I managed to find the long lost RADIOGRAFFITI AMIGACORE HEXADECI YOUTUBE DRUM MACHINE from 2011 while deep scanning a failing drive. Seriously, I thought this was gone forever. A little backstory…
I was always trying to find interesting ways to promote the Amiga releases Radiograffiti was pushing. The Hexadeci 7″ had just come out and featured two sets of artwork due to a mishap. Not ideal, but I printed them both off, put them in a sealed screen printed envelope, and it became an immersive experience where the listener got to customize their copies using the artwork they wanted.
To double down on the immersion, I whipped up this “drum machine” on YouTube using Amiga samples from the release. Basically you use the numbers 0-9 on your computer keyboard to hop around the video to “trigger” the audio. Pad graphics correspond to the action. Go ahead. Try it. CAVEAT: THIS WILL ONLY WORK ON THE YOUTUBE VIDEO PAGE. EMBEDS DO NOT ALLOW NUMBER HOPPING.
Also, judging by the (admittedly very dated and questionably designed) graphic (except for the cool logo from Hexadeci), YouTube used to allow several links on the video at once. Interesting.
New release: BATTLE TRAX – 1000% RAW ENERGY [2026 REMASTER]
I’m going through and completely re-recording, re-stemming, re-mixing, and re-mastering entire portions of my catalogue. The first to get this treatment is my portion of BATTLE TRAX – 1000% RAW ENERGY. While some of you have likely heard this material a million fucking times already, my justification is that I’ve since swapped out the original op-amp on an Amiga 600 with a Burr-Brown DAC. Destroy all posers.
Heads up…things are going to look rough while I attempt to finish what I started. It shouldn’t be more than another day or two. If you see broken formatting, dead links and missing info on discography, and other weirdness – I’m working on it. I also have a few announcements on the horizon, but one thing at a time, yeah?
Another unofficial IVE re-imagining. This time BANG BANG gets dragged through about five different genres before landing at a half-timed, footwork-styled breakdown for the finale. If you like your K-Pop random and aggressive [as you probably should], this is for you. Enjoy.
Third playback video from the new REFRAME mini-disc. ESCAPE IDOL is an unrelenting blast of 8-bit speedcore. Source material sampled at various different locations throughout the upper Midwest. EUGENE JARVIS ETERNAL.
Second playback video from the new REFRAME mini-disc. CONVERSATION WITH JING is inspired by a true story of uncertainty and workplace alienation. Seal all exits.
Here’s the first playback video from the new REFRAME mini-disc. Nothing is cooler than a CRT capture of an Amiga 600 being pushed to its absolute limit. Enjoy.
REFRAME is the newest mini-album released on RADIOGRAFFITI, marking a new direction in the BLACK LINES, DIN SKY discography. This three-track blast of lo-fi Amigacore is now available digitally and physically through the imprint TEARDOWN. The digital edition can be streamed on Bandcamp and various other platforms, while the physical mini CD edition comes bundled with the latest SKULLTRACKER 4.0 t-shirt drop. This exclusive t-shirt package includes additional audio content unique to the mini CD, a limited-edition photocard [one of three variants, pulled at random], a custom SKULLTRACKER card pouch, PVC tag, three mini stickers, and a custom zip pouch for the mini CD.
Tracker captures for each of the songs are in the works and will be uploaded shortly. Enjoy.
DIN SKY SUMMER [+Fall] 2025: Comeback Schedule Q2+Q3
For those of you who enjoy fast music, loud sounds, bad weather, and old tech being pushed to its absolute breaking point, listen up…
Sample packs, video content, music releases, merch, live sets, and approximately five months of untreated insomnia are now all officially set for release. In an effort to make this as easy as possible to understand, the exact release dates are documented in the obnoxiously large graphic directly above this text. The first entry is a direct Amiga tracker capture from the first STAGEDIVER 7″ vinyl released back in 2008 and features re-recorded, re-stemmed, and re-mastered audio for WE REVEL IN EMPTY, AUTUMN ASSEMBLY. Blast your eardrums here.
The next video for JUSTICE DENIED drops this upcoming Friday.
Agent Orange – Bloodstains [Black Lines, Din Sky Remix]
An unofficial breakcore re-imagining of BLOODSTAINS by AGENT ORANGE. All audio smashed, slashed, and crashed on the Amiga 500. If you’ve been to one of my recent live sets, chances are pretty high you’ve heard this. Now you can ruin your day without the cover charge. Enjoy.
IDOL VARIANTS #004 – KIM WAN SUN [김완선] “사랑의 골목길” [BLACK LINES, DIN SKY REMIX]
An unofficial re-imagining of 사랑의 골목길 by Korea’s first true idol, KIM WAN SUN [김완선].
Her early records helped me survive many a 3AM commute to work in the dead of winter, so this was the easiest way to show my appreciation. Check out her story, because it’s wild to see how the the modern K-pop machine emerged [and thrived] from a template as rigorously destructive as the one forced upon her by her own family. Everyone credits Seo Taiji and Boys as being the innovators of pop music in South Korea, and while they are essential, real heads know KIM WAN SUN was exploring similar territory much earlier.
If you need a jumping point, check out this rare Korean TV performance video of 리듬 속의 그 춤을 & 나홀로 뜰 앞에서 from 1987. It’s got all the hallmarks of good music if you’re into Wax Trax! Records: head-to-toe in black, barbed wire, impromptu synchronized dancing at a hazard site, cold nights, visible breath, Ministry-esque orchestra hits, and a rapid-fire kick drum into. Seriously, cold stuff.
Backstory: in 2001, a friend and I spotted a flyer for an event called “Jagfest” at a local music store. A majority of the important details were physically ripped off, but the design seemed to play off the long-dead Atari Jaguar. We were already sold – with a name like that, how could we not go? I was the biggest “Jag-off” I knew, so naturally, attendance was mandatory. We had no idea what to expect, but as time went on we couldn’t help but hype it up by imagining cool guys with mohawks slanging rare music software, introverted hackers selling illegally obtained prototype hardware, maybe even some cool vintage shirts from the 70s. Surely, thousands would be there.
Reality? About fifteen totally well-adjusted people in a rented Boy Scouts basement, gathered around a few tables of obsolete Jaguar-related gear. Oh well. A signed Tempest 2000 cart from Jeff Minter *did* confirm we were in good company, though. People even flew in from Japan. How cool is that? I was already using video game consoles to create music by this point, but the event kicked off a decades-long obsession in hardware hacking. I began collecting suspicious looking PCBs, frequenting computer meet-ups like ECCC [VCF], and discovering that the upper Midwest was a hotbed for this weird new/old underground gaming culture thing. These gatherings became invaluable hubs of knowledge-sharing, and allowed me to continually “chase the dragon” in regard to finding rare Amiga and Commodore music peripherals.
One event, the Midwest Classic, later evolved into the Midwest Gaming Classic. Years later, I learned it was run by the same crew behind Jagfest, and as the event grew, I wondered if music could carve out a space in this scene. The sort-of-but-not-really chipmusic performances at these early shows were often an afterthought, usually met with weird looks or demands to turn it down [an Atari 2600 running into a guitar practice amp cranked to 11 in a hotel lobby doesn’t exactly sound the greatest]. Thankfully someone eventually stepped in and decided to spearhead a dedicated music stage at Midwest Gaming Classic. Coincidentally, we had unknowingly crossed paths many years before at a Digital Hardcore/Atari Teenage Riot/EC8OR/Shizuo live showcase in 1997. Small world.
Over the years I volunteered for the event a few times and became a vendor through ECCC, showcasing my prized Commodore collection. It gave me a fleeting sense of belonging and truly felt like *my* Christmas every year. Eventually, an opportunity opened the door for me to perform, and I jumped at the chance.
After years of growing alongside Midwest Gaming Classic and seeing the explosion of popularity, I’ll now finally be a part of it as an artist. The upcoming set has a few surprises in store, and I can’t wait to see everyone at the Star Fox competition once booth again.
Where: Baird Center 400 W Wisconsin Ave Milwaukee, WI 53203 (414) 908-6000
When: Friday, April 4, 2025 10PM SET TIME / VIP ONLY
Additional Info: Show is free for VIG pass holders. [ MORE INFO ]
By request: a three minute demo of the NESizer2 DIY NES MIDI synth is now available on YouTube. If you ever wanted to hear the NES CPU blast out gabber kicks and Amen breaks while Japanese delinquents battle in a fiery warehouse armed with nothing more than a yo-yo, I’ve got you covered.
Three Minutes With: MIDIBOX TIA – DIY Atari 2600 Synth
By request: a three minute demo of the Atari 2600 TIA MIDIBox synth is now available on YouTube. This features a special appearance by a pre-1996 mtv.com – older than even the earliest Wayback Machine archives.
OctaMED Playback: Imaginary Dystopian Future Wars | Full E.P.
TL;DR: check out this Discogs link and Amiga Hardcore YouTube playlist above.
Some of you have been waiting a LONG time for this. Who knew sourcing specialty fonts and tweaking Amiga overscan rates to maximize screen real estate would take so much time and energy? Along the way, I stumbled on some interesting display tricks that I’ll save for future videos. Stay tuned.
Some context on the music: It was 2008. I had just lost my job, relationships with friends gradually faded, and the building I lived in was targeted for demolition to make way for a pretentious new coffee roaster. The financial crisis was in full swing. I was a wreck, left with far too much time to dwell on how miserable I felt. Complex feelings morphed into a deepening paranoia. Within a short period, everything felt eerily similar to the dystopian media I’d grown up with.
One night, in an effort to re-direct some of the uneasiness, I gave myself a writing prompt and began drafting a cyberpunk screenplay. What started as a simple outlet quickly evolved into something much bigger: I visualized sets, developed characters, and even began creating a soundtrack. A few of the friends I managed to keep by that point thought I’d gone completely nuts, but the project gave me a sense of belonging. Cyberpunk media was ancient history, Amiga tracking was a full decade away from trending to any degree, and EDM as a genre was barely a blip on the radar.
Throughout this, someone was paying enough attention to offer me an opportunity to release the soundtrack as a 12″ Amiga hardcore vinyl. How cool is that? I immediately wrapped up four songs, and Imaginary Dystopian Future Wars found a home on the influential Midwest hardcore label, Distort Records, releasing in 2010. With this new material, I started playing shows across the Midwest, finding a new core group of enthusiasts in Chicago.
One show, in particular, stands out: a notorious warehouse party in the heart of gangland Detroit. This was the official live debut of the soundtrack, complete with a sound system that literally caused parts of the ceiling to crumble. In what felt like the most fitting ending imaginable, Detroit S.W.A.T. raided the party, guns drawn and all. As it turned out, the head of the raid had their own event happening that night and wanted all nearby parties shut down. If that ain’t some cyberpunk shit, I don’t know what is.
In hindsight, the material never quite found its audience aside from a few diehard loyalists [thank you, sincerely] but its themes of AI takeover, class destruction, paranoia, blind faith, and the ever-present threat of war resonate now more than ever.
While the NESizer2 is a relatively straightforward D.I.Y. build, it doesn’t seem to have a large user base. Thankfully the folks who are active at the project’s GitHub are both knowledgeable and patient.
If you need that “NES sound” and prefer a DAWless environment, it’s a decent alternative to the now astronomically priced NES MIDI carts on the secondhand market. For those of you who are WAY too close to it all: the envelopes on the NESizer2 are nowhere near as fast as the Famimimidi cart, there’s no way to program or save pitch/fx tables in presets, and it lacks the extensive DPCM preset bank of the MIDINES cart. It’s a basic sound module that uses the original 2A03 processor without emulation. That said, it does have one strength over the other sort-of-available options: you can load custom samples into the NESizer2 via MIDI sysex. As of now, there’s no way to pitch those samples once they’re inside the unit, but it sounds like this functionality might be added sooner than later. Currently, the NESizer2 supports MIDI CC, has a built-in sequencer, has three independent LFOs, and stores up to 100 patches. Not bad.
The TIA MIDIbox from Antichambre is a perpetual contender for coolest synth gear ever – it’s portable, easy enough to build, dreadfully annoying at loud volumes, and utilizes the original [and CHEAP] TIA chip from the Atari 2600 as it’s sole audio source. The original two-channel TIA audio limitation is still here, but there are new additions that help pull the TIA into the 21st century. The MIDIbox TIA responds to MIDI CC, has WAY more patch storage than you’ll ever need for a two-channel synth, and utilizes a Max patch utility that unlocks a mod matrix, tuned 12-note scale, two assignable envelopes [volume and/or pitch], and four assignable LFOs. Hell, there’s even a section for wavetable and sample playback, though I’m told these functions are hidden until further notice. Besides driving all dogs in a 20 block radius completely nuts, the best part about the TIA MIDIbox is that all of this functionality [along with responsive LED meter] fits inside an original 2600 cartridge shell. Now you can *finally* do something useful with your Pac Man cart.
Here’s a short three-minute demo of the TIA MIDIbox synth:
Show Announcement: Xeno and Oaklander w/ DT HARM & Memory Spector @ X-Ray Arcade
Art: LIBERATORE
Backstory: Several years ago, I was part of a band by the name of CONVERT, which quickly carved out a niche and made a name for itself in the Milwaukee/Chicago area. Just as we were gaining momentum, COVID-19 hit, and I stepped away from the group to focus on important things like school, mental health, and speedrunning Salamander on the PCE. Fast forward a few years, and Dillon [CONVERT’s lead vocalist] and I started tossing around ideas over the phone. One thing lead to another, and now nearly four years and a few mental breakdowns later, we’re excited to officially debut as the CONVERT subunit, DT HARM, at X-Ray Arcade. We’ve got a very rough demo up on Bandcamp, with finalized material happening in the near future.
Headlining are minimal electro pioneers Xeno and Oaklander, with support from Memory Spector. See you there.
Where: X-Ray Arcade 5036 S Packard Avenue Cudahy, WI 53110 (414) 998-0665
When: Wednesday, November 27, 2024 7PM DOORS / 8PM MUSIC
Show Announcement: Pressboard w/ The Demix, Hot Science & Black Lines, Din Sky @ High Dive
Art: THE DEMIX
I’m throwing down with good friends @thedemix@h0tscience and @dartanjal but this time at @highdivemke in Riverwest. The show is completely free and reminiscent of a time when Milwaukee’s Center St had electronic ragers on a regular basis. Loud sounds and new ideas in a small room. See you there.
Where: High Dive MKE 701 e center street Milwaukee, WI 53212 (414) 763-0729
When: Friday, November 8, 2024 8PM DOORS / 9PM MUSIC
Show Announcement: The Demix w/ Cathedral Becomes Tomb, Xexyz & Black Lines, Din Sky @ Club Garibaldi
Art: THE DEMIX
I’m returning to Club Garibaldi [definitely not a club, club] on September, Friday the 13th as part of the long-running MELT experimental electronic music series by The Demix. These Milwaukee music events have always been a personal favorite, and I share a lot of history with them. Eagle-eyed readers might recall that MELT hosted some of my earliest live sets and record release parties. When the opportunity came up, it was an easy “yes.”
Well this certainly feels weird. I’m not sure I’ve written a blog post in over a decade. I can’t say I missed it, but let’s be honest – social media hasn’t made sense for a while now. I mean, who actually enjoys doomscrolling through feeds clogged with unrelated ads, try-hard influencers, and old people arguing over AI-generated nontruths they’ve been 100% convinced is real? I mean damn, if we’re being forced to live out the dystopian nightmare I imagined as a misguided teenager, could we at least put that shit in chronological order?
Internet survival is hard enough these days, but existing as an artist [“artist”] feels impossible. Who cares about whatever new release when the world is literally on fire? Still, maybe some people – myself included – need healthy distractions. Bonus points if these healthy distractions are productive. Instead of spinning my wheels with middleman platforms where 4% of my listening audience might discover what I’m up to, I figured it might be worthwhile [“worthwhile”] to carve out my own space online – free from the distractions of the modern Internet. A website isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but in 2024, it DOES feel like it makes SOME kind of sense to step back and start over. I guess this is my attempt at leading by example while also rethinking my own consumption habits. [Still waiting for that long-overdue RSS revival…]
Anyway, please excuse the e-dust. I’m still trying to make sense of everything. Things will likely look super questionable on tablets, but if anything seems broken on mobile/desktop, let me know via the contact form. Hopefully this doesn’t suck too much.
![Milwaukee Music [Live] Melt - Friday the 13th w/ The Demix, Cathedral Becomes Tomb, Xexyz, and Black Lines, Din Sky](https://www.blacklinesdinsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/462706497_1117622893067965_3675213781035875803_n.webp)
![Milwaukee Music [Live] Melt - Friday the 13th w/ The Demix, Cathedral Becomes Tomb, Xexyz, and Black Lines, Din Sky](https://www.blacklinesdinsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/458205874_843014237809203_3276609317934343893_n.webp)