On Tame Impala’s smashing 2015 album Currents, the band incorporated a heavier electronic influence into their sound, and it meshed gorgeously with the hazy psychedelia the Australian group has perfected on since their inception. But what would it be like if the band extracted the electronic influence from their sound, boiled it down to its very core components, then reinterpreted their songs with that aesthetic in mind?

What would probably happen is a result that could soundtrack a level of Shovel Night or a similarly throwback video game, as is evidenced by Nonak’s 8-bit cover of “Alter Ego”, from Tame Impala’s 2010 debut Innerspeaker. Perhaps the band themselves agrees, as they gave the “awesome” stripped-down rendition a shout-out on Facebook.

While Tame Impala’s original version of the song is loose and free-flowing, the 8-bit version brings the composition into focus and highlights the quality of the songwriting that, for some, may have gotten lost amidst the reverb-drenched studio recording.

The good news is that it looks like Nonak might be working through Tame Impala’s discography and giving the 8-bit treatment to its highlights: On the day he uploaded “Alter Ego”, he also posted 8-bit versions of “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards,” “Elephant” and “Apocalypse Dreams”.

We’re hoping our theory checks out, because imagine how epic Currents tracks like “Let It Happen” and “The Moment” would be if given the video game treatment.

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Featured Image by Pooneh Ghana