Random

"Happy Ending After All" (EP, 2005)

Born in Sweden, grew up in England, fell in love with 80s 8-Bit technology, William Rickman's first release (as Random) immediately sets itself apart from much of the chiptune competition.

Hidden behind what could be the sleeve and title to a lost Nick Drake album(!), not content with simply creating his own in-game tunes, Rickman may take Nintendo's multi-million selling Gameboy as his main instrument of choice, but he looks beyond the kit's technical limitations and just gets on with writing some good tunes.

This doesn't yet fully demonstrate the exhuberance that has since become Rickman's trademark characteristic, and the six instrumentals include less obvious pieces like The Wrong Mistake which prove whether Random was expressing himself through synth, guitar or piano, his songwriting ability would always win through. Available as a free download from the 8-BitPeoples website. 6/10

Rob Dyer (December, 2008)

"Some Random Gameboy Tunes"(EP, 2004)

MP3death

First release from Sweden's William Rickman (on the obscure MP3death digital label) is a relaxed calling card. First track Give Me Your Day sets the tone of the five pieces - all instrumental, bar Welcome which is an 11 second piece of synthesised speech. More than anything else Random has subsequently released to date, Some Random Gameboy Tunes most closely resembles in-game music from the era of 8-bit home computers and the first generation of Nintendo's handheld gaming system. 6/10

Rob Dyer (June 2010)