Perhaps taking Synesthesia a step too far, primitive video game music is deeply connected to its 8-bit visual counterpart—a fuzzy realm where synths can be described as pixels. Like screen resolutions of 256×240 pixels with 16 on-screen colors, the sonic vocabulary of primitive video games is instantly recognizable and share a similar sense of technical limitation. That said, it’s hard to not have a reaction to Mario’s theme and the musical vocabulary used to play it. While Gabba/Pod has posted video game music, like Rob Hubbard’s Commando theme, I decided to focus on some of my favorite songs from 2004 that incorporate this pixel-synth sound. Whether or not these songs used any part of Nintendo or Sega’s PSG (Programmable Sound Generator) system, the sounds themselves create associative memories of Zelda trotting in a gloriously blocky shuffle across the screen to the sound of the clunky synths.

Ratatat– Cherry, [Ratatat]

While it’s easy to get caught up evaluating electronic music in terms of sonic innovation, the limited palette of “Cherry” could be the best reason why the song stops short of pastoral excesses. Using muted guitars and trying to fry a cheap Casio, the song builds on a warm one-finger rocking boat synth into the contradiction of the pared-down grandiose.

[visit Ratatat’s website here, buy Ratatat here, read Kareem Estefan’s Stylus review here]

Smash TV– Luv 4 Luv, [Bits for Breakfast]

Taking away any sense of reverberation or space, Smash TV’s “Luv 4 Luv” sees music as flat as possible. Like an anti-ambient, each sonic element on “Luv 4 Luv” screams for attention, but the arpeggio synths are the song’s key, finally releasing the tension of the first minute and a half. While Smash TV might be a dead give-away for this group of songs, both their label (BPitch Control) and Areal are great starting points for the maximalist pixel-synth sound.

[visit Smash TV’s website here, buy Smash TV stuff here, read Nate’s Stylus review here]

Dennis DJ– Jonathon II, [Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats]

While the synths of “Jonathon II” could evoke a cellphone melody as much as any video game sound effect, the beeps of melody fit snuggly into the booty-bass and sounds catchy in the way that makes you say “wha…?” Because the melody is made up of incidental beeps that under most circumstances would sound annoying as hell, it’s hard to pinpoint why they work so well. Maybe it’s the sound of a drunk dial from another musical planet?

[visit the Essay Recordings website here, buy Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats here, read Todd Burns’s Stylus review here]