Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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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?

I've started being interested in computers quite early. It was around 1984/1985. My dad had bought a state-of-the-art-of-the-past Amstrad CPC464. Probably it was some kind of impulse buying even though he was quite enthusiastic about newest technologies. I was struck dumb with admiration for that plastic machine making weird noises and for its monochrome green display. My dad said : "don't you dare playing games with it kiddo, here is a book with games listings... to type if you wanna play". We still have some happy talks about those saturday afternoons wearing our eyes before the screen and those damn tapes that only cocked up while reading. Never while writing actually. But also about our blissful smiles when a game was running fine after intensive typing and misprint tracking. That's still good memories even though I was 10 or something back then.

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

Well, I got the Amstrad CPC464 and a Nintendo NES console after a while (probably because I got rid of typing endless listings...) One day a friend of mine said he had been offered an Amiga 500 for his birthday. I was 12 years old. This computer got so amazing graphics, REAL sample-based music, and unbelievable effects. I was totally impressed. I'd been saving money for 2 years before I was able to afford one and I almost instantly started making music with it. Now I'm into PCs.

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

I think I was even younger when I got my first synthesizer (even if it didn't look like it) as a Christmas gift. I don't know what leads a little kid to be so interested by a particular matter yet for me it was definitely music, before computers or anything else. Luckily my parents understood that and made their possible to bring me some musical education through piano and music lessons with a good teacher. He had some studio gear at home and I was permitted to have fun with it, especially the drumbox and the expensive synthesizers. That's why the first thing I did with my Amiga was to create my early yet scattershot music.

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

Protracker throughout the Amiga years, then Fastracker2 on PC (16bit sound, multichannel, yeah! but I was not into demoscene anymore), Acid coupled with Cubase, Logic and I've been exclusively using Mackie Tracktion for like 5 years now. The name could be confusing but it ain't a tracker actually. That's a full-featured standard sequencer except that everything is in the same window and has the best workflow I know by far.

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

None really. It was a learning curve all the way. I would only think about the very last ones and particularly "Artcore Vibes", the tune I created for the great Made's graphics slideshow. It sounds a bit eerie just because it was made in a quite depressing situation. That tune was composed in the middle of the night. I was sick and sitting in the dark with my headphones on struggling against sleep to have it done. It was completed at dawn. That was weird but I liked it afterwards. It was in the good mood.

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

Most of all. I had to learn.

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

Important. That's why I consider that modern demos still miss the plot when it comes to music. I think they lock themselves into a rigid pattern of behavior which consists in creating demos as extreme crowd pleasers or extreme experimental (boring) things, to gain some kind of artistic recognition. They've become really serious about their business and I don't have any big interest for demoscene anymore except for the "wild/console" competitions that fit the roots of demoscene quite well: exploring the technical limits of a computer and they have infectious fun about that.
In games, the music environnement is often amazing and hugely contributes to the value of a game. As for myself, I'm more into movies and it's always interesting to see how a song or a music can fit perfectly to moving pictures. It can give a great value to both as they're interacting.

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

I'm still composing mostly for leisure purposes even if I consider it's a bit more than that, which means I don't make a living out of it yet I would probably consider it, at least partly.

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

Demoscene-wise, it's again the questionable matter of the limits. The demo music is quite pointless out of their context. Who would listen to that kind of music when there's plenty of music available out there on Internet? So, again, that's still amazing to hear a great chip-music out of a microcontroller that hasn't been designed to actually make sound at all (!) while it's quite pointless to hear bad techno/d'n'b/experimental out of a PC 30Mb 3D-accelerated demo using streamed music. But probably I'm too old for this s*** !

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

Too many. Probably most of the tunes by Heatbeat because of the amazing melodies, sounds and the constant quality. His latest works under his real name Aleksi Eeben are great and that's cool he's still making music.

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

Nope. They are so bad.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Plenty of. I need my dose of fresh meat everyday. From Radiohead to Burial, Iron&Wine to Sufjan Stevens, Autechre to Boards of Canada, ... oh well. Netlabels, independant labels, whatsoever... that's gonna be a pointless big inventory. Right now, I'm playing "Loney Dear - Dear John". A quite baroque pop album from a swedish songwriter. Weirdly there's some demoscene music accents in it...It's probably the kind of music that I would like to hear in a demo.

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

Lots of nice memories and probably my current job. I've always been into computers !

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

Nope. Just having some interest for the yearly "Breakpoint" in Germany (I attended in 2004 and 2006). That's a funny and well-organized event.

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

All my mates from the past and the current ones, especially the guys behind "French Collective", a music compilation made by former "demoscene" musicians. I contribute to it as "The Mean Star". Check it out at http://collective.moonove.com.

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This interview was kindly sent by Oxbow, via email. (20091129)
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