New Genesis album: Remute’s techno long-player can only be played on a Sega Mega Drive
Technoptimistic comes on a cartridge for the 16-bit classic
With vinyl now fully revived, fowarding-thinking retro-fetishists will be looking for a new way to release their music in a physical format, and it turns out that maybe that way could be ‘old-school video game cartridge’. That’s the view of Remute, anyway, who’s just released his new album, Technoptimistic, for the Sega Mega Drive.
Before you all cry ‘hipster whimsy’, bear in mind that this album is completely coded rather than recorded, with its sounds generated in real-time via the Mega Drive’s legendary FM soundchip when you play it. As such, it represents a significant amount of work.
There are 16 songs plus a music video on the cart, which can be ordered via Bandcamp. It’s supplied region free and should work on all iterations of the original Mega Drive and Genesis, and also on the Analogue Mega SG, a new high-quality emulation. Most other emulation hardware isn’t compatible, though, and you won’t be able to run on it Sega’s forthcoming Genesis/Mega Drive Mini, either, as this plays only its built-in games.
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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