We just called it "chiptune" then. I think. I mean, we really didn't have anything else to call it. In 2001, we scoured MicroMusic, Scene.org and Pouet for tracks and source files while over in Europe they were on the third wave of tradition.

Ten years ago, there wasn't a New York scene like there is today. Hell, there was barely a US scene in 2001 - certainly nothing like today's impressive network of musicians covering every imaginable musical style except for, maybe, zydeco and polka. This can't be ruled out, though, which is exactly why moving in loose terms from "chiptune" to "chip music" was not only inevitable, but accurate. There's plenty of diversity within the practice of composing for old computers, video game consoles and with sound chip emulation to demand a change in nomenclature.

So yeah. Ten years ago. July 18th, 2001. Nullsleep and I played our first ever shows; together at a blue, cinder block-walled club called "FUN" in Chinatown. Right beneath the Manhattan Bridge. DJ Unknown opened for us and including the promoter, Ihu Anyanwu, there were about five people in the crowd; Cory Arcangel was one of them and, of course, my younger brother, Tim. Only he would put up with my insistance on bringing a desktop PC—18” CRT monitor included—to the gig.

There's a recording of the show and I've joked about it being released in 25 years as part of a 50-disc 8bitpeoples box set, but that's not so important. What I find most valuable about that day is its definition as the moment that drove us to abandon the uncertainty of inexperience and proceed with blind confidence. With that confidence came the technique to develop our passion for making interesting shit. Neither of us knew what we were doing from a performance standpoint, but that was part of the attraction. There was nothing to lose because it was all ours to begin.

Sure, I'm coloring the memory with unavoidable romanticism, but I can say with full sincerity that I still have that spirit… that to experiment, evolve and purposely whip past accomplishments to guarantee that welcomed, aesthetic uncertainty one's technique demands. Now that there are crowds in the tens of thousands and chip musicians in almost every major city worldwide, it's not only a luxury to actively practice my craft, but a duty I am grateful to have personally extended across the globe with no end in sight.

Thank you - all of you - for coming out to shows over the past decade. I'll see you on the dance floor (and from the crowd).