Gigakoops

**Gigakoops** is a multi-instrumentalist, illustrator, and musical composer from Ohio. She is a member of Negative Øhio, and also has a solo career making video game-inspired chiptune/experimental metal music.

## Musical Career

### First Two Albums & *RPG: The Musical*

Her first musical release was her self-titled album *Gigakoops*, released in 2011. Written using built-in synths from the music program REAPER, it has a very strictly lo-fi chiptune sound, and songwriting was focused primarily on complexity, mostly to try and write songs that would be difficult to play in the *Rock Band* video game series.

Gigakoops' second album, *Missing Chromosomes... and Proud of It!*, was inspired a lot more by heavy metal and progressive rock music. While still using the same chiptune synths as the first album, the drums were swapped out for a less chiptune-sounding VST, and the songwriting was slightly shifted towards invoking moods, meanwhile also being complex musically. It was originally meant to include vocals, but due to lack of opportunity to record vocals and lack of inspiration for lyrics, the album was released instrumentally.

After the release of *Missing Chromosomes* she also tried to set up a collaborative album, titled *RPG: The Musical*. The idea was that it would be a comedic concept album about the characters in a generic RPG video game going on their quest, pointing out cliches and odd imagery along the way. However, the project ended up being cancelled. Out of this collaboration came the song "Trumpy the Acid Trumpet in Space Adventure 9: The Chronicles of Life and Death," composed by Gigakoops, Nightmare Lyre and Squiggle Glitz.

### Llort

Llort was the first project both Gigakoops and Nightmare Lyre collaborated on. It is a comedic avant-garde metal band, writing silly lyrics and mashing several different genres together. They have only released one EP, *We Sold Out Already! Merry Christmas!*, in 2013. It included the song "Satin Claws," as well as a cover of "Carol of the Bells."

### Post-*RPG: The Musical*, *Please Bring Peace to the Village of Doom &* My Legendary Silver Triangle Wealth Pyramid

At the end of 2013, Gigakoops released a single titled "Escapism of the Fearless." It was her second song written mostly without REAPER's built-in synths (the first being "Trumpy the Acid Trumpet in Space Adventure 9: The Chronicles of Life and Death"). Also heavily inspired by progressive rock, it is an 8-minute song with several movements and shifts in genre, including heavy metal, electronic, and symphonic music.

A few years later Gigakoops started work on her next album, *Please Bring Peace to the Village of Doom*. This album continued the change in direction towards experimental metal with video game elements. Like *Missing Chromosomes*, it was intended to have vocals and lyrics. However, lyrics took too long to write, and with the instrumentals fully produced and mixed by Nightmare Lyre, Gigakoops ended up only adding vocals to the song "Fox With a Knife," consisting of choir vocals and a snort used as a pre-drop sample.

In September of 2018 Gigakoops released an EP titled *My Legendary Silver Triangle Wealth Pyramid*, and includes a vocal-centric remix of the song with the same name. It also includes a short, comedic grindcore song titled "Grinding Nemo" and also a remix of "Death In General" made by Nightmare Lyre.

### Negative Øhio

In 2017, Gigakoops and Nightmare Lyre formed Negative Øhio, as a way to experiment with different styles and improvisation in music. In August 2018 they started releasing singles, starting with "Alvin Dies Of Neurotoxin While An Onlooker Stares Into The Abyss, Before the Abyss Stares Back." In November of 2019 they released their first album, *Metal is Girly and Gay (And That's Okay)*, consisting of all the singles they had released up to that point.

## Physical description

### Height

Tall enough to ride on most roller coasters

Gigakoops mainly plays bass guitar and keys, though has also provided vocals, percussion, guitar, otamatone, kazoo, samples, and MIDI instruments to Negative Øhio's songs.

She is entirely self-taught with keys, using her knowledge of music gained from years of composing with MIDI to learn how to play her own songs, as well as write new keyboard lines. As for guitar and bass, she is mostly self-taught, though also gained some knowledge by playing *Rocksmith*.

## Persona

**Lizzy** is one of many characters Gigakoops has created over the years, and is considered as a representation of herself. She is a fox with an affinity for anything cute. Despite this she is also very much into extreme metal and noise music.

Design-wise she retains most of the same colors and fur patterns as a typical red fox, with the acception of bright red hair.

## Trivia

* The Game Boy Advance is her favorite video game console, and a lot of music from Game Boy games are inspirations for Gigakoops' sound in her solo music.
* Some of the character illustrations for Negative Øhio (namely those of Lizzy Nightmare Lyra, Bubba Billy-Bob, and a tiny fox) are made by her.

## References

1. ↑ https://gigakoops.bandcamp.com/album/gigakoops
2. ↑ https://gigakoops.bandcamp.com/album/missing-chromosomes-and-proud-of-it
3. ↑ https://gigakoops.bandcamp.com/track/trumpy-the-acid-trumpet-in-space-adventure-9-the-chronicles-of-life-and-death
4. ↑ https://llort.bandcamp.com/album/we-sold-out-already-merry-christmas
5. ↑ https://gigakoops.bandcamp.com/track/escapism-of-the-fearless
6. ↑ https://gigakoops.bandcamp.com/album/please-bring-peace-to-the-village-of-doom
7. ↑ https://gigakoops.bandcamp.com/album/my-legendary-silver-triangle-wealth-pyramid-ep