Nullsleep
Encyclopedia
Nullsleep is an American electronic musician and computer artist currently residing in New York City
. In 1999 he co-founded the low-bit art collective 8bitpeoples
, and has served as its lead director since its inception. Throughout the early 21st century he has worked to elevate chiptune
music to a more reputable status, in spite of its perception as sometimes kitschy or retro. He is best known for his romantic, high-energy Game Boy
pop songs.
Johnson graduated from the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
at Columbia University
in 2003, where he studied computer science
and music
. He uses Game Boy
s and NES
consoles to create "conceptually unique music that blends subversive hardware hacking with powerful melodic pop."
, where he attended Islip
High School and lived with his mother and brother until he was 18 years old.
Johnson has, perhaps jokingly, cited the film, Electric Dreams as an influential force in his early musical pursuits. Inspired by a Giorgio Moroder
arrangement of a minuet
featured in the film, Johnson took 3 weeks of cello lessons during one summer of his adolescence. This would be the only formal musical training he would have until entering university. However, Moroder's synthesizer-driven Italo disco
style would have a more lasting effect.
Throughout his high school years, Johnson spent increasing amounts of time working with computers, coding BASIC
programs with his younger brother, following the demoscene
, and exploring the web. It was during this time that he met Mike Hanlon in an Internet chatroom – together the two would go on to found 8bitpeoples
.
in New York City. Around this time the idea for 8bitpeoples
was born out of an IM conversation he had with friend Mike Hanlon. The idea for the group centered around forming a collective of like-minded musicians, who were inspired or influenced by the aesthetics of early videogames and were interested in offering their music for free through digital distribution. Johnson put together their first website and hosted it on the desktop computer in his university dorm room. Early on he established himself as the driving force behind the group, acting as organizing and directing 8bitpeoples, while also actively contributing as an artist.
His early works bear little resemblance to the style and direction that his music would later take. Wooden Polyurethane Papers, his first release, is a silly and playful collection of loosely constructed songs with a penchant for raw waveforms, simplistic synths, and low-quality samples. He followed this with Click Bleep Click, a 3-track EP consisting of much more complex compositions that tend toward bittersweet melodies, processed videogame samples, and field recordings from around Manhattan
. This is an interesting entry within Nullsleep's discography as it shows a very different direction that could have been pursued, but was instead apparently abandoned. With his next two releases on 8bitpeoples, Hello World and The Gameboy Singles 2002, Nullsleep focused once again on playful simplicity. The latter of these two was his first release to be composed entirely on the Nintendo Game Boy
(using the LSDJ tracker) and marks the beginning of his period working exclusively with videogame hardware.
That same year, Nullsleep was also working on his Depeche Mode Megamix, a 14+ minute Game Boy composition paying tribute to the influential synthpop band Depeche Mode
. The megamix (composed of Enjoy the Silence, Photographic, New Life, and Everything Counts) was only performed live once, during a show at Remote Lounge in New York. Sadly, during the performance the Game Boy which Nullsleep was performing on crashed and wiped out the contents of the cartridge, forcing him to play the second half of the mix from a backup recording. This recording was later released on 8bitpeoples along with a condensed minimix version, and has since been downloaded over 100,000+ times. Around this same period of time, Nullsleep began exploring music composition on the Nintendo Entertainment System
using a program called MCK which takes music macro language (MML) as input. He would go on to release a number of NES chiptunes through his personal site, but they would remain mostly unreleased through 8bitpeoples, with the exception of his Axel F and Silent Night arrangements on two different compilations. While Nullsleep continues to compose and perform using the NES (and later the Nintendo Famicom
), the bulk of his creative efforts remain attached to the Game Boy.
, 1999)
Click Bleep Click (8bitpeoples, 2000)
Hello World (8bitpeoples, 2001)
The Gameboy Singles 2002 (8bitpeoples, 2002)
Depeche Mode Megamix (8bitpeoples, 2002)
Electric Heart Strike (8bitpeoples, 2007)
Unconditional Acceleration (8bitpeoples, 2008)
Axel F
(8bitpeoples MP3/CD, 2002)
Retork (Enough Records MP3, 2003)
VGM Mixtape #8 (NoSides Records CD, 2003)
The 8bits of Christmas (holiday album, 8bitpeoples MP3, 2003)
Sonic Rec Room (Codek Records CD, 2004)
Dirty Soundtrack Vol.2 (d-i-r-t-y.com MP3, 2004)
Microdisko Vol.01 (Microdisko CD, 2005)
GB/V.A. (Intikrec CD, 2005)
8BP050 (8bitpeoples 2xCD, 2006)
8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk
(tribute compilation, Astralwerks Records, 2007)
Getsumen To Heiki Mina Vol. 4 (Aniplex
CD)
Getsumen To Heiki Mina Chiptune Collection (Aniplex
CD)
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1999 he co-founded the low-bit art collective 8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples is a DIY record label/arts collective centered in New York City that focuses around the 8-bit aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by vintage videogames. 8bitpeoples was founded in 1999 by Jeremiah "Nullsleep" Johnson and Mike "Tangible" Hanlon...
, and has served as its lead director since its inception. Throughout the early 21st century he has worked to elevate chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
music to a more reputable status, in spite of its perception as sometimes kitschy or retro. He is best known for his romantic, high-energy Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
pop songs.
Johnson graduated from the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science is a school of Columbia University which awards Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Financial Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Science, Doctor of Engineering degrees in engineering, applied physics and applied...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 2003, where he studied computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. He uses Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
s and NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
consoles to create "conceptually unique music that blends subversive hardware hacking with powerful melodic pop."
1980 to 1998: Formative Experiences
Born on a United States Air Force base, March AFB in Riverside, California, Johnson's family relocated to New York upon his Fathers Honorable discharge from the USAF shortly after his birth. Most of his childhood was spent on suburban Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he attended Islip
Islip (town), New York
The Town of Islip is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York . Located on the south shore of Long Island, the town population was 322,612 at the 2000 census. The smaller, unincorporated hamlet of Islip lies within the town.-Demographics:...
High School and lived with his mother and brother until he was 18 years old.
Johnson has, perhaps jokingly, cited the film, Electric Dreams as an influential force in his early musical pursuits. Inspired by a Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
arrangement of a minuet
Minuet
A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
featured in the film, Johnson took 3 weeks of cello lessons during one summer of his adolescence. This would be the only formal musical training he would have until entering university. However, Moroder's synthesizer-driven Italo disco
Italo disco
Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...
style would have a more lasting effect.
Throughout his high school years, Johnson spent increasing amounts of time working with computers, coding BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
programs with his younger brother, following the demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
, and exploring the web. It was during this time that he met Mike Hanlon in an Internet chatroom – together the two would go on to found 8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples is a DIY record label/arts collective centered in New York City that focuses around the 8-bit aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by vintage videogames. 8bitpeoples was founded in 1999 by Jeremiah "Nullsleep" Johnson and Mike "Tangible" Hanlon...
.
1999 to 2004: Early History
In September 1999, Johnson began studying at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City. Around this time the idea for 8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples is a DIY record label/arts collective centered in New York City that focuses around the 8-bit aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by vintage videogames. 8bitpeoples was founded in 1999 by Jeremiah "Nullsleep" Johnson and Mike "Tangible" Hanlon...
was born out of an IM conversation he had with friend Mike Hanlon. The idea for the group centered around forming a collective of like-minded musicians, who were inspired or influenced by the aesthetics of early videogames and were interested in offering their music for free through digital distribution. Johnson put together their first website and hosted it on the desktop computer in his university dorm room. Early on he established himself as the driving force behind the group, acting as organizing and directing 8bitpeoples, while also actively contributing as an artist.
His early works bear little resemblance to the style and direction that his music would later take. Wooden Polyurethane Papers, his first release, is a silly and playful collection of loosely constructed songs with a penchant for raw waveforms, simplistic synths, and low-quality samples. He followed this with Click Bleep Click, a 3-track EP consisting of much more complex compositions that tend toward bittersweet melodies, processed videogame samples, and field recordings from around Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. This is an interesting entry within Nullsleep's discography as it shows a very different direction that could have been pursued, but was instead apparently abandoned. With his next two releases on 8bitpeoples, Hello World and The Gameboy Singles 2002, Nullsleep focused once again on playful simplicity. The latter of these two was his first release to be composed entirely on the Nintendo Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
(using the LSDJ tracker) and marks the beginning of his period working exclusively with videogame hardware.
That same year, Nullsleep was also working on his Depeche Mode Megamix, a 14+ minute Game Boy composition paying tribute to the influential synthpop band Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
. The megamix (composed of Enjoy the Silence, Photographic, New Life, and Everything Counts) was only performed live once, during a show at Remote Lounge in New York. Sadly, during the performance the Game Boy which Nullsleep was performing on crashed and wiped out the contents of the cartridge, forcing him to play the second half of the mix from a backup recording. This recording was later released on 8bitpeoples along with a condensed minimix version, and has since been downloaded over 100,000+ times. Around this same period of time, Nullsleep began exploring music composition on the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
using a program called MCK which takes music macro language (MML) as input. He would go on to release a number of NES chiptunes through his personal site, but they would remain mostly unreleased through 8bitpeoples, with the exception of his Axel F and Silent Night arrangements on two different compilations. While Nullsleep continues to compose and perform using the NES (and later the Nintendo Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
), the bulk of his creative efforts remain attached to the Game Boy.
2005 to Present: Touring and New Works
- Collapsed Desires Tour 2010
- Data Destruction Tour 2005
- International Chiptune Resistance World Tour
- Blip FestivalBlip FestivalThe Blip Festival is a festival that celebrates chiptune music with musical performances, workshops, and screenings of movies. It has been held annually since 2006 in New York City. In recent years, there have been international versions of Blip Festival held in Europe and Asia...
Albums & EPs
Wooden Polyurethane Papers (8bitpeoples8bitpeoples
8bitpeoples is a DIY record label/arts collective centered in New York City that focuses around the 8-bit aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by vintage videogames. 8bitpeoples was founded in 1999 by Jeremiah "Nullsleep" Johnson and Mike "Tangible" Hanlon...
, 1999)
Click Bleep Click (8bitpeoples, 2000)
Hello World (8bitpeoples, 2001)
The Gameboy Singles 2002 (8bitpeoples, 2002)
Depeche Mode Megamix (8bitpeoples, 2002)
Electric Heart Strike (8bitpeoples, 2007)
Unconditional Acceleration (8bitpeoples, 2008)
Compilation Appearances
Colors (promo, 8bitpeoples CD, 1999)Axel F
Axel F
"Axel F" is the electronic instrumental theme from the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop performed by Harold Faltermeyer. The title comes from the main character's name, Axel Foley , in the film. It topped musical charts in 1985 and remains a popular remix track. Mixes of "Axel F" topped European pop...
(8bitpeoples MP3/CD, 2002)
Retork (Enough Records MP3, 2003)
VGM Mixtape #8 (NoSides Records CD, 2003)
The 8bits of Christmas (holiday album, 8bitpeoples MP3, 2003)
Sonic Rec Room (Codek Records CD, 2004)
Dirty Soundtrack Vol.2 (d-i-r-t-y.com MP3, 2004)
Microdisko Vol.01 (Microdisko CD, 2005)
GB/V.A. (Intikrec CD, 2005)
8BP050 (8bitpeoples 2xCD, 2006)
8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk
8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk
8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk was released in 2007 by the group 8-Bit Operators on Kraftwerks US homelabel Astralwerks and EMI Records worldwide. It features cover versions of Kraftwerk songs by several prominent chiptune artists...
(tribute compilation, Astralwerks Records, 2007)
Getsumen To Heiki Mina Vol. 4 (Aniplex
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
CD)
Getsumen To Heiki Mina Chiptune Collection (Aniplex
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
CD)