Chipzel

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Chipzel

| image = Chipzel color.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Chipzel in 2012

| birth_name = Niamh Houston

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|9|23|df=y}}

| birth_place = Strabane, Northern Ireland

| genre = Chiptune, bitpop

| occupation = Musician, composer, record producer

| instrument = Game Boy

| years_active = 2009–present

| label = {{flatlist|

Brave Wave Productions
Materia Collective

}}

| associated_acts =

| website = {{URL|chipzel.co.uk}}

}}

Niamh Houston (born 23 September 1991), better known by her stage name Chipzel, is a musician from Northern Ireland. She is best known for making chiptune music, particularly with a Game Boy. She is also a video game music composer, and is known for the soundtracks of games such as Super Hexagon, Interstellaria, and Dicey Dungeons. Her music is also featured in other games such as Just Shapes and Beats and Spectra.

Biography

= Early life =

Niamh Houston was born on 23 September 1991 in Strabane, Northern Ireland. When Houston was a child, her sister played several instruments and her father enjoyed Irish folk music.{{cite web|url=http://www.the-arcade.ie/2012/11/interview-chipzel/|title=Interview: Chipzel|last=Doody|first=Declan|date=1 November 2012|publisher=The Arcade|accessdate=20 August 2015}}

= Career =

Around the year 2006, Houston began to discover chiptune artists such as Sabrepulse, inspiring her to start making her own music with Little Sound DJ on a Game Boy. She continued to explore chip music, and in 2009, she published her first release, an EP titled Judgement Day.{{cite web|url=https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/7dc8cc98-22fe-4c01-8cd3-b7781702289a|title=Release group 'Judgement Day' by Chipzel|work=MusicBrainz|accessdate=26 August 2015}} She followed this in 2010 with her first album, Disconnected.{{cite web|url=http://chipzel.co.uk/album/disconnected|title=Disconnected|author=Chipzel|date=2 February 2010|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=20 August 2015}}

File:Chipzel at Blip Fest 2011.jpg

In 2011, she performed at Blip Festival, a music event focused on chiptune. For live shows, Houston generally uses two Game Boys with tracker software connected to a DJ mixer.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/chipzels-complete-history-of-chiptune-939/|title=Music Made on Game Boys Is a Much Bigger Deal Than You'd Think|last=Houston|first=Niamh|date=4 November 2014|work=Vice|access-date=21 August 2015}}

In February 2012, she published her second album, Phonetic Symphony.{{cite web|url=http://chipzel.co.uk/album/phonetic-symphony|title=Phonetic Symphony|author=Chipzel|date=11 February 2012|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=20 August 2015}} Later that month, game developer Terry Cavanagh contacted Houston about using her music.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} Cavanagh was participating in Pirate Kart V, a game jam, and was making a game called Hexagon.{{cite web|url=http://distractionware.com/blog/2012/02/hexagon/|title=Hexagon|last=Cavanagh|first=Terry|date=26 February 2012|accessdate=20 August 2015}} Houston liked Cavanagh's project, and thus allowed him to publish Hexagon with her track "Courtesy."{{cite web|url=http://www.muzikdizcovery.com/2012/09/interview-with-chipzel.html|title=Interview with Chipzel|last=Robinson|first=Will|date=20 September 2012|publisher=MuzikDizcovery|accessdate=20 August 2015}} Several months later, Cavanagh asked Houston to make tracks for his new game Super Hexagon, an extended recreation of the original Hexagon. She again accepted, and the resulting Super Hexagon EP was published in September 2012, featuring "Courtesy" from the original game, the track "Focus" from Phonetic Symphony, and a new track called "Otis".{{cite web|url=http://chipzel.co.uk/album/super-hexagon-ep|title=Super Hexagon EP|author=Chipzel|date=6 September 2012|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=20 August 2015}} Super Hexagon was very successful, receiving widespread praise for its design and music.{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/super-hexagon-review/|title=Super Hexagon review|last=Smith|first=Graham|date=5 December 2012|work=PC Gamer|accessdate=20 August 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/20/super-hexagon-review|title=Super Hexagon Review|last=Musser|first=Cody|date=19 September 2012|work=IGN|accessdate=20 August 2015}} The game's success drew much attention to Houston's work, and sparked an interest in creating more music for video games.{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/2015/03/niamh-houston-chipzel-listen-to-the-blips-and-blops-and-fill-in-the-gaps-with-your-head-interview-by-jason-richardson/|title=Niamh Houston (Chipzel): "Listen to the blips and blops and fill in the gaps with your head."|last=Richardson|first=Jason|date=3 March 2015|work=Cyclic Defrost|accessdate=20 August 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://gamerant.com/chipzel-interview-video-game-music-128/|title=Chipzel Interview: Chiptune Musician Talks Video Game Music, Past & Present|last=Loomis|first=Melissa|date=July 2015|work=Game Rant|accessdate=21 August 2015}}

In October 2012, Houston published Fragments, a four-track EP which was released for free as "a massive thanks for all the support from Super Hexagon."{{cite web|url=http://chipzel.co.uk/album/fragments|title=Fragments|author=Chipzel|date=24 October 2012|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=20 August 2015}}

In September 2013, Houston released her album Spectra. Game developer Gateway Interactive approached Houston and proposed making a game based on the album. In early 2015 the game was released (also titled Spectra), a racing game published by Mastertronic Group.{{cite web|url=http://www.destructoid.com/race-through-ten-chipzel-songs-on-a-laser-track-in-spectra-287822.phtml|title=Race through ten Chipzel songs on a laser track in Spectra|last=Nakamura|first=Darren|date=18 February 2015|work=Destructoid|accessdate=21 August 2015}}

Houston has continued to work on video game soundtracks, and worked over the following two years on the soundtrack for Interstellaria, a space-exploration and management game published by Chucklefish. The soundtrack and the game were both released on 17 July 2015.{{cite web|url=http://chipzel.co.uk/album/interstellaria-ost|title=Interstellaria OST|author=Chipzel|date=17 July 2015|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=20 August 2015}}

In August 2015, Chipzel performed as the opening act at Dare ProtoPlay.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-33906767|title=Dare ProtoPlay video games festival opens in Dundee|date=13 August 2015|publisher=BBC|accessdate=1 September 2015}}

Chipzel worked with Terry Cavanagh again in 2019, creating the music and sound effects for his new game, Dicey Dungeons.{{cite web|url=https://apps.apple.com/au/story/id1467792269|title=The Chiptune Maestro}}

In May 2023, Houston became the host of the six-part BBC podcast 'Cheat Code: The Gaming and Tech Podcast' {{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mlrb|title=Cheat Code The Gaming and Tech Podcast.}}

Discography

= Albums =

2009 – Judgement Day
2010 – Disconnected
2012 – Phonetic Symphony
2012 – Super Hexagon (soundtrack)
2012 – Fragments
2013 – Spectra
2013 – Monaco: The Gentleman's Private Collection (compilation)
2014 – Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom (soundtrack){{cite tweet||author=Keiji Yamagishi|user=MoreYamasan|number=517362864143601665|date=1 October 2014|title=Finally, I can announce. I worked on the ADVENTURE TIME game for @WayForward, with @strotchy, @chipzel, @Monomirror.}}
2014 – Size Does Matter (soundtrack){{cite web|url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.channel4.dosstudios|title=Size DOES Matter on Android|date=21 August 2014|work=Google Play|publisher=Channel Four Television Corporation|accessdate=20 August 2015}}
2015 – Chime Sharp (soundtrack)
2015 – Interstellaria (soundtrack)
2015 – Only Human
2017 – Chipped of the Necrodancer
2018 – Octahedron (soundtrack)
2019 – Dicey Dungeons (soundtrack){{cite web|url=https://www.destructoid.com/review-dicey-dungeons-563503.phtml|title=Review: Dicey Dungeons|last=Hancock|first=Patrick|date=13 August 2019|work=Destructoid|accessdate=16 August 2019}}
2019 – River City Girls (soundtrack){{cite web|url=https://wayforward.com/wayforward-unleashes-river-city-girls-details/|title=WayForward Unleashes River City Girls Details|date=3 July 2019}}
2019 – The Retro-Active Experience (compilation)
2019 - Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda
2021 – Yellow Magic (soundtrack)
2022 – Dicey Dungeons: Reunion Original (soundtrack)