Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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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 think it was in the very beginning of the 80'ies that I went to the local
toystore, daily, to experiment with a computer called "Lazer 2000" or something.
Similar to the speccy but earlier. I used to do tunes in basic and play them
until the storemanager asked me to shut it off since it "disrupted" the
customers. :)

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

My first own computer was a Spectrum 48k Plus, bought in 1984. In the beginning
it was all about playing games, experimenting with basic and make fonts etc.
The last things I did before switching to the C64 was to hack some games in
Zeus Assembler. Then in 1985/86 I got myself a C64, later adding a 1541 drive.
That was when I got into demos and was awed at what a person could do at home.
I also discovered the great masters, Rob Hubbard, Martin Galway etc. etc.
(so many great ones) and decided to learn to code. I did that as well as
experimenting with soundeditors but never made anything significant. Knowledge
reached rasterbars, spritescrolls in borders and some other tricks.

Then, late 1987 (september) I bought an Amiga, which would be my main format
until 1994. I learned to program, and one day in 1987 I got a floppy in the mail
with Soundtracker 1. That changed my life. After playing around with Sonix
that was limited in the sequencing department, Soundtracker was just THE tool
to use. And as time passed I learned to code a little better, making some
intros and demos, and a LOT of modules (most was never released on any larger
scale).

1994 I jumped ship and decided to stay with real music (guitarplayer etc.),
but in 1995 I felt the urge to use a computer again and took the step into the
world of PC.

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

Well, I did all three, a one-man group really, but music was always number one,
the rest was just "hobbies" of mine. I was always better at doing music than
coding anyway. Always done music in one way or the other.

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

On amiga ->Sonix, Futurecomposer 1.4, Sound/Star/Noise/Protracker. Protracker
was always number one.
On the PC I've experimented with N-trekker for tracking, but since I've
mainly made guitarbased music etc. I've used Cubase x.x for all my projects.

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

None of them. While I liked some of them at the time, I could always do better.
If there's one module in particular I think it'd have to be "Joining the Farrow",
made in the early 90'ies, with a medieval touch.

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

Lol, there's a lot of tunes I never was happy with, but at the same time they're
part of what I did back then, so I'm looking at them with nostalgia rather
than a critical eye.. ;)

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

In a demo it's number 1. Imagine a standard amiga-demo without music...
Impossible, the music is the most important part.

In games, it's equally important as music can make or break a game, but it's
more of a balance of things in games. A good song doesn't make a good game,
you need to get everything right.

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

I've been in a band for the last 4 years which I quit recently due to band and
me going different directions, but we've released two albums and a couple of
singles. It's a metalband which I wont mention here. Now I'm doing music for
leisure. That's what it's supposed to be, pleasureable.

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

There's sooooo much out there that it's difficult to get a perspective of it.
One thing I'm particularly fond of is the remixes of old C64-tunes at
remix.kwed.org, some of those remixes are just so awesome. I don't spend much
time listening to midi-files though, current soundcard technology is still
too basic to make it sound good.

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

Fury of the Furries - Forest (by Moby)
Red Sector CeBit Demo tune (by Romeo Knight I think)
Kefrens - Desert Dream, tune 3 (by Merge)
Turrican II - of course ;)
In The Woods (4-mat)
...and the list goes on and on and on....

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

Not at the moment no.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Very varied in my taste... Depeche Mode, Vader, Hendrix, Black Sabbath,
Tangerine Dream etc. etc. etc.

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

A hobby, a way to explore, develop any talents, and be a main part of my
upbringing.. ;)

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

No, not in the amiga/pc demo scene.

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

I want to greet all I've ever met and had fun with, whether they remember me
or not, I want to greet all great musicians that kicked out all these killer
tunes that inspired me in my own stuff etc.

Also, don't forget those times, they will never come back no matter what.
Cherish what we had and take care. To Crown and the rest keeping this page
going: Thanks for keeping the memories and the songs alive. They're worth it :)

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please note: this interview is ©opyrighted in 2003 by crown of cryptoburners
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