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Techno artist Remute is launching an album on a SNES cartridge – Here’s why he’s doing it

Now you can listen to techno on your SNES!

Remute musician on facebook
Image: Remute (Facebook)

One facet of gaming that I am most enamored with is nostalgia. I love old games and games I played as a child will forever be etched upon my memory. So when I learned that electronic music producer, Remute, was releasing his Technoptimistic album on a Sega Genesis cartridge in March 2019, I was interested to see how things would develop.

Just a quick scan through Remute’s social media will tell you he is just as much a gaming nerd as you or I. His collection of Amiga games is envious, to say the least, and his knowledge of the gaming universe is encyclopedic. Since 2019’s Genesis album release, the Hamburg-based artist has been busy conjuring up innovative ways to marry together his passion for gaming with his talent as a musician.

Aside from the release of his Technoptimistic LP, Remute has seen a full album committed to floppy disk and, most recently, has announced that his forthcoming long-player will be seeing the light of day thanks to SNES cartridges. His tenth album, The Cult of Remute is due to drop in March 2020, so we decided to pick his brains (not literally, we aren’t about lobotomizing here) about his use of gaming tech to get his music out there.

Cult of remute

Image: Remute (Facebook)

Hi, Remute. So, you’re just about to release an album via SNES cartridge. You’ve also recently released on floppy disk and Megadrive/Genesis cartridge. So, the question everybody will want to know…Why the old formats?

Just like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, the good old Super Nintendo has a very cool sound chip built-in. Sure, it has its limitations, but that makes it a unique sounding device and a very fun sort of wavetable-synth and sampler. This kind of music is only possible on the SNES and it doesn‘t sound that good when you record it onto vinyl or digital formats – so I had to release it on cartridge in order to keep it authentic and unbiased.

How do you go about sourcing the old tech to re-invigorate and re-purpose? Was it hard to find a load of Genesis/SNES cartridges to write your music onto? Or do you just use new cartridges?

The cartridge may be a format with its roots in the early 80s but actually the cartridges I sell are all brand new! Nothing re-purposed here. New PCBs, new plastic shells, new labels.

What about future releases? Will you be shipping them on an entire Atari Lynx? Perhaps a Neo Geo arcade cabinet?!

Oh, there is still a lot to explore 😉 I am always into the next adventure…

Technoptimistic 2

Image: Remute (Facebook)

The Megadrive cartridge came bundled with some awesome polygonal animation – it reminded me of Another World (thanks to the polygons) combined with WipeOut (I think thanks to the shape of the ship). Who was responsible for the animation artwork?

I did my Technoptimistic Mega Drive album together with two acclaimed coders and graphic artists called Kabuto and Exocet. They have their roots in the so-called ‘demoscene’ and are true wizards of code and polygons. We really managed some uber blast processing for the video and it was an awesome cooperation. For my upcoming SNES album, I am also working with a coder with roots in the demoscene called Molive – he‘ll deliver some magic!

Do you think that releasing your productions on these formats brings in new fans who perhaps may not have heard your music before? Fans of the Genesis or SNES, for example, might stumble across you quite by accident!

Absolutely! I think that a lot of new fans got introduced to my music through the Mega Drive and SNES releases. I had people writing to me like “Hey, I hated techno, but now I love it. Thanks, Remute!“ Uniting game and music fans is really cool and feels just right. I love to blur the edges between a music album and a game!

Remute creator

Image: Remute (Facebook)

 

Were you nervous about how well the units would sell? I can’t imagine LOADS of people having a Genesis laying around!

Of course, I was worried, but no risk no fun! And it turned out to be big fun in the end. And I‘ve noticed that many people bought a console just to be able to listen to the album…

You’re clearly a fan of gaming. Give us your top three retro games.

That‘s a tough one. Indeed I‘m a huge fan of gaming and also a huge collector with thousands of games and it is really hard to pick a top three as they‘re constantly changing. But I’ll try:

1.) Streets of Rage 2
2.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
3.) Doom

These three games always make me smile and give me a warm feeling. Timeless pieces of art.

Technoptimistic3

Image: Remute (Facebook)

And what about modern titles? What are your top three in terms of newer games?

Yep, I also like modern games. Not that much into AAA-games, looking forward to stuff like Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077 and any new Persona games though. But in general, I like the more obscure, modern-retro-themed games like Shakedown Hawaii, Bloodstained or Hypnospace Outlaw.

Thanks, Denis for taking time out to chat with us. Good luck with your future projects!

Thank you and greetings to your readers!


Are you curious to hear what techno sounds like on an SNES cartridge? What format would you like to see music released on? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Super hot for tech-nostalgia. Loves retro-futuristic artwork and music. Tech-wise enjoys gaming, audio and, for some unexplained reason really enjoys cleaning tech.

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