Sabrepulse is one of my favourite chiptune artists and the small but tightly woven “Bit Pilot” soundtrack is a fantastic entry to his catalogue and is a great place to start with chiptunes or with Sabrepulse.
Kicking off with “Outbrk” we have an energetic beat infused chord chopping mammoth. It’s got cute vocal snippets and reminds me very much of the C64 era of music. Keeping the same chipset “Enemy Down” is more sassy with its swinging bass line and more complex melodies over the top. “Dreamland” is a personal favourite with lots of cute melodies and an overarching voice and sounds like an iconic title screen for a game in waiting. “Beauty in the Machine” is a funky waltz that explodes into a techno trance mix or bleeps and blips. It’s fast paced and heady and demonstrates that Sabrepulse can craft excellent tracks without ever cramming them full of too many noises. “Space Dub” is a quieter and more bass heavy track with some rotating glitch effects – it’s a bit like if a chip tune did reggae! “Starfighter” takes four chords and rips them to shreds with a killer dance track. It’s so classic in its set up and execution, it makes me smile each listen. There’s even funny laser shots to the beat! Closing the soundtrack is the amazing “Reboot” which is classic Sabrepulse in that it throws absolutely everything you could want in a chiptune and performs it with panache. I love all the bendy notes and the way the percussion is without hiss but full of crunch.
Again, Sabrepulse does not disappoint. Small and perfectly formed, Bit Pilot OST is a must for game music fans.