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?

In 1980 my father brought a Commodore PET home from work and showed
me how to do simple programs in Basic. I was very excited about that,
but unfortunately he couldn't keep the PET, so I wanted to have an own
Computer.

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

My first own computer was a Commodore 64 from the first produced batch, back
in 1982. I programmed simple games on it using basic and later assembler.

In 1986, the AMIGA came and with him my "career" in making music and coding.

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

Actually, I did both coding and music. Music however, was always more fun
since there was a more linear effort-result relation than with coding. Oh, and
most important, my music didn't have to be debugged ;)

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

Everything started with the first leaked version of Karsten Obarski's
SoundTracker, which I used in the days of TGM-Crew and Thrust.
I then began to hack on various SoundTracker derived programs and eventually,
wrote my own, the Cornucopia Sound System (CSS), which I used internally for
the Threat and Supreme demos.

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

That's a tough question, since I did hundreds of modules during 1986-1990,
and I like quite a lot of them. One of my favourites is definitly "The Flag",
since it really has a nice story telling melody.

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

There are two ones. One is "Superman", which is a totally insane piece with
wicked voice samples and the other one is "Bacardi", which is not quite
that bad, but I don't want to remember my headache the day after I composed
that one ;)

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

Music is very important as a means to transport emotion. When you're
through with a game, what you remember is the music and the connected
emotions you had while playing it. Same goes for demos. A great tune can
make a sucky demo better, while a sucky tune can destroy the effects of
a great demo.

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

I'm still composing, although due to my other activities solely for leisure
purposes.

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

Nowadays there are some great musicians totally exploring the possibilities
of computer generated music. Then again, a big problem is that due to the
luxury of big and high quality samples some composers seem to concentrate
mostly on effects and the overall sound quality instead of taking care about
melodies and harmonies.

Compared to modern standards, the sound quality of our modules in the 80s
is loughable - I'm pretty aware of that. Many of our ancient tunes still
stand out through the effects of traditional song writer qualities though.

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

From the C64 days, Rob Hubbards "Commando" and "Crazy Comets"
From the AMIGA days, "echoing.mod", from a (to me) unknown author.

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

Not really. I plan to reuse the melodies and harmonies in new music though,
which may eventually be published on CD.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Depeche Mode, Wolfsheim, U2, REM, The Hooters, Alphaville

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

It was a great time. I grew up during a time of parties, all night coding and
composing sessions, and very much fun. I made a lot of friends through the
scene. I will never forget these years.
BTW., this is the reason why I recently started my personal AMIGA tribute site

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

No. I quit 1993 when I started studying computer science in the university.
Nowadays I'm working on my Ph.D in computer science and I'm very active
in the Open Source community.

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

BlitterSplitter and Equalizer of Thrust,
Zeronine and Mark II of Quadlite,
Unknown of D.O.C,
Karsten Obarski, TriStar and Redsector, and
all the folks who keep the demo scene spirit alive!

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please note: this interview is ©opyrighted in 2005 by crown of cryptoburners
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