The Coolest CD Ever, and Less Than Two Bits!

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

Hey, look what arrived in the mail!

Look closely: This isn’t a CD. It’s actual circuitry embedded in a jewel case. Awesome! If you’re a musical artist struggling to grab the notice of busy reviewers, here’s one way to do it—so long as the postal authorities don’t mistake your thing for a bomb.

Now I must admit to having a small issue—literally—with the actual music. There are severe limitations when you’re composing 1-bit ditties. By necessity, it’s pretty cold, spare stuff: nitrous music for robot videos. (What’s nitrous music? It’s what I call stuff like this.)

Sure, 1-bit is kinda neat—even nostalgic for those of us who once ran out and bought the 8-bit Casiotone-VL1. (Here’s a blurry 15-year-old me holding one—wish I still had it.) But despite the brief success of German band Trio, even 8-bit doesn’t encourage repeat listening—and 1-bit can be downright harsh. Just compare Fischerspooner’s original “Just Let Go” with Tristan Perich’s 1-bit rendition. (You might want to lower the volume just a tad.)

I do love the concept, though. Perich has been experimenting with the form for a number of years now. This particular—uh, what to call it?—circuit is billed “1-bit Symphony.” It will be offered in August by Cantaloupe Music, a New York label that puts out what was once called “experimental” and has been rebranded “new music”: acts like Matmos, which plays on found objects including—wow—cow uteruses. (Where does one even find a cow uterus?)

Alas, the only noise the above circuit made when I plugged in my headphones, threw the switch, turned up the volume, and pushed the black button was a faraway skittering sound—perhaps the battery was bad, because I don’t think even new musicians would release a faraway skittering sound and call it art. (Well, on the other hand…) In any case, you’ll find some fun stuff on Perich’s main website and also here, including 1-bit ensemble tracks like “Between the Silences” (9-piece strings), “Telescope” (clarinets and saxes), and “Interface” (string quartet).

Like most electronic music, it’s rather repetitive, but if you’re a fan of the genre then you’re probably cool with that. Just avoid “A/B/C/D,” a solo piccolo 1-bitter that for the entire first minute sounds uncannily like my home fire alarm. “Lit,” with its three soprano voices and piano, is actually quite pleasant. The only problem: “Lit” isn’t a 1-bit creation. But maybe that isn’t a problem. After all, there’s a reason that we moved out of our caves, invented the wheel, and developed sophisticated electronic instruments—leaving 1-bit tones for the greeting-card industry to exploit: It made us feel better.

When I crave nostalgia, I turn to my vinyl edition of Computerwelt.

Click here for more Music Monday features from Mother Jones.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate