Who are the best Chiptune artists today?
That's a difficult one considering the sheer number of talented chiptune producers and composers we have. However, if you need an artist guide on whom to listen to when looking for chiptune music, then this article is for you.
In this article, I will show the list of 25 top artists and producers who make chip music and chiptune-based music.
Here are the top 25 chiptune artists
Dubmood
Dubmood is considered by some chiptune lovers as one of the style originators in the community.
Dumbood's music is energetic, futuristic, and so unique among other chip music styles.
Some of Dumbood's albums are; Bloodbags and Downtube Shifters (2020), Breaker (2019), Overshoot Days (2018), The Sun and Moon (2016), Force De Frappe (2015), and a few others.
Ozzed
Even though Ozzed only started putting his music on the internet in 2008, he started making 8-bit and chiptune music in 2001. His music style is mostly inspired by older games from Game Boy and NES.
Ozzed released his most recent album in 2020, titled Crystal Caves HD, with 11 songs. Some of his earlier albums are Friendship Adventure (2018), Dunes at Night (2017), 8-Bit Run 'n Pun (2015), and Nackskott (2014).
Zabutom
Zabutom describes himself as an eclectic electronic music maker. Listening to his music, I realized that it's a fitting description.
Some of his albums are; Resolution (2021), Redux34 (2015), Lost Tapes 1 (2014), New Beginnings (2013), and Zeta Force (2011).
Zabutom is one of the top Chiptune artists on Spotify with over 18,000 monthly listeners.
Magnus Palsson
Magnus Palsson or Souleye is a chiptune artist who has created soundtracks for many indie games like VVVVVV and Garden Gnome Carnage.
He released his most recent album in 2017, titled S with 10 songs. Other albums are Ppppppowerup! (2012), Adventure (2012), and Pppppp(2010).
Bossfight
Erik Sjostrand is an electronic music artist and producer whose professional name is Bossfight.
His music explored the different subgenres in electronic music like dubstep, glitch hop, and moombahcore, as well as chiptune music.
Bossfight has two albums and two EPs. The EPs are NExt Wave (2019) and Heks (2017). The albums are Caps On, Hats Off (2012), and Nice Catch Biggy! (2011).
Dunderpatrullen
Dunderpartrullen is an electronic music group from Sweden. Their music is rooted in the chiptune sub-genre, but they also add elements of synthwave and EDM.
Keygeneration (2015), Analoga Stereoider(2010), and Fan vad han skrek nar vi at pizza har sist! (2009) are some of their released albums.
With over 100,000 monthly listeners, they're one of the top chiptune artists on Spotify.
FantomenK
FantomenK became well-known in the community for creating the main theme music for the Easy Allies Podcast.
He also composed the intro music for the animated series Box Peek, and the theme song for the game show Mysterious Monsters. His 2011 album is titled FantomenK with 14 songs.
Oliver Sabin
Oliver Sabin, who was professionally known as Unicorn Kid, is a Scottish electronics music and chip music composer. In September 2014, has decided to stop using the name Unicorn Kid, but has not yet adopted a new alias.
However, his music still pops, which is why he still has over 14,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. His 2014 album, Brain Wash is proof of his immense talent. Hope he comes back soon.
Waterflame
Waterflame is a Norwegian composer and game sound designer. Some of his work includes sound design and composition on games like Castle Crashers, Castle Storm, and Geometry Dash.
He also has decent fame on Spotify with over 200,000 monthly listeners.
Some of his best chiptunes are in his albums and EPs like Vast (2021), Surge (2017), Infinite Minigolf (2017), and others. Some of these projects are named after the games where the soundtracks are used.
Watch Out For Snakes
Matt Baum, professionally known as Watch Out For Snakes is a musician and audio producer.
[He's one of the artists who got famous by combining chiptune and synthwave to make a new subgenre called chipwave.]
Watch Out For Snakes is popular among his fans for his live performances with his keytar. His albums and EPs are Reaper (2021). Scars (2019) and Upgrade (2018). He also has a host of singles.
Kubbi
Kubbi, whose real name is Vegard Kummen, is a Norway-based producer of chiptune, electronic and progressive music.
He started making music in 2009 and has since released albums and singles.
Some of his albums are; Taiga (2018), Sky Rogue (2017), Ember (2015), 2012 Singles (2013), Circuithead (2012), and Sleet (2012).
If you're listening through Kubbi's discography, then you're in for a long, thrilling ride. Most of his albums have at least 15 songs.
Ben Briggs
Ben Briggs is a DJ and musician who is popular among his fans for remixing soundtracks from video games. While he explores different subgenres in electronic music, some of his remixes include elements of chiptune.
His most recent album is The Completionist: Volume1, a 15-track album released in 2021. Others are Still Turning (2017), Mystery Gift (2017), No Restraint (2016), Fearless Living (2014), Star Clash Original Soundtrack (2014), and Animal Crossing: K.K. & Friends (2013).
Disasterpeace
Richard Vreeland, professionally known as Disasterpeace, is a film score composer and chiptune music maker.
He makes music in other subgenres as well, like ambient, experimental rock, and other electronic music styles.
His discography includes the 2019 album – Triple Frontier with 15 tracks. He also has other albums like Under the Silver Lake (2018), Disasters for Piano (2017), and Hyper Light Drifter (2016). Disasterpeace has released projects almost every year from 2005 to 2019, sometimes having up to 3 albums in some years.
Zalza
Zalza is an electronic music producer and chip music maker. He has contributed his compositions to several productions as well as released his own projects.
Zalza vs. the World Volumes 1, 2, and 3 are some of his released EPs. His albums include; Out Of Memory (2016), Superposition (2015), and Back to the Chipland (2010).
Johan Agebjorn
Johan Agebjorn is a Swedish songwriter, producer, and composer. His work spans many different styles and genres ranging from ambient to classical piano music. He also makes electronic music, and of course, chip music.
Some of his albums include; Artefact (2021), We Never Came to the White Sea (2017), Notes (2015), Last Day of Summer (2011), Casablanca Nights (2011), and many others. These projects are a mix of ambient music and electronic music subgenres, including chiptune.
Anamanaguchi
Anamanaguch's music can be described as pop and rock music, but with a chiptune base.
So, if you're a fan of these three genres, you should definitely check them out. Based in New York City, they are one of the most famous chiptune artists with over 700,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Although they released some singles in 2021, their latest album came out in 2019. It-s titled [USA], containing 14 songs. Other earlier projects include Capsule Silence XXIV (2017), Endless Fantasy (2013), Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game… (2010), and others.
Chris Huelsbeck
Chris Huelsbeck is a game soundtrack composer who has been a master of the trade for decades. His musical style is quite diverse, as some of his work includes piano recordings as well as electronic music.
He was releasing albums as far back as 1992. Most of his projects are original soundtracks created for games. Some of his albums are: Turrican – Rise of The Machine (2018), Turrican II – The Orchestral Album (2016), and Turrican (1993).
Chipzel
If you want a pure, nothing-but-chiptune artist, then Chipzel is who you're looking for. She came into prominence by making music using a Game Boy. She has composed soundtracks for video games like Super Hexagon, Dicey Dungeons, and Spectra.
Her released music projects include Eps and albums. Some Eps like Super Hexagon and Octahedron are soundtracks originally made for those games.
Other projects by Chipzel include; Chipped of the Necrodancer, Interstellaria, Spectra, Phonetic Symphony, and others.
Arcade High
Arcade High is an electronic music duo of Ryan Boosel and Patrick Farone. Their music style is heavily inspired by vintage video games soundtracks. So, their music may not be purely chiptune, but it's definitely chip music-inspired.
In addition to a few singles in 2020 and 2021, they have a host of albums to their name. Some of them are; Pixel Passion, Kingdom, New Impressions, and Kingdom II.
Trey Frey
Trey Frey started by creating music using Game Boy. After a while he got even more creative by using two Gameboys on the same music.
Today, he uses full music production setups and instruments, but his music is still electronic and chiptune-based.
Here are some of the music we have enjoyed from Trey Frey over the years. Tres Frais (2015), Refresh (2014), Uncrossed (Trey Frey Remix), and After All (2020).
Slime Girls
Slime Girls is a group under the Alice Project, a Japanese agency that has underground artists who perform in the theater. The system is run such that there are no permanent members of the group, as members join and leave.
Some of their albums are; As If You're Never Hurt, No Summer No Cry, and Vacation Wasteland.
Danny Baranowsky
Danny Baranowsky is an American composer and producer. Most of his works include making music for indie games and movies.
Some of his most famous soundtracks are the music for games like Crypt of the Necrodancer, Super Meat Boy, and Canabalt.
Also known as Danny B or dB Soundworks, he has released EPs and Albums, including Solace, Industries of Titan, Danny B Sides, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Desktop Dungeons and a host of others.
Treat yourself to a catalog of original chiptune game soundtracks by listening to Danny B's music.
Prof. Sakamoto
Professor Sakamoto is a talented musician whose instrument of choice is a Famicom console. His performances are captivating to watch because he reproduces any new tune he hears with the console after listening just once.
He gained fame in 201 when his single topped the electronic music charts. Some of his released albums are; Insert – Volumes 1 to 3, and Sakamoto 35.
Shirobon
Shirobon is a London-based composer and music producer.
Over the course of his career, he has made chiptune music and electronic music of different forms.
He created chiptune music using a Game Boy, releasing two albums in 2006. Over time, Shirobon has added other elements to his music but has retained the chiptune foundations.
Some of his albums include; Warp (2020), Special Selection (2019), Infinity (2015), and others.
Recently, he combined sounds from Game Boy, Commodore 64, and synths to make music.
Nitro Fun
Gustavo Rangel, professionally known as Nitro Fun is a composer and electronic music producer. He does chiptune-based remixes and compositions. He is yet to release his first album, but he has several singles and EPs.
Some of them are; System Failure, KillSwitch, Warpzone, Hyper Koala, Hidden Level, Addicted, So Far Away. Keep You Close (Nitro Fun Remix) and others.
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Wrap up
There are lots and lots of other chiptune artists, producers, composers, and remixers, and you may even like some of them better than the ones listed.
However, if you're just getting into chiptune music, electronic music, 8-bit music, and other similar subgenres, these artists' albums and songs are good places to start. Have fun listening!