ALBUM REVIEW: pretty warp machine – divmod
Chiptune has always been a niche within a niche when it comes to genres. Electronica with an intentionally narrow nostalgic edge, a heart based in video games of a very specific time, it was the underground movement of electronic music way before synthwave came to dominate. With it being so limited to the parameters of 8-bit and 16-bit computers, there was inevitably some innovation with the ideas created. The height of chiptune back in the 2010s saw the likes of ANAMANAGUCHI, 8 BIT WEAPON and SHIROBON, with several acts like UNICORN KID and CRYSTAL CASTLES taking huge influence into their electronica. Now, DIVMOD brings his debut record in the genre. Titled pretty warp machine, it’s a record that pushes hard on an industrial sound via the 8-bit model.
There’s obvious homage to the pinnacle of old school gaming, with titles like einstürzende luigi’s mansion and march of the goombas, but the album isn’t just a gimmick. For example, the first mentioned title evokes a playful, but sinisterly edged vibe, and that’s exactly what you get. In the latter, the constant thudding plod of the march grates against the warbling, almost theremin wails that DIVMOD creates as textured voices of the chunky little enemies within the Mario franchise. Another Mario inspired title, head like a toad is a great example of what can be achieved through such a small chip. The computing power of a Gameboy isn’t huge, but it’s impressively way more expressive and diverse in what can be accomplished on it than you might realise.
While there’s still plenty of room to push the boundaries of chiptune, there are parts that will lean into boring or mildly irritating territory for some. skinny koopa is just too abstract and unintelligible as a melody to engage you on a musical level. The choice of direction feels experimental yes, but the nature of the staccato arrangement as it bips, beeps and claps just makes for a hard mess for three and a half minutes. It feels like the equivalent of a progressive-avant-garde percussion solo, but without any feel or pauses to illustrate any musicality.
If you’re looking for a more straightforward electronic experience, then kein mehrheit für die mario fits itself nicely into the thumping beats and layered melodies of classical synthesised music (which is an odd statement given how modern we still consider electronic music to be). It sweeps through the highest registers and a bopping central line, and the melody bouncing through is super catchy and evocative.
Likewise, there are undercurrents of the very industrial sound that DIVMOD wanted on this record, with the likes of the mushroom is a terrible thing to taste pulling desperately at wide spaces of nothing, forcing you to lean into the haunting little melody that pops its head up in between the sparse spaces. front 8-2 also clangs and snaps with an industrial edge, an uncanny blip of notes sounding like an unearthly voice.
The latter half of the record has a more consistent feel and overall better body of work, so it’s worth the 12-track runtime to find what you’re looking for in this extremely niche album. While there are parts that feel slightly monotonous, that is undoubtedly the charm and appeal of the genre – the hark back to crawling through the same levels, with the same theme around and around.
It’s nice to see the strange child of electronica and 90s videogame music make a reappearance in the 2020s, and there’s a strong sense of something more to come from DIVMOD in the future. The musical expression and hard-line commitment to creating purely through a Gameboy is no easy measure, and it’s done with energy and style on pretty warp machine. With a forward step away from the obvious jokes and nods to Nintendo, a road that all chiptune artists seem to have to trodden in their beginnings, DIVMOD might make a name for himself with his unique direction within the genre.
Rating: 7/10
pretty warp machine is set for release on May 27th via self-release.
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