What: “Arcade of the Covenant” by various artists
Netlabel: Natty Droid 8-BIT Reggae & 8-BIT Dub Netlabel
If you are any kind of reggae fan (or an electronic music fan; bonus points if you are both!), you have to visit the Natty Droid netlabel. There you will find label compilation “Arcade of the Covenant.” Natty Droid describes itself as an 8-BIT reggae and dub label. The reggae and dub are self-explanatory, but 8-BIT? Well, that is a form of making music that is sometimes also known as “chiptune.” It involves using the sound chips from vintage computers, game consoles and the like to produce original music.
That has the potential to sound like a gimmick that would wear out its welcome quickly, but the high quality of production and sheer variety of styles here should overcome any trepidation you may have. Some of the music is more serious reggae sound, while some is more playful with the genre and the computer game sounds. Most importantly, it is all excellent.
In fact it’s all so good I hate to leave anyone out, but some of the highlights for me include:
* The spacy dub of “Donkey Bits” by DubNL.
* “Snesimilia” by Unorthodox Conqueror sounds like Ultravox if they did reggae.
* The fantastic ska of Don Péké with “8-BIT Thousand Tons of TNT.”
* Naff Natty’s “Rainbow Islands Version,” a fun cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
* The twisted Western soundtrack of “Little Big Dub” by DVAnt & Dubinit with Dr RemiX.
There is so much more, but I’ll leave it to you to identify the various dialogue samples throughout and to search for the track that plays with the theme song from “The Guns of Navarone.” And there are other smiles to be had as the song titles themselves often play with the source tools and music style (“Dread at the Consoles,” “Digital Herbalist”), as you might have already guessed from the compilation title.
The Natty Droid 8-BIT Reggae Netlabel was started in December 2012 (which probably explains the Christmas-related tunes at the end of the compilation). All the artists on the “Arcade of the Covenant” compilation also have their own page at the site with lots more music. Find your favorites and start clicking.