens.”