Long-time
8bitpeoples member, minusbaby, born Richard Alexander Caraballo in New York City, trades in counterpoint, subtle dissonances and surprises. While it may be impossible to predict what will happen at each performance, one constant can be expected: a forceful equatorial beat. Each familiar song is given new variation while the center holds it down with a bassy bottom end to make anything bump and bounce that hasn't been tied down, exploding the very meaning of 8-bit orchestration.
Since 1999, he has come to prominence in the chip music scene, with a foundation in New York City and the 8bitpeoples. He has performed extensively, having been featured in London's DMZ Media Arts Festival, the
International Chiptune Resistance,
Blip Festival 2007 and
2008, multiple
Pulsewave nights, headlining the premiere of
The Tank's "Less Than Three" and Philadelphia's only monthly chip music event,
8static.
Recently, he completed a seven show, month-long European tour playing
Bleep London and
Chipfest IV in England,
Blip Festival Europe in Denmark,
Bang! in Portugal, two sets at
Era New Horizons in Poland and
Budapest Micro 2 in Hungary.
In addition to music, he is a prolific pixel artist who, since 2001, has been largely responsible for defining the unique aesthetics of the modern 8-bit creative movement. Spearheading the visual identities of 8bitpeoples, Pulsewave and the Blip Festival has contributed to making minusbaby's work ubiquitous to the public's perception of chip music and art.
His work, which he has referred to as, "a practice in primitivism, but mostly a stab at trying to continue several traditions at once," is often guided by a central idea meant to be interpreted by the individual. Combined with his love for patterns, type and limited color palettes, minusbaby has developed his own unique visual language. Rather than easing into the more common pixel trends, he utilizes multiple sources outside of video game culture to broaden both his and the movement's repertoire so as to expand the canon and avoid Super Mario cannons.
