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THE 'EMISSIONS' CHIP-MUSIC-DISC COLLECTIONS

[WHAT?]
Started in late 1996 by the German-based Ethos9 collective, who included the notable musicians Assign/TDR and Dalezy, this collection of 4 .ZIP-packs was "aiming to portray the oldskool chiptune-sounds we all love", as the release-text says for #1. Each of the 4 tiny-sized packs showcased a collection of some of the best (mainly PC, but with some former/current Amiga) musicians of the time. They're important because they celebrate the chiptune even in a time when musicians had migrated to PCs, so they had plenty of memory to make tunes with big samples. But people still loved the chiptune sound and size, and these packs were very important in keeping that sound alive, along with mutating them in a more electronica/techno direction at times.

Another reason 'Emissions' is being showcased here is that they got 'lost' from the Net for a long time, since the original web/ftp sites they were uploaded to went down. But in late 2002, around the same time, both Dalezy and this site found them and put them back online. We'll ensure they don't get lost again, cos.. they rock.

[Incidentally, 'chiptune' now means a very small .MOD/.XM, under 30k, which may use tiny looped samples to create pure-toned noises. The original meaning was that it used sounds generated directly by the computer's music chip, such as Future Composer or Jamcracker did on the Amiga - but the spirit and style is still the same.]

[EMISSIONS #1?]
[The first pack, released in late 1996, has 46 tracks from a variety of great chip-musicians, and started the whole thing off really well - there's definitely more diversity in the later packs, but some individual gems in this one too. Highlights include:

- "Dreck!" - The Unconsciousness/RR (yum classic-styled chipstuff from the artist now known as Dalezy - TU_ITR22.MOD.)
- "June, 21st Century" - Mefis/Funk+TPOLM (almost ambient electronic chipness - JUNE21C.XM.)
- "Tr01" - Assign/RR+Ethos9 (neato twisty techno stuff - AGN-TRO1.MOD.)
- "I'm The Passenger" - Mortimer Twang/Blacksista (just one of the alltime great chiptracks - PASS.MOD.)
- "Sad World - No Time" - Vivid/RR+KFMF (very odd minimal/dischordant track, neat - VIV-SAD.MOD.)
- "Tsar Twilight" - Twilight/Desire (bias notwithstanding, a great 'Tetris-Intro'-inspired Russian chipblast - TSAR.MOD.)

Download "Emissions #1" here, or the scene.org mirror (360k .ZIP!)


[EMISSIONS #2?]
[This second pack isfrom early/mid 1997, according to the release-text. Also includes a PC intro executable which may not run on new machines - but the music is the thing, and that's all easily accessible. This time there were a total of 78 tunes from a quickly-expanding roster of musicians. Highlights include:

- "Santzia's Shoes" -Radix/LED (the supremely catchy, swift stylings of Radix rule again - SANTZIAS.MOD.)
- "Polyester Day" -A-Move/Amable (beguiling, pure+shufflebeat remix of Wave - POLYDAY.XM.)
- "Winsum Losum" -Vim!/Mono (again, with apologies for bias, sweet, obtuse, intelligent chip action - WINSUM.XM.)
- "Late 20th Century" -Mefis/Funk+TPOLM (very complex chipstyled electronics - M_LATE.XM.)
- "Chiptrip" -Juice/PHD (classically Amiga-styled pure chipness - CHIPTRIP.MOD.)

Download "Emissions #2" here, or the scene.org mirror (900k .ZIP!)


[EMISSIONS #3?]
[This time highlighting a total of 83 tracks, the 3rd issue of 'Emissions' was originally released in two separate .ZIP archive to facilitate them fitting on a floppy disc, but is combined for the purposes of this page. It came out around September of 1997, seems to be of noticably higher quality than the previous releases, and highlights include:

- "Beautifully Dreaming" -Smash/NOISE (really neat, mellow chip ambience - BEAUTIFU.XM.)
- "6581-My Cop Car" -Jazz/Haujobb (badass C64-ish funkin' up the place - 658.MOD.)
- "Elektrik Dew" -Supernao/Lemon (great, spaced-out melodies from one of the more under-rated - DEW.XM.)
- "Letting Go" -Wave/Maniacs Of Noise (another well-known PC composer doing great stuff - JT_LETGO.XM.)
- "Little Adventure" -Radix/TPOLM (*sigh*, just genius melodies from allegedly Thor but actually Radix - LITTLEAD.XM.)
- "Autonomus" -Skaven/Future Crew (tho FC may get overexposed, a really nice, exclusive Skaven track - AUTONOM.S3M.)

Download "Emissions #3" here, or the scene.org mirror (1.4mb .ZIP!)

[EMISSIONS #4?]
[The final issue, with a grand total of 116 tracks this time out, was released towards the end of 1998, judging by the dates on the files in the archive. It was noted in the release-info that it was 'highly delayed', and unfortunately, this was the last ever 'Emissions' pack, although there may have been some compilation started on the never-released issue #5. For this final (best?) issue, highlights include:

- "Bubu" -KeyG/Screw!Bolt (one of a number of great chips here from the under-rated KeyG - BUBU.XM.)
- "Wondergirl(You+Me)" -Radix/TPOLM (*doublesigh*, more absolute genius Radix chiptune-ness - perfect? - YOU&ME.XM.)
- "Thor's Magic Bathtub" -Distance/TPOLM (one of the best pure electronic chiptunes ever, thanks to Lackluster - BATHTUB.IT.)
- "Material Flows" -Fndr/Smoke (really nice, drifting electronics from another under-appreciated artist - MATERIAL.XM.)
- "Easy Does It" -Hunz/FM (a rare, super-smooth chip track by Five Musicians member Hunz - HZ-EDIT.XM.)
- "System 6581" -Metal/Vibrants (great PC track from a C64 legend, supersharp chippiness - MTL-6581.XM.)

Download "Emissions #4" here, or the scene.org mirror (1.7mb .ZIP!)

These works are licensed under a Creative Commons License with the permission of 'Emissions' co-creator Dalezy.