Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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`qb ,dP'

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?

I started quite some time ago with the C16, in - ooh, quite a long
time ago, 1987 or so.

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

I started with the C16, then I moved up to the BBC Master 128, which I
learned to program BASIC on (the C16 BASIC was like C64 BASIC - shit) and
then learned 6502, but I wasn't a cool coder, so I still prefered the BASIC
to asm.

I also got the Sega Mastersystem about 1988 and had much fun playing
classics like Fantasy Zone and Wonderboy 3. But, being a kid, I still wanted
something better than a BBC and an SMS, I really wanted a Megadrive or
something like that.

Then one day I bought a C64 from a bargin bucket for 10 UKP, and I thought
it was pretty good, but the sound was broken so all the games were silent.
I eventually got it fixed and I was amazed at first music I heard on it,
Ninja Remix (Reyn Ouwehand). I remember being amazed how good the music
was, especially compared to the SMS. But I never really stuck with the C64,
just played tape-based games on it until it burned out.

My next machine came in 1992, and it was an Amiga A500+, which came with a
load of games. Finally, I had a 'real' computer, and I started getting Amiga
Format, which had things like Devpac 2 and AMOS, and 'write your own game'
tutorials, so I started coding properly then.

In 1994 I upgraded to an A1200, and in 1996 I got it a hard drive and memory,
as well as my own CD32 and Megadrive!

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

Well, I'm still more a coder than a composer, but I guess it was just that I
liked to make tunes, at least on a computer they sound better than if I
sing them. There was also the fact that I liked to write music to see if
I could impress friends at school, and when I first got 'net access it
was one-way, so I included my address, and I was spurred on by the few
letters I got from other people!

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

I started with ProTracker 3.10 from Amiga Format, so I never saw why people
thought ProTracker was shit or why MED was better, because PT3.10 is still
the best and most stable version of ProTracker today! I don't like using
OctaMED, I've tried QuadraComposer but thought it was just a slow version
of PT. I released quite a few PT mods, also my friend Owlz was into music
as well, except he prefered techno and hated chip mods!

I quite liked making chip-mods, and I tried a few 'chip' trackers like
FutureComposer and StarTrekker - StarTrekker was great, but it only worked
on 1.3, which I had to use ReloKick in, and that made it a bit boring to
load. So I was happy to discover AHX, and it finally broke a silence of
composing I'd had for a while. Recently I've tried PC tracking, but on
other people's PCs. It's certainly not bad, and I'm quite impressed how
usable these PC trackers are.

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

The first module I was really proud of, and I mean _really_ proud, was
a PT mod called 'Magnetism'. I was very into Mike Oldfield at the time,
and I still think today I did everything in that mod just right. It had
a very spooky sound, a haunting theme, and it just brings the main section
in beautifully.

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

Interestingly, the mod I'm least proud of is Magnetism Gold, which was an
attempt at a techno version of Magnetism. It was full of other people's
samples and drum-tracks (something I used to think was OK, but nowadays
don't like because it makes the music sound too much like the other
person's work), it was clearly begging for proper stereo-seperation, more
channels and better sample quality. It's not rubbish, but it's certainly
not memorable or a decent follow-up to Magnetism.

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

I think music in a demo is essential, if it's on the same wavelength as the
demo's visuals - for example, Desert Dream or Roots AGA. It's the sort of
stuff that gets you dancing and clapping to demos that really brings a
production alive, and can signal change and preempt buildup much more than
any amount of screen fading and wipes can do. Just background music isn't so
good, but if it fits then it's still great, always better than silence.

In a game, it can definately make it more memorable. For example, I don't
think we'd remember Sonic the Hedgehog or Tetris without their signature
tunes. I've seen too many Amiga games with no ingame music, and they mostly
get dull, whereas music (even just background music) can even make dull games
quite fun! I have a stereo system mixing Amiga and CD output just for this
purpose.

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

I still compose with AHX and mess about with FMSynth and my own
experimental programs, I'd like to try some of the MIDI synth boxes or big
PC programs, but I don't have the money for that :)

I just compose for fun, composing what I'd like to hear. I don't really
think I'm 'so good' at composing that I'd constantly make quality music
on demand.

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

I don't really play MIDI or mp3 tunes as I don't have good enough equipment,
but I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with them as music formats.

The actual music coming from PC users, though, is wide-ranging in quality,
the same as Amiga users. I'm sure at least 70% of the new mods I hear are
shit, but every now and then I hear a great one. It doesn't bother me too
much that I am limited to 22Khz output for mods, the 14bit Deliplayer gives
acceptable quality to me. How the song flows is definately more important,
rubbish sounds bad even at CD quality.

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

I guarantee these few are 100% classics:

C64: Ninja Remix, Stormlord
SMS: Wonderboy III endtune
Ami: Turrican 2 (Huelsbeck)

I could give you a much bigger list (ie my mods drawer, classics only!)
but why? I'm sure most people would agree with me :)

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

I'd love to, but I don't think it'd ever happen :)

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Something like this (no order): Natalie Imbruglia, Jean Michel Jarre,
Pet Shop Boys, Sash!, Mike Oldfield, Lightning Seeds, Lighthouse Family,
New Order and Dire Straits.

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

It gave me AHX :)

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

I haven't really been 'in the scene', ie on IRC, at parties, swapping like
mad. But I have had a great few years talking to various other scene people,
who don't stop to question why I want to do stuff

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

I would greet people, but the names and the reasons change all the time :)

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