Phoenix Reimagined Themselves as a Chiptune Band at the Game Awards Last Night and It Was Really Good

Phoenix took the stage last night at The Game Awards 2017 in Los Angeles, and it was electric. After staggering through a French monologue using Google translate, Jason Schwartzman welcomed Phoenix to the stage (frontman Thomas Mars is Schwartzman’s cousin). The French band performed “Ti Amo” and added a bit of gamer inspiration to it, giving the song a “Chiptune” sound. Chiptune, also known as 8-bit music, is synthesized video-game influenced electronic music. The change in tone was slight but noticeable, and definitely fitting for the Game Awards environment.

The award show took place to honor achievements in the video game industry, and in the past have gotten to see performances by Chvrches and Run The Jewels. The video game award ceremony and the fourth incarnation of The Game Awards was hosted by Geoff Keighley and held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Phoenix is best known for their songs “Lisztomania,” “Too Young” and “1901.” The title track they staged comes from their sixth studio album Ti Amo, released earlier this year.  Watch their performance below.

Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer