Let me describe for you a confluence of events I will probably never see all at the same time ever again: a DJ using two Game Boys, a laptop and decks to blast original beats derived from old computer game music; a DJ using two Game Boys, a laptop and decks to blast original beats derived from old computer game music while dressed as Superman; an excitable young lad who looks half emo and half hipster, who raps and also sings in a punk style; me & my best mate playing Super Nintendo Mario Kart on a big projector screen while drunk off giant 500ml German and Polish beers I could not even pronounce when I was sober; and a brazen lesbian couple giving us a tour de force in the wonders of anatomy on the sofa next to us. All this and more was presented to me with shock and awe at a nifty little spot called Softbelly Bar on Little Bourke Street, which was hosting ‘Round 2’ of an event called Sound Bytes.

The basic idea or theme of the whole event was the act of taking something old and beloved, and breathing new life into it. Much like hip hop renewed interest in the funk and soul music it sampled, the art of the “chiptune” is the ability to create bangin-ass beats out of the kind of 8-bit music that is synonymous with the likes of the classic original Mario Bros game on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The proceedings were kicked off in original style by the highly entertaining (and Melbourne’s own) MC Talkshow Boy, who rocked his heart out despite the somewhat lukewarm crowd around him. As my friend mentioned to me on the night: “this kid’s got balls”. And while his performance (and indeed his ability to sing/rap) weren’t mind-blowing, his energy and ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude really impressed the rebel punk rocker dwelling deep inside me. He’s not technically good at what he does, but he sounds well enough at home over a chiptune beat.

Next up was probably the highlight of the night: Dot.Ay from Brisbane. His set was everything I loved about the concept: re-jigging old video game music into monstrous crowd-pleasing beats. The beauty of the gloriously simple synthesised sounds from yesteryear is that you can skirt multiple genres. You’re not just limited to one form of music. Dot.Ay proved this without a doubt as he bounced back and forth from hardcore acid techno, to drum n’ bass, to stutter-step hip hop and back on around again, all the while using modified dual Game Boys to get the job done. Each style got a great response from the crowd, which wasn’t exactly a large group of people, but judging from the noise could still definitely be classified as a ‘crowd’.

Last but not least was Sydney’s 10K, who despite some technical difficulties, was also able to blast some awesome chiptunes, and did while wearing a Superman costume (which he apparently was wearing underneath his regular clothes). While the DJs did their thing, there were some kickass graphics and games being played on the projector behind them. All of this added up to a pretty memorable night at the back room where Sound Bytes 2 was being held, as well as the front bar/lounge which was playing non-stop 80s classics all night (the theme from Top Gun in particular was a favourite). I eagerly await Round 3 (and of course, most importantly, more lesbian action).