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I'd like to learn playing drums as well, but this would be expensive and i think my body is not made to do such movements (hard to explain, don't laugh^^)
._____________________________________________________________________.
| _______________________________________________________________ |
| | /\ | |
___|__|__________________ __ ____ _____ _ / \_______ ___ __ _ __ | |
\\_\_ ______ \ / \ \ \ / / | |
| \___: || / / / | \ \ \/ / !! TRAXWEEKLY !! | |
| | | || \ \/ _ \ \ / | |
| |__| || \ \_ / \/ \_ ISSUE TWO! | |
| \_ _|| _\ / \ __ /\ /___ ______ _ _ _____|__|
| | \__ / |___ \ \ /_ /\/ / / \ / _____ _ _ _ \
| | \/ / \ \_//\\/ / / \/ \_ \_ _________\___ /
| | / \ / \ / /___________\_ |/ /\ \ / /
| | \__ \/ \_/ /____ \_______ \__/ _/ \ \/ /|
| | fallow da \ / _/ \ _/ \ \ \_ / |
| | for ">" news \ /\ / \____/ \____/\ \___ / / |
| | 'bout \ / \ /\ _____\ _/ |\ // /| |
__| |__ MuZic! ). .( \/ \ / \ / \ / \ _| \__ // _/ | |
\ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \// __/ | |
\ / )+( (N0 StYl3 l0g0 bY: \/ WW | |
\ / _ __ __ ____ _______ __________________________| |
\/ _ __ ___ __ _____ ______ _______________________|
- TraxWeekly Issue #2 -
03/23/95 Release
-[ Introduction ]------------------------------------------------------------
Well, already a second issue of our little newsletter. I hope you all
liked the first one. But, I can guess that since you're reading this ;).
Now, a lot has happened in the pass week. I can't tell you everything
since I don't have a big memory. But, I can't tell you this, our issue is
packed with articles and an interview. I can't do more than one interview
per week, since I don't have that much time.
Our issue this week includes some nice articles, and more columns than
last week. First of all, I was very happy to get, the day after the release
of TraxWeekly One, a nice message from Snowman (Editor of DemoNews). I posted
it here, so you can be aware of the situation between the two newsletters.
Also, Psibelius contributed an article on how the old Renaissance
Multi-Tracker still works for him. Phoenix did a cute review of the Expoze
Austrailian musicdisk released by Heretics. Zer0 has done a very provocative
and opiniated analyse of the European demo scene. I got Leinad in an
interview and learn what happened to him the past years or so. Karl has done
his first album review in the mag also. Probably he will continue this every
week.
Also, I got a lot of mail about people wanting to help out. Well, you have
to tell me what you can offer. It helps me a lot. I always need people to
review Musicdisks and other big releases. Like on the Amiga Scene, the
Primavera'95 competition has finished and has 12 or so modules that need to
be listened and reviewed. That kind of thing. Or, articles about music. Not,
flames against people, just tracking advice and music commenting. You can
have opiniated arguments, but don't use this mag to give more importance to
your words.
I'm always opened to suggestions, so mail me if you find anything to say
that might be interesting. I could always publish my reply also.
Well, I guess you can wake up! It's time to begin reading issue 2 of
TraxWeekly - Newsletter of IRC channel #trax..
- Populus
populus@llc.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ Contents ]----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Letter from Snowman - Editor of DemoNews
2. Renaissance Multitracker v1.01b by Psibelius
3. Expoze Musicdisk Review by Phoenix
4. Zer0's Perspective of the Demoscene
5. Interview (Leinad)
6. Weekly Tekno Album Review by Karl
7. Epinicion Column
8. Defiance Column
9. KFMF/Kosmic Column
10. PURE (Ex-TRAXX) Column
11. Advertisements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 1. Letter from Snowman - Editor of DemoNews ]-----------------------------
Hello there,
I just downloaded Trax Weekly Issue #1. My reaction is very different
than what I expected.
About two weeks ago, I first heard that the crew on #trax was thinking
about putting together a newsletter. My first thought was to make it
part of HORNET's new newsletter. That was a bit presumptuous. :)
Then I thought perhaps it would make a good _competitor_ to our new
newsletter. Again, this was jumping the gun a bit.
After reading your newsletter, I feel it provides some excellent music
scene coverage: something our newsletter has not and will probably not
be able to do in the future. So in essence, your publication fills a
much needed role in the scene.
A few helpful comments from someone who has experience doing this:
-The table of contents was helpful, be sure to keep it.
-The Hadji #trax capture was perhaps a bit too long. Got the
point though. :)
-You mentioned about having a regular ascii guy on staff to
help with the article banners. Just watch that the ascii
doesn't get too excessive. People flamed me up and down
when we had our newsletter full of banners.
I really did not know what to expect from this first issue of Trax
Weekly. Whatever it was, I was _very_ impressed. In fact, I would like
to help out in some way if possible.
Christopher G. Mann / HORNET
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 2. Renaissance Multitracker v1.01b ]--------------------------------------
Aarticle by psibelius [acid.epinicion.alotofgroups]
Wasting a large part of my life everyday hanging in irc channel #trax,
once in awhile, the same old argument about trackers comes up. And as
usual, I'm stuck defending good ol' mmedit from the st3 freaks. Why?
Maybe I'm a bit biased because multitracker was the first tracker I
started on, but I'm still convinced its tops. First off, I kinda like
having everything on one screen all at once. I seem to recall someone
saying that st3 is "better because is doesn't cram everything together all
at once." Well, I get more disoriented by having the better of 3/4 of the
screen flashing every two seconds to write notes, change patterns, and edit
fields, etc...(hotkeys? Like what? ST3's ctrl-< or whatever? Give me a
SINGLE button for cryin' out loud). Second, the 8 track display rules.
I have no idea where ST3 got itswhacked 5 track display from, but it's as
annoying as hell. I regularly compose 8 track mods, and it's nice to be
able to see the whole picture. Also, mmedit doesn't switch screens when it
plays the mod.
Multitracker looks cooler. ST3's puke colored background doesn't
appeal to me, and there's NO way I'm going to bother learning how to
configure the colors in that damn thing (go try it). Finally, Multitracker
hasn't managed to nuke three of my mods like ST3 has. Sure, mmedit has a
lot of limits, especially in memory, several effects, and space to write
all those k-rad comments in, but...anyways, enough on this. Use whatever
you like, I just personally prefer mmedit to ST3.
Then there's the other trackers...x-tracker wins my award for the
most k-rad piece of software on the planet (except for the ansi drawing
progs). Ultratracker, Farandole, and the rest earn my award for total
impossibilites not to waste time on (gimme a break, we don't need 9999999
colors on the screen while tracking!). And I'll bring up another point,
those "crippled" tracker progs that can't save...what the f--- is that
sh--? No wonder we hardly see any x-tracker, farandole, or ultratracker
songs out there...the idiots that programmed them just can't get it into
their heads that we're not going to pay $25 or whatever. No wonder we're
all using ST3 (we don't really have a choice).
Well anyways, there's my two cents. =) Direct any comments or
whatever to gwie@coyote.csusm.edu
-psibelius
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 3. Expoze Musicdisk Review ]----------------------------------------------
Phoenix's Rating Scale of Doom(tm?):
* A waste of your precious ears.
** I've heard better stuff by the Smart E's.
*** You might like it, you might not.
**** Get it quick so you can brag to your #trax friends.
***** Better than sex!
_____ __ __ ____ ___ ____ _____
||-- >X< ||--" (( )) ,,-'' ||--
`"""" '' `` '` """ """"' `""""
Musicdisk Review by Phoenix
What a better way for Australia to introduce itself to the music scene
that with a collaboration of the best artists the country has to offer?
The overall effort was coordinated by the demo-group Heretics. I'm not
sure how the title should be pronounced, whether it is "eks-po-zay"
(which I prefer), or "eks-pohz", but either one is catchy as long as the
"oz" for the land down under is in it.
This is a very nice production. GUS/Max, SB/Pro/16, PAS16, and even
the PC-hooter are supported. Sound quality is not the best (on my
SoundBastard Pro that is) but it's decent. Things are run by the F-keys,
much like other musicdisks such as Epidemic and EGG 2. There is a credits/
greets screen, instrument list screen, info screen (much more info than
other disks), song select screen (with a nicely drawn background), and
the main player screen. No wacky effects, no plasma, no vector-spectrum-
analyzers, this musicdisk is straightforward in its aesthetics. I would
like to have seen a help screen, but the mouse buttons on the main player
screen are self-explanatory.
The music itself. The thing I like best about Australian tracked music
is that it has no guidelines. _Expoze_ is not confounded to just techno or
light synth-muzak, rather it combines various styles into something any-
body can enjoy. There are 11 songs in this package. They are in CBA
format, which was made just for _Expoze_. They're very large, and you can't
do much with them, but they support stereo panning and 16 channels much
like Screamtracker. Here's a look at the tracks.
1. "Journey's Beginning" by Chuck Biscuits/Heretics (3:40, 15 chan)
The intro-tune for _Expoze_ is house-style. It's simple and catchy,
nothing big.
2. "Reactivate" by Force Format/Heretics (5:10, 8 chan)
Being the breakbeat-techno fan that I am, I nearly got up off my chair
when I heard this one. Highly energetic, this is the kinda stuff that
made groups like Kosmic and Traxx famous. A must-hear for dance-fans.
3. "After Sunset" by Jase/Oxygen/Enigma (8:35, 8 chan)
This demo-techno piece makes great use of string and resonance samples.
The mixes of aggro-techno and synth-muzak account for the length.
Something good, for everyone.
4. "Virtuous Reason" by Firelight (3:22, 6 chan)
Hate tracked music, period? Would you rather just pick up a guitar and
jam? Check out track four. Firelight has made a great rock tune you
can groove to, kind of like Daredevil's "Moonglow Groove". He's also
just released a musicdisk titled "Firestorm ][", something you might
want ot pick up as well.
5. "Panoramica" by Chuck Biscuits (9:36, 15 chan)
This track will no doubt get Chuck Biscuits some more attention in
the music scene. It's of the demo-dance-music genre. The guitar leads
are incredible, and there is some nice piano in there as well.
6. "My Child" by Jedi/Oxygen (3:40, 12 chan)
A rather gothic tune with bizarre, if not enchanting, string chords.
Some deep voice samples start it out.
7. "Endless Legacy" by Myzer/Legion (3:15, 8 chan)
It may be the simplest song on _Expoze_, but it's my favorite. The use
of the guitars and synth-leads is fantastic! Even the orchestra hits
fit in well. This tune reminded me a lot of Skaven's old work. It
shall remain in my head for months (thus the name? :) ).
8. "Release Me" by Sane/Xtatic (3:30, 16 chan)
And yet another nice tune. The piano chords are well done, and there's
a good dance beat to it. Ambient-demo-house would be the best way
to describe it.
9. "n'trance" by Maral/Kosmic (5:31, 13 chan)
Being the acid/trance whiz that fellow Kosmic member Maral is, this
is the most bizarre track on _Expoze_. Yes, it's trance all right, but
it has a horror-movie sound to it, with bells and choirs. The bad part
about this track is that it's so repetitive, only 2 patterns are needed
to get the feel of the whole song. Still worth checking out.
10. "Mirage - Lightspeed ][" by Void/Reality (6:18, 4 chan)
With its four channels and simple synth leads and chords, this song
would be perfect for an Imphobia diskmag. But seriously, although
it doesn't compete with the other tracks on _Expoze_, Void put this
tune together very well.
11. "I Can Feel The Beat" by Hunz/Smash! (4:14, 10 chan)
As you near the end of _Expoze_, you probably think "What haven't I heard
yet.. of course! Disco!" OK, maybe that isn't what you think, but it's
here. This chirpy pop-techno tune should be taken light-heartedly,
because they _never_ would have used it in Epidemic. :)
Total time: 56m 31s
So while the player itself is fairly simple, the music content easily
makes up for it. Although I had only heard of three of these musicians
prior to _Expoze_, I will now make sure to check out all these artists.
Mission accomplished. Oz has made its mark.
Rating: **** (4/5)
Expoze takes up 2 disks compressed, 1.2 meg each.
It is found on FTP as:
ftp.cdrom.com /pub/demos/incoming/music/EXPOZE-1.ZIP & EXPOZE-2.ZIP
or /pub/demos/music/disks/EXPOZE-1.ZIP & EXPOZE-2.ZIP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 4. Zer0's Perspective of the Demoscene ]----------------------------------
Hmmm.. TRAXweekly. I suppose the name of a mag never stopped me.
=) This, my friends, is my current views on most, not all, of the demo
scene. I'll warn you right now, my views aren't positive. If you agree
with me, and it's only fair, or disagree with me, please mail me at :
zero@host.yab.com. Send flames/comments/criticism. Flames can be fun
mail too, so don't hold back! =)
I think the demo scene in general is doomed unless a major
revolution takes place in the factor of originality. It seems that ever
since demos like Panic, and 2nd Reality (The oldies, but goodies), nobody
has thought of anything new. 90% of the demos out there use the same old
shit! Sure, maybe THEY coded it, but did THEY think it up? No, download
a few demos, and see what I mean. I think I'm going to puke the next
demo I see with plasma or vector balls.
Another thing I seem to be seeing a lot lately is 'improved'
effects that were introduced earlier in the scene. I don't care how many
transparent vectors you can display on the screen at once! I want to see
something new! Have they all run out of ideas? Well, I'm sure if I was
a 'real coder' (as some of the more obnoxious euros would put it) I could
think up quite a bit of new stuff!
Please don't think I'm bias against ALL demos, and all European
coders/artists/musicians. I've seen some great demos before! One of my
all time favorites is the demo Catchup (Maybe Katchup? Oh well.. :) by
GRiF. The demo with a witty quote, and a horrible sounding VOC/WAV (I
don't know if it was that format for sure.. but it was like a long
VOC/WAV.. you know what I mean. =) of the music from the Cantina
(spelling?) in Starwars. This was, of course, on purpose.
That's a slice of originality right there! The whole demo is
filled with simple, but strange and ORIGINAL effects. The art was some
of the coolest looking I've ever scene, and the music was BEYOND cool.
Not only was it one of the best sounding demos I've ever scene, it was
the most original, and it had the best design of any demo I'd ever
scene IMO.
The music in demos are usually pretty nice IMO. I like a lot of
the demo/techno music out there, but I do like demos that don't use the
normal trend of music. One demo that comes to mind is NO by Nooon.
(Yeah, I probly got the name wrong on that one too) The music wasn't
very good, and the player quality kind of bit clam shit, but the music
was different! I also think most demo coders don't realize how many
people don't own GUS soundcards. I myself am a proud GUS owner, but I
think too many demos assume you own a GUS. I think they should think
about a bigger listening audience..
Welp, I'm done bitching about the demoscene. REMEMBER, I am not
bias towards the whole scene in general, but I think it needs a big kick
in the butt. I respect anyone who can code as well as most of the people
in the demo scene, but they need to apply there talents in a better
form. If a demo guy sees this and makes an original intro/demo, then I
know I've already accomplished something. Peace out fewlz,
-Zer0 + Defiance 1995
+ TraxWeekly Writer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 5. Interview with Leinad ]------------------------------------------------
Well, where did I dig up Leinad? I meet him on IRC by coincidence. Maybe
you've forgotten a bit about him, but this interview will probably refresh
your memory.
Very active about in the 1990-1991s. But now, all "grown" up, he is doing
our little past time a mean of living. Well, enough of the introduction,
let's visit with Leinad!
Conducted by Populus [Epinicion / TraxWeekly] [populus@llc.org]
Subject was Leinad [MAGE] [bertil.skoglund@s-data.se]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
.oOo. Started - Wednesday, March 15 at 14:57 .oOo.
Populus - Please state your real name, group(s), occupation, crime record, etc.
Leinad - Daniel Falk, MAGE, computer nerd, no crime record as far as I know,
um...
Populus - What happened to Avalanche?
Leinad - Most members go too involved with work/school so me and Fabian (Zax)
decided to drop it. Of course we'll use it if we ever release any
more stuff, but I doubt it.
Populus - What's MAGE?
Leinad - Mage is a um.. erh... some sort of group but at the same time it's
not :) We're more like a couple of friends who are developing games
and maybe we gonna use it as a company name.
Populus - Now, am I right to assume you've been composing for a long time, how
long?
Leinad - Started when I bought my first Amiga and that was back in -89.
I'm 23 now btw.
Populus - How many songs have you done since you started?
Leinad - Released about 25 I think. And ofcourse many older which never will
get off my Amiga disks :) I'm rather lazy and my most active time
was during 90-91.
Populus - What's your favorite song, you did?
Leinad - Probably a song called "Carry My Torch" which was written for a game
which never got around...
Populus - Is it released?
Leinad - It was released (so I've heard at least) in some music disk
organized by Syntax Error. Have yet to see it.
Populus - Where can we find most of your stuff on the internet?
Leinad - I'm afraid you can't. I had a directory at wasp/hornet (whatever)
but I'm not sure it's there. As I just recently got access to
internet again after 8 months I haven't had time to get a site to
carry all my stuff.
Populus - What instruments do you play?
Leinad - I used to play the drums. For maybe 12-13 years something. At the
age of 18 I sold them and bought a synt instead. But I'm no good at
it. So drums is the only thing I really CAN handle :)
Populus - What kind of songs are mostly done by you?
Leinad - eh. hard one :) As you might have noticed I like to do kinda
different stuff, with song, rap and stuff like that. It's easier for
me to say what I WON'T do :) And that includes: Funk, "pop" and
soul ? I do have a problem with that kind of music :P And of course
no Ace of Bass covers (one guy actually asked me about that once..
grrr)
Populus - What musical groups or artists do you often listen to?
Leinad - Dead Can Dance, Front 242, Green Day, old Metallica, Candlemass,
lots of Swedish synth like Mobile Homes, Elegant Machinery and
SPOCK, and um... Bad Religion etc... very varied...,
no euro-techno.. please note that :)
Populus - What's your motivation to begin a nice tune?
Leinad - My motivation often begins with some kind of weird sample or
something... sometimes I plink on my synth (a Kawai K4 for those
who are interested)... and then ofcourse, a perverted mind with
perverted lyrics in it do help ;)
Populus - What kind of equipement you use to create songs?
Leinad - Sometimes I use my A500 for sampling but not very often nowadays, I
use my GUS (sponsored by Gravis ofcourse ;), my synth, my Dr-550
drummachine and lots of music CD's. The software is most of the
time AudioMaster III on the Amiga, Extreme's Tracker, FT 2 and
GoldWave for Windows.
Populus - What's your last song?
Leinad - Vote 4 Me, and The Happy Hamster Hop (both released at Asm -94)
.. I've been busy :)
Populus - Doing what?
Leinad - Moving, working, looking for a new job and now working again.
Populus - What do you do?
Leinad - I author multimedia... that includes doing 3d animations, digital
video editing, image editing and ofcourse sampling. I also do some
programming in an athoring tool called Director.
Populus - What's your best 5 songs, you ever did?
Leinad - + The Happy Hamster Hop (still think it's a shame it didn't even
make it to the final at Asm -94)
+ Carry My Torch
+ Kingdom of the Hedgehogs ? (dunno the spelling there)
+ Fear of The Exams
+ Do it! Pull the Trigger.
That's among the released ones of course.
Populus - Are you working on a song right now?
Leinad - Not yet. I have plans and lyrics for a couple of ones but I haven't
had time to get down to sampling and such yet.
Populus - Tell me how you start to compose a tune. The full step by step of
the process.
Leinad - I usually decide which samples to use first. That can take alot of
time. I try to do most of the samples myself. Then I just down and
punch out some simple drums to have a base to build on. I try to get
some chords into action and start fiddling with the effects far too
early :) After that I try to grasp the whole thing and decide where
the refrain should come, do the intro etc and add lead instruments
with all kind of effects needed. Then back to the drums again and
adjust the volume levels of everything so no instruments "drown" the
others and I try to vary the drum patterns so it won't get too
booring. And the the though part, give the whole thing a name :)
Ofcourse I always try to do everything at once though :o
Populus - Are you still using an Amiga to create tunes?
Leinad - I did before we moved (last November). But now I don't have any
room for it so it's gathering dust in the closet I'm afraid. But I
still think I get alot better sampling quality with my Amiga than
the GUS.
Populus - I wonder why there are still songs coming from the old ProTracker
even if better trackers exist on the PC or Amiga. What's your
opinion on this, why are YOU still on ProTracker 4 channel music?
Leinad - I don't do much 4 channel now, mostly rap tunes and that kind of
stuff. The reason for that is that I don't need more channels and
that I want to be in all possible compos at the partys ;) I was in
the gfx compo at both Asm 93 and Asm 94 too :)
Populus - Are you happy with the capabilities that ProTracker can offer?
(Some PC trackers have the ability to have multiple effets at the same
time, separate volume commands, etc.)?
Leinad - Nah. I don't use ProTracker nowadays. For my last 4 ch (Vote 4 Me)
I used Extreme's tracker from the start and just limited myself to
the Amiga "rules". On the other hand, my multichannel song for
Asm 94 used 3 and in some cases even 4 effects at the same time in
some places. I use Extreme's tracker. There are a couple of reasons
for this. The coders are friends of mine, I live rather local to
them, and I got to beta test it early when FT 2 wasn't released.
Then I get most of the stuff I want into it, it's very easy to use
for us ProTracker nerds, and works well on my computer. I never
liked text-mode based tracker like ScreamTracker. Think it's far too
much pain to learn yet another interface...
Populus - Which mod-maker have you noticed out there that seems very good?
Leinad - My fave on the PC is Zodiak / CDA. Except for beeing a great
composer he's a nice guy too (even though a bit on the slow side
when it comes to returning disks hint hint). Then I like Necros
(doesn't everyone ?). CC Catch! (that good old Kenny)
Populus - What are your plans for the immediate and long term future?
Leinad - I'm hoping to release some kind of musicdisk/pack with songs that
were made for various demos/intro and mainly, game which never got
released. I gonna try to release some more nifty sing-along song at
some future party I guess and this spring, also music for an
actiongame from Mage, called Iron Plague.
Populus - Have you anything to say to all the readers of TraxWeekly?
Leinad - Try to be original. And if you can't, atleast not booring.
Stay cool - Dont close the fridge (my slogan)
Populus - Thank you for the interview.
.oOo. Ended - Wednesday, March 15 at 16:13 .oOo.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 6. Weekly Tekno Album Review ]--------------------------------------------
WEEKLY TEKNO ALBUM REVIEW [karl]
[PRODIGAL SONS.return]
[STYLE: acid house]
[TRAXX: 11] [TT: 65.11]
If you laugh at the sound of the words: "CHRISTIAN tekno", then you're
like most other people who don't understand that Christians are as able
and talented as the rest of the rave traxx krew. The Prodigal Sons are one
of those groups that catches you with it's vibe the instant you listen to it.
It's unlike anything you've ever heard. The Prodigal Sons are a guaranteed
fresh journey into acid house. If you imagine Christian tekno as being a
"PREACH TO DEATH ABOUT JESUS" type of music, with blaring "jesus" samples,
well... then you're partly right... The Prodigal Sons hardly delve into the
void of using music as a tool to preach, unlike the Raving Loonatics (which
i'll talk about later... :). Be forwarned that you won't find any dark moods
or overtones in this journey. The music is quite uplifting, but surprisingly,
it's quite odd. Maybe i should shut up and start talking about the album
itself, hehe... ok, here goes:
The album starts out with yer basic tasty analogue drums and klaps.. good
stuff. If you dig the old skool sound, then you're quite apt to like this song
[EXALT], due to it's acidity and style. Although this isn't one of my favorite
toonz, it does hold itself up pretty well... whenever i listen to a track, i
always imagine it on the dancefloor, and what kind of effect this song would
have on the krowd... this song is the kind that would konfuse you at first,
then send you into another world. If that's not enough, then
you can marvel at the wonderful MC- J.R. Barbee with some live samples. ouch!
With some really rippin cymbal stylus and krafty drum manipulation, Exalt will
get yer dancin feet warmed up and ready for our next track, Godhead. I
remember the first time i heard this song, it reminded me of a nintendo toon..
maybe not, but it did sound like a nintendo sample... oh well... anyway,
nice lead. I'd recommend tying yerself down to the floor for this one,
otherwise your going to be dancin it up when the phat drum loop starts pumpin
in. Another really nice aspect of this song is the fact that it's
multi-faceted.. . or something like that... it's got lots of different
melodies and leads. Not just yer basic "two melodies per song" type of a deal.
Guaranteed ka$h. Rip out yer snapple and get tootin on the whistle cuz the next
two toonz [APRICOT TREE & RAVIVAL] are definite winners for the pardy-hardy
krowd. ouch. oowaahh.. heh. I think my tweeter just spanked itself to death,
oh well. In terms of sound, i'd use this setup: (okee dokee roll em... :)
krank the bass to middle, and the treble to max.. . analogue soundz mult-waxx
on treble maxx. so pump it up. "i looked out the window and what did i see?
popkorn poppin on the apricot tree". Alrightie, 'ravival' is another brilliant
3O3 slobbery toon, but if it's 3o3 beatbox that yer lookin for, hold up until
the last few beauties. Trakk 5, Firebrand, is a scorch and a half with it's
bewmin [certified hadji bewm!] bass and loud klappage attack. Monotony is
koolio. The trakk progresses quite quickly, adding in various 808 cymbals, and
different klaps, and snares, until the the melody comes out by 1.26. then the
song really kooks up at about 2.00. multi-tymbral polysonix dog chambers start
flying at about this time.
oowaahhh... i heard a nawty rumor on the street that pirate copies of 'pastiche'
were being on the black market (on tape) for $20. The song starts out with an
extremely wicked 3o3 riff that makes me wish i was squirrel. Oh so good. Kernel's
original spices and juices. Speaking of juices, pastiche lays it up at 1.45 when
the kikkin cymbal-type samples come in and blaze it up. I hope you don't have
arthritis. Cuz arthritis just plain hurts. Trakk 6 continues to warp around
and meld itself with various themes and drum loops. Quite exciting if you really
dig the acid house vibe. Pastiche, #7, comes out with prototypes blaring with
some really lipid lines and bass boomin. But i must admit that i'ts not my fave
. "People of Earth, please heed my warning... a terrible accident has occured..
i am pluton, sanitation captain of the planet pluton.." starts out "ode to johnie"
, #8. This one is major ripping with some koolio hard samples and "how u feelin"
krowd response. Once again, this song is laced with some nice cymbals and drums
[+o]... "how u feelin"... ok... one little problem that i had with song was it's
tempo.. just a bit too slow for my regular tekno habit. but the song still kooks
it up at 5.37 minutes. "the time is now 3:03".. "time and tempo" is one the nicest
, most clean sounding 3o3 riffs i've heard in a while, add in a phat 909 bass drum,
and you've got a stylus song that just doens't quit. Oh, and yer regular 909/808
krew [snare,cymbi,cymbi2,shaka]... at just 2.00 minutes into the song, you get
another lethal doseage of pure lovin bewm in yer bottoms. The song sounds so
full and lethal with no preservatives added. With just 20 grams of fat. :)
Considering that this album came out in about 1993 (or 1992), it holds itself
up pretty well.. I still listen to it everyday. And i have yet to get sick of
cymbals and the tb-303 monstah. To cap off the album, the second to last track
is a chill tribal toon. Hey, everyone has to use their 707 latin beatz don't
they? :) hehe... "cross the jordan" is a fat bass/conga laden toon with some
phresh innovative squelches and "peeooches"... This toon would really hold itself
well on the dancefloor, considering it's deep moody feel & un-relenting melodies
that change at about every 45 seconds or so. The Psons definetly saved the
best for last. "3o3 wiseman" rips in quick with some nice 3o3 loops and dj
chris white on the wick wicky wickidi wack turntable [1200], and b4 you know it
, the beatz are in and sending you to mommy cryin for more.. well... i'd say
this is the fastest and best song on the album [no correlation whatsoever].
You can't beat the "bill clinton has no.... BASS!" samples and the totally
wicked tb loop that won't quit. I'd take a guess and say that this was recorded
live, due to it's intense mood and feeling. This mind shattering acid song
brings you to a better understanding of how plate tektonix really work and how
you are affected by nucleo-physics. Or not. "you've just heard one of the most
remarkable applications in modern electronix."
The klever Prodigal Sons konsists of :
Greg Hobgood - Keyboards, Programming, Sampling
Chris White - D.J., Samples, Scratching
J.R. Barbee - M.C.
with an acute sense of taste in musical equipment:
Ensoniq ASR-10, EPS-16+,SQ-80
Roland, TR-909,R8,TB-303,JUNO-6,Octapad 2,M-120,SE-50
Alesis D4, Microverb3
Mackie 1604
Tannoy PBM-8
Panasonic SV-3200
Crown Power Base-1
Furman PL-8 [for real?? :)]
OBX 163X
Technics 1200's
wowo.. what a list eh? I hoped i've opened your eyes a little bit to the world
of CCM (christian contemporary music) and the christian tekno scene.. It's ALIVE
AND WELL!!! You can rest assured that the CCM market won't be dying away anytime
soon, so go to your local christian book store, and pick up your copy of Prodigal
Sons [return]..
if you have any comments, grunts about my grammer, or complaints, or compliments [??]
then send me a note: braczyns@esu3.esu3.k12.ne.us or if your interested in
hearing more about christian tekno and some other music, then web it up at:
http://esu3.esu3.k12.ne.us/~braczyns/home.html
i'd be delighted to speak to anyone and everyone. till next time ravers, dance it up!
-"satan is dead!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 7. Epinicion Column ]-----------------------------------------------------
e p °i n i c i° o n ²Ü°
° ± ± ° ± ÜÛÛÛ±°
° °±ÜÛÛÛÜÜ ² °²Üܱ° ²° ß°²Ûß²
±ÜÛÛß² ßÛ²± ÜÛÛÛ² ÜÛÛÛ²Ü ±ÜÛÛ
²ÛÛ ±° ÞÛß°ß ²ÛÛÛþß² ßÛÛ °²ÛÛ
ÞÛÛÝ ° Üß° ±ÛÛ² °± °ÞÛÝ ÛÛ²
ÛÛÛÜ Üß ±Üþ °ÛÛ± ° ±Û² ÛÛÛ
ß²ÛÛÛÜÜÜÛß° ²Û²fm ܲ߱° Û²ß
±°ßß² ²± ±ÛÛÜÜßß± ° ß±°
° ° ° ÛÛ² ° ° °
±ÛÛÛ
°ÛÛÛ
ÛÛ²
Ûß°
Epinicion Productions is a music group. Our staff of over fifty represent
the people of four nations on two continents. Starting on March 21st,
1994, Epinicion rallied together for the new people. You know the ones.
You may even be one yourself. You try to make music, and you make sure
progress. Unfortunately, some of the better people around you flame you
just because they think they're just so much better. So you get blocked
out by their actions, think the scene sucks, and you quit. Well there's
an easy way around that problem.
Ignore them. In fact, tell them to go f--- off. That's what we did.
Why let anyone else tell you that you suck? Why be in a group where you
get harassed by some "senior staff" member? Make a difference. Join
Epinicion. Get your work spread. Get some real criticism for a change.
Earn some respect and friends that will stand by you. Improve. Be proud
of your work. That is the goal of Epinicion.
Anyone can improve. Everyone can get better. That's how things are.
And we need your support. The longer we stay alive, the better the
chances for everyone to get a shot at recognition. Regardless of whether
you are inexperienced or a master, Epinicion always has room for you.
Everyone willing to put in some effort is welcome.
Epinicion is a group for you, the musician. Our motto comes from P.
Cadigan's novel, Synners: "We do what we do, and we do it because we can."
Psibelius (Gene Wie)
Epinicion Founder
gwie@coyote.csusm.edu
Epinicion Productions
4921 Amador Drive
Oceanside CA 92056
United States of America
ftp.voima.jkl.fi/pub/mod/epi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 8. Defiance Column ]------------------------------------------------------
.----..-----.-----.--.-----.-----.-----.-----. ..defiance music..
| . | . | . | | . | . | . | . | ...productions 95...
| | | | | |__|--: | | | | |__| | | | |
| | | |__| __| | . | | | | | |__|_ _ : :
|_____:_____:__| |__|__|__:__| |_____:______ _ . .
_______________________________ : : ________________________________________
Spiffy Ascii Artwork provided by Cerulean/Defiance
I'm sorry to report we have no new releases under Defiance this
week. :( The reason being Zer0's (thats me) hard drive crashed while
messing around with Linux. Once I get my stuff back up and running 100%,
I'll be able to recollect all the songs (got a few already!) and package
up a brand new Defiance disk. Sorry, but shit happens.. hope you can
understand that.
BTW, I made the mistake of posting a few sites we had our files
on. The reason being, they were down for a week because of Spring
Break. Everything should be back up now, so have fun leaching!
Lates alls.. sorry I couldn't write about more.
-Zer0 + Defiance 1995
+ TraxWeekly Writer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 9. Kosmic Column ]--------------------------------------------------------
____
| | ___ /\ ______
| :/ /___ _____ ____ _____ _| |_ / \
| / \ \ | | \/ | |
| | | ___| | | \__/
| . | o |__ | . . | | / \
| : \ | | : : | | |
\___|___|___/_____/__|____|__|______|_______/
Kosmic News for March 21st, 1995
--------------------------------
Hello friends! This is some of what's been going on with the world's
goofiest music group lately, in easy-to-read listings format:
* Necros and Jak (Mellow-D) have left the group for a new music group. We
wish them the best of luck with their future projects!
* Zab has joined the group. He's a coder, also with Hardcode, and a
long-time (IRC-speakin :) friend of many kosmic members. Drop him a line at
zab@teleport.com to welcome him!
* latest releases are "Funk Saboteur" by Maelcum (K-FSABO.ZIP) and
"Synaestatia" by Phoenix (K-SYNAES.ZIP). They're on kosmic.wit.com
/kosmic/songs/95/
* look for the new kosmic art dir on our ftp site at kosmic.wit.com,
/kosmic/art coming soon, and the latest art "Interstella" by Maelcum,
starring Cardiac, Maral, and some chick :)
that's it for now folks, till next time!
- Maelcum
Kosmic sites:
ftp: kosmic.wit.com /kosmic/
World-Wide-Web:
http://kosmic.wit.com/~kosmic/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 10. PURE Column ]----------------------------------------------------------
[0[[[[\ [0[ [[ [0[[[[\ [0[[[[[ Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?
[0[ [[ [0[ [[ [0[ [[ [0[ 3 s 33 o 33 u 33 n 33 d 3
212^[[_ 212 22 212^[[_ 212^[[ @[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y
121 121 11 121 [[ 121 Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?
0[0 0[000 0[0 [[ 0[00000 3 c 33 o 33 l 33 u 33 m 33 n 3
@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y
012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210
012[10 012[10 012[10 012[10 012[10 012[10 012[10 012[10
If U don't know yet, the group formerly called TRAXX has changed it's name
to PURE . This change is the result from a merging of different demo oriented
groups in BELGIUM! We're now one of the biggest demogroup in Belgium and even
in Europe. (without forgetting that some of our composers aren't from Belgium,
we have people from all around the world composing for us.)
The groups actualy composing PURE are TRAXX-HYPERNOVA-DIGITAL HOUSE
But don't worry too much, the music packs that U love will continue to
be released, only the name will change, and I can assure U that the quality
will still be there and even raise as we have now herited from the composers
of the other groups forming PURE and from whole new composer. Some are still
unknow from the PC scene, but begin to get known in the music underground
scene as they have released a vinyl and a CD (and other tunes are due to out
soon, watch for the VITRIOL CDs or VINYLS): these composers are PIET & PHIL
And another new composer for us that U all know because he is often on #trax
is our friend karl (karl-nerd, DJKarl) who have contributed with an amazing
Acid Tune!
At the time U're reading this, the first PURE pack can be found on
ftp.cdrom.com in the /demos/incoming/music directory!
all future releases will be posted there or on hornet if the site is reopened
for uploads ;)
In the future, we will try to implement our own player and build an interface
for our packs, so they will be rather music disks than packs.
The release rate will be monthly or bi-monthly if possible.
This pack is quite a huge one and is of a really High Quality!
It's composed of 4 zip files named pure_m1a.zip, pure_m1b.zip, pure_m1c.zip
and pure_m1d.zip totaling 2.7 megas (uncompressed, nearly 5 megs!!!)
If U like all techno related musics, U'll be amazed! there is tunes for
everyone from dub to hardcore going to acid and making a little turn over
hard trance.......
So, download them and tell me what ya think of this.
Cya on #trax, #coders or #rave one day ;)
Blaze Runner (BLR on IRC, blaze.runner@pcb.mpoli.fi, fidonet 2:293/2220.1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 11. Advertisements ]------------------------------------------------------
EXCEEDING GREAT GROOVES WANTS YOU!
WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR
EGG MUSICDISK 3
"Feelin' Groovy"
We want music of all kinds. Retro-groove stuff is especially appreciated
(ie 60s influenced psychedelic rock, ambient etc). Email submissions to
moddan@ritz.mordor.com
submissions can be MIME-attached (file attachments in PINE), or UUENCODED.
or you can dcc them to me (Maelcum of Kosmic) on IRC.
watch for a new EGG world-wide web site soon.
--------------------------------[ FINE ]-------------------------------------
._____________________________________________________________________.
| _______________________________________________________________ |
| | /\ | |
___|__|__________________ __ ____ _____ _ / \_______ ___ __ _ __ | |
\\_\_ ______ \ / \ \ \ / / | |
| \___: || / / / | \ \ \/ / !! TRAXWEEKLY !! | |
| | | || \ \/ _ \ \ / | |
| |__| || \ \_ / \/ \_ ISSUE ONE! | |
| \_ _|| _\ / \ __ /\ /___ ______ _ _ _____|__|
| | \__ / |___ \ \ /_ /\/ / / \ / _____ _ _ _ \
| | \/ / \ \_//\\/ / / \/ \_ \_ _________\___ /
| | / \ / \ / /___________\_ |/ /\ \ / /
| | \__ \/ \_/ /____ \_______ \__/ _/ \ \/ /|
| | fallow da \ / _/ \ _/ \ \ \_ / |
| | for ">" news \ /\ / \____/ \____/\ \___ / / |
| | 'bout \ / \ /\ _____\ _/ |\ // /| |
__| |__ MuZic! ). .( \/ \ / \ / \ / \ _| \__ // _/ | |
\ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \// __/ | |
\ / )+( (N0 StYl3 l0g0 bY: \/ WW | |
\ / _ __ __ ____ _______ __________________________| |
\/ _ __ ___ __ _____ ______ _______________________|
- TraxWeekly Issue #1 -
03/12/95 Release
-[ Introduction ]------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the first ever TraxWeekly newsletter. On IRC a couple of days
ago Populus and I were discussing the proposition of a newsletter dedicated
to tracking. I was pleased with the idea, and the tracking scene has been
behind us. In a period of one week we have worked quite a bit to bring you
the first issue, containing a large amount of information on the scene, and
tracking in general. In the future we will include "Letters to the Editor"
and other features. Read on, and enjoy!
To send a letter to the editor, write Populus at populus@llc.org, and
he'll respond in the newsletter. Write about most anything, including
comments and criticisms, and errors with the content.
- Neurosis
The TraxWeekly staff is composed of me (Populus), Neurosis (dead),
Psibelius, Cerulean and Popcorn. If you want to contribute please send it
to the address mentionned above.
Thanks to WhiteWizard for contributing the little ascii ^^ up there.
But! we still need a regular ascii guy to do our article headers, so mail
me it you are interested. By the way, I'm releasing without the presence of
Neurosis, if you don't get any reply to your messages, please send to:
populus@llc.org ... Enjoy!
- Populus
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ Contents ]----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Modal and Chord Theory
2. Those Wonderful Musical MODs
3. Interviews (Basehead and Phoenix)
4. Ratings
5. TraxCulture (experience a Hadji conversation)
6. KFMF/Kosmic Colomn
7. Defiance Colomn
8. Advertisements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 1. Modal and Chord Theory ]----------------------------------------------
Writer : Leviathan - Renaissance/Kosmic
While on irc, I discovered that a lot of the self-taught musicians
out there were really only composing by ear, and didn't know much about
chord theory, and even fewer knew about modal theory. These two aspects of
theory, especially chord theory, are extremely important to good composing,
and they make it a lot easier.
Here is the modal chart:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C D E F G A B
C# D# F F# G# A# C
D E F# G A B C#
D# F G G# A# C D
E F# G# A B C# D#
F G A A# C D E
F# G# A# B C# D# F
G A B C D E F#
G# A# C C# D# F G
A B C# D E F# G#
A# C D D# F G A
B C# D# E F# G# A#
Major Modes: Minor Modes: Diminished Mode:
Ionian: No Change Dorian: 3b,7b Locrian: 2,3,5,6,7b
Lydian: 5b Phyrgian: 2,3,6,7b
Mixolydian: 7b Aeolian: 3,6,7b
You might want to print that out for reference. Basically, all of
the scales listed at top are the Ionian, or standard mode. These are the
scales you usually learn first. Below that are the other modes, listed by
category. They show changes you need to make to the scales listed at the
top to get the other modes. For example, Dorian is shown as 3b,7b. To get
C dorian, take C D E F G A B (from the top) and flatten the 3rd and 7th
notes, to get C D D# F G A A#.
You may ask, "What's the point? How can I use modes?" Well, if you
makes all the chords in a chord progression in the same mode (that is, all
of the notes of all the chords stick to one scale) then it sounds much
better, and writing leads is easier since you only have to use notes from
the mode to make it fit. A well-planned chord progression that fits a mode
eliminates the "trial-and-error" style lead writing that a lot of us need
to do when we have an odd chord progression.
Now on the chord theory:
These chords are all taken from the ionian modes listed in the top diagram
of the modal chart:
Major: 1,3,5 Sus2: 1,2,5 Minor7th: 1,3b,5,7b
Minor: 1,3b,5 Sus4: 1,4,5 Major7th: 1,3,5,7
Add2: 1,2,3,5 Fifth: 1,5 Diminished: 1,3b,5b
For example, to get a Cminor7th, you take the 1st, flatted 3rd, fifth,
and flatted 7th note from C D E F G A B, or C D# G A#.
Experiment with the chords and get to know their sound. Each
chord has a different tone and feel to it, and can be used to give a song
different emotions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 2. Those Wonderful Musical MODs ]-----------------------------------------
Writer : Sidewinder
Howdy, my name is Sidewinder. Maybe some of you have heard of me, or
some of my music. I'm a musician, and I'm into MODs..
MODs... What was started in Europe by the Amiga Computer Underground DEMO
scene of the late 80s. With all the excitement and energy of the times, they
spread like wildfire, from across the European continent, over the oceans to
the Americas, and even farther then that. The World is listening.
So, what exactly is a MOD you may ask?
MOD, a shorter term for MODule, is basically just a file varied in size.
They are usually anywhere from 10k up to 400k and beyond, containing a song,
or the data for a song, and all the instruments it plays, stuck together with
the data in the form of samples. Since they are all in one file, this makes
for very fast loading into your computer...
How do you play MODs? Easy, for the most part...
There are many programs to play these files since there are many MOD
formats to play. By far, the most popular is the Soundtracker/Pro-Tracker
format. 85-90 Percent of all MODs are in this format. Also on PCs there is
S3M, which is basically a spin-off of MODs, usually with more voices and
other features, but still not as popular as MODs.
* FOR SERIOUS SOUND, HOOK-UP A DECENT SOUND SYSTEM TO YOUR COMPUTER *
To make a MOD....
Personally, I believe the MOD format (also known as tracking) is the
ultimate way to compose music. Anything is possible if you can live with the
limitations. I listen to the early MOD music and then load up a newer Hardcore
Rave, Jazz, or Piano MODs just as if I was listening to something off the
latest CD. It boggles the mind to think they were probally composed on the
same 4 channel 'tracker'. Perhaps one day every serious musician will be using
a 64 voice, 16-bit tracker for some truly mind blowing crap. :)
Today, limitations due to the nature of sound quality and having to
work with the rough 8 bit samples, can be OVERCOME.
* Advantages over MIDI
Much faster for laying down your tracks, drums, bass, synthlicks
oboes, whatever. I've done dance crap songs in under 10 minutes.
Realtime Control (ie. what you hear is what you get as you're making
the tracks.) Easy sequencing and everything is layed out in blocks
(known as patterns) easily copied over and edited into a new pattern.
You can sample as you go all in one package, usually on the same
screen. You can paste, export, and manipulate anything you sample
as your tracking away..
* Disadvantages
Quality is still not up to par of most keyboard/MIDI/computer setups
There are confusing amounts of commands to learn (muck about.. have
fun and you'll learn cool stuff, and I'm STILL learning new stuff!)
It's Addicting. (You'll make so many MODs you won't know what to do
with them!)
The Scene..
The MOD scene has exploded into the 90s. For those who know what it's about
the scene is one of variety. Thousands of free floating songs of every style
imaginable.. All you really need is a computer, and a sound card if you have a
PC, plus a GOOD sound system. (TV speakers just don't do justice anymore), and
a source for MODs (Most BBSes have MODs, and the internet. My favorite source
is on AmiNet. Lots of cool music is released every week, as well as crappy
music.) The whole concept of commerical freely distributable material, you can
listen to MODs while modeming, working, etc. It's the essence of cyberspace, a
place to listen, and to be heard. I don't even listen to commercial radio
anymore, unless they play MODs. <g>
I've actually had some of my MODules played at clubs and on the local radio
and around the world. Some people actually like the raw feel, especically all
the low end frequencys that tend to come out better in MODs. Just check out
some of my MODs on the Internet and hear for yourself.
Who I am..
My first taste of computer music was on the C-64 (SIDs RULE!). I even
messed with early MOD like trackers. It was great, though I was more into
graphics, but I was always curious about computer music. In 1987 I bought an
Amiga computer, and my world changed forever. I started doing MODs in 1991,
while overseas in Indonesia, using an old Amiga 500 that I had taken around
the planet. I didn't even know I could make all those cool tunes i was hearing
in Euro-Demos sent to me by friends back home in Europe..
When i started tracking, I knew this was what I wanted in music and here I
am 175 MODs later. In 1993/94 I produced an audio CD (Future Shock 2) made
entirely from MODs produced on Amiga computers, which I sell mainly to the
underground scene and whoever else wants to hear it. I can say I've improved
my style, and maybe I'll be nearly as good as the European MOD masters..
maybe... <g>
Basically, anyone can learn how to make MODs. Just know what you want
and don't be afraid. Enter with an open mind, and let it happen.
* Places to get MOD music on the Internet -
Most any Aminet site will carry them (one of the fastest is
ftp.netnet.net or ftp.cdrom.com - /pub/aminet/mods. In Europe
try ftp.luth.se. To check out some of my cool music go /mods/sidew.)
happy tracks.
SIDEWINDER homepage http://nverenin.extern.ecsd.edu
sidewind@crl.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 3. Interviews ]-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ Interview with Basehead ]-------------------------------------------------
Well, my first interview! And, I guess I'm starting in the big leagues.
I choose Basehead for this interview for these reasons:
Basehead is one of the very best techno/trance/ambient trackers. He has
a lot of reconnaissance in the music scene as well. His style has been
copied a lot by inspiring musicians, maybe that's the way we know how
good he really is. He's in Maelcum's KFMF gang, in Imphobia and iCE.
I was please to get to do this, and I hope this isn't the last great
interview I get to do.
Here's a little list of his best songs (his opinion):
1 - Shades of Night 3 (Egg Music Disk #2)
2 - Sokoban (cdagame)
3 - Forever
4 - Spartacus
5 - Imajica
Now let's begin to know a little bit more about Dan Grandpre a.k.a.
Basehead.
Conducted by Populus [Epinicion / TraxWeekly] [populus@llc.org]
Subject was Basehead [Imphobia / KFMF / iCE] [ssn@pcnet.com]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
.oOo. Started - Sunday, March 5 at 19:26 .oOo.
Populus - Please state your handle, real name, groups you're in, age and
occupation (if one).
Basehead - Basehead, Dan Grandpre, Imphobia - Kosmic/KFMF - iCE, 18, play in
a band for $$$.. but it's very informal..
Populus - You go to school?
Basehead - i am out of school.. planning to go to college, but not yet, hehe..
Populus - Tell me about how you began interested in tracking.
Basehead - Probably from following the amiga scene in the eighties and early
nineties... i loved 4-channel stuff. (still do)
Populus - What are the first songs you did?
Basehead - the first song i did was in May '93.. "Out of time Again".. after
i was fooling with KingMod (all the years on amiga i didn't have
the patience to learn protracker).. and it was very good
Populus - What's the one you're most proud of all the ones you have done so
far?
Basehead - i think, although it's not very popular.. i'm most proud of Shades
of Night 3 (from the EGG2 musicdisk).. the style is obscure, so
it's not that mainstream.. but i really think it's my best
Populus - What's the longest time you took to make a song?
Basehead - Longest time... hmm probably shades of night 2.. took about 12
hours altogether.
Populus - Where do you get your samples?
Basehead - i get them from various CD's.. from my friend's synth and his
sample collection..
Populus - Who are your favorite all-time mod makers?
Basehead - and from other songs of course! =)
ok Top 5:
#1) Audiomonster
#2) Dizzy
#3) Heatbeat
#4) Delorean
#5) Sidewinder
that was quick =)
Populus - What software do you use?
Basehead - i use Wave for windoze (turtle beach).. screamtracker 3.. and
that's about it =) .. plus a lil' cd player for windows.. forget
the name of it but it helps when sampling off CD's
Populus - How many songs have you released?
Basehead - "released" ? hmm.. i'm really not sure.. since i've sent various
things to people, and not publicly released them. As for how many
i've finished.. probably about 80 by now
Populus - What are the steps when you write a tune?
Basehead - First i try to get an idea in my mind, some kind of mood for a
song. Then i throw some samples into ST3 that i think fit that
mood.. usually i fill 30-35 sample spaces. Then i spend a few
minutes, coming up with some kind of main chord prog/theme/hook
etc.. then i come up with an intro part in one of the next few
patterns.. and slowly build into the original pattern i wrote.
after that, i just keep advancing and doing variations on the
original.. and often make 2nd or 3rd parts that go well with the
first
Populus - Do you have any musical background?
Basehead - yes, i've been playing piano for 12 years.. and i can play many
other instruments as well. i have a lot of musical theory in my
background, too.
Populus - What are those other musical instruments?
Basehead - Guitar, Bass, Drums, Sax, Trumpet, Trombone, etc.. =)
Populus - What music do you listen to?
Basehead - all kinds of things. My favorites would have to be House and Modern
jazz..but i also like some "alt" rock..and even some hiphop
Populus - What are the artists names in particular?
Basehead - oh, artists names.. hmm, i love the Orb, Spooky, Soul Solution,
United Future Organization, Erasure, The Cure, Depeche Mode, etc..
Populus - How many years you've been tracking regulary?
Basehead - Since Spring, '93.. not THAT long
Populus - What's next for you, what's in the future of Basehead?
Basehead - i am hoping i can get an LP or EP out and actually sell some of my
stuff.. eventually (in the long run) i would like to run a label
or a studio. In the nearer future, prolly just writing more tunes..
trying to "move up in the scene" etc..
Populus - Don't worry about that ;)
Populus - Do you have any thing you want to say to all the readers?
Basehead - just this: try to open your mind to more styles of music.. if
you're a hardcore techno head, try expanding.. don't be so closed
to new influences. And vice versa... if you are a metal-lovin'
techno-hatin' type.. try to listen to various TYPES of techno, and
maybe you'll find things you like.
Populus - That's very true. Thank you and that's the end of our interview.
Basehead - thanks for the interview.. =)
.oOo. Ended - Sunday, March 5 at 19:26 .oOo.
-[ Interview with Phoenix ]--------------------------------------------------
I got the pleasure to meet in IRC and talk, don't ask <g>. But even
with technical problems, we manage to talk quite a bit. He's one of
best KFMF members, with 107 songs in his active. Quite favorite of
mine since, his tunes are clear and have a professionnal sound edge
to them.
The ones he's most proud of are: The Red Horizon,
(no order) Nervous Breakdown (extended mix)
Synaesthesia (due next week :)
Diseased (no antidote mix)
Lifestruck
Well, let's commence our little chat with Andrew Voss (Phoenix) of Kosmic
Free Music Foundation.
Conducted by Populus [Epinicion / TraxWeekly] [populus@llc.org]
Subject was Phoenix [Kosmic Free Music Foun.] [vossa@rpi.edu]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
.oOo. Started - Thursday, March 09 at 10:32 .oOo.
Populus - Please state your real name, age, group(s), occupation, height, etc.
Phoenix - Andrew Voss, 18, I'm only in Kosmic (Free Music Foundation) as of
now.. I'm 6'2"", if that's significant..
Populus - Well i asked! Do you work? go to school?
Phoenix - I'm currently a freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
Troy, NY. That's next to Albany, it's just a bit scummier :). I'm
studying Computer Science.
Populus - Okay, now I know you from the first days of KLF, how and when did
you get involved with it?
Phoenix - Okay.. after being in a small local group called LD-50 for a couple
months, I got bored and quit. That was April, 1994. I saw an
application for KLF on The Sound Barrier BBS (remember that?). I
loved the group's work, so I gave it a shot. Sure enough, I was
admitted. After a musicdisk on my own, I started making KLF tunes,
and, the rest is history.
Populus - What are your current kosmic(kLF) stats? (no.releases, first, last,
etc)
Phoenix - I currently hold the title of "musician", which, as you may have
guessed, means I write music :). I also help with releases and
such. My first tune was a techno remix, and my latest is hard
trance, but I think I will be doing some ambient too. I think I
have released around 20 songs for KLF/Kosmic.
Populus - What's your all-time favorite song you ever did?
Phoenix - I think it would have to be The Red Horizon, a song I wrote for my
pre-KLF musicdisk, Pyrology. It's a very deep industrial ballad,
and it's my only tune with multiple guitar solos.. I just think it's
really powerful, and I like that in a tune.
Populus - Do you do music out of the computer music scene?
Phoenix - Not really. I used to play around with my friend's keyboard
pre-tracking, and saved some songs on its RAM card, though I doubt
they're still around. I will hopefully be returning to the synths
and sequencers since I have made friends at school who use them in
their band projects. I guess I'll just have to relearn how to play
them :). Another thing is that I've ben writing music since I was
12 I think. I look back and wish I wrote them down.
Populus - What's your opinions on the music scene and it's fast growing rate
of new composers?
Phoenix - I think it's wonderful that the music "scene" is picking up so fast,
at least in the U.S. and Australia. Finally we have computer talent
we can be proud of. It's great to see cooperation, and even
competition as long as it doesn't tick people off.
Populus - What's your opinion on the tendancies of tune styles out there? Do
you like 'em?
Phoenix - I consider myself open to most styles of music, but my rule of thumb
is if I'll listen to it on CD, I'll listen to it on computer. The
music scene has tended toward demo-music, so I guess that's the new,
popular style of music for tracked-music fans. Yes, much like grunge
and techno offered an alternative to music in 1991, I think there
will be "alternative demo-music" making a rise in 1995.
Populus - Who's your hero-mod-making-dude?
Phoenix - Well, not having access to internet or the big music bbs's (too far
away), I was stuck with Amiga MOD's until the end of 1993. Then I
became inspired by music from Maelcum, Skaven, and Deus. I think
I've been my own inspiration for the most part.
Populus - You talked before about keyboards, you know how to play?
Phoenix - Umm, I'm no Yan Hammer, so I'm still working on my skills.
Hopefully, I'll be able to fully make use of them so one day if I
wanted to, I could play my own music live, instead of being confined
to the PC.
Populus - What gets you get on the tracker each time you begin a song? What
gets you started on a song?
Phoenix - Usually, I think up a simple rhythm or synth pattern. I have all
these songs floating in my head, and I try to mold them into
something I'd like to do.
Populus - What is the best song ever written on a tracked format
(mod,s3m,xm,mtm,etc) from anybody (amiga or pc), in your opinion?
Phoenix - i couldn't think of one in particlar, but right now pm's
"turbulence" came into mind, because it was a standard setter (in
the field of, ACK, demo-music). Anything that is innovative and has
a good combination of rhythm and harmo ny usually sticks in my head.
Populus - What kind of music do you listen, and from who?
Phoenix - I listen to mainly techno and indutrial music, and anything in
between. Some of my favorite groups and maybe even inspirations
include Front 242, MBM, Depeche Mode, KMFDM, and various trance and
ambient artists whose names I cannot recall. Considering I will be
DJ'ing at my college's radio station next year, I like to keep on
top of the "real-world" electronic music scene, so I've been looking
into trip-hop, gabber, rotterdam, and the such for recent tracking
ideas.
Populus - That's great!
Populus - What makes you continue each day to write more and more songs?
Phoenix - Good ol' grey matter. Each day brings new ideas, including ways of
mixing and composing music. There's always the notion that
"practice makes perfect", and I feel as my skill and tracker
technology improve over time, my songs can be more and more widely
enjoyed.
Populus - Why did you choose to go by the handle: Phoenix?
Phoenix - Oh, no real reason, I just thought it sounded cool :). When I first
called BBS's back in 1988, I went by the name "Citric Acid" (I still
kinda like it) but I felt Phoenix would be a better general nick to
use.
Populus - But Phoenix is representetive of the bird or the city?
Phoenix - It's Phoenix the bird, of course. I've never been anywhere near
Arizona, though I'd like to visit someday :)
Populus - What's for Phoenix in the future? in KFMF also?
Phoenix - Actually, I wouldn't mind joining a European demo-group, just so I
could get more recognition in the demo scene. I see this becoming
less and less useful, though. Right now KFMF is so big people are
questioning its size and variety. You'll probably be seeing some
restructuring to keep the group popular.
Populus - Are you going to NAID?
Phoenix - Yes, as far as I know. Most of the big KFMF members will be
attending. As if we'll be competing in the music category, I don't
know, I haven't even decided myself. But remember, we're not just
music anymore, so look for our name in the demo field too.
Populus - Who will do the music ? ;)
Phoenix - I don't know that one yet, either, but I haven't gotten the call.
No doubt it will be good though :).
Populus - Do you have anything to say to all the TraxWeekly readers?
Phoenix - Yes. I hope you guys support this, because a music mag in the
states could become very big. I hope to see you guys at NAID!
Populus - I ain't American. I'm Canadian. It's an international mag.
Phoenix - OK, North American :). And around the world. I respect Euro-music
groups like Traxx and Azure Sky for helping us with the trend.
Populus - Thank you for this interview, and keep 'em rolling in!
Phoenix - No problem, will do.. remember to link to
http://www.rpi.edu/~vossa/ for more stuff I've done in my life!
Populus - No doubt people will flood your account, now. ;)
Phoenix - oh yeah, my email: vossa@rpi.edu
.oOo. Ended - Friday, March 10 at 00:12 .oOo.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 4. Ratings ]--------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the TraxWeekly ratings section! These votes have been taken by
random people on the channel of #trax, thus expressing the sole opinion of
the majority of the tracking community. The songs are rated on a point scale,
with the song with the most votes getting the most points, respectively.
These votes are totally non-biased, and I didn't permit anyone to vote for
their own stuff, so this really gives an accurate representation of the
tracking communitie's opinions. So far, the absolute best song written this
year has to be Dust to Dust. Never have so many liked one song, and recalled
it as their first vote. Give Leviathan a hand, and hope he continues to write
wonderful stuff like this! Here's the list :
"Dust to Dust" Leviathan 200
"Hangover" Big Jim 50
"TheGuide" Mellow-D 40
"Antico" Asyntote 30
"Spartacus" Basehead 30
"Celestial Lullabye" Basehead 30
"Forever" Big Jim 30
"Against the Clock" Blackwolf 30
"Call me an Angel" JJJ 30
"Achaeta" Krystall/Maelcum 30
"Crystalline Entity" Basehead 20
"Of Land Beyond Hope" Big Jim 20
"Global Seizure" Cerulean 20
"Chippy volume 1" Clef 20
"Vision of Shattered Dreams" Floss 20
"Freefall" Freejack 20
"Devotion through Motion" Future Assassin 20
"Who's got da funk" Lord Pegasus 20
"Asylum of the Mind" Neurosis 20
"Burning Love" JJJ 20
"Variations On A Theme" Sirrus 20
"Opuscule" Sirrus 20
"Sanity" AcidRain 10
"InterFace" AcidRain 10
"Off beat groove" Arsenic 10
"Cloud9" Basehead 10
"Synapse" Basehead 10
"Forever" Basehead 10
"Beyond Music" Captain 10
"Nightmare" Corsaire 10
"Feel Me in My House" Cosmic 10
"Cornholio" Floss 10
"White Sands" Floss 10
"Lost time" Floss 10
"Words" Inpekdah Deck 10
"Forbes Dancin' Machine" Karl 10
"Second Nature" Leviathan 10
"Art of Chrome" Lizard King 10
"Here it is" Maelcum 10
"Concepts in dance" Maral 10
"Tree" Masterwho 10
"Tribal Relations" Neurosis 10
"Future People" Nexus 10
"Neural Pathways" Nexus 10
"Future Shock" PeriSoft 10
"Souless 4: Fillet your Soul" Phoenix 10
"CyberToaster" Quarex 10
"My Croft" Qvy 10
"To Be Broken" Ranger Rick 10
"Overdrive" Ranger Rick 10
"Dislabel" Sirrus 10
"Floatin'" Stalker 10
"Guitar String Mountain" Thumper 10
"Ace" Vassago 10
"Arctic Ballad" Vassago/Arsenic 10
To submit your votes on best songs of the week, write Popcorn at
campbell@fox.nstn.ca with your 5 favorite recent songs written after 1995.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 5. TraxCulture ]----------------------------------------------------------
Here's a nifty idea I thought up to stick in, just for fun. In this section
of the newsletter, I'll be sticking in fun little excerpts from IRC
conversation, expressing the culture of us trackers. Todays subject, is
Hadji! On IRC I was humored by his major use of laughing and explanation
marks. Here's an edited conversation by him that I captured :
<hadji> HAHAHA
*** hadji is now known as Hug_Me
*** Hug_Me is now known as Hadji
<Hadji> hahaha
<Hadji> freaks ;)
<Hadji> neurosis: nahh you rule :)
<Hadji> cuddles: say baby
<Hadji> HAHAHAHAHA
<Hadji> cuddles: hi :)
<Hadji> neuro: w00p! nah :)
<Hadji> neuro: bwahaha ;)
<Hadji> gahahaha
<Hadji> neuro: me too :) laughing rules :)
<Hadji> :)
<Hadji> ;)
<Hadji> that's funny :)
<Hadji> zab: not me :)
<Hadji> hb: :)
<Hadji> zab: hFaze ;)
<Hadji> Dray hahaha ';)
<Hadji> Wirl: hi :)
<Hadji> zab
<Hadji> zabn: funk dat ;)
<Hadji> hehe :)
<Hadji> is cuddles a girl?..
<Hadji> hehees
<Hadji> eejej.. hya
<Hadji> hahaha
<Hadji> HAHAHAHAHHA
<Hadji> s9: :)
<Hadji> HAHAHAHA
<Hadji> s9: j/k ;)
<Hadji> ModLover!!!!!!!!!!
<Hadji> s9: not much man :) hahahahahahAHHAHAHAhahahHAHHAHAHA MUCH better ;)
<Hadji> ahahaha
<Hadji> s9: ;)
<Hadji> yer funny guy ;)
<Hadji> mod: are you the old mod lover? all I wanted was a pepsi mod lover?
<Hadji> HAHAHA
<Hadji> HB: hahaha :) hAHAH ;) najj AHAH
<Hadji> he said najj ;)
<Hadji> neuro: HAHAha
<Hadji> :)
<Hadji> mod: oh never mind I got confused :)
<Hadji> Neuro: haha!
<Hadji> neuro: you rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<Hadji> haha
<Hadji> ALL OF YOU RULE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<Hadji> neuro: hahha nahh :)
Well, there you have it. A taste of our friend Hadji's IRC conversations.
If you would like to send me some jokes, funny IRC captures, or just anything
funny I'm perfectly willing to stick it in, and let it amuse our tracking
community. As usual, promis@america.net is the address.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 6. Kosmic Colomn ]--------------------------------------------------------
Members Leaving : Necros, Mellow-D
Recent Releases : "Dust to Dust" by Leviathan
"Interphase" by Nemesis
"Funk Saboteur" by Maelcum
Upcoming Releases : 10 song musicdisk by TheHacker
We're quite busy with various things for NAiD and other
activities, but plenty of good releases will be out soon.
by Populus [epi] - Information from Maelcum [KFMF]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 7. Defiance Colomn ]------------------------------------------------------
.----..-----.-----.--.-----.-----.-----.-----. ..defiance music..
| . | . | . | | . | . | . | . | ...productions 95...
| | | | | |__|--: | | | | |__| | | | |
| | | |__| __| | . | | | | | |__|_ _ : :
|_____:_____:__| |__|__|__:__| |_____:______ _ . .
_______________________________ : : ________________________________________
Spiffy Ascii Artwork provided by Cerulean/Defiance
.. Introduction / The stuff ya really don't want to read ..
Populus had conned/convinced (you decide) me into writing an
article for TraxWeekly. I haven't done much lately, so what the hell? I
will introduce the concepts/rumors/news/upcoming events that will take
place in the near future under Defiance.
.. Memberlist ..
The members are:
Zer0 President.Coordination.Otherstuff.Artist
Perisoft Musician.Coder.Graphics
Ranger Rick Musician
Lowrider Musician.Artist
Quarex Musician
Blackwolf Musician
Cerulean Musician
GraveDigger Musician
Eris Coder.arh0021 Maintainer
Ankst Musician
Strict9 Coder
Arsenic Musician
.. Defiance in a nutshell ..
This is one of those 'who the hell are they?' paragraphs for
anyone who has never heard of us. I started Defiance about 3 1/2 months
ago on December 5th, 1994. It went like this:
<Zer0> I wanna start a group..
fortunately, a few cool guys started MSGing me, and I got a few people
interested. It was just Me, Ranger Rick, Lowrider, and Perisoft back
then. Actually, I conned/convinced Stalker to join, but he left soon
after for Bass. We don't know why, but shit happens eh? ANYHOW, that's
basically how it started.
Our focus right now is to sit back, write some good tracker
tunes, and make a few people happy. Sure, we want to get noticed, but
you can be assured nobody in Defiance has some megafreak ego. If you
have never heard any of our stuff, your missing out on alot. Check the
next section..
.. Where do I find Defiance stuff??? ..
Here are a few nice places to look! :>
Rough WWW Page: //crh0185.urh.uiuc.edu/defiance
Ftp Site: crh0185.urh.uiuc.edu/pub/msdos/mods/defiance
Alt Site: You can probably find some Defiance stuff on
ftp.cdrom.com/demos/music/songs/s3m/a-f
it is NOT an official FTP site.
Rumor: We will have a more complete FTP site soon..
Loooooook out! =)
Email: zero@host.yab.com - Feedback is appreciated.
I'll read comments, criticism, AND flames!
SnlMail: I suppose I should get an address you can mail too,
but in our advanced Internet world, who cares? =)
You can mail nearly anyone on @arh0021.urh.uiuc.edu
example: zero@arh0021.urh.uiuc.edu, cerulean@arh0021.urh.uiuc.edu,
lowrider@arh0021.urh.uiuc.edu
Of course, our native accounts are preferred, but just letting you know. =)
.. What's coming up? ..
I wanted to save some info for next week, but it never hurts to
let the public know about upcoming productions. :) Arsenic and Strict9
are the newest members, and they have already started coding the Defiance
Intro. Eris is coding a spiffy reader for the nfo files in Assembly.
Lowrider has been drawing some cool pics for our next mega-music disk
that will be released at NAID, and everyone is working hard trying to get
there NAID tunes ready.
.. Closing ..
All in all, Defiance is probably one of the most productive
groups in the American music scene. If you have heard any of our older
stuff, and didn't like it, don't be afraid to come back. Our styles vary
greatly, and we appeal to a wide listening audience. We should be
releasing a lot of songs this week, so get your favorite comm program
ready to download. Signing off,
-Zer0 / Defiance Muzik President
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 8. Advertisements ]-------------------------------------------------------
{none yet! if you want to advertise something in relation to music
please email to : populus@llc.org }
--------------------------------[ FINE ]-------------------------------------
The articles have tons of little ascii embellishments, and have to be read with a monospaced font to make sense (hence the code blocks).