The 8-Bit Big Band

Very cool thing!! The singer Kaho Kidoguchi from our arrangement of “Lonely Rolling Star” got asked to sing on a song for the new Katamari Damacy game because they heard our cover!! 8bbb extended family VGM take over! Stoked to play the game 🎮!!

1 week ago | [YT] | 512

The 8-Bit Big Band

Happy April 1st 2025 which is a totally normal day with no holiday associated with it!!

So thrilled to celebrate April 1st 2025 with all of you with a swingin' Big Band Jazz arrangement of the legendary musical composition 4'33" by the prolific and visionary composer John Cage.

This arrangement was one of the most fiendishly difficult things the band has ever had to perform, and the most challenging melodies I've had to arrange to date. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of this timeless piece of modernist classical music, as I put my own Big Band style onto it while trying to honor the ideas and motifs of the original. The orchestra sounds truly spectacular on this tune (can you believe they were sight reading it??) so I hope you enjoy listening!!

If you have absolutely NO IDEA what the hell is going on or why 40 people are sitting in a recording studio in New York not playing their instruments and wasting tons of money on studio time, then this paragraph is for you:

4′33″ is a modernist composition by American experimental composer John Cage. It was composed in 1952 for any instrument or combination of instruments; the score instructs performers not to play their instruments throughout the three movements. It is divided into three movements, lasting 30 seconds, 2:23 seconds, 1:40 seconds, respectively. The idea behind this composition is that the ambient sound that occurs spontaneously between the on stage performers and the audience in the room is "the music".

All confused kidding aside, it's a very easy thing to laugh at until you actually are in attendance of a "performance" of this piece (or conducting an orchestra playing it like I did) and then you kinda realize once you're immersed in the energy of the experience of a collection of people basically doing a mindfulness music exercise that there actually is something kind of profound to the experience itself.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 218

The 8-Bit Big Band

Waluigi Pinball ft. Matthew Whitaker NOW ON YOUTUBE!

Finally some representation for our boy Waluigi from the world of Mario Kart DS!! So excited to post this arrangement featuring the absolutely incredible organist and keyboard player Matthew Whitaker on the hammond B3!! You'll also notice I had the idea to take a lot of inspiration from the Herbie Hancock classic Chameleon, that bass line seemed to really call out to the character of Waluigi to me for whatever reason

Enjoy and long live video game music!

1 month ago | [YT] | 176

The 8-Bit Big Band

LIVE AT SONY HALL 12/27/24 FULL SHOW!

Another incredible night of video game music big band this last December in NYC! The band sounded incredible and the vibes were immaculate.. some truly insane musicianship on that stage!! Head to the link in our bio now and check out the full concert!

Long live video game music!

1 month ago | [YT] | 64

The 8-Bit Big Band

Brinstar Theme from Metroid! NOW ON YOUTUBE!

This theme shows up basically anywhere that Samas Aran does, enjoy this full big band treatment with yet another infusion from one of my biggest influences, Earth Wind and Fire. I just can’t help myself!! By the time album 5 is released it will be entirely composed of Tower of Power and Earth Wind and Fire references haha.

LONG LIVE VIDEO GAME MUSIC

1 month ago | [YT] | 181

The 8-Bit Big Band

No More What Ifs ft Martina DaSilva! 🎭

Another classic from the Persona 5 sound track, enjoy "No More What Ifs" fully realized in all it's Bossa Nova glory for full sized Jazz orchestra featuring the incredibly smooth vocal talents of the one and only Martina DaSilva!

Enjoy and long live video game music!

3 months ago | [YT] | 193

The 8-Bit Big Band

Kass's Theme - 🇧🇷 Brazilian Choro Version / Versão Chorinho 🇧🇷 NOW ON YOUTUBE!

🇺🇸 ENGLISH / PORTUGUÊS 🇧🇷:

Those of you that know me know that I LOVE Brazilian music, and I LOVE Zelda! To be even more specific, I love the traditional Brazilian genre known as Choro or Chorinho. As far as I can tell in my google searching, VGM and Brazilian Choro music have never been combined in the history of music, so I'm thrilled to introduce to you the very first ever Brazilian Choro Video Game song!! I've always wanted to arrange this modern classic Kass's Theme from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (aka one of the most popular songs to happen the accordion in the 21st century), and the melody called out to me to arrange in the style of a Brazilian Choro!! I called upon my friends from the amazing group @regionalsamauma I hope you enjoy! If you like this perhaps I'll record a whole EP of Video Game Music Choros!

🇧🇷 - Se você é um gamer brasileiro que adora The Legend of Zelda, esse vídeo é PRA VOCÊ! Estou super animado em apresentar nossa primeira música de videogame em Chorinho! Assim que joguei Breath of the Wild, soube imediatamente que Kass's Theme daria um ótimo Chorinho. Então, pedi aos meus amigos do "Regional Samaúma" aqui em Nova Lorque pra que me ajudassem a gravar. Pelo que encontrei pesquisando no Google, o mundo da música de videogame e do Chorinho nunca se encontraram antes, logo, essa seria a primeira vez na história da música! Espero que gostem!

3 months ago | [YT] | 180

The 8-Bit Big Band

LIVE SHOW FROM BOSTON NOW ON YOUTUBE!

If you were there thanks for coming! The video quality isn't the greatest on this one, we had a single GoPro that actually died about 2/3rds through the show, but using some audience footage and some conductor cam footage I was able to finish the video. It is WELL worth it since the band sounded awesome, and we had some ground breaking special guests!!

Hope you enjoy!! Long live video game music! Your conductor, Charlie

3 months ago | [YT] | 93

The 8-Bit Big Band

Final round Grammy voting starts today!! If you or somebody you know is voting this year, I hope you’ll help make video game music history yet again and consider helping turn our nomination into a win!! The 8-Bit Big Band’s arrangement of Last Surprise from the incredible game Persona 5 features an orchestra of absolute incredible musicians and performers, and we’re so grateful the Recording Academy has given the world of video game music cover projects the recognition we’ve gotten!!

If you’re not voting, we appreciate you anyway for listening and give us good vibes this year!!

4 months ago | [YT] | 421

The 8-Bit Big Band

Always thrilled to discover cats out here starting new VGM big band projects!! The scene is thriving!! Show them some love and check out "Level Up Big Band" who just dropped an album, it's killing!

4 months ago | [YT] | 179