When I first started delving into the U.S. chipmusic scene in the mid-2000s, I felt that O.G. 8bitpeoples-style artists seemed overly eager sometimes to distance themselves from “video game music” per se, using a lot of rhetoric about recontextualization/repurposing/inspiration-via-limitation/etc. However, I remember this Balloon Kid song by the under-worshipped Hip Tanaka was specifically conceded in a forum post by Bit Shifter as being particularly inspirational. Tanaka conveys the odd, sad sweetness of a young girl using balloon flight to search for her missing brother with subtlety and grace…and also dank reggae rhythms. I can’t think of an artist who has successfully used LSDJ in the 21st century to repurpose their Game Boy for music-making as wistful and heartfelt as this.

• Track: Balloon Kid - Stage 1-1
• Artist: Hirokazu Tanaka
• Album: Akihabara Sound Machine