Legendary chiptune composer Hirokazu “Chip” Tanaka has just released a new solo album, and the music video accompanying the song “Hammerhead Shark Song” is extremely appropriate. Tanaka is best known for the soundtracks of classic games like Metroid, Motherand Donkey kongand the video, directed by Toby Fox, creator of the retro-infused RPG Beneath the tale – maintains that vibe while adding a strong dose of surrealism.
The black-and-white video looks a bit like a 16-bit era game, with Tanaka walking towards a performance where some hammerhead sharks are naturally joined on stage. Things only get weirder after that: there are walking UFOs, floating faces, and all sorts of weird images. The fact that it looks like a video game shouldn’t be too surprising; Fox says that many of the scenes were made with the GameMaker game creation tool.
I directed a music video for Chip Tanaka’s new album (@ tanac2e), Domingo. A long time ago he composed tracks for Metroid, Kid Icarus and MOTHER / MOTHER 2. He is still creating great and inspiring music. I was really happy to return that inspiration! https://t.co/fVey5dM9WQ
– tobyfox (@tobyfox) July 15, 2020
Despite her long career, Tanaka’s new album, Sunday, it’s just his second solo release, after 2017 Django.
