Recently I wrote a chiptune hair metal track (yes, that’s a real thing) for a new Youtube series called NextEstroGEN… and that series has now launched!

NextEstroGEN logo
NextEstroGEN – Check them out on Youtube

It’s a let’s play series BY GIRLS! Real girls playing games, you guys. Join Rosemary and Leisha in episode one of NextEstroGEN as they take on Nintendoland. You can check it out by clicking HEREYou can look forward to seeing a lot more content from them in the future, my understanding is that they play a lot of games. Just a heads up!

And check out the cool intro! It’s a collaboration between myself (music) and Adam Hines from Guys With Pencils. While you’re at it you can check out their podcast, which recently released their 100th episode. It’s a huge milestone and they just keep on getting better. We’ve collaborated before and I’m looking forward to doing some more with them in the near future.

Writing Process for the NextEstroGEN Chiptune/Hairmetal

Just a bit more about the actual track – I sequenced it in MIDI, and the original version is actually more than twice as long as what exists in the intro now. With MIDI it’s really easy to speed up, slow down, move around sections and tweak it to line up with whatever I’m working on. I used Plogue’s Chipsounds in Logic to get that really classic NES sound, as well as sounds from an old Casio keyboard. I rocked out and tried to come up with as much of a face-melter as I could manage. I think it didn’t turn out too bad in the end! Sometimes it’s hard to think as a guitarist while playing a piano keyboard, but the advantage of being able to play at half-speed was a huge help.