Photo credit: Joe Sutherland / The Verge
Niamh Houston, also known as Chipzel, was fascinated by the Nintendo Game Boy when she received the console and Super Mario Land for Christmas many years ago. During those days, she plugged in a small speaker to amplify the Game Boy sounds, as she says: “I remember the music the most. It was really raw and beautiful, and unlike anything else that you’d hear.” Today, she’s a big part of the chiptune scene, where you make new songs using old video game hardware, and for her, that means two Game Boy units. Read more to watch one of her performances in Tokyo.
“Early in her career, Houston took a self-imposed exile from her trusty Game Boy. She studied music production in school for two years, learning the core components of music composition and sound design, while discovering new software tools. Before that, her only experience making electronic music was with Nintendo’s classic handheld, and she wanted to prove she could make other kinds of sounds as well,” according to The Verge.
