Hey, ChipWINners! As you all know by now, we here at the ChipWIN blog have been busy reviewing Chiptunes = WIN: Volume 3 for a while now. My fellow writers have been taking this incredible compilation track-by-track and reviewing every single one of them without skipping a beat, and now it’s my turn to contribute to this project! So, without further ado, we’ll be taking a look at tracks 32 through 36 of Volume 3!



Xenon Odyssey – Frozen | Machinery

Chiptunes = WIN: Volume 3 by Xenon Odyssey

Xenon Odyssey makes his second appearance on the Chiptunes = WIN compilations with his track, ‘Frozen | Machinery’. Intense, heavily fluctuating vibrato from a triangle lead enters early and breaks the calm of the supporting voices, creating an effect that can be considered akin to a shivering sensation or a freezing over of sorts. The rhythmic and supporting voices are almost unwavering in their tone, save for sparsely used note changes and a certain part of the track that utilizes note cutting to a fantastic extent. Xenon Odyssey’s chill-out, clockwork-like track is definitely one-of-a-kind.

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The Unicorn Princess – Redesigned

Chiptunes = WIN: Volume 3 by The Unicorn Princess

Making her first appearance on a ChipWIN compilation, The Unicorn Princess makes a truly stellar debut with ‘Redesigned’. Numerous different effects are added to both the noise channel and a square channel in order to help set the calming tone of the song, which are all welcome additions to an already awesome track. The fusion of mellow chipsounds and piano chords contrast quietly and perfectly, and The Unicorn Princess utilizes these sounds in conjunction to great effect. Alternating melodic riffs between LSDJ voices and the piano create a soundscape that won’t soon be forgotten.

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Boy Without Batteries – Dream Big (Head In The Clouds)

Chiptunes = WIN: Volume 3 by Boy Without Batteries

Boy Without Batteries’ track, ‘Dream Big (Head In The Clouds)’, is filled with octave blips, heavy kicks, almost drum set-like percussion, and a catchy melodic hook. Octaves are used to a heavier extent in this track than I’ve previously heard in other chipmusic, from the punch of the main melody to the ticking of high-pitched notes around the 3:00 mark. The duty/noise changes in the melody around 3:45 sound wonderful, in addition to the metallic tone the voice takes. A slow-to-start, quickly accelerating note sweep near the end of the song is timed perfectly, and sets the track up for its fade-out finish thirty seconds or so later.

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The Laohu – Bash of the Kaiju

Chiptunes = WIN: Volume 3 by The Laohu

Coming after Boy Without Batteries’ dancable hit is the head-bobbing excellence that is The Laohu’s contribution to this compilation, ‘Bash of the Kaiju’. The track doesn’t appear to draw any influence from any particular genre of music, creating a sound that it readily and genuinely makes its own. Rhythmic, percussive changes at the end of several phrases are put to good use, creating awesome polyrhythms in the process. Hardware sweeps transition into a rather interesting, bass-focused phrase prior to a return to the familiar phrasing at the end of the track.

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Toni Leys – Target Acquired

Chiptunes = WIN: Volume 3 by Toni Leys

Last on the chopping block for today is Toni Leys’ contribution to Volume 3, ‘Target Acquired’. The beginning of the track calls to mind side-scrolling shooters of yesteryear like Einhander, and it quickly transitions into a funky, jammable tune. Solos battle it out during the climax in the middle of the song, and between the two amazingly crafted chipsolos and the wickedly solid guitar riff, it’s hard to pick a favorite. The amount of variation in this track is simply phenomenal, and the ending – the lock-on – is quite well done.

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That wraps it up for today, folks! There’re only a few tracks left to review from this compilation, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for my fellow bloggers’ articles on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday! And our next reviewer is…CHRIS KROGSGARD, LETTER-LIEGE AND LORD OF SPACE AND TIME.

Much love!

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