Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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,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..

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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?

1986, Commodore 64 as a Christmas present. I was hooked!

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

I have had C64, Spectrum 48k, A500, A1200, PC. I have also had Atari 2600,
Snes, Playsation, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Sega Dreamcast. I still have
them all apart from the Speccy and the SNES. The Spectrum died, so it went
in the bin. The SNES I gave to my younger brother a few years ago.

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

I heard Martin Galway's music on the C64... I was amazed by it and from then
on I was obsessed with computer music. I still listen to Galway's music
even now!

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

I can use most music programs... from C64 programs, Gameboy programs,
through to different versions of Cubase in recording studios. I use
Soundforge and Soundprobe on the PC for sampling and editing, and either
Med Soundstudio on the PC (the PC version of OctaMed) or Cubase to sequence
depending on what music I have to write. I still use Octamed and Protracker
on the Amiga for composing for the Gameboy Advance :)

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

Main Vein. In 1999, the Amiga magazine "CU Amiga" ran a competition for
musicians. I entered some of my mods, and I came 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 15th and
16th. Main Vein was the winning mod, and has been one of the best tracks
to play live at gigs. I have just remixed Main Vein for my album... it
is now all 16-bit, stereo, and nice :)

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

Too many to mention! Most of them are unreleased though! (Thank God!)

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

I think that music in demos and games is very underrated. Music, especially
in recent games, is very important for creating and sustaining an atmosphere.
Whether it's a moody classical score, or heavy rock tracks, a game just isn't
the same without the music.

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

Both! I write a lot of music for my own entertainment... I just like to
write music. I do work commercially though (unfortunately, not enough to
give up my day job!). I am writing the music for some PC games and a
Gameboy Advance game at this very moment.

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

Midi is OK as a foundation... Midi tunes on their own aren't really up to
much, although they are good because they have very small filesizes and are
compatible with many systems.

MP3 is great for listening to music!

I think in general, especially with the PC and new consoles, the composer is
a lot more free from restriction of memory, CPU power etc. because of
formats like MP3, Wavs, and even CD-Audio.

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

Martin Galway - Arkanoid, Ocean Loader Version 1 (from Hypersports), Ocean
Loader Version 2, Rambo First Blood Part 2 Loading Music,
Parallax, Terra Cresta - C64

Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader Version 3 - C64

Rob Hubbard - Warhawk, Star Paws, Commando, International Karate, Monty on
the Run, Master of Magic - C64

4-Mat/Anarchy (Matthew Simmonds) - Madness 2 (Part B)

Jogeir Liljedahl - Guitar Slinger and a few of his other Amiga mods - Amiga

Dizzy/CNCD - Banana Split, Joedatellupolska, and his other Amiga mods - Amiga

Nuke/Lemon. - Rink a Dink - Amiga

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

Jean Michel Jarre - Zoolook, and most of his other albums

David Shire - Theme from "Short Cicuit" - Movie

Jerry Goldsmith - His music from Rambo First Blood

Nobuo Uematsu - Jenova Absolute (From Final Fantasy VII)

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

Two of my Amiga mods (Punch, and Main Vein) have been remixed in full CD
quality. They can be found on my album with The Storm Riders.

12-What bands are you currently listening to?

Michael Jackson's new album, Jarre, Oldfield, Martin Galway's Sidtunes,
many movie and game soundtracks (Final Fantasy X on PS2 and Shenmue on the
Sega Dreamcast at the moment are great). And lots of pop/dance music!

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

Many many diskmags and 40k intros! I have hundreds of floppies full of
them! No, seriously, it gave me a insight into something else... I haven't
seen anything like it since I was in the Amiga scene!

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

Unfortunately not. Perception (my old group) disbanded, much of the music I
had written for demos and intros never got released, and I had to go to
University and get a job, so for a long time I didn't have much time to
dedicate to it. It's a shame, because it was really satisfying to hear
my music in the demos! I have recently been thinking about getting into
the PC demo scene... do Melon still exist? I would love to join a goup
like Melon :) (or Lemon... or Anarchy... :)

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

Everyone I swapped with, everyone I knew from Perception, everyone I knew
from other groups! If anyone wants to get in touch, I'd be happy to hear
from ya!

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