Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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`qb ,dP'

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?

Christmas '84 (possible '83), I got a Commodore C-16, and after that I was
hooked. I just loved the technology. It was without doubt one of the
coolest christmas present I've every got.

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

Commodore C-16 - Sold to family friend
Spectrum +2 - Accidentally broke and got refund (but I've just got 2
more given to me)
Amstrad CPC-464 - Currently in wardrobe...
SNES - Lent to a friend and haven't seen him for a while...hmm...
Amiga A1200 - I'm sat at it right now...
Playstation - Currently sat on top of telly

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

For me, writting music is a primary activity of mine on my Amiga, but I do
still write my own software (which is primarily music based), and creating
gfx is something I enjoy (even if some of the work isn't that good). I just
find a bit more 'fullfilment' out of writing music, perhaps it's being able
to stick the tracks onto a tape and play them to your friends which appeals
the most (only programmers really appreciate other peoples code).

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

I started out with (a copy of) StarTrekker in about '92/'93. Then I got a
copy of Med v4 in '94 (via a CU Amiga Coverdisk). Then about mid '95 I got
a copy of Med v5 (again from a coverdisk), and then in about mid/late '96,
I moved up to Med v6 (from a coverdisk, spotted the pattern yet?...) which
is what I currently use now. I also have copies (as in I own copies of, not
some warez thing) of Med Soundstudio (which I haven't got a good enough
computer to run) and QuadraTracker (which occasionally gets pulled out for
the sample editor and the re-sampling feature). I also use some of my own
software for creating samples to use in my mods.

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

I have only every started one module where I had a specific goal to try and
achieve. It's called 'mod.shot_him' and I wrote it after listening to 'The
Downward Sprial (the bottom)' by NIN. Every other track I have written has
just been left to evolve by itself without any preconceived ideas of how the
track should go.

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

Due to the way in which I write there are a lot of tracks that I've written
that I'd rather not let others hear. It's not that they are 'bad' tracks,
it's mainly just they suffer from a certain 'cheesey/tacky/lame' kinda feel
to them, just using the same melodies or sounds in the 'wrong' place. But,
I think it's a good thing to write a bad piece of music, because it gives
you the oppertunity to review the piece and find out why the track is 'bad'
and to also get the 'bad' stuff out into one piece so that your next 5
tracks or whatever aren't spoloit by little bits of 'bad'ness.

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

I think that music plays a very important part in demo's and games as the
music often sets the 'feel' for the game or demo. I think music plays a
greater part in demo's than games though, as a demo needs music that
compliments the visuals (and in many cases the music 'leads' the demo),
whereas in many games, the music is just there as 'padding' to the gameplay
(which in a way is it's main purpose), but I think that choosing music for
games needs to be done with a lot of care, as choosing an inappropriate
peice of music for a scene in a game can ruin any 'atmosphere' that the
designers of the game are trying to create (for example, a steath type game
(MGS for example) with cheesey synth pop would just ruin the whole
atmosphere of the game, it requires something with a tinge of menace to it).

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

I'm still composing, though nowadays I'm using Med in a midi setup (I've got
it hooked up with a Roland D-110 and a Yamaha A3000). I still occasionally
write tracker tunes though, just for something different and also to see if
I get inspired (a riff or a sound or whatever which I can then use in my
midi setup). I'm currently building up some tracks using my midi gear which
I will (eventually) send aroung to some record companies to see if I can
score myself a proper record deal.

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

I think that midi is probably going to stay around for at least the next

10-15 years, I think that the majority of other formats will either die or

get replaced/made into something new. While I see the advantage of mp3 as a
format I don't believe it's going to be the digital format for the future,
especially as the major record companies are all trying up to using
encrypted forms of transfer. I still see cd (and to a lesser extent md
and dvd audio) as being the consumer formats for the future, because,
contrary to what most 'experts' are saying, I don't believe people are going
to pay for a piece of music that they've then got to wait to download, and
which can only be played on the pc to which it's downloaded. I think
people, and knowing how techophobic most people are, will continue to go to
their local record store and buy a piece of music (often on impulse) on a
conventional format.

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

Now here's an open ended question... If you're talking about 'proper'
artists, then...

Happy Mondays - Sunshine and Love
Sonic Youth - Kissability
Autechre - Basscadet
µ-ziq - µ-ziq theme
more than I care to remember

If your talking about the tracker/demo scene, then having never been part of
that scene, there really isn't anybody I can name.

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

If I do get a record deal, then I might include one or two of my older
tracks on the cd(s), but at the moment I'm not planning on doing any
realease for myself.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Current on the stereo are - Jega, µ-Ziq, Autechre, Sonic Youth, Flaming
Lips, RHCP, TeeBee, some DnB comps, Tsuji Giri (mates of mine -
www.tsujigiri.com)

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

Having never been part of the scene I can't give any answer to this
question.

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

Despite never being part of the scene 'back in the day', it's something that
I could get into now.

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

Just to say that I hope the new Amigas are as kick-arse as the originals
were when they were launched - down with sloppy, bodged, cludgy operating
systems (who said windows...). And if you want to get in contact with me
and the @eleganze.com address bounces then you can always reach me at the
yahoo address(s).

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