To listen to 4mat‘s “Bingo Speedmath” is to hear the recent past through the distant past (MP3). Specifically, it is to hear the IDM (that is, the late-1990s mix of elastic beats and shoegazer melodies) filtered through 8bit (that is, the early-1980s computerized sound of a video arcade). The transition works well. The beats, in particular, serve to elevate the shopworn Asteroids/Galaga percussion to something more sinuous, jerky, and random — the ecstatic changes give a little life to what is, inherently, arguably self-consciously, mechanical. And the melodies, while bereft of much tonal nuance, are much more subtle than the average gamer cue. The track is very fun, though its worth as a cultural mash-up may not be fully appreciated by people who don’t already have affection for both zones that 4mat has chosen to plumb for material. The whole thing is sort of like playing a round of some early Mario game, only to discover that the next level’s boss is a pixelated Aphex Twin.
Apparently “Bingo Speedmath,” which 4mat uploaded on November 7, is the seventh of thirty tracks he intends to upload over the course of the month on a daily basis. 4mat is Matt Simonds: 8bitcollective.com, twitter.com/4mat_scenemusic, myspace.com/4matchipmusic, and ihearthesoundofwaves.blogspot.com. (Found via twitter.com/nobuooo.)