Shopping Guide
, chances are you’ve heard music from NES games like *Super Mario Bros.* and *Dragon Quest*. Its distinctive sound is known as 8-bit...)
Even if you’ve never played the NES (known as Famicom in Japan), chances are you’ve heard music from NES games like Super Mario Bros. and Dragon Quest. Its distinctive sound is known as 8-bit—a sound nostalgic to those of the NES generation and conversely fresh to those who’ve never heard it.
Hige Driver is the leading Japanese artist of chiptune, a style of music created using 8-bit sounds. Hige Driver is active primarily online where he uploads music to Myspace, Muzie, and Niconico Douga, and holds irregular broadcasts on Ustream. His sound incorporates not just his own vocals, but also effects like vocoders. Each of his songs is based on a nostalgic melody from the NES era arranged in his own intense style with a modern pop sound.
Aside from his solo work, he formed the band HigedriVAN which holds live shows, and he also arranges music for other artists. Fans’ high support of HigedriVAN can also be seen from the fact that the band has gained funding through crowdfunding totaling approximately 1.5 million yen for their “Band Formation & CD Project” and 1.3 million yen for their “Remix Song MV Production Project.” The band is also connected to anime and games, having created the ending theme song to the TV anime Arcana Famiglia and contributed songs to albums produced by Square Enix and Konami.
This year marks Hige Driver’s 10th anniversary and to mark the occasion a best-of album titled Hige Driver 10th Anniversary Best will be released on Jan. 20, 2016 for 2,600 yen plus tax. The album will feature 19 songs total from Hige Driver and HigedriVAN. The charms of the band will be condensed on the album.
And as a present to all of you, we at TOM are giving fans a chance to experience Hige Driver’s music before the album releases. A music video compilation of songs from the album has been uploaded to the TOM YouTube channel. The visuals that accompany the music are fun too and feature tons of Famicom style with pixelated characters moving about. We hope you take this chance to experience the music of Hige Driver.
Hige Driver 10th Anniversary Best Special Page (Japanese):
http://higedriver.com/10thbest/
Hige Driver Official Site (English):
http://higedriver.com/index_en.html
Twitter: @higedriver
