Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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TLb. ,dMP' all rite, now you get the chance to read

TML.dMMP some facts about some of the major amiga

,nmm`XXMPX musicians. read about their history in

,#MP'~~XNXYNXTb. the scene and their plans in future.yes,

,d~' dNNP `YNTb. that's meant to be read while listening to

,~ ,NN' `YNb their modules. read 'em over and over and over..

dNP `Yb.

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Handle:

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Group:

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Date of birth:

1-How did your interest for computers start? Which year was that?

1981. My brother just bought himself a TI 99-4A. The poor guy never did learn
to use that thing that well. As for me, I got started with that. But things
took off a few years later when my father got a Franklin 8088 (or an 8086, I
can't remember which). That's when I discovered the BBSs...and thus beginning
my downward spiral.

2-What machines did you previously have? What did you do with them?

8088 -- mostly BBS stuff

286 (self built) -- BBS stuff, and I discovered the scene

486 dx 33 -- I discovered music within the scene (first computer with a sound
card)

Pentium 133 MMX -- Heavy Tracking, and Doom/Descent

Current computers: AMD Athalon 700 -- Linux, web development, perl, and so on.
AMD Athalon 1 gig -- Windows, Primary entertainment and
tracking machine

3-For what specific reason did you end up making music rather than gfx, coding?

I tried coding many times, but I got frustrated by the fact that I had to
learn a lot of boreing things before I could get to do anything interesting.
I guess it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. As for Graphics, I do
some of my gfx, but I'm not exactly very talented at it. I keep my collection
to myself.

4-Which composing programs have you been using? Which one in particular?

Scream Tracker 3.x -- this is where I began...barely released anything in S3M
format.

Impulse Tracker -- This has been my primary tracker ever since I left the
world of ST3 for obvious reasons.

Currently, I'm messing around a bit with Psycle and ZTracker (ZT for my MIDI
work).

5-With which module did you feel you had reached your goal?

"Charge White Horse..." is by far my best tune of all time. Ironically, it's
not exactly one of my most current tunes. I believe it to be one of my most
perfected tunes, and the most musically interesting. As a bonus, I had done
this up on score sheets (with some modifications) and had this played for
their spring concert one year.

6-Is there a tune you would like not to remember? For what reason?

"Unmasked Heart" was one of the first tunes I uploaded to Hornet Archive way
back when I started. The samples are poor, and I had yet to learn how to tune
samples in Impulse Tracker. It was bad.

7-In your opinion, what's the value of a music in a demo, game?

Music is an essential part of both games and demos. Especially Demos. Without
the music, a demo is nothing. As for games, some games just need some ambient
effects. But most games, especially the high action games, need music to
build the adrenaline.

8-At present, are you still composing? For professional or leisure purposes?

I am still composing for leisure purposes. I'm still very involved with the
scene, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. It's a part of my life...and
music has always been my release. I don't release nearly as much stuff as I
used to, but as I've matured with my music writing, I've grown more picky
about my own music.

9-What do you think of today's pieces of music such as mpeg,wave,midi,etc...?

Music is music to me, and I don't think that anyone within the scene should
be so blind as to realize that. Many people are unhappy about the introduction
of MP3s into the scene, as they see that people use things like Sound Forge
to enhance their tunes. Others are rather upset that people might take
advantage of their MIDI instruments and use things like Cubase or Cakewalk
to write thier tunes. But in reality...the music scene has always been about
the creation of music. So what it if isn't a MOD (and its counterparts)?
Do you like the way it sounds? That's all that matters.

10-Could you tell us some of your all times favourite tunes?

Tunes by me:

"Charge White Horse..." An orchestral war tune from the dark ages. Probably
one of my best works of all time.

"Welcome to My World" Proof that Coplan can do more than orchestral. A
trance/dance tune, one of my most energetic.

"Beyond the Glass" My MC6 entry. A cross between orchestral and rock. One
of my favorites.

Other tunes:
"Sorrows Triumph" by Dude, Dream Scythe and Catspaw. This is a multi-part,
contemporary epic peice. You can sense some inspiration
from Andrew Lloyde Webber, maybe even a bit of Gershwin
at some parts. The samples are very good, the music is tight.

"Kingdom Skies" by Jase. The winner of MC3 is a classic epic orchestral tune.
Every scener must hear this song at least once. The good
sceners probably have it memorized. There's not much I could
say that would do the tune any justice...it's just pure genius.

"The Approach" by Nightbeat. This is a celtic/scottish inspired contemporary
peice. It is the type of music that could almost be pulled
directly from the "Braveheart" soundtrack. It has inspired me
to attempt the style in my own works.

"The Great Revolt" by Virt. Yes, another epic orchestral tune. Tunes like
this are very difficult to do. While the samples in this
tune sound like they were synthesized, the dynamics in this
tune are amazing. It is probably one of the best
arrangements I've ever seen from a non-professional.

"Route 84" by Skie. It helps that Skie is a friend of mine, so maybe I have a
bit of a biased. But one of her talents is the fact that she can
do interesting synth/ambient tunes such as this, and ever make them
interesting enough to keep you listening. This tune is no exception.
There's a lot going on in the song, and it's very complex, but yet
so simple. Simplicity on this level is often an unreachable goal
for most.

"Blackjack" by El Blanco. The man is very talented at almost any music style.
This tune, in particular, screams of a demoscene production.
Complex base lines, phat leads, crazy rhythms and transitions
between vastly different parts of the tune. This song, to me, is
what the scene is about. It's a classic.

11-Are you planning to make an audio cd with some of your music remastered?

I don't have any immediate plans to do so. But, with my new toys (MIDI synths
and stuff) I don't see why it won't be a possibility in the future.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Radiohead is by far one of my favorites. I'm also a big fan of Tori Amos,
Propellerheads, Crystal Method, Dire Straights, Depech Mode and Jethro Tull...
among hundreds of other groups.

13-What does/did the amiga/c64 scene give you?

I came into the scene on the PC ticket. I havn't had much exposure to the
amiga/c64 scene...but I have a great deal of respect for it. After all, I
don't think the PC scene would've existed had it not been for the amiga/c64
scene.

14-Are you still active in the scene these days?

Of course! I still publish the e-magazine "Static Line" and I'm developing a
scene news and resources site called "SceneSpot". I have reviewed hundreds of
tunes, and I have participated in many competitions. It's one of my most
favorite hobbies, and I would never give it up.

15-Anyone to greet? Anything left to say? Feel free...

I just want to say that the scene is what you make of it. People keep thinking
that the scene is dying, and I disagree. I think the scene has changed a lot.
Change isn't so bad, so long as you're willing to accept it. We've come a
long way, and I think we have a lot further to go. But the scene is still
very much alive. Do your part, and help to keep it around.

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please note: this interview is ©opyrighted in 2002 by crown of cryptoburners
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