About

Our story

Who hasn't grown up with the Arcade Halls full of video games! The wonder of machines where action and music came together. Then in the 1980s the development of affordable home computers such as the MSX, Commodore, Atari etc. on which you could play video games for hours.

Affordable home computers disappeared and made way for Playstation, Nintendo and the Personal Computer. What many underestimate is that good music and graphics contribute to an ultimate gaming experience.

We are bringing the video game music and pixel art
back to life on stage!

THE BAND LEVEL UP!

Level Up! is the Netherlands' first Video Game Music band and consists of five musicians and a VJ. Our roots lie in the chiptune music and pixel art of the 80s and 90s. Chiptune music, programmed by musicians, uses the chipset of a computer or game cartridge that can produce sound. Chiptune music is the precursor to today's video game music. Pixel art, where art and animations are created pixel by pixel, takes on an extra dimension by using modern graphics engines. Our VJ takes this to the next level by projecting 2D pixel art animations in a 3D world.

Our mascot, a Dutch potato in Japanese cartoon style, represents the Netherlands, Japan and especially the joy of video game music and digital art.

What are we doing?

On stage we play live with (vintage) instruments known and unknown video game music supported by pixel art projections. Both music and pixel art is a creative interpretation based on the original music and art. Our performance is a tribute to all video game musicians, pixel art artists and (no longer existing) video game companies.