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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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?

It kind of started when my father bought an Apple computer and I was about 6-7
years old.

But it really started with the Commodore 64 that my big brother bought. I
guess I was about 10 years old, which means 1983.

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

I've had a Commodore 64, Amiga 500 and Amiga 1200.

I used the Commodore 64 mostly for playing games, though I tried to make
graphics, music and tried a little programming.

With the Amiga I was still a big action game enthusiast, with good skills in
bullet pumping and "happy" violence. But I started to be more serious with
music and graphics (concerning graphics that meant being a "pixel-slave" using
DeluxePaint)

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

I didn't. I ended up being a programmer. Currently I'm working full-time as a
C++ programmer making 3D visualization software :)

But right... back in the "old days" I was a lamer when it came to programming.

I guess I primarily was a musician in the Amiga scene because one of my
hobbies from when I was young was to make music with keyboards. (And yes: my
first keyboard was Casio keyboard.)

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

On the Amiga I used Music-X a lot for MIDI music. And of course I used any
Soundtracker-clone around for Amiga specific music.

Nowadays I'm using Emagic Logic, with plugins. And I have Creamware audio cards.

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

None - I'm never really satisfied...:)

..but I kind of like "Memorydust" and "Domination Dance" for the unique
compositions and "Undersea" and "Technolife" for the unique sound universe.

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

I must admit that I don't feel totally on top of things when I listen to some
of the things I did... Some endless solos could have been avoided perhaps?
("Hoaxers" / "Galaxy") :)

And sound quality and "production" wasn't my greatest concern when I made
music on the Amiga.... But for that there was an excuse (4 mono voices/fake
stereo/ 8bit,22Khz?-samples)

Anyway, I don't regret I released them, I was just a pimpled kid, so who cares?

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

The music is a vital part that just can't be underestimated.

But the real value of the combined piece is truly greater than the sum of its
parts only when the music fits the demo/game.

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

I'm still a leisure composer, yes. My head is filled up with very concrete
musical pieces and ideas that I have strong beliefs in, but sadly I don't get
to spend much time trying to get them out of my head. Getting an idea can be
as easy as snapping one's fingers, but giving it the professional touch can be
hard work.

At the moment my biggest concern is that I'm trying to do everything myself:
being a composer, producer, keyboard-player, sound-programmer, singer (ehh...
well, kind of), computer-wiz, and hardware-geek and having a full-time
brainjob++ besides (and wanting 8 hours of sleep every night) is just too much
it seems. My hope, though, is that as I accumulate a lot of knowledge and
ideas about creating music, someday I will get into a more productive flow.

And I also hope for that 10 million lottery win to buy me some spare time!! $-)

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

I have great respect for all the musicians that are out there. But just to say
something critical/constructive, it sometimes sounds like too much of the
music-making is all about making that professional sound, when the real focus
should be to create original, cool music and have fun.

An idea is to be BE MORE CREATIVE WITH LIMITED EQUIPMENT. That was what the
C64 and Amiga scene was all about. And everybody within the scene knew your
limitations, so you could earn some respect as well.

But the thing is, when making "technological music" today the rules have
changed, and nobody is impressed without that professional touch.

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

Oh.. this list can be very long.... the thing is that I don't have any
DEFINITE favourites..

Artists: Songs: My Comments and "Awards" (tata)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob Hubbard - Spellbound,Lighwave,Commando,Sanxion - C64 Award
Uncle Tom - DoubleDragon2, Spell-Amelioration - Amiga Award
Whether Report - Birdland - Jazz Award
Jarre - Popcorn - Techno Musician's task no.2: Make your own version of popcorn
Propellerheads - Spybreak - "Mission Impossible Theme II"?
Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin Beats - Drum Award
Prodigy - Poison - Noise Award
Aphex Twin - Fuck-It-Up-Award
Mr. Bungle: - Desert Search For Techno Allah - Best Song Name Award
Manic Street Preachers - If you tolerate this...
New Radicals - You get what you give
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax -
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Slayer - Angel Of Death - Best Scream
2 Pac/dr.Dre - Calefornia Love
Moloko - Sing It back
Star Wars - Makes half the movie? (John Williams rules)
Mozart - Requiem
Beethoven - 5th Symphony
Richard Strauss - From "Also sprach Zarathustra" (in '2001: A space Odyssey)
SOD - The Ballad Of Jimmy Hendrix - Just had to make room for a ballad in here
as well

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

You mean remastering the old Amiga mods? Not really. But I might pick up some
old ideas and use it in new music. Kind of like stealing ideas from myself.
And I did make a synth version of "Memorydust" sometime. But releasing it?
Well, then it have to be good, and it wasn't...

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

There are *LOTS* of great music acts out there. I'm not very updated, but
anyway, here's a list of what I've been listening to for the last couple of
years: (NB: My comprehension of a "band" is quite fluid):

Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, Moby, Røyksopp, Propellerheads, PortisHead, Infected
Mushroom, Cosmosis, Chemical Brothers, Depeshce Mode, Jamiroquay, Moloko,
Mr Bungle, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More,...

I also like to listen to Melody Grand Prix. WHY THE F**K, you ask?? Let me
explain: It can be very hard to listen to all the tons of quality music
productions that are out there. So it's very liberating to listen to something
that is REALLY BAD! It feeds my self-confidence and brings back the Wanna-Be
in me!

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

It gave me a lot of friends. And I got some nice feedback from some of the
tunes I made, so I guess it gave me some confidence to continue and create
music.

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

No. I kind of retired back in 1993.

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

I have to thank especially the Razor guys for some great times!

Guerkan: Still alive? Wife & kids? Still programming? I should visit you some
day, but that was 10 years ago. I might have delayed it too long? :-)
Take care!

Kjetil, Runar, John Atle: Thanx for kicking my butt so that I made some music
and graphics - though you should have kicked it
harder! (and I should have kicked yours as well so
that you programmed some more!) :)

Thomas: Even my wildest ideas can't guess what you are doing right now!
Graphical artist? Judo-fighter? Kickboxer? Snowboarder?? Body-builder??
What about trying to make some music again? :)

Zeb: Keep up the good spirit!

To all I have forgotten: You're not! Take care!!

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please note: this interview is ©opyrighted in 2002 by crown of cryptoburners
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