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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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?

My interest in computers has started quite a long time ago. As far as
I can remember, it was 1986 or 1987 when a school mate of mine showed me
his brand new Atari 800XL, and I was simply amazed of its capabilities and
great games like RiverRaid ;) I think that the beginning is the very same for
all scene people - from gaming to scening.

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

The very first machine I had was the "gummy" Sinclair ZX Spectrum which was
not actually mine as far as it was borrowed from my ancle. He was using it
at work (yeah, believe it or not, but we're still talking about the late
80's aren't we ;) Several months later, when my parents were almost nuts
about me ("pleeeeease, I want a computer!"), I found that pretty box under
the Xmas tree and I really _knew_ what was in. I got myself a brand new
Atari 800XE and I was caught forever. Speaking about all the computers I had,
it was this grey 8-bit Atari I loved the most. You know, it was the very first
computer I could call "mine" in my entire life and it is like the first love
- it lasts forever. I did some Basic coding even before I starter to load
my first game ;) I have been making music, drawing graphics and coding some
stuff tho I think I couldnt write a single piece of software nowadays ;)
My full computer history includes: Atari 800XE, Atari 520STM, Atari Falcon,
Amiga 1200, Amiga 1260, and the obvious PC.

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

Well, I have ended up making all of these actually. Making music is my favourite
(I also tried some electronic DJ'ing for friends at private parties), but my
current job is lead 3d designer in a company developing Virtual Reality stuff.
I used to code a lot on Atari as well, I could even do some assembler routines
if needed. All of the knowledge is gone now anyway, hehe.

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

It is quite unusual when it comes to scene trackers, but my music career
(well, if I may call it like that) started with MIDI. I bought the Atari ST
together with my brother so we could compose our first attempts in C- Lab
Creator/Notator and Cubase (which we are using up to now). We just plugged
in the lousy Casio and Yamaha keyboards we had and started to use it via
MIDI. I discovered trackers a bit later, and the very first one was Noise
Tracker on Atari ST. On Amiga, the choice of mine was OctaMED, especially
when it could use MIDI as well, tho it was pain in the ass to insert all
those strange MIDI commands. When my Amiga was burnt due a fire accident
in my parents house, I was thinking what to do for a long time and finally
decided to buy myself a PC. I just saw its future brighter then the Amiga one.
And, honestly, Amiga was out of breath. I really respect the energy of those
who keep the Amiga spirit alive, but it is a dead piece of hardware for my
purposes and I can always run WinUAE, which emulates Amiga 1200 faster than
the original runs like on my config now ;)

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

This is what I can remember exactly. I was asked to make a couple of tunes
for a logical game called LOGO which was coded (on both Amiga and PC) by my
group mates. It was freeware, made for fun and even now, when I look at it,
I like the game pretty much ;) Anyway, I did 4 or 5 tunes for the game even
before I saw the very first screenshots. I just didnt know what would the game
look like ;) I simply made the tunes and sent them to Intuition (my long-time
scene group mate). After a while, I received a diskette with the final version
of LOGO, and I was simply amazed how perfectly the tunes fit into the design
of the game. So I think I reached the goal ;)

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

Yes, there is one. I cannot remember its name now as it has been quite a long
time since I had made it. It was on Atari ST when I did a tune for a local
demo party compo. I really liked its melody and overall I was satisfied
with it. At the party place, I was accused for ripping the melody by a member
of a certain group we were later in war with. The rest of the members of that
group were spitting shit on me. Even after it was proven that the melody was
original and not ripped off, the bad feeling is still there anytime I recall
those times. It was not my fault nor fault of the tune itself but I'd like to
forget what happened.

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

Music makes the whole thing look and feel complete. There is no demo nor a
game without music for myself. Music makes the final shape of demo.

What would State of the Art by Spaceballs be without the great tune? Simply
nothing. Sometimes I just remember demos or games for their music. When you
see a great demo with perfectly fitting tune, that is the ultimate scenish
experience. To put it all together, a demo or a game is nothing without
fitting music.

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

Sure I am. My life wouldn't be complete without music. Tho I dont have as
much time as I would like to, I sometimes turn all the equipment on and make
some music just for fun. Me and my younger brother Jindrich form an electronic
band called OLMiQ, so we perform a couple of live gigs now and then - just
for fun. I'd like to make some professional music, but at the moment it is
only a dream. I'd better say it's a matter of time which I am in a lack of
now.

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

Personally I dont care too much of the technical part of any music. If a tune
sounds great to me, it doesnt really matter to me if it was tracked,
synthetized by Reason/Rebirth or MIDI-made in Cubase. New formats, sound tools,
plug-ins and better sound cards are a plus for all music makers. They give you
new opportunities, open doors which were closed for a long time. Anyway, even
the best equipment won't make you a great musician, and honestly, the best
tunes I have ever heard were

8-bit ones. Rob Hubbard forever ;)

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

The intro tune for the 8-bit game called Warhawk by Rob Hubbard is definitely
my favourite one. Don't know if current sceners can remember that as it has
been a long time since the game was released, but I strongly suggest everybody
to listen to it. Overall, there are many tunes I have loved thru the time.
I dont have a good memory for tunes names, so I can better remember the names
of the authors ;) To name only a few, Moby's stuff (especially the funk-style
used in Arte for example), Jogeir Liljedahl (great flutes and live guitars),
Heatbeat, Groo, Jesper, Virgill, etc.

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

Yes I do. Dont know if that shall be a CD or a vinyl, but yes I would like
to try to do something like that. The hardest thing would be finding a label
willing to release my stuff ;)

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Nine Inch Nails, Aphex Twin, BT (especially their Still Life In Motion promoCD
kicks ass), Depeche Mode, Orbital to name a couple of my recent favourites.
I also listen to some classics like Rachmaninov, Bach, Dvorak when I am in
the right mood.

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

A lot of important things in my life. First of all, it gave me
friends all around the globe which I will never forget. I dont know
if there is another chance being like 12 years old kid and having
friends thousand miles away. Receiving all the packages from the US,
Finland, Deutschland, UK, Netherlands, Poland and other countries
was making my parents a bit fishy but I loved it ;) The international
fellowship was what I loved the most. The cogniting of different people
and different cultures, sharing same ideals with people abroad.
In the scene I was able to learn a lot of stuff, to improve my skills.

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

Well, it is hard to say. I have not done anything real for
the scene for nearly two years now, but I would like to call myself
"a scener" forever. I love the world called scene and still have
lots of friends in there, which I can talk to via IRC/ICQ or email.
I am a common busy working man now, which means I don't have too much
spare time as I had while studying. But when there is a free while

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

Shall I really feel free now? My warm handshakes are sent to these fellas:
Acid, Apollo, Big Rat, Blaze, Blunt, Bomber, Case78, Cyclone, Dafix, Deetroy,
Draw, Dvize, Empty Head, Ex, Fenriz, Flapjack, Ghandy, hamlet, Immortal,
Intuition, Jofa, Kaosmaster, karlos, Korball, Lahve, Lfo, Lithium, Lousy,
Melon, MiM, MrUhu, Norman, Protector2, Punk, Punisher, radavi, Raze,
RokDaZone, Shock, SixPack, Slice, Snappy, Styles, Swoop, TDR, The Ripper,
Trasher, Trixie, Ute, Ventor, WhirlWind, Yoyo, Zig and all the others I just
forgot to mention. Peace and keep the spirit alive!

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