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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| _| | | _l_ | | \ / _l_ | ___|

l___/=l___|====l____/===\______|==l______|\ /l___/===\______l____/

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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?

I have been interested in computers for as long as I can remember. The first
one I had was a Sinclair ZX81 which I got probably around 1982.

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

I have had quite a number of computers (too many to mention), but here is a
list of the main ones that I actively used:

Sinclair ZX81. This is what I started programming on. To be honest you
couldn't really do much else with it, especially with only 1K of memory.

BBC Micro Model B. Used this mainly for programming and playing games. I
also did a little bit of music programming on it, but the sound was a too
limited for me to take it seriously at the time. Later on I upgraded to a
BBC Master.

Atari ST (I've had two 1040 STs and a 520 STe). This is what I started
making music on, although it was mainly MIDI stuff I done initially. Later
on I started using the TCB Tracker for non-MIDI stuff, but in those days I
found trackers to be a little bit intimidating.

Amiga 500. Used for programming, music and to a lesser extent graphics. This
is when I seriously started getting into trackers. The first Amiga tracker
I used was NoiseTracker and then I upgraded to ProTracker.

Amiga 1200. Upgraded from the A500 when it broke down on me. Currently I am
using OctaMED SoundStudio because of its MIDI support, but I do from time
to time go back to using ProTracker. I also do programming and occasionally
dabble in graphics.

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

As mentioned above, I actually do all three, but it is mainly coding and
music I do. Graphics is sadly not one of my strong points.

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

I think I answered that in question 2. Currently OctaMED SoundStudio is my
main music tool.

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

I don't think I have reached that goal yet. I have never written a tune that
has made me go "Wow, I did that!". There have been ones that have come
close (my version of "The Conversation" for example), but perhaps I set my
standards a bit too high.

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

No, not really. There are tunes that I've done that I don't particularly
like, but these were mainly experimental type modules (e.g. "Abstract
Reality") just to see how they would turn out.

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

Music is what sets the mood and pace of a game or demo.

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

Yes I am still composing. I do it for leisure purposes, although I also
write music for The Crypt magazine which usually has a particular theme to
each edition. The current issue is the Christmas (or Cryptmas) edition so I
had written some Christmassy music that started off quite dark and
(hopefully) disturbing.

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

I think that the mp3 format is great. It's a good way for people to release
their music on the internet.

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

If you are speaking about Amiga specific music then I would have to say
almost anything by Allister Brimble and the guy that done the music for the
Turrican series (Chris Holsbeck?). Tim Bartlett done some great music for
the Psygnosis game Ork.

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

There is an audio CD in the works, but whether or not it will feature any
remastered versions of my older music I haven't decided yet.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Dido and Linkin Park.

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

I used to get a great sense of achievement every time a demo was released
that I was involved in. It's great seeing your name up in lights, so to
speak.

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

Not so much these days. I find it difficult to get the time between work and
various other projects that I have on.

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

I would like to say hi to everyone that works on The Crypt and to all of
those people that help keep the Amiga alive!

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please note: this interview is ©opyrighted in 2001 by crown of cryptoburners
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