Influenced largely by “jazz and ’80s video games”, Graphics on Televisions provide a mixture of nostalgia and funky suaveness throughout their new album Pun. The duo is presently based in Tokyo, an apt location considering their gaming reverence. But they have also played together since the early ’90s in Seattle, in a group called Shy Guys vs Nurses. The two members, Ryan Morris and Micah Gettys, called that group quits after moving to Japan in 2001, but a decade later they’re back at it with a stylish new project: Graphics on Televisions.
Typically, ’80s gaming music often incorporated sweeping MIDI orchestrals (Final Fantasy) or punchy synth-pop (Super Mario), both of which have inspired the chiptune revivalism in music today, the influence stretching everywhere from 8-bit Kraftwerk albums to best-selling Ke$ha singles. The chiptune influence in that Ke$ha track is the only thing I can tolerate about it, actually. Graphics on Televisions provide a fresher incorporate of chiptune, incorporating it with electronica, funk, and jazz throughout excellent track “Drawing Game”, my favorite off Pun. At less than two minutes it’s a concise effort, but one that simultaneously shows the duo’s grasp for chiptune, jazz, and synth-pop. Stream the rest of Pun below:
Influenced largely by “jazz and ’80s video games” AND their album is called “Pun”? did they just look up all of the ingredients needed to make me a fan before even listening to their album? I think so.
Thank you so much, Janna! 😀 We hope you don’t regret your pre-listen fandom!