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Imagine being part of a struggling band, pretty much unknown and yet somehow making a steady break from the ranks of relative obscurity. People start hearing more of your music, you start getting some love, the gigs come more frequently…
Then imagine you’re on the Internet one day and stumble upon your band’s music, being used by one of the world’s largest conglomerates — without your permission, and thus without acknowledgement of any sort/royalties you might see from the bastards.
This is allegedly what happened to Brooklyn-based Anamanaguchi, who were in the midst of writing music for their next record when they found an ad for a Disney-made iPhone app called PIXL’D. The app does a swell job of whoring out everything Disney-related it can, yet its soundtrack is ripped directly from the band’s song ‘JETPACK BLUES, SUNSET HUES’ — and yet Disney has forgotten to credit Anamanaguchi in any way, under or over the table. Without further ado, the track (second in the playlist):
And the Disney ad:
whoa disney is ripping us off now… we we’re probably cheaper than whoever u guys hired.. youtube.com/watch?v=FMPPOT…
— Anamanaguchi (@anamanaguchi) September 17, 2012
As for their actual music, suffice it to say we wouldn’t be talking about it if we didn’t love it — regardless of all the Disney bullshit. Straight to the point, “Dawn Metropolis” may be the first contender for an actual chiptunes radio hit, and I mean that in a good way and knowing radio will never be cool enough to play it; others, like “Danger Mountain,” sacrifice melody for chaos but not so much that you can’t keep your head bopping along to it. The band’s authentic love for video games shines through here.
Though you’ll definitely get a taste of their chiptune magic in the commercial, you can get an earful more on their Soundcloud page (in addition to the playlist above). Just one question.
Jeff Nau – who has written 1264 posts on The Jace Hall Show.
Jeff Nau is a main contributor to the Jace Hall Show covering pop culture and music trends in the nerd community. He has contributed to San Diego City Beat, 944, and Ill Literature, amongst others, and spends his spare time working as an artist and photographer.

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