Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families
Encyclopedia
Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families (also known as 10k or 10kfreemen) is a musical project of Sydney
based Game Boy Music
composer and performer Thomas Gilmore, who began writing music with the Nintendo
Game Boy
in 2007. Shortly after in 2008, Gilmore and Dot.AY from Brisbane
started a blog
documenting and promoting Australian chipmusic called GameBoyAustralia. In early 2011, Gilmore and Eugene Davoren-Britton launched a vinyl-only chipmusic label called Sounds Legit. The name for Gilmore's project was inspired by the A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible
webcomic
of a similar title. Gilmore currently performs live vocals in a hardcore punk
style that transcends the regular boundaries of chipmusic
, to form a style of music that Gilmore calls "chipunk".
s in the past, but the discography listed on his website only includes releases that were released physically. Gilmore has stated this is because his physical releases are a huge departure from his previous work that he now considers to be demos. Both MKE OR BRK and Another were stocked by 8bitpeoples
, a prominent chipmusic label. The Rite Now single was later stocked by the Milwaukee-based label, Radiograffiti.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
based Game Boy Music
Game Boy music
Game Boy music is a type of chip music produced using a portable gaming console of the Game Boy line. To produce music of the genre, one needs a Game Boy and a cartridge containing appropriate tracking software, such as LSDJ.- Software :...
composer and performer Thomas Gilmore, who began writing music with the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
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...
in 2007. Shortly after in 2008, Gilmore and Dot.AY from Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
started a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
documenting and promoting Australian chipmusic called GameBoyAustralia. In early 2011, Gilmore and Eugene Davoren-Britton launched a vinyl-only chipmusic label called Sounds Legit. The name for Gilmore's project was inspired by the A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible
A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible
A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible is a webcomic drawn by David Hellman and written by Dale Beran. Ted Rall describes the comic as "explor[ing] the limits of pessimism and fatal consequence in a universe that would be difficult to imagine on the printed page." The comic has been...
webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
of a similar title. Gilmore currently performs live vocals in a hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
style that transcends the regular boundaries of chipmusic
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...
, to form a style of music that Gilmore calls "chipunk".
Discography
Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families has released many recordings with netlabelNetlabel
A netlabel is a record label that distributes its music through digital audio formats over the Internet...
s in the past, but the discography listed on his website only includes releases that were released physically. Gilmore has stated this is because his physical releases are a huge departure from his previous work that he now considers to be demos. Both MKE OR BRK and Another were stocked by 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...
, a prominent chipmusic label. The Rite Now single was later stocked by the Milwaukee-based label, Radiograffiti.
Compilations
- (Triskaidekaphobia) 13,000.00 Milliseconds (2008, Ratskin Records, CD Compilation)
- Progfest 09, The Best Of Aussie Prog (2009, Birds Robe, CD Compilation)
- Reformat: A Tribute To Bit Shifter's Information Chase (2011, 8bitpeoples8bitpeoples8bitpeoples 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...
, CD Compilation)
Web Releases and Demos
- 0.999... = 1 (2007)
- The Pokémon Song (2007)
- Glitch Village Vol. 1 (2007)
- Mario Paint EP (2008)
- PixlCrushr / Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families Split (2008)
- Dot.AY / Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families Split (2008)
- Glitch Village Vol. 2 (2008)
- DMGMite-01: The Australian Chipmusic Compilation, Volume I (2008)
- Chipsters: The Australian Chipmusic compilation, Volume II (2009)
- Blip Festival 2011 Live Recording (2011)