BY ANGELO VALDIVIA
Jam ‘Jamatar’ Nawaz is an electronic dance music (EDM) composer who specialises in performing with…
…the Game Boy.
He’s made a name for himself performing across Melbourne and abroad – but his success has come relatively recently, starting out in chiptune in 2013.
In that time, Jam has also become a key member of The Melbourne Chiptune Academy, a community of composers specialising in music made with retro game sounds. He also maintains a vibrant synthwave aesthetic complete with ‘80s neon.
We got to speak with Jam about his career and creative process.
When and how did chiptune music become significant for you?
I was first introduced to chiptune via searching for artists on early YouTube when it was a bit harder to come across artists organically. It brought up people like 4mat, CTrix, Shirobon and Anamanaguchi, stuff I had just never heard before. I was blown away by how accomplished all their music sounded. This stuff sounded so fresh and new!
I remember sitting in the office one day, and someone suggested I listen to this new Porter Robinson album that just came out, Worlds. It blew my mind! I was like: I need to learn how to do stuff like this. This is what I want to be doing from now on.
What’s your musical background outside of chiptune? And does chiptune complement it, or vice-versa?
I’ve been an indie musician in Melbourne, playing shows since 2003. I’m a guitarist and a singer, playing indie rock to folk. I kinda got a bit burnt out by it all, and when my previous band finished, I started playing around with electronic music. It was such a new thing, it was really starting again from scratch. I wanted to try and make my own version of this amazing stuff I’d be hearing.
I couldn’t be writing the stuff I am now without that history of music writing and production experience. I like to think that everything from Radiohead to Jeff Buckley, and Damien Rice creeps into the Game Boy somehow!
Game Boy tends to be your instrument of choice when creating music, but has there ever been another console of interest for sounds?
I remember writing a track and playing it to people at work; they thought it was kinda cool. Then while researching some stuff online, I came across some schematics to build a device that would convert MIDI to Game Boy. I went back to the track and ran half of it through the Game Boy. I couldn’t believe how good it sounded. I knew it was my sound straight away.
I do have future plans of expanding into Sega Mega Drive, which is more FM based. I’m a big fan of FM synthesis and I grew up with a Mega Drive, so I think it would be a great place to experiment.
I, too, am a huge fan of the Mega Drive’s YM2612 FM synth sounds. It was responsible for creating audio that hugely differentiated Sega’s console from the Super Nintendo. So, back to chiptune: as a genre, how far have you seen it come, and what makes it such an exciting space to keep creating in?
I came into the game pretty late, about 2013. I was lucky to enter into such a beautiful and loving scene where people are so willing to be inclusive. I love introducing new people to the concept too, they’re always so intrigued and excited. There are always questions! When I tell people about my music or live act now, I say: ‘Yeah, I play live EDM using a Game Boy on stage’, and there’s always a little moment when they will go: ‘Um, you need to expand on that’.
I run a group called the Melbourne Chiptune Academy, which is a collection of Australian musicians. We meet up once a month to introduce new people into the scene and just generally network.
One thing you’ll find is that every person you talk to in the scene is so incredibly enthusiastic to tell you about their projects and show you how to get started. I’ve never been in another community like it!
The history of chiptune music stems from these strict hardware limitations put on composers due to the console they work with at the time. How is it that people are still finding creative ways to make music on these machines?
I think that limitations are an important part of any art you make, whether it’s digital, analogue, visual, or otherwise. We are surrounded by everything, all the time and without limits; we get overwhelmed in the noise of it all.
The chiptune I make is hybrid: I mix Game Boy in with more traditional production, but I still find putting limits on myself to be the best way to work. It lets you say ‘enough is enough’ when working on a song or project, but it also pushes you to get the most from what you have. It’s a great philosophy to have.
Where do you start when writing new music?
I’ll usually jam ideas out on a guitar or keyboard. I’m not great with writing things in my head, which is why I’m not great at Little Sound DJ, which is writing music completely on the Game Boy using tracking software. I have to jam it out and let the ideas evolve from there. My favourite is sitting on something like an epiano or DX7 and laying down some chords over a simple beat and working it up from there. The melody usually always comes last for me!
Do you have a particular stage or concert hall that you’ve always wanted to play at?
One of my dream venues now is [Melbourne live music venue] 170 Russell St, the main reason being it has an enormous screen and LCD screens around the whole venue.
When I first started writing music for Jamatar, I was watching lots of live Porter Robinson shows and I loved the insane audio/visual experience of having a full visual show to go with the music. I play shows using a cheap short throw projector I bought off eBay, and a lighting rig that I built from scratch, and it adds so much to the experience. I’ve done a few shows with LCD screens and it’s been really fun!
How far do you see chiptune as a genre going?
I think the sound of chip has been creeping into mainstream music for a long time now. The rise of futurebass and modern EDM has a lot of roots in 8-bit music. People don’t know they like the sound of chiptune until they hear it! I’m making it my life’s work to make sure lots and lots of people know how awesome chiptune is!
Jam Nawaz was selected to co-presenting the panel ‘The Evolution of Chiptune’ at at APRA AMCOS High Score: Composition for Sound Art and Gaming, The Arcade, on 5 October, 2019. He will be alongside Niamh Houston (AKA Chipzel) and Kenny McAlpine.
READ NEXT: Mega Man‘s Manami Matsumae talks us through her creative process.
Image supplied. High Score illustration by Jennifer Reuter. Matsumae captured by Miguel Hasson.
