Interview to 8-Bit Psycho by Kristov Zúñiga and Hektor Plasma

Good evening, from Scotland anyway!

Here is my responses to your questions!

Hello, who and what forms 8-Bit Psycho?

Hello! 8-Bit Psycho is a solo project featuring myself (Craig) on Double Bass and Vocals, accompanied by a supercharged, modified Nintendo GameBoy and Super GameBoy 2 SNES cartridges,  which provide drums, melody and a plethora of other sound bites to make the magic happen. 

What is the musical genre of the group?

The musical genre of 8-bit Psycho is unofficially named “psychobitty” as I consider it a love child of my two favourite genres - Psychobilly and Chiptune 

Why 8-Bit Psycho as a name?

Leaning into the blending of genres, I wanted a name that reflected both of my main inspirations; “8-bit” refers to the nostalgic sounds of the GameBoy we all know and love, and Psycho incorporates the horror/Psychobilly aspect of the music I create.

Where are you from?

I am from the Granite City of Scotland, Aberdeen!

What machines and instruments do you use to play?

On stage and when recording I use a modified DMG GameBoy. With a backlit IPS display and Pro-Sound mod, which bypasses the noisy headphone preamp and goes straight to a set of RCA connections - making the sound crisp and clear.

 I also use a SNES with a Pro-Sound modified Super GameBoy 2 cart - l the Japan-only release as it features a link-port to allow seamless connection and control of both the Gameboy and SNES in tandem 

On both the GameBoy and SNES I use a program called LSDJ created by Johan Kotlinski in the year 2000, which is still updated and supported. It’s a great tool which essentially turns your console into a sequencer.

Using these devices is great in principle, but doesn’t always easily translate on-stage. For increased audience engagement and to show off the Game Boy capabilities, I built a stage-ready replica GameBoy which provides real-time visualisation of the SNES playing the music. 

When did you start playing as 8-Bit Psycho?

Officially July 2022, though I had been dabbling in the Psychobilly genre for some time, even creating and featuring on EPs!

Do you have other parallel bands or have you played in other bands?

I play in a cover band called ‘Nae Cash’ which originally started as a Johnny Cash tribute band!

Prior to 8-Bit Psycho I also had a solo Psychobilly project called ‘Grave Failures’, primarily as a creative outlet during the first UK lockdown, which produced an EP - ‘The Quarantimes’ as featured on Spotify, this is actually where a few of the tracks I play as 8-Bit came from. 

 Influences?  (Musical, literary, cinephiles, experiences, etc.)

I have a love for a lot of different genres and artists and all have provided influence I’m sure, but for this project in particular , “Rainbowdragoneyes”, a Chiptune solo act accompanied by brutal metal vocals really provided major love and inspiration. Psychobilly is also one of my other big loves, with my main inspirations being the likes of  Nekromantix, Demented are Go and Koffin Kats to name my top three.

 Can you make a "Top 5" of which are your favorite bands?

Johnny Cash

Mötorhead 

Nekromantix 

Rainbowdragoneyes 

Aurelio Voltaire 

Do you have something recorded?

I have some things I’ve put together on YouTube! 

Is it edited? By whom?

The current batch of tunes are a mix of recordings by me and by a local Aberdonian venue -Krakatoa.

Are you going to record something soon?

I am happy to say that with any luck I’ll have some more professional recordings and a release in the not so distant future - very excited about who will be behind the mixing and mastering…

What do your songs talk about?

My songs are pretty dark considering they were written on the handheld console of 90’s kids childhoods… for example, ‘Your Ghost’ is the POV of a stalker who will gleefully murder people and dump them in a loch (a large body of water in the Scottish Highlands, where Nessie lives!) and ‘Stab ‘em Slab ‘em’ is simply the best name for a mortuary and clean up crew. 

 Upcoming 8-Bit Psycho events?

I’m playing a Halloween gig with the Scottish Psychobilly legends Numbskulls at Krakatoa in Aberdeen! 

Thank you very much for trusting Sesión de Plasma webzine;  you can add what you want or something that we have forgotten.

 8-bit Psycho on Facebook