Chipzel
| Chipzel | |
|---|---|
Chipzel in November 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Niamh Houston |
| Born |
23 September 1991 Strabane, Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Chiptune |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, producer |
| Instruments | Game Boy |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Website | chipzel |
Niamh Houston (born 23 September 1991), better known by her stage name Chipzel, is a musician from Northern Ireland. She is best known for making chiptune music, particularly with a Game Boy. She is also a video game music composer, and is known for the soundtracks of games such as Super Hexagon, Spectra, and Interstellaria.
Niamh Houston was born on 23 September 1991 in Strabane, Northern Ireland. When Houston was a child, her sister played several instruments and her father enjoyed Irish folk music.
Around the year 2006, Houston began to discover chiptune artists such as Sabrepulse, inspiring her to start making her own music with Little Sound DJ on a Game Boy. She continued to explore chip music, and in 2009, she published her first release, an EP titled Judgement Day. She followed this in 2010 with her first album, Disconnected.
In 2011, she performed at Blip Festival, a music event focused on chiptune. For live shows, Houston generally uses two Game Boys with tracker software connected to a DJ mixer.
In February 2012, she published her second album, Phonetic Symphony. Later that month, game developer Terry Cavanagh contacted Houston about using her music. Cavanagh was participating in Pirate Kart V, a game jam, and was making a game called Hexagon. Houston liked Cavanagh's project, and thus allowed him to publish Hexagon with her track "Courtesy."
Several months later, Cavanagh asked Houston to make tracks for his new game Super Hexagon, an extended recreation of the original Hexagon. She again accepted, and the resulting Super Hexagon EP was published in September 2012, featuring "Courtesy" from the original game, the track "Focus" from Phonetic Symphony, and a new track called "Otis".Super Hexagon was very successful, receiving widespread praise for its design and music. The game's success drew lots of attention to Houston's work, and sparked an interest in creating more music for video games.
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