8-Bit Boléro
Key topics
The charming "8-bit Boléro" project has won hearts, with its creator Linus Åkesson coaxing a mesmerizing rendition of Ravel's classic out of a Commodore 64, cleverly repurposed as an accordion-like instrument dubbed "The Commodordion." Commenters are delighted by the project's creativity, with some digging up other gems from Åkesson's portfolio, like the C64 Theremin and Qweremin. While one user humorously misinterpreted the "0 regrets" remark, others praised Åkesson's innovative spirit, speculating that his motivation remains intact for future projects. This thread is a love letter to retro tech and creative problem-solving.
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- 01Story posted
Dec 19, 2025 at 6:38 AM EST
19 days ago
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Dec 19, 2025 at 7:08 AM EST
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Dec 20, 2025 at 11:38 PM EST
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Ah it's called The Commodordion https://linusakesson.net/commodordion/index.php
https://linusakesson.net/qweremin/
Brilliant.
A direct youtube link for the lazy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6z5__6rP58
Qweremin: C64 Theremin: https://linusakesson.net/hardware/theremin/index.php
Qwertar: C64 Keytar: https://linusakesson.net/music/glyptodont-live/index.php
Very neat!
That's the most important number in stores like this one.
<= 0 regrets
https://bigthink.com/high-culture/bolero-ravel-dementia-2/
1. https://radiolab.org/podcast/unraveling-bolero
“[Koji Kondo] had planned to use Maurice Ravel's Boléro as the title theme as it perfectly matched its speed, seeing as under Japanese copyright law, music is released into the public domain 50 years after the composer's death. However, Kondo was forced to change it in November 1985, late in the game's development, after learning that it had only been 47 years and 11 months after Ravel's death.”[1]
Funny how things rhyme.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_gam...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWblpsLZ-O8
This is really freaking cool.
One of the funniest things in the video is the variety of neck ties, for each part.
(Sandra Boynton is amazing, no matter what she does.)
(Yes, I've heard the Ravel before, I mean the presentation style, e.g. Oldfield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdMtqKZ6GrY )
That's such a good idea with this old equipment. And you can see that the guy tried hard not to laugh. And surprisingly, the arrangement sounds great. Hilarious.
I guess there's a C64 "executable" that he's made available but no source so I don't know what the exact keymapping is. I did find a few different resources that show the layout in action [2] [3].
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwsZ41pA_Vo&t=58s
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_button_accordion
[2] https://okathira-dev.github.io/client-web-api-sandbox/button...
[3] https://www.rmwinslow.com/tones/