Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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1-How did your interest for computers start? Which year was that?

Probably 1982-1983, playing arcade games and then seeing the ZX
Spectrum in a shop.

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

First machine I had was a c64 in 1983/1984, which I kept until the end
of 1988. I played a lot of games and enjoyed the great music they
had. I wasn't part of the c64 scene, just downloaded demos off
Compunet. :) At the end of 1988 I sold it to get an Amiga A500, after
seeing some Megaforce & DOC demos at my friend's house.

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

Not sure, I liked a lot of c64 music so that's probably where it comes
from.

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

First one I used was (I think) a soundtracker by TIP/TNM, followed
by NoiseTracker and finally Protracker 1.3b.

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

"Phantasmagoria" from the 1990 Anarchy demo. (also known as '4mat_x'
if you've got "Mods Anthology")

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

Most of them, they're awful. :) There's probably only about 5-6 I
like still.

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

For demos an appropriate theme is essential, the music determines
the pace and atmosphere of the whole production really. I like
the way recent demos have the effects linked to the music, I guess
that shows how important the soundtrack is. When I was in the scene
my tracks were rarely written *for* the demo, just whatever was spare
at the time and fitted in. :) The value of game music varies I think
from game to game. Certainly the pace and atmosphere are greatly helped
by the music, but in some situations just having soundfx can work just as
well. I like the way more games are moving away from the '3 minute ingame
tune' idea to more dynamic uses of music, either used occasionally throughout
the game or 'interactive' to the action on-screen.

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

Yes. I work for a games developer in the United Kingdom, and I write some
real songs in my spare time.

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

The new tracker formats have really improved the sound quality, and music
production in demos now is fantastic compared to the old Amiga days. I use
Wave & Midi almost exclusively now for multitracking and composing, rather
than modules. :(

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

"Hy!Super" by Dune/Orange.
"Last Hero" by Future Freak. (SID)
"Madness Took Me" by Uncle Tom/Scoopex.
"Nebulos" by Audiomonster/Silents.
"POBIEDZISKA" by Groo/CNCD.
"Shadowfire" by Fred Gray. (SID)
"Stardust Memories" by Jester/Sanity.
"Stor Och Liten" by Bruno/SCUP.
"Trouble Vision" by Romeo Knight/RSI.
"W.A.R" by Rob Hubbard. (SID)
"Wizball" by Martin Galway. (SID)
"Zoids" by Rob Hubbard. (SID)

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

No, probably not.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Recently it's been a mix of The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Liz Phair, Stina
Nordenstam, Juliana Hatfield and Daft Punk. Also some Debussy.

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

Experience. It's the best place to learn because the competition is
so good.

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

Very occasionally. I'm learning to code on the c64 just for fun, as I always
wanted to learn assembly when I had the machine first time around. :) There
might be the occasional SID tune from me, though I wouldn't mind doing one
more Amiga demo soundtrack if anyone's interested. :)

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

Greets to my friends Rich, Sam, Jim and all the guys at work. Also greets
to the Cosine team and any ex-Amiga people I knew back in the old days.

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