New 99 Letters: “3 A.M.”

Osaka’s 99 Letters still relies on pretty much the same sounds he’s been hitting up his entire career on new song “3 A.M.” Once again he gives us Nintendo noises, transforming the sounds of a Game Boy Color into a full-fledged song. What makes 99 Letters so impressive, though, is how every new track he uploads manages to sound like a stylistic shift despite mining the same 8-bit resources. “3 A.M.” steps away from the immediate crunch of his earlier songs in favor of a legitimate build-up, bleep-bloop shuffle morphing into four-on-the-floor beat eventually becoming a different sort of dance song altogether. Whereas the almost-as-long “Hey! Satan, Play Game Of My Life” aimed for immediate loudness, “3 A.M.” shoots for constant development, eventually wiling out a little near the end but taking a good – and enjoyable! – time getting there. It’s this constant that separates 99 Letters from so many other chiptune artists today – some folk just plunder the sounds of the NES and get a little kick out of their nostalgia. 99 Letters makes something new out of them. Listen here.