Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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`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.

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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 must've been in the late 80s, when I started programming BASIC on a
Commodore 64. Too bad I didn't discover Amigas, modems, or tracking that
early... Oh, wait, I did, when a friend of mine in 1990 showed me some "mod"
files on his IBM. I thought they r0x0red (although I don't think the word
"r0x0r" had been invented yet) and wanted to make them too, but the only
tracker that my friend knew about was a cheesy program called KingMOD that
was next-to-impossible to use, so I gave up on tracking. Curse its shoddy
interface! I could've been an early scene legend at the side of Dr. Awesome,
U4ia, and Purple Motion! But noooooooo! I had to run into KingMOD, and never
got around to discovering Scream Tracker 3 until 1996! Ninety friggin' six!
Bjorn "Dr. Awesome" Lynne got a six-year head start on me, and now he's
semi-famous and I'm working 80 hours a week and barely have time to write
music anymore! Bitter? Hell yeah I'm bitter! *Prozac break.*

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

I started tracking on a Pentium in 1996, and I still have it. In fact, it's
the only computer I actually own, mainly because nobody else in my family
wants it. (Now and then, I still track on it too, but only when I can't get
on my brother's Celeron.)

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

I don't know. I never got into nuclear physics either. ;)

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

I tried to start on KingMOD, but... *Prozac break.* In 1996, I started on
Scream Tracker, and in 1997, I discovered Impulse Tracker, much to the joy
and jubilation of the tracking scene. In fact, I still use IT.

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

I thought I had reaced it with "Beacon," in 1999, but I also thought I had
reached it with "Revealing" in 1997. Now I don't think I'll ever reach my
goal, because my goal is to improve constantly.

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

There was, but I can't remember it.

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

It can make or break a game. "Secret of Mana" on the old Super Nintendo got
fairly tedious towards the end, but that's also when the already-good
soundtrack turned excellent, thus making the game worth finishing.

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

I will never track for professional purposes, because I am not that good or
that lucky. That's not pessimism, that's realism, and it's also realism for
99.9% of the trackers out there, including the ones who are currently
shopping demo CDs to recording company agents who are telling them they
might be the next big thing.

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

Some really awesome trackers started out on MIDI, such as Beat and Virt. As
for MP3, that format is killing the tracking scene. The line between
trackers and the garage band down the street releasing their tunes on the
web has been permanently blurred. The tracking scene loses more of its
distinct identity every day. Sorry, but I will always be more impressed by
"Point of Departure" written by Necros in 1995 using just Scream Tracker 3
than I will be by any tune put together by some guy who writes a single
melody line on MODPlug Tracker, mixes it together with some awesome riffs
which he plays directly into his computer in real time with a drum machine,
releases it as an MP3, and then calls himself a "tracker" because "I used a
tracker to write this song." That guy is a musician, and he may be a damn
good musician, but he is not a tracker. Sorry. I'm a purist. Sue me.

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

I'll limit this to tracker tunes. ;) "Tight To Me" by Outshined,
"Redemption" by RS3, "On Me" by Hunz, Patrick Groove's cover of "On Me,"
"Parasympathy" by Myth, "Point of Departure" by Necros, "Jet Lag" and "Last
Sunset" by Nighthawk, "Enlightenment" by Cyberzip, and "Ancient Stories" by
Awesome, all in no particular order. ;)

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

Nah.

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

Incubus, Tantric, Train, Fiona Apple, and Collective Soul.

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

BASIC programming. ;)

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

Yes, I run the Complete MOD Compo, and I occasionally release a new song or
two.

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

I've done enough damage for one interview, doncha think? ;)

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