My Chiptune Café History
My Chiptune Café History
(Update: see note at the very end of this article)
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In this article, not only will I talk about my history on the Chiptune Café Discord server, but I'll talk about the songs in my December 2020 album "Chiptune Café: An SC-55 Tribute." The Chiptune Café is a Discord server that was originally founded in 2016 as The Meme Squad. Originally created as a private hangout between members, it later grew into a hangout for those who have creative works, such as arts and music. This is the point where I can start talking about when I came into this server:
In this article, not only will I talk about my history on the Chiptune Café Discord server, but I'll talk about the songs in my December 2020 album "Chiptune Café: An SC-55 Tribute." The Chiptune Café is a Discord server that was originally founded in 2016 as The Meme Squad. Originally created as a private hangout between members, it later grew into a hangout for those who have creative works, such as arts and music. This is the point where I can start talking about when I came into this server:
2017-2018: The JetStar1997 and Wavetable Guy Days
2017-2018: The JetStar1997 and Wavetable Guy Days
I first came to this server back in around the middle of 2017. My username during this time was JetStar1997. A user (whom I will leave unnamed) had notoriety for going around various videos on YouTube that were visualizations of chiptune songs and demanding that they were made according to how they wanted them to be done, and that was the primary reason I came to the server. The users were mostly talking about the demands that particular user was making, even making some memes about them (The Meme Squad was a namesake for a reason, even if it was a silly name for such a server). Some time later, some internal drama happened, and I was unable to handle it, so I closed my Discord account and left for a few months. Then, after something the unnamed user did that I don't want to get into, I came back. Since I began to associate the name "JetStar1997" with the thing that the unnamed user did (along with several other personal things that happened in 2017), I decided to change my name to "Wavetable Guy." I came back to the server mostly to get some support from the users over at The Meme Squad to help me move on from what the unnamed user did. About a year would go by, with memes, songs, arts being shared in The Meme Squad without problems. Then, there was another wave of internal drama happening. At this point, my way of dealing with drama was to not get involved in it, so I basically muted the server until the drama died down. After that, with the owner of The Meme Squad at the time leaving the server for some time, the remaining users decided to restructure the server to become what it is known as today: The Chiptune Café. When they asked for a new name for the server, I was the one who suggested the name "The Chiptune Café," essentially giving the server a café theme, with the moderators being called baristas. At some point, I became known as "the sanest guy on CC." Basically, there were some memes being shared that were questionable at best, and it seemed like I was the only one who could just brush off these memes and not let them get to my head, hence the aforementioned moniker (although one questionable meme in particular would be one of the reasons that would lead to me leaving the server entirely in 2020). At this point, I will start talking about each song in my album "Chiptune Café: An SC-55 Tribute."
I first came to this server back in around the middle of 2017. My username during this time was JetStar1997. A user (whom I will leave unnamed) had notoriety for going around various videos on YouTube that were visualizations of chiptune songs and demanding that they were made according to how they wanted them to be done, and that was the primary reason I came to the server. The users were mostly talking about the demands that particular user was making, even making some memes about them (The Meme Squad was a namesake for a reason, even if it was a silly name for such a server). Some time later, some internal drama happened, and I was unable to handle it, so I closed my Discord account and left for a few months. Then, after something the unnamed user did that I don't want to get into, I came back. Since I began to associate the name "JetStar1997" with the thing that the unnamed user did (along with several other personal things that happened in 2017), I decided to change my name to "Wavetable Guy." I came back to the server mostly to get some support from the users over at The Meme Squad to help me move on from what the unnamed user did. About a year would go by, with memes, songs, arts being shared in The Meme Squad without problems. Then, there was another wave of internal drama happening. At this point, my way of dealing with drama was to not get involved in it, so I basically muted the server until the drama died down. After that, with the owner of The Meme Squad at the time leaving the server for some time, the remaining users decided to restructure the server to become what it is known as today: The Chiptune Café. When they asked for a new name for the server, I was the one who suggested the name "The Chiptune Café," essentially giving the server a café theme, with the moderators being called baristas. At some point, I became known as "the sanest guy on CC." Basically, there were some memes being shared that were questionable at best, and it seemed like I was the only one who could just brush off these memes and not let them get to my head, hence the aforementioned moniker (although one questionable meme in particular would be one of the reasons that would lead to me leaving the server entirely in 2020). At this point, I will start talking about each song in my album "Chiptune Café: An SC-55 Tribute."
Autumn Jam 2018. My Entry: Genesis Saga WaveMaster
Autumn Jam 2018. My Entry: Genesis Saga WaveMaster
Following its restructure, The Chiptune Café hosted its first chip jam in September 2018. Since this was the first jam held in the server, there was no set theme, so participants got to do whatever they want. I decided to go with a Sega Genesis tune that captures the style of music I primarily had at the time, which mostly focused on an overall chill vibe with some mellow backing chords. This song was tied in 4th place with Genatari's entry Set to 0, which is also a Sega Genesis track. Other than being able to play a crash, hi-hat, and kick drum separately, my remake of the song on the album has no compositional changes.
Following its restructure, The Chiptune Café hosted its first chip jam in September 2018. Since this was the first jam held in the server, there was no set theme, so participants got to do whatever they want. I decided to go with a Sega Genesis tune that captures the style of music I primarily had at the time, which mostly focused on an overall chill vibe with some mellow backing chords. This song was tied in 4th place with Genatari's entry Set to 0, which is also a Sega Genesis track. Other than being able to play a crash, hi-hat, and kick drum separately, my remake of the song on the album has no compositional changes.
Decemberfest Winter Jam. My Entry: Cozy Fireplace
Decemberfest Winter Jam. My Entry: Cozy Fireplace
Decemberfest: Winter Jam, held in December 2018, was likely the most ambitious jam held in The Chiptune Café. This one had a focus on teamwork, and had three categories. As such, it had a large number of entries (a total of 18, and that doesn't include the covers). This song is from the originals entry, and I think it came out in 3rd place. It's a Famicom song with 4 channels of the Namco 163 chip. I felt like making some kind of "elevator music" song, which I felt would go well with the Christmas season. My remake of the song on the album changes the tremolo sines to a harp, and the song fades out rather than ending with a special message.
Decemberfest: Winter Jam, held in December 2018, was likely the most ambitious jam held in The Chiptune Café. This one had a focus on teamwork, and had three categories. As such, it had a large number of entries (a total of 18, and that doesn't include the covers). This song is from the originals entry, and I think it came out in 3rd place. It's a Famicom song with 4 channels of the Namco 163 chip. I felt like making some kind of "elevator music" song, which I felt would go well with the Christmas season. My remake of the song on the album changes the tremolo sines to a harp, and the song fades out rather than ending with a special message.
Tropical Escape. My Entry: Sneaking Away From The Plantation
Tropical Escape. My Entry: Sneaking Away From The Plantation
I didn't participate in the fourth and fifth jams, as I was absent from the server when those took place, but I participated in the sixth one, which was held in June or July 2019. This jam had an interesting theme: You were being held prisoner in a plantation farm located somewhere in the Caribbean, and you needed to create a song that was at or above one minute and thirty seconds to distract the head of the plantation and his guards while you quietly made your way to a boat by the shore to escape the island for good. I didn't consider this one my best out of the previous songs I submitted, as I basically repeated the first part of the song with a marimba trill to make it fit in with the tropical theme, but it was still solid enough to get a 4th place tie with two other entries. At this point in time, I had already adopted my current username of SuperJet Spade. My remake of this song on the album features some additional percussive instruments, the pitching whistle was altered, and I even threw in a seashore sound effect to hammer home the fact that you're on a Caribbean island trying to escape from the plantation.
I didn't participate in the fourth and fifth jams, as I was absent from the server when those took place, but I participated in the sixth one, which was held in June or July 2019. This jam had an interesting theme: You were being held prisoner in a plantation farm located somewhere in the Caribbean, and you needed to create a song that was at or above one minute and thirty seconds to distract the head of the plantation and his guards while you quietly made your way to a boat by the shore to escape the island for good. I didn't consider this one my best out of the previous songs I submitted, as I basically repeated the first part of the song with a marimba trill to make it fit in with the tropical theme, but it was still solid enough to get a 4th place tie with two other entries. At this point in time, I had already adopted my current username of SuperJet Spade. My remake of this song on the album features some additional percussive instruments, the pitching whistle was altered, and I even threw in a seashore sound effect to hammer home the fact that you're on a Caribbean island trying to escape from the plantation.
Autumn Jam 2019. My Entry: Silverdust Raceway
Autumn Jam 2019. My Entry: Silverdust Raceway
September 2019 marked one year since the restructuring of the server and its first ever jam. The following month, a new jam was announced, being called "Autumn Jam 2." Like the first Autumn Jam, this one also had no theme, but it did have three categories instead of two, the third being called throwback (anyone can cover a song that was submitted to any chip jam before this one). As I did a Sega Genesis track for the first Autumn Jam, I decided to make a song for its rival system for my original entry: the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This was the point where I was starting to incorporate a more experimental style to my songs. A commenter on my YouTube channel said this song sounds like something you'd hear in Sonic R (a game that was, admittedly, unfamiliar to me in 2019), and I think I can see why. This song ended up in third place in the originals category. My remake of this song on the album has an ending rather than it looping, and includes some additional instruments that didn't exist in the original.
September 2019 marked one year since the restructuring of the server and its first ever jam. The following month, a new jam was announced, being called "Autumn Jam 2." Like the first Autumn Jam, this one also had no theme, but it did have three categories instead of two, the third being called throwback (anyone can cover a song that was submitted to any chip jam before this one). As I did a Sega Genesis track for the first Autumn Jam, I decided to make a song for its rival system for my original entry: the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This was the point where I was starting to incorporate a more experimental style to my songs. A commenter on my YouTube channel said this song sounds like something you'd hear in Sonic R (a game that was, admittedly, unfamiliar to me in 2019), and I think I can see why. This song ended up in third place in the originals category. My remake of this song on the album has an ending rather than it looping, and includes some additional instruments that didn't exist in the original.
Chip Jam VIII-bit and its Outcome
Chip Jam VIII-bit and its Outcome
In March 2020, the server had its eighth jam. Fittingly, this was called "Chip Jam VIII-bit," alternatively called "8-Bit Jam." As you could probably tell, the theme of this jam centered around composing songs for a video game console or a home computer that runs on an 8-bit CPU. This was the first jam that had actual restrictions, and had five total categories. The categories were Level One, Boss Battle, Shop Theme, End Credits, and Covers. For my entries, I went with the NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. This console is an 8/16-bit hybrid console, featuring an 8-bit CPU and a 16-bit graphics processor. This was the first jam where I made a major mistake. One of the rules said to not submit a song that was made prior to the jam being announced, and what did I decide to do? I repurposed a Famicom song I made in 2017 for my Level One entry, transposing the song up about 5 semitones and making some compositional changes. As you can imagine, it got disqualified during the stream on April 5, 2020. This almost made me go through a repeat of doubting my musical abilities like I did back in 2018, and it also amplified my previous dislike for all of my original songs I made between July 2017 and July 2018. After the stream of this jam's entries, I stopped revisiting my old original songs for 11 months. Originally wanting to take a week off of Discord after the jam, I ended up letting out all of my emotional baggage on the server's dedicated vent channel (which is only accessible via self-role) after only just two days and requested that my submissions to Chip Jam VIII-bit not be included on the album. But, they included the songs in the album anyway, which was probably a good thing since it took away all doubts I had about my musical abilities. However, the outcome of this jam may have had a lasting impression on me that would lead to my decision on leaving the Chiptune Café Discord for good, but I've got a couple of more songs from my album "Chiptune Café: An SC-55 Tribute" to talk about, so let's get to them.
In March 2020, the server had its eighth jam. Fittingly, this was called "Chip Jam VIII-bit," alternatively called "8-Bit Jam." As you could probably tell, the theme of this jam centered around composing songs for a video game console or a home computer that runs on an 8-bit CPU. This was the first jam that had actual restrictions, and had five total categories. The categories were Level One, Boss Battle, Shop Theme, End Credits, and Covers. For my entries, I went with the NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. This console is an 8/16-bit hybrid console, featuring an 8-bit CPU and a 16-bit graphics processor. This was the first jam where I made a major mistake. One of the rules said to not submit a song that was made prior to the jam being announced, and what did I decide to do? I repurposed a Famicom song I made in 2017 for my Level One entry, transposing the song up about 5 semitones and making some compositional changes. As you can imagine, it got disqualified during the stream on April 5, 2020. This almost made me go through a repeat of doubting my musical abilities like I did back in 2018, and it also amplified my previous dislike for all of my original songs I made between July 2017 and July 2018. After the stream of this jam's entries, I stopped revisiting my old original songs for 11 months. Originally wanting to take a week off of Discord after the jam, I ended up letting out all of my emotional baggage on the server's dedicated vent channel (which is only accessible via self-role) after only just two days and requested that my submissions to Chip Jam VIII-bit not be included on the album. But, they included the songs in the album anyway, which was probably a good thing since it took away all doubts I had about my musical abilities. However, the outcome of this jam may have had a lasting impression on me that would lead to my decision on leaving the Chiptune Café Discord for good, but I've got a couple of more songs from my album "Chiptune Café: An SC-55 Tribute" to talk about, so let's get to them.
Spring Break Mini-Jam Originals.
Spring Break Mini-Jam Originals.
My Entry: Don't Doubt Yourself
My Entry: Don't Doubt Yourself
In May 2020, Pegmode hosted a mini chip jam with no set theme. Because of the outcome of Chip Jam VIII-bit, the rules for this jam (called Mini-Jam: Extended Spring Break) were more relaxed. The rule of not submitting a song before the jam was announced was thrown out of the window. Thus, I didn't need to worry about getting disqualified since I had shared WIPs of this song beforehand. I created the song Don't Doubt Yourself as a way of not doubting my musical abilities like I did back in 2018. The style of this song harkens back to my 2018 roots with mellow backing chords, moderate tempo, and an overall chill vibe, though it does deviate from it a bit with the uncommon time signature of six beats per measure. This song also features the use of a speech synth I like to call "Peter." It says the name of the song at some points. This jam had no voting, as it was meant to be more relaxed compared to the chaotic mess that happened during the Chip Jam VIII-bit stream, and for listeners to have a good time while listening to everyone's songs. I enjoyed this chip jam a lot more than the previous one.
In May 2020, Pegmode hosted a mini chip jam with no set theme. Because of the outcome of Chip Jam VIII-bit, the rules for this jam (called Mini-Jam: Extended Spring Break) were more relaxed. The rule of not submitting a song before the jam was announced was thrown out of the window. Thus, I didn't need to worry about getting disqualified since I had shared WIPs of this song beforehand. I created the song Don't Doubt Yourself as a way of not doubting my musical abilities like I did back in 2018. The style of this song harkens back to my 2018 roots with mellow backing chords, moderate tempo, and an overall chill vibe, though it does deviate from it a bit with the uncommon time signature of six beats per measure. This song also features the use of a speech synth I like to call "Peter." It says the name of the song at some points. This jam had no voting, as it was meant to be more relaxed compared to the chaotic mess that happened during the Chip Jam VIII-bit stream, and for listeners to have a good time while listening to everyone's songs. I enjoyed this chip jam a lot more than the previous one.
Spring Break Mini-Jam Visual Novel.
Spring Break Mini-Jam Visual Novel.
My Entry: The Final Homestretch
My Entry: The Final Homestretch
The mini chip jam Pegmode hosted in May 2020 also had an additional category called Visual Novel, and this one had a theme. It revolves around a teenage boy who finds a magical clock that allows him to stop time. He would use this ability to go out and rescue his childhood friend from the anarchy council. For my song to this entry, I thought of a point where the main character has reached the top of the anarchy council's building, and he has to solve puzzles in various rooms before unlocking the door that leads to the final room, in which his friend is being held hostage. I was originally composing this song for a game project that I'm no longer part of, and since it didn't fit the application of where it would be used (a boss fight), I repurposed what was originally done and then completed it for this jam. I remember one of the members of the CC live stream voice team mentioning that the song wouldn't sound out of place in some PC-98 puzzle game, and that system is already known for having such games with questionable content. This is the only song in the album I decided to loop, and it has a hi-hat when the original didn't have one, along with some changes in the sequence of the backing instruments.
The mini chip jam Pegmode hosted in May 2020 also had an additional category called Visual Novel, and this one had a theme. It revolves around a teenage boy who finds a magical clock that allows him to stop time. He would use this ability to go out and rescue his childhood friend from the anarchy council. For my song to this entry, I thought of a point where the main character has reached the top of the anarchy council's building, and he has to solve puzzles in various rooms before unlocking the door that leads to the final room, in which his friend is being held hostage. I was originally composing this song for a game project that I'm no longer part of, and since it didn't fit the application of where it would be used (a boss fight), I repurposed what was originally done and then completed it for this jam. I remember one of the members of the CC live stream voice team mentioning that the song wouldn't sound out of place in some PC-98 puzzle game, and that system is already known for having such games with questionable content. This is the only song in the album I decided to loop, and it has a hi-hat when the original didn't have one, along with some changes in the sequence of the backing instruments.
Out of Time 2. My Entry: No Time To Waste
Out of Time 2. My Entry: No Time To Waste
The next jam was Out of Time 2, held in July 2020. This was the sequel to the first Out of Time jam that was held in November 2018. I didn't participate in that one because I felt like its rules were too restrictive for me at the time (one week, and the songs can't be longer than one minute). These rules were extended in Out of Time 2 (two weeks, and the songs can be longer than one minute), so I participated in it. I decided to try going all out with my experimental style I acquired in 2019 for the originals entry, with a tempo higher than any song I've submitted before, and some cheesy voice samples for a sort of 90s vibe. The song tied 2nd place with Acrouzet's entry Colosso. My remake of the song on the album has some additional instruments that don't exist in the original, and has an ending rather than it looping. The cheesy voices are also absent as those are part of the SC-8820 set instead of the SC-55 set, and on the same MIDI channel as the percussion. I had a lot of fun making this song, and this was the final jam I participated in before I left the Chiptune Café Discord server for good about one month later.
The next jam was Out of Time 2, held in July 2020. This was the sequel to the first Out of Time jam that was held in November 2018. I didn't participate in that one because I felt like its rules were too restrictive for me at the time (one week, and the songs can't be longer than one minute). These rules were extended in Out of Time 2 (two weeks, and the songs can be longer than one minute), so I participated in it. I decided to try going all out with my experimental style I acquired in 2019 for the originals entry, with a tempo higher than any song I've submitted before, and some cheesy voice samples for a sort of 90s vibe. The song tied 2nd place with Acrouzet's entry Colosso. My remake of the song on the album has some additional instruments that don't exist in the original, and has an ending rather than it looping. The cheesy voices are also absent as those are part of the SC-8820 set instead of the SC-55 set, and on the same MIDI channel as the percussion. I had a lot of fun making this song, and this was the final jam I participated in before I left the Chiptune Café Discord server for good about one month later.
End Credits from Chip Jam VIII-bit.
End Credits from Chip Jam VIII-bit.
My Entry: End of the Journey
My Entry: End of the Journey
Going back to Chip Jam VIII-bit, this is probably the only good thing to come out of that chip jam for me. This song tied 1st place with Tobikomi's entry Turning a New Leaf. Seeing this contributed to my doubts being killed off, along with my entries for that jam being included in the album on the Chiptune Café Bandcamp. When I remade this song for my album, being free from the audio limits of the PC Engine meant that I could keep the chords playing while the trumpet plays its part (sawtooth part in the original song), as well as an additional choir pad chord when the guitar comes in. The guitar leitmotif here is a thing that was a heavy influence from RigidatoMS, with his songs like Hard Transition and Emptiness.
Going back to Chip Jam VIII-bit, this is probably the only good thing to come out of that chip jam for me. This song tied 1st place with Tobikomi's entry Turning a New Leaf. Seeing this contributed to my doubts being killed off, along with my entries for that jam being included in the album on the Chiptune Café Bandcamp. When I remade this song for my album, being free from the audio limits of the PC Engine meant that I could keep the chords playing while the trumpet plays its part (sawtooth part in the original song), as well as an additional choir pad chord when the guitar comes in. The guitar leitmotif here is a thing that was a heavy influence from RigidatoMS, with his songs like Hard Transition and Emptiness.
Closing Section
Closing Section
And here's where we come to an end for this long article. I originally emailed this article to the Chiptune Café Gmail before the start of 2021, and I was told through a DM on Discord that it might take a while since the Chiptune Café website was being revamped. I've since decided to post this on my website since it was already June 2021 when I did so. While I have decided to not return there, I will always remember the better days of the Chiptune Café Discord server and how much I enjoyed participating in the chip jams (except for Chip Jam VIII-bit). I hope you enjoyed reading this article!
And here's where we come to an end for this long article. I originally emailed this article to the Chiptune Café Gmail before the start of 2021, and I was told through a DM on Discord that it might take a while since the Chiptune Café website was being revamped. I've since decided to post this on my website since it was already June 2021 when I did so. While I have decided to not return there, I will always remember the better days of the Chiptune Café Discord server and how much I enjoyed participating in the chip jams (except for Chip Jam VIII-bit). I hope you enjoyed reading this article!
Update 2023: I'm back on the Chiptune Cafè server and it has changed a lot for the better. I'll be once again contributing to this community by participating in their future jams, so keep on the lookout for any songs I make for them.
All embeds on this page done with the Iframely Bandcamp Embed Code Generator.
How a GameBoy Color sparked my interest in making chiptune music in the present day.
A section where I show you some songs I have made.
Abandoned album project.
A project where I completely revisit my old original songs made between July 2017 and August 2018
A small page regarding the albums I decommissioned from my Bandcamp+a link to the archive of said albums
My thought history of the Sega Genesis, from when my grandpa once owned a Genesis when I was in 7th grade to today
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