Bit Shifter is one of the most reputable Chiptune artists out there. Chiptune, for those of you who are not aware of it, is music that is generally treated with an 8 Bit setting in terms of output. Think of the old Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) or Game Boy sounds, and you are mostly there. Bit Shifter had made some success in this niche market with his music so far. This is another release of his. How does it sound? Let’s find out.

Commit is the first track here, and begins with some digital arpeggios. This sounds excellent from the go, and although it is minimal, one can appreciate its sonic beauty of it. Soon enough, some thunderous digital beats enter. It’s not the best of Bit Shifter, but it does work well. A powerful but melancholy tune, this sounds tremendously awesome for what it is. The beats stop again for a little bit, and the tune continues with layered sounds and the arpeggio for some time. The monstrous beats kick in again nicely and keep this tune powering along. It’s not the best Bit Shifter tune out there, but it is interesting to hear. A good three-and-a-half-minute effort of music and musicality.

The Diving Bell begins with some nice and original stereo multitracked 8-Bit style sounds that imitate rushing waves. Very unique and different, this is a really decent and artistic effort that sounds incredibly good. This is a great digital art tune and is over before you know it. Great sonic effort. It gets very subdued towards the end.

The Butterfly is a longer piece that is interesting, supercharged and cool to listen to. An intricate, cool and amazing listen, this is one of the better Chiptune pieces that, not only Bit Shifter made, but for the genre and musical world in general. It sounds like 8 Bit of Breakbeat or Dubstep and does impress the listener very well. A really interesting and amazing listen, the midsection is nice and minimal here, and the whole thing sounds really cool. The sparseness here is incredibly valuable, and the whole thing sounds really cool and amazing. A very excellent piece of digital music for those who crave quirkiness, this sounds really awesome for what it is. A great and tuneful listen, this sounds like your favourite energy drink set to video game territory style music. Really awesome to hear, and a cool tune that is memorable. Awesome listen. The outro is sublime.

. comes next and is a shorter piece of music, with some interesting and more EDM style sounds at the start. It launches into a dramatic and interesting listen and sounds super intricate and futuristic. Clever, colourful and interesting music, this is excellent for being in a niche genre itself, it is outstanding. Bit Shifter should win some awards for ingeniousness in music and cleverness as well. It ends with a nice fade out.

Hypervigilance is a longer piece with dramatic beats and cut-up Drum and Bass to it. This music really should be featured in modern retro-styled games, it suits everything here perfectly. A wonderful and interesting listen, this is up to the usual high standard of music on this album. A really cool and interesting listening experience, it is also very catchy and futuristic sounding. A very nicely digital and detailed tune, this does the job very, very well. A superb and joyous listening experience that is based heavily on Breakbeats and 8 Bit sounds that aren’t typically used, this album is a joy to hear. A great listen throughout, this music will last the test of time in the 8 Bit world, it is purely fantastic for what it is. An underrated tune to hear. Nice effort by Bit Shifter. Excellent work, the ending is surprising and fantastic.

Maneuverer is a shorter piece with a deep groove and some fantastic cut-up digital drum beats. This one is extremely catchy and has some great digital rhythms and melodies about it. A really amazing and excellent tune to listen to, this sounds thoroughly decent and incredibly cool. Bit Shifter has made some of the most amazing music present, and the whole listening experience is out of this world. Imagine yourself playing some retro games in a musical sense, and you are halfway there. A really top tune to hear, this sounds excellent. Fine art by Bit Shifter.

The New Normal is where it’s at. This goes into a fairly straightforward Breaks style Chiptune piece. Of course, the new normal is digital technology in a world where the internet is king. Still, Bit Shifter is keeping it real here. This album is much more adventurous than past efforts from the artist, and it sounds lively and dramatic. The breakdowns and energy throughout are amazing, and some beats akin to The Chemical Brothers are present as well. This makes this tune all the more exciting, a very catchy and enjoyable piece. One of the best pieces from this album, the music is very different but cool here. A highlight for Bit Shifter, this is truly awesome. A superb listen, and a must hear from this release. Great stuff.

. . is a shorter piece with some flanger affected electrical buzz at the start, followed by a similarly atmospheric patch to hear. Some fluttering sounds enter, and some down-pitched robotic vocals are in the background. This is very similar, again, to The Chemical Brothers in a way. A great two-minute-long piece that is inspired and fantastic to hear, this is super cool and interesting. Well done in terms of science fiction instrumentation, Bit Shifter makes a suspenseful tune that ends quickly. Good job.

Rough Weather begins with some punchy beats, excellent digital sounds and some great sonic abilities about it. A really interesting, colourful and dramatic listen, this is the longest tune on the album at nearly five minutes long. Still, it is interesting, suspenseful and digital for this music. It launches into a Dubstep style beat soon enough and does the job wonderfully. A really powerful and great listening experience, the music at hand is 8 Bit digital heaven. A great, great piece of music to hear, Bit Shifter’s presence in the music scene is totally underrated. A joyful, ecstatic and powerful listen, this makes the niche genre of Chiptune come well and truly alive. The melody throughout is very catchy, and it sounds like a digital sonic version of Star Wars, or something similar to it. A really cool and interesting listen with brilliant digital melodies, this does sound amazingly detailed and as though no time at all was wasted here. Towards the end, headbanging can occur and this is another essential Bit Shifter listening experience. Nick work here.

Au Revoir Soleil which is French for “Goodbye, Sun” (according to Google Translate) is a short piece of instrumental beauty to finish off this decent album. It does sound mammoth and great and is a really awesome piece of music to conclude this album with. It’s very minimal in terms of sounds and textures and just sounds like an awesome epic finale to boot. Bit Shifter, once again, impresses the listener with the music present. A great piece of instrumental textures, this is pure genius. A really excellent listen, this slows right down at the end, finishing abruptly.

Okay, to be fair, Chiptune is quite a niche genre. Having said that, this does sound really awesome, incredible and well-delivered by Bit Shifter. If you are fairly new to understanding what this music is like, this album is definitely worth a listen. Never boring, awkward sounding or stupid, the music present is mind-blowing and amazing. A great album to listen to when the mood strikes. If you ever feel musically quirky, this is your album to hear. Great digital music. Bit Shifter should be proud of this release, it’s awesome.

Robotic.

9/10