Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

.

`n. .rP'

`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.

,NN' `b. · i n t e r v i e w · ___________

______dP _____________ \ /

\ ,N'\____ _____________. _____ \ \_____. ____\ /

\___P___/ .\--\__ __/__ |--\____)---\ _____/__ |--\_ \ _/

| | | \ | | \__| | _ \ / | \__| | /\ |

| _| | | _l_ | | \ / _l_ | ___|

l___/=l___|====l____/===\______|==l______|\ /l___/===\______l____/

\/

•

Handle:

•

Group:

•

Date of birth:

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

I've had an interest in computers for as long as I remember. Even before I
was in kindergarten, I enjoyed playing games and making very simple BASIC
programs on my family's Commodore 64. I guess that must have been around
'84 or '85.

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

The first computer my family had was a Commodore 64, as I mentioned before.
I mostly did some light programming on it. In the late '80s or early '90s,
my grandfather gave us his 8088 PC with a CGA display and no hard drive. I
taught myself GW-BASIC during this time, and made a ton of small graphics
and sound programs. In addition, I began working with graphics and learning
to use the mouse in a paint program. In the years that followed, we had a
286 (with a hard drive this time) and then a 486 (with Windows), which I
used to hone my graphics, music, and programming skills in a variety of
ways. It wasn't until '99 that I got my own computer, a Celeron 366 MHz.
Currently I'm running an Athlon 1.4 GHz with Windows XP.

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

Actually, I do all three. I'm mostly known for my music because that's the
bulk of what I've released to the public. I've dabbled in graphics mainly
for fun, and most of my programming has been for school. But I do see music
as the best way of expressing myself artistically. Visual art comes in
second, since I haven't become as experienced in that area as I have with
music.

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

Recently I've been using both Impulse Tracker and ModPlug Tracker, and have
occasionally looked into Buzz Tracker. I've used an old version of Cakewalk
for MIDI at various times in the past, though I haven't done much with MIDI
lately.

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

I certainly don't believe I've "reached my goal" as a composer, and I don't
belive I ever will. I see it as an ongoing process of development and
change. There's always something more that I can do.

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

I've had some degree of dislikes about all my songs, some more than others.
But I believe that each one has been a learning experience, regardless of
how successful or unsuccessful it has been. There's no tunes that I could
honestly say I wish I'd never done.

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

I think the music is an extremely important factor in a demo or game. While
the other attributes need to have a lot of thought put into them as well,
it's mainly the music -- working together with the other parts as a whole --
that contributes to the atmosphere and feeling of the work.

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

I'm currently not composing as much as I have in the past. Work and school
seem to drain a lot of energy from me, and I haven't felt as motivated as I
used to be. It remains to be seen whether I'll ever compose professionally.
I have no intention of becoming a full-time composer, but there's always the
possibility of "side projects".

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

MIDI was one of the first formats I began writing songs in, before i fell in
love with tracking. It certainly has its place in the world of computer
music. Straight audio formats such as MP3, OGG, etc. are very important in
that they allow musicians to spread their work to others, regardless of what
software they used to create it, and know that it will sound exactly as
intended on the receiving end. Although I have an attachment to certain
music formats (tracked formats in particular), it's not so much the format
as the music itself that really matters to me. The format is merely a tool
that's used to convey the artwork of the composer.

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

"Starshine" by Purple Motion was a favorite of mine for a long time, and was
the primary inspiration for my song "Celestial Fantasia". I've enjoyed many
of Elwood's tunes, such as "Deadlock" and "Into the Shadow". Wave, Necros,
and Virt have also made a number of tunes which I find memorable. It's hard
for me to pick out a select few that I would call my "all-time favorites",
however.

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

I have no immediate plans for it, but it's always a possibility.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

I'm not listening to any bands in particular. I used to listen to smooth
jazz frequently in the past, but I don't much anymore. Most of what I
listen to nowadays is tracked music.

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

To tell you the truth, I never learned much about the Amiga/C64 scene. The
PC scene was the first I ever found out about, and the one I became the most
familiar with.

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

I was never all that active in the scene to begin with. I had various
stints with a few sceners and groups in the past, but for the most part I've
been a "lone wolf".

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

I'd like to thank my good friend Aaron Matthews, who got me started with
tracking in the first place. Greets to Novus, who was such a supporting
figure during my involvement with the short-lived group Full Circle. And
heyas to Virt, who I hope is progressing along well on his career as a
professional composer. Hmm... guess that's about it.

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

Quick Search

Random link

Database Stats

Interview