TraxWeekly #002 (3-23-1995)
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| \___: || / / / | \ \ \/ / !! TRAXWEEKLY !! | |
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| |__| || \ \_ / \/ \_ ISSUE TWO! | |
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| | fallow da \ / _/ \ _/ \ \ \_ / |
| | for ">" news \ /\ / \____/ \____/\ \___ / / |
| | 'bout \ / \ /\ _____\ _/ |\ // /| |
__| |__ MuZic! ). .( \/ \ / \ / \ / \ _| \__ // _/ | |
\ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \// __/ | |
\ / )+( (N0 StYl3 l0g0 bY: \/ WW | |
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- 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
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-[ 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
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-[ 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
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-[ 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
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-[ 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
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-[ 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
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-[ 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.
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-[ 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 ]-------------------------------------
