The Blip Festival was a festival that celebrated chiptune music with musical performances, workshops, and screenings of movies. It was held annually starting in 2006 in New York City. In recent years, there have been international versions of Blip Festival held in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The festival is curated and organized by 8bitpeoples, one of the foremost labels in the chiptune scene, as well as local arts organization The Tank. The New York festival (referred to simply as Blip Festival) has switched venues several times, beginning in 2006 at 15 Nassau Street in Manhattan, then moving to Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in 2007, and then being held in Brooklyn at The Bell House in 2008 and 2009. It went back to Eyebeam in 2011 and then the Gramercy Theatre in 2012.
The festival was the subject of a 2008 documentary film, Reformat the Planet, made by 2 Player Productions. The documentary was an official selection of the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival, and was shown on Pitchfork.tv.
After seven Years and 11 Festivals across four continents it was announced that the October 2012 Blip Festival in Tokyo would be the last installment.
Blip Festival Europe The Blip Festival Europe was held once only in Aalborg, Denmark on July 24 to 25, 2009. The festival included Bit Shifter, Nullsleep, minusbaby, Hally, Binärpilot, Goto80, Bodenständig 2000, Bu Bu Kitty Fuckers and more.
Blip Festival Tokyo The Blip Festival Tokyo occurred for three consecutive years and was held for the first time on September 4–5, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan at Koenji High. Artists that played included Goto80, Bit Shifter, Nullsleep, YMCK, Saitone, Hally, Quarta330, Stu, Hip Tanaka, and more. It was consecutively held at Koenji High on October 22–23, 2011 and October 20–21, 2012.
Blip Festival Australia The Blip Festival Australia was held for the first and only time on February 17–18, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia at Evelyn Hotel. Artists that played included Patric Catani, Bit Shifter, Nullsleep, Dot.AY, Abortifacient, Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families, _ensnare_, 7bit Hero and more.
Past lineups
2012 lineup Batsly Adams Bit Shifter Burnkit2600 CHiKA Chipocrite Chromacle :| kREW Danimal Cannon Deadbeatblast (music & visuals) Dr. Von Pnok Enso Exilefaker Flashheart George & Jonathan Graffiti Monsters Infinity Shred Kris Keyser Jean Y. Kim Kodek Mikrosopht & the p.irateship Minusbaby Misfitchris Monodeer No Carrier Nullsleep Omodaka Pulselooper Radlib Shitbird Wizwars Zen Albatross
2011 lineup Anamanaguchi BEASTMODE Bit Shifter Bubblyfish Chipzel cTrix Deadbeatblast (visuals only) enso exileFaker 4mat Henry Homesweet Knife City Raquel Meyers minusbaby M7Kenji (visuals) NNNNNNNNNN No Carrier Noisewaves Nullsleep Party Time! Hexcellent! (visuals) Tristan Perich Ralp Stagediver Starscream Peter Swimm Talk To Animals Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families Ultrasyd vade visualicious Wet Mango Zen Albatross
2009 lineup Albino Ghost Monkey Bit Shifter Bubblyfish Patric Catani Chromix The C-Men (visuals) Disasterpeace Eat Rabbit enso (visuals) failotron Fighter X Glomag The Hunters (music and visuals) I, Cactus The J. Arthur Keenes Band Je Deviens DJ en Trois Jours Jean Y. Kim Leeni little-scale Rosa Menkman (visuals) minusbaby No Carrier (visuals) Nullsleep Outpt (visuals) Paris (visuals) Psilodump Rainbowdragoneyes Silent Requiem Starscream David Sugar tRasH cAn maN Vblank (visuals)
2008 lineup Anamanaguchi Animal Style Bit Shifter Bubblyfish Cheap Dinosaurs Cow'p Dubmood Entter (visuals) Glomag Graffiti Monsters IAYD Ikuma Jellica Lissajou Low-Gain m-.-n Meneo minusbaby Mr. Spastic No Carrier (visuals) nordloef noteNdo (visuals) Nullsleep Paris Treantafeles (visuals) Role Model Sidabitball Starscream Stu Sulumi Syphus The C-Men (visuals) Tonylight Trash80 Unicorn Dream Attack USK Vblank (visuals) zabutom
2007 lineup 6955 8GB Alex Mauer Anamanaguchi Bit Shifter Bodenständig 2000 Bokusatsu Shoujo Koubou Crazy Q Firebrand Boy Gijs Gieskes gwEm Lo-bat. Mark DeNardo Markus Schrodt minusbaby nrgiga No Carrier (visuals) noteNdo- (visuals) Nullsleep Oliver Wittchow Otro (visuals) Paza Rahm Postal_M@rket Rugar Sabrepulse Saskrotch Tree Wave virt Yes, Robot
2006 lineup Anamanaguchi Goto80 Receptors Starpause Touchboy Tugboat virt x|k Bit Shifter Coova Mark DeNardo Pepino Quarta330 Rabato Random Herbert Weixelbaum Cory Arcangel Aonami Covox Crazy Q The Depreciation Guild Hally Kplecraft Bud Melvin Nullsleep Bubblyfish Glomag Tristan Perich Portalenz Saitone Jeroen Tel Neil Voss YMCK C-Men (visuals) C-TRL Labs (visuals) noteNdo (visuals) Voltage Controlled (visuals) Dan Winckler (visuals)
See also List of electronic music festivals Live electronic music
References
External links
New York Times article about the festival ABC News article about the festival