. founded march 12, 1995 _| : _____ t r a x w e e k l y # 54 ______________ |___| _ _______/ /\___________________________ / ____________/ /\__\ _ _______/____/_____________________________ / / _________ \/__/ ______\ \_____________________________ / / / `_ . .~ \____\/ _ __ ___ / / / _____ . _ \ __ ___ _/__/\ / / / / /\ _ The Music Scene Newsletter __ __\__\/ _/__/ / ____/ /__\_________________________________ _____ ___ _ / /\/ /___ __________ _ ______ _ ___ \/ /\ / / /____/ \ \ / /\ / __/\ / /\ \ \ / \ /____/ / / \ / \/ /_ \___/___/ \ \_/___/ / \_/ / / \ ___\ / /_/ /______/\/ \ /______/\/ \ /_____/ // \ \ / / / \ / / \ \ \ \_\ \ \ \_\ \ //____/\____\/ / / / / / \______\/ \______\/ \_____\/ \ \ \ \ / / / / \____\/\____\ / / / / _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ / / / /__/ w /\___/ /\___/ e /\___/ /\__ / l /\___/ /\____/ / / __/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/________/ / __\ \____\ e \____\ \____\ k \ ___\ \____\ y \__________/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/WW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - | TraxWeekly Issue #54 | Release date: 04-11-96 | Subscribers: 554 | - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Introduction]------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ _ _________________ /_\ \__ / ____ ______ \____ ____/____________ ______ _/ \ _/ \ \ww_/ \ _/ ________/_/ _ \ __/ \/ \ \/ \/ \ / | \__ ___ ___ _______ _/ \\ \ \\ \\ | \\/ | \_ ___ __ __ ____ /___________\__\_______\________\____|______\____________\ \__\ Welcome to TraxWeekly #54. This week, we feature more in-depth music reviews from our dedicated review crew, headed by Kal Zakath. Also, Faces in the Crowd has a large showing this week, featuring interviews with Saxy/XX, Quantam Porcupine, Scirocco, and a dual interview with Injekted and Subhuman about their new group, Ultrabeat! Please remember that when submitting articles for publication in Trax Weekly, they MUST be formatted for 76 columns, with a space preceding each line. I'm getting tired for formatting people's articles and correcting spelling for them. =) In the interest of raising the quality of this publication, I would suggest we all pay closer attention to our writing. See you next week! Gene Wie (Psibelius) TraxWeekly Publishing gwie@owl.csusm.edu /-[Contents]---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ ________ _________________________________________________________________ / ____/_/ __/ \ __/ / _____/ \ __/ __/ ___/_ < \____\ \ \\ \ \\____ __/ __/_\ \ \\____ \_____ \__ \ \ \ \\ \ \ww\ \\ \\ \ \ \ \ \_ _\________\________\\___\____\ \_____\\_______\\___\____\ \_____\_______\ General Articles 1. New Music Reviews.............................The Review Crew 2. Originality in Music..........................Dynamis 3. Programme Elements............................Dynamis Faces in the Crowd 4. Interview with Saxy...........................Kal Zakath 5. Interview with Quantam Porcupine..............Zinc 6. Interview with Scirocco.......................Zinc 7. Interview with Injekted and Subhuman..........Cerulean Closing Distribution Subscription/Contribution Information TraxWeekly Staff Sheet /-[General Articles]-------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ --[1. New Music Reviews]---------------------------------[The Review Crew]-- Welcome back to another TraxWeekly music review column... We have quite a few tunes for you this week, to make up for our brief hiatus in TW 53. :> Also, note that Kleitus has aided me with these reviews and ratings, and will continue to do so in the future... (Actually, he's been helping me out for a while, I've just been forgetting to credit him...) :> Anyway, as always, I hope we succeed in our two main goals... To provide composers with detailed feedback on their compositions, and to encourage music scene fans to listen to some nice tunes (helping them out in their search for quality). :> Unfortunately, my comments might be a bit sparse this week, as I did the ratings a while ago but am typing up the full reviews sorta at the last minute. :> If any of my comments are unclear, or you'd like more a detailed critique, feel free to e-mail me. :> - Kal Zakath / Inferno Productions - (editor of TraxWeekly's new music reviews department) [e-mail: jtownsen@sescva.esc.edu * IRC: 'jtown'] =========================================================================== summary of music reviewed this week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ astrid - mick rippon [95%] jasmine tea - lord blanka the black / terraformer [84%] kanamon worms - lord blank the black / terraformer [83%] wenn das wasser - doj / cubic team [66%] the ballad of romeo - doj / cubic team [73%] groovus mentus - aahz the demon / carcass pc [81%] music which will be reviewed next week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ existing (.xm) - mick rippon autoemotive (musicdisk) - liam the lemming (sorry lemm, but i hope you can understand that reviewing a whole musicdisk takes more time and effort than just an individual song. i've already started the review though, so it will definitely be in next week. :>) shattered skye - catspaw / rat and others, of course... :> review - 'astrid' by mick rippon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: light rock - piano/guitar duration: 4m25s patterns: 35 orders date of release: march 31, 1996 where to get: HORNET [/incoming/music/songs/xm/mr_strid.zip] composer's e-mail: rip@hunterlink.net.au (review by kal zakath and kleitus) - [ technical: 95% ] - - [ samples: 97% ] - - [ originality: 90% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 95% ] ==- - [ form: 93% ] - - [ personal: 96% ] - well, another mick rippon tune is my personal favorite song of the week. :> not surprisingly, of course, as mick is one of the most talented composers in the scene these days, and one of my favorite active composers. 'astrid' is an absolutely beautiful tune in all respects. :> mick told me on #trax that he has never seriously played the piano, but one could _never_ tell that from this tune, as he his use of it in this tune (perhaps the best piano sample i've ever heard, too) is nothing short of superb. add to that some excellent guitar leads and near-perfect orchestration, and you get a tune that must be heard by all. :> what else can i say? go get it, if you haven't already... :> review - 'jasmine tea' by lord blanka the black / terraformer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: guitar / realism duration: 3m28s patterns: 21 orders date of release: 1996 where to get: HORNET [/music/songs/1996/it/j/jasmine.zip] composer's e-mail: terra@wizard.net (review by kal zakath and kleitus) - [ technical: 84% ] - - [ samples: 90% ] - - [ originality: 82% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 84% ] ==- - [ form: 80% ] - - [ personal: 84% ] - the first of two tunes sent to me by blanka, 'jasmine tea' is an excellent tune which appears to have been inspired by necros' guitar tunes. this tune has a nice chord progression, and excellent leads. the sample set is also very well-chosen, and the instruments work well with each other. the only significant flaw i found was in the beginning. it would have been better to fade the chords in/out on different channels, to keep them from being cut off. overall, this tune was a very nice piece, however. congrats to blanka for excellent work. :> review - 'kanamon worms' by lord blanka the black / terraformer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: new age (?) duration: 3m20s patterns: 26 orders date of release: 1996 where to get: HORNET [/music/songs/1996/it/k/kanamon.zip] composer's e-mail: terra@wizard.net (review by kal zakath and kleitus) - [ technical: 82% ] - - [ samples: 88% ] - - [ originality: 82% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 83% ] ==- - [ form: 84% ] - - [ personal: 77% ] - the second of lord blanka's tunes, 'kanamon worms' is a more new age-ish work. i preferred the style of 'jasmine tea' to this one, but this too is also a composition of high quality. the chords are nice once again, although there is not much of a melody... the piano was done quite well, but seemed a bit too loud at times, and also did not seem to fit in with the rest of the samples. the percussion work, however, was excellent... this tune has the same minor problem with the chords that 'jasmine tea' had... they would have been much nicer if they were faded in and out with volume slides. overall, though, another nice work by blanka, even if it's not my preferred style... review - 'wenn das wasser' by doj / cubic team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: acid duration: 3m20s patterns: 49 orders date of release: jan 1996 where to get: HORNET [/incoming/music/songs/xm/wasser.zip] composer's e-mail: doj@tecs.de (review by kal zakath and kleitus) - [ technical: 57% ] - - [ samples: 82% ] - - [ originality: 65% ] - - [ OVERALL: 66% ] - - [ form: 57% ] - - [ personal: 59% ] - this is the first of two songs that were sent to me by doj of cubic team. 'wasser' is an acid tune, which is fairly nicely done... the samples are very high-quality, which is always important to this style of music... unfortunately, this tune suffers from a common problem, lack of variety. in a song of this style, it is important to vary the riffs and drum tracks to avoid repetition. doj has managed to succeed in this somewhat, but there is still not enough variation through the whole course of this tune. this tune is not without its 'sweet spots', though (the ending was quite nice), and doj certainly shows enough potential that i would be willing to listen to future tunes of his. :> review - 'the ballad of romeo' by doj / cubic team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: ambient duration: about 4min patterns: 25 orders date of release: mar 1996 where to get: HORNET [/incoming/music/songs/xm/ballad.zip] composer's e-mail: doj@tecs.de (review by kal zakath and kleitus) - [ technical: 70% ] - - [ samples: 85% ] - - [ originality: 73% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 73% ] ==- - [ form: 70% ] - - [ personal: 65% ] - this is the second tune by doj, and i enjoyed it a bit more than 'wasser'. entitled 'the ballad of romeo', this tune is a bit more my style. it opens nicely with atmospheric sfx (a rainstorms) and develops into a nice mellow ambient tune. it suffers from repetition as well, but the chords and acoustic guitars are fairly nice. this is a nice background tune, as it creates a nice atmosphere, and remains very pleasing to the ear throughout, due to a nice mix of instruments, and the occasional sfx. a pretty nice work overall. :> review - 'groovus mentus' by aahz the demon / carcass pc ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: jazzy duration: 4m30s patterns: 32 orders date of release: feb 1996 where to get: HORNET [/music/songs/1996/xm/g/ccs-gmen.zip] composer's e-mail: D.Fitches@CIMtegration.COM (reviewed by kal zakath and kleitus) - [ technical: 80% ] - - [ samples: 80% ] - - [ originality: 84% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 81% ] ==- - [ form: 81% ] - - [ personal: 82% ] - i had this song in my directory to review this tune for a while, but it somehow slipped by me. when i saw it get a '**' rating by one of the hornet reviewers, though, i felt that i should set the record straight. :> jazz is a hard style to successfully compose in a tracker, but aahz had done a very nice job of it. :> i very much enjoyed listening to 'groovus mentus'... the samples are nice, and aahz uses piano and percussion very well. my favorite parts were the piano solos, and the excellent flute leads. very nice work by aahz. :> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --[2. Originality in Music]--------------------------------------[Dynamis]-- Kal Zakath in his article writes the following statements: > 1) Originality is important, but you should first judge a tune on its > own merit. Not everything original is good. Not everything > 'unoriginal' is bad. > > 2) Good music comes first, originality second. Some people manage > both, and their music is brilliant (Dizzy/CNCD comes immediately > to mind). But if I had to choose between an overall quality tune > and a lower quality but more 'original' tune, can you guess which > one I would rather listen to? Call me crazy, I guess... Yes, originality is important. I am assuming composers are writing music for themselves and the satisfaction they gain from it (e.g. "art for art's sake"), though this is not the case. Assuming the last statement to be true and realizing every person is different, each composer should have a unique style. Copycats are those who have not yet defined their own style. We compose from the heart but also from what we have experienced (in terms of music). One who has not heard the Indian pan flute is not likely to write for it. Originality in a piece of music is a function of how an artist can incorporate his ideas into a format (music in this case) he can project. For some, notes are all they needs to relay his ideas. Others can project their musical ideas through a given form - Purple Motion's synthy demo style, for example. > Yep, originality rules the scene these days... Where else can a 1:30 > long Warner Brothers-esque symphonic tune win a compo with 2000 votes > more than one of the overall best tracked songs I've ever heard? A 1:30 long tune can win a compo over one of the best tracks Kal has heard because other people voting obviously did not share the same sentiments. In making a case against originality, Kal Zakath seems to be promoting conformity. He seems to say that we should all stick to the "tried and true". Why should musicians not explore areas outside this? The reason listeners tire of music by Purple Motion and Lizardking is not because they are unreasonable, but because the style became tedious and overused. Musicians looked for other ways to relay their ideas. Yes, it is ignorant to shrug off an entire base of quality music from composers such as Purple Motion and Lizardking, but it is also important to look towards the future and not forget that composers today are just as capable of producing the same quality music as composers of an earlier era. I am not a big fan of symphonic tunes (tracked, that is), but I believe that every style should be used. Musicians should not fall into the thinking that since one particular style is consistently scoring well at compos, they should adapt their music to this style. Musicians who track in the style they like may not win themselves any awards, but they will have succeeded for themselves. John Wells (Dynamis/nuthin :) jowells@vt.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --[3. Programme elements]----------------------------------------[Dynamis]-- I have been looking through my song collection, seeing songs with such titles as "Worldwide Slack" and "Hybernaculum". It seems that some trackers are trying to stick a cool sounding name on their song. I fell prey to it myself. Two words sound cool, and they sound cool together, so why not name a song to it? I question the value of such a method of nomenclature. The song should suggest a name. The composer should be able to write on what the song means to him - what it suggests. If the composer is trying to evoke an emotion with a title, there should be a word or phrase that fittingly defines the song. In the same manner, the text fields can be used give the song an explicit programmatic theme. Composers of yore were never that spoiled. Trackers can write pages (using an S3M text field) on their song if their purpose is to direct the listener to a line of thinking. Two excellent songs that use this to great advantage are "Point of Departure" by Necros, and "Rhythm Seclusion" by Siren. The former describes how he was feeling when the inspiration came to him (an excellent way of evoking the same emotion in the listener), and the latter suggests situations to the listener to imagine himself in while the song is playing. I am by no means suggesting that every song needs to have such programmatic elements (suggestive elements) or even characteristic elements, but the possibility for even telling a story during the song is a unique feature to module trackers. This feature is a great advantage if used properly. John Wells (dynamis) jowells@vt.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Faces in the Crowd]------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ --[4. Interview with Saxy]------------------------------------[Kal Zakath]-- This week we have interviews for you, which I realize is something we haven't done in a long time... We've been concentrating on reviewing lately, and interviews -- our original focus back in the 'faces in the crowd' days -- have unfortunately been neglected. However, we're back on track, at least for one week, to provide a little change of pace. :> This week I interviewed Saxy, one of the members of XX (the scene's only all-female musicgroup :>). She recently released her first tune, 'Symphony in her Mind', which is also the very first song she has tracked. I was impressed with what she had done in her first composition, and so this interview followed... :> I think it turned out quite well, actually, so I hope all TraxWeekly readers will enjoy reading it. :> =========================================================================== - - Kal Zakath [Inferno & TraxWeekly] = jtownsen@sescva.esc.edu - - Saxy [XX] = cdr001@ns1.wmc.car.md.us =========================================================================== (note: the following interview has gone through a bit of editing for the sake of clarity, but is still pretty much the original IRC capture, with no changes, except where necessary. :>) Okay. Everything seems to be in order, so let's start, shall we? ok. :) Why don't you start by telling us your real name, age, group affils, where you go to school, etc. (boring stuff first) :> Okay, my real name is Courtney Risch, I am 18 and I attend Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland. I'm an English / Political Science major, and I am a member of XX. ah... :> Let me ask you a few questions about XX. :> Werd. :) XX is an all-female group, right...? :> Yep, there are four girls: Skie, Ms. Saigon, Pandorra, and myself. we are a music group for now, but we hope to find a female coder someday. We're like sisters... I love being a part of it. :) Werd. :> Who first came up with the idea of starting an all-girl group? I think it was MS and Skie who came up with the idea. I'm not sure how they got it, but I do know that MS has wanted an all girl group for a long time. Actually, believe it or not, XX might not be the only all-female group... :> I think that a group of girls entered a demo at TG96... Did you hear of this? :> Yes, I did... I think we were trying to get in touch with them, but that's someone else's market. :) ehehheh. :> Maybe you could team up some time. :> create an entirely female-produced megademo. :> That would rule!!!! :) It would certainly be a step forward for all women in the scene. :> Definitely. There are only four North American girls active, as far as we know... Let's talk about your music for a bit... When did you first become interested in tracking? I became interested when I met Ms. Saigon, who lives in my suite at college. She began to show me demos, and I really thought they were neat... Then she gave me FT2. I got into full swing when I got IRC on my Internet account and met all of the people there. Before you started tracking, did you have any particular favorite composers, whose style interested you the most...? Hmmm... Well, I really didn't know too many beyond the ones that were MS's favorites. Now that I am more involved, I like the orchestral composers the best, since that's my department too. Of course, I like the standard favorites too... like Necros, Siren, and Basehead. So, how long were you watching demos and hearing the music, before you decided to try tracking out for yourself? I saw my first demo in September, and I began to track in February. ah, so you've been tracking for about two months now... What do you find most challenging about it? Getting ideas and finding good samples is the trickiest part. I like tracking better than the traditional writing on paper thing, because you get to hear it, and the tracker does the bar lines and measures for you. :) Yes, that is nice... :> I find that I can get sounds out of the tracker that I could never actually play on a 'real' instrument. :> Another thing I like is the fact that, unlike on a real piano, you can hear the way everything sounds together. I have a lot of trouble playing several parts at once on the piano, and the tracker takes care of that. werd, when you track, it's like having a whole orchestra at your disposal -- if you know how to use it. (which is the tough part) :> That's the best part! Since you mentioned composing on paper, bar lines, measures, etc. am I correct in guessing that you've had some sort of history with composition/theory before you started tracking? Not really, actually. I used to try to write stuff down, but it got messed up. My first song was actually something I tried to write down in 1993, but I kept it in my head because it didn't look right on paper. Let me just say, that although you're still a 'newbie' at tracking, your music certainly has a nice sound to it. :> What do you feel are your personal strengths and weaknesses when it comes to tracking? My strengths are arpeggios and the ability to use orchestral stuff in my music. My weaknesses are that I can not do anything right with synthesizer stuff, and I need to learn how to do percussion. Yes, percussion can be tricky. :> And i've noticed that the traditional demo-music, though one of the easiest styles to track, is one of the hardest to track _well_, because you really have to be skilled at many aspects of composition to create a high quality, unique synth-tune... Yes, and mine always sound like cheesy rip-offs of someone else's stuff. That's why I prefer orchestrals... Not as many people do them, so they are unique. Yep, I think 90% of the scene would agree with you there. :> About the rip-offs or the lack of orchestral writers? About orchestral being 'unique' and therefore a more desirable style. That's why Skaven is #1 in the Imphobia charts. :> werd. :) Even if lamers like me disagree... :> But anyway, let's head back to the girls-in-the-scene subject... :> ok, shoot. :) Some might say that being a girl in the scene is difficult, because there are so few... Others might say that it's easier to be a girl, since the guys are so eager to see some ladies hanging out on #trax and such. :> Do you feel that you personally, as a girl, have had a harder or easier time than most, as far as being accepting into the #trax and demoscene 'community'...? I feel like I was very readily received into the "family". People have been very accepting of me, and I really enjoy spending time with all of my friends here! I don't want people to think that I'm only there to pick up guys, though. I've got just as much legit reason for being there as anyone else... Don't worry, I'm sure nobody thinks that. :> Relationships may happen, but if they do, they do. :) :> Let's move to another topic... You'll be attending NAID, correct? Yep, I'll be at NAID. :) Are you planning to enter the music compo? I want to compete in the music compo... In fact, I dreamed a song idea last night and tapped out the melody on the piano this morning so I think that will be my entry. heh. :> Lucky you... I've dreamed of song ideas, but never been able to remember them long enough to get to my piano (or FT2). :> It was a vocal piece, but I'm leaving the vocals out for NAID. Hmmm.. :> Vocals would add an interesting aspect to the tune. :> Maybe you should consider putting them in for NAID, it would certainly grab voters' attentions...? Since it was a vocal piece, I was able to write the words... I am a poet too... and then fit lyrics to the words I came up with. Werd. :> Maybe in the future, after you have been tracking for a while, we will get to hear your tunes with your lyrics too...? That would be nice, because not many trackers do that... :> I plan to release it with the lyrics, regardless of whether or not they are done for NAID. :> Speaking of the NAID music compo, last year they played _all_ the songs. :> It was certainly a brave effort to be fair to all... Yes, but I hear they won't do that this year. Right, that's just where I was going with this... :> This year, following the lead of the more traditional compos, they're having a preselection 'jury'. What do you think of the idea of a 5-7 person jury picking out 20 songs, and only that, to be played for all to hear? Well, MS said that last year the music compo was really long, so it might be better if they don't play all of the songs. But they should still have some way for people to hear the other songs that didn't get picked for the compo. Or agree not to release the tunes, so the composers can save them for another compo, like MC4... That's a good idea also. I am working on something for MC4 too, and it's near completion, but I don't want to give that one away either. :) I also heard from Mr. Khan, although I'm not sure if this is definite yet, that the voting on the 20 'finalist' tunes will not be completely public... Public votes will account for only part of the voting, the rest will be 'ratings' given by the jury... Do you agree with this type of voting process? Hmmmm... That means there is more room for the panel's prejudices to be involved. If the panel likes someone, for instance, they have a better chance of winning than a lesser-known person with an equally good song. No, I don't think it's quite fair. werd, I don't either... :( if even one jury member has a bias against a certain style, it could hurt a tune's chances. But enough about NAID, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. :> I'm beginning to run out of questions, but before we finish this interview, let's quickly touch upon a more general topic. :> Try to look about a year in the future. What direction do you think you -- and the entire demoscene -- will take? I think that 1) There will be more girls, 2) I will expand my style to include synthesizers, and 3) We'll all be having a lot of fun. :) werd to all three of those, I hope they all can happen. :> Before we end this, is there anything else you'd like to say to the readers of TraxWeekly? :> Yes... I'd like everyone to know that I got my nick because I play baritone and alto saxophone, and I have been playing for 10 years. Some people think I picked it just to pick up guys. :) ehehhehehe. :> Well, I think we have enough to work with now. :> Cool. I am honored. :) Thank you very much. :) no, thank _you_. :> I very much enjoyed this interview. :> I enjoyed it too. :) =========================================================================== ...and I hope all of you TraxWeekly readers enjoyed this interview as well. Thanks once again to Saxy for agreeing to be interviewed here in TraxWeekly. :> If there are any other aspiring musicians who would like an interview, please feel free to contact me... If your music has potential, I'll be happy to give you an interview. :> Also, if you just have any questions or comments on my interviewing process - if you'd like to see more interviews, less interviews, different questions asked, or whatever :> just let me know. I'm not an expert at this by any means, and I'd like very much to hear feedback from TW readers out there. :> - kal zakath / inferno [jtownsen@sescva.esc.edu * irc: 'jtown'] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --[5. Interview with Quantam Porcupine]-----------------------------[Zinc]-- Hello QP wewp, i'm a topic :) hehe :) What's up? nothing much i'm running Lemmings in Executor/X right now but that's about it :) :) Okay, well we might as well get on with the interview. oh, sure, make me end my game :) ok :) First of all, please state all the info-jazz like your real name, age, grade/job, etc. etc.. Real name: Joshua Shagam, age 17, freshman at New Mexico State University Computer Science major at the moment Do you have any musical credentials other than tracking? Yeah, I took piano lessons for 8 years of my own free will no less :) I started when I was 5 (can you figure out when I stopped? :) and I started composing (for the piano) when I was 7. :D So you must have picked tracking up pretty fast, eh? Yeah. My first "tracking" was with Music COnstruction Set on the C64. :) Heheh, I was just about to ask how you got started tracking. How did you learn about the tracking scene? I didn't do any what could be really called tracking until 1992 when I found Whacker Tracker. (that was finishing the previous question :) anyway, i found out about the tracking scene because my first soundcard, a Pro Audio Spectrum 16, came with a large collection of .MOD files. I thought they were pretty cool, and when I found whacker tracker (see above), I got working with it right away. :) What trackers did you use since then, and what are you using now? Well, if I hadn't heard Klisje Paa Klisje, I probably wouldn't have hunted .MOD-related stuff down. Well, I tried MODedit but didn't like it (too user-friendly :) I found ScreamTracker 3.01 on AOL and have used that since. Well, v3.21 now :) (Yes, I used to be on AOL. :) (Back when it was decent. :) (Sorta. :) What style of music do you like to track the most? Hmmm... well, I've never done any particular "style." I've always wanted to do stuff like Purple Motion's earlier stuff, like Inside Out or Sundance. But it never comes out quite right. :) Anyway, I just kinda do what comes to mind. Well, perhaps a better question would be this: What style of music influences you works? As in tracked, as well as non-tracked? Ahhh, I see... well, I don't hunt down tracked music much. My main influences are the Beatles, Phish, and Matthew Sweet. I also like Mozart, Beethoven and a little Bach. However, most of my songs seem to make fun of whatever song is being overplayed on the radio at the moment. :) Do you have any thoughts/opinions on the number of channels one uses? (Using too many channels, etc..) For example, "On That Happy Note" is making fun of Fingernails (by Foo fighters :) okay, for channels, I've always preferred when people optimize it for as few as possible. One of my favorite PM songs is Minimum Velocity because he fit it all into just 2 channels. I can't stand people who use 16 or 32 channels myself. Well, there are exceptions of course. :) When they're all put to good use, they're, well, put to good use. :) Yes, of course :) FOr example, "Me Tarzan, You Jane" by MiG / Weird Magic. Speaking of trackers, are there any who have really impressed you over the duration of your time in the scene? Attitudes, as well as talent. Yes. MiG has been VERY cool. His music is pretty good, and he's always been a pretty good friend. He always sends me prototypes of his music for example. Necros is also pretty cool. It would be cooler if he'd actually listen to some of my music, but otherwise... :) You live in USA; what are your thoughts on the gap between European and American trackers? (Canadians too, even :) Hehe... :) About the gap, well, since I don't really hunt down music (it usually ends up in my mailbox, thanks to MiG :) I really don't know. I mean, if I were to judge all of European music on MiG, then I'd say it were all REALLY good :) As for American music, I listen to even less of that. Most of the tracked music I hear is via demos. Fair enough, then. Where do you intend you take your music? Do you have any particular goals in the near future? Hmmm... well, I'm trying to move to semi-acoustic stuff and more mellow. I'm reworking my first S3M for example. It's a mellow guitar/flute thingy. Do you ever remix other people's work? Well, I've remixed a couple of radio songs. I remixed Lightning Crashes by Live as a birthday present for my brother... I remixed the hidden track on Smash (by Offspring)... I also remixed Come Out and Play by Offspring, but only to make my little parody of it "Keep Refridgerated" :) Which I never got around to finishing (no, I'm not releasing it as .S3M :) Are there any other people in 'real-life' who have heard your music? besides those who don't have a choice in the matter :D Oh, hehe :) ummm... well... Not really :) Just people on IRC mostly the ones who I bug to go to my webpage to download my stuff :) Here's a tip: track a song for your girlfriend (if you have one).. It usually goes over quite well :) haha That's a pretty big "if" (i.e. having a girlfriend :) :) uhh... Anyways, this brings me to the 'fun' part of the interview. All righty then... :) First: If you could make any one person in the world listen to your music (deities excluded) who would it be? Hmmm... John Lennon. Wait, no, that falls under 'deities.' I dunno... Maybe just get my songs on the radio until it gets stuck in everyone's heads :) "High On Prozac" for example. :) Okay, next question: If you were attacked by a school of killer sharks, what song would you play while you attempt a getaway? (let's assume they can hear it underwater!) Ummm... hold on a sec... I don't think I have any music which would soothe sharks. :) Too bad for you :) I suggest you find some, just in case! Hmmm... Anyways, next question.. Is this a frequent problem for you? :) Actually, if you replace 'sharks' with FBI agents, then yes :) Ahhh...in that case, "Dinosaur Act" by Matthew Sweet works. :) Third question: Frutopia or Snapple? Oh dear... Fruitopia and Snapple are both good... it depends on what mood I'm in. :) We're nearing the end, so please thank or spank anyone you wish now. Ummm, MiG, Mellow-D, Rabite Man (for idolizing me :), etc. etc. :) Where can we find your works? Okay, http://web.nmsu.edu/~jshagam will take you to a link to where it should be available, although where it really is is kinda flaky. The full address (currently) is http://infinity.beve.blacksburg.va.us/~porcpine I use it mainly because there's no 5 meg quota :) Hehe :) Okay then QP, what is your email so people can harass you? jshagam@nmsu.edu i like being harrassed i've only gotten like 5 emails a day lately please give me more :) aha :) Okay QP, thanks for the interview, we'll chat again sometime :) Okay, hehe :) thanks :) BTW, my alias is Quantum Porcupine in case you didn't know that :) I'm also on the #trax people page in case you forget my link etc. haha, ok :) I also code :) I can also play two recorders through my nose simultaneously. :) uh.. okay :) this interview is over, get it! haha oh, okay :) hehe :) l8rz :) bye ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --[6. Interview with Scirocco]--------------------------------------[Zinc]-- Hello Scirocco Ok, just a sec, let me get my windows organized Alright, I am ready now...hehe Okay :) :) Where are you from, first of all? From..meaning where am do I spend most of my time (school) or where did I grow up? Well, I mean on the globe, where are you? I am in New York City, smack in the center of Manhattan Island. I only go to school here though, I went to highschool in Billings, Montana. Okay :) So it must be almost 5 am then eh? No, Just after 4:am :) Okay, well, we'll understand if you blabber on incomprehensibly! :) hehe I'll try to be more comprehensible (hard at 4:00am!). Please tell the readers a little about yourself. Just a general description, such as real name, age, education, pets, toenail length.. etc... Real name: Ian Lyman AGE: 20 Sex: Male Education: Film Production Major at New York University Pets: 1 cat, Stormer Toenail length: 3mm Okay, cool. How long have you been tracking? I have been tracking for 3 years. I started in 93 when I got my first SBPRO and spent a hundred bucks on Bram Graveland's Tetra Compositor 4 channel tracker. Well, I have never heard of you, so where have you been hiding? :) Any groups in the past? I moved up to MTM for awhile, and then discovered fasttracker2 early last year. Well, I've been around pretty steady for the last year. I haven't been hiding, but have not affiliated myself with any group (at least permanently). I have released about 12 tunes (maybe more) and have the distinction of having the only XM on ftp.cdrom.com with a rating of 5 stars. Although I think that I really didn't deserve it.. Everyone is always talking about it though... wow :) I'm not a FT2 fan, so that's probably why I haven't heard of you. What musical background did you have before tracking? Well, I played the violin from age 5 until 7th grade. I started playing the Saxopone in 4th grade still play quite a bit today. I was a total "band-fag" in highschool and was in Jazz band and all of that. Jazz/Blues is really what I focus on with my sax. Not an FT2 fan? Why not? LOL! er.. Well let's not get into the tracker debate :) Good idea :) What advice would you give new trackers trying to break into the scene? Well, since I haven't exactly Broken into the scene all that much myself, but have lurked on the sidelines for so long, my advice stems more from what I wish I had done rather than what my experience has actually been. I would say that, for someone to break into the scene, the most important thing is quality. Don't upload tunes unless you are really proud of them. The second most important thing is networking. Spend as much time on #trax as possible. you're name=your name Have you done much/any game tunes? Are you going to edit this or just quote everything verbatim? I have not done any game tunes, although I hope to at some point. I leave most stuff in tact... My english/spelling/grammar is pretty ????ty right now (sleepy). What styles do you like to do the most? I prefer technopop, industrial, classical, and your standard rock rock kind of rock So then, what musical influences do you have? tracked, as well as non-tracked? Tracked Musical Influences: Purple Motion, LizardKing, Basehead (I'm thinking) And non-tracked? More tracked influences: The Krakken Non-Tracked: KMFDM, Machines of Loving Grace, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Depeche Mode, U2, Wagner, Beethoven, Dvorak, Utah Saints, Single Gun Theory Oh, and Meat Beat Manifesto Nice variety there :) thanks...I am fairly ecclectic in my musical tastes Although I do have a certain affinity for Industrial. Okay, then. Now that we sort of know what you sound like, I'm going to ask you a few questions that may sound quite strange at first.. Please answer them any way you see fit. Ok, Shoot. You are going to lose one of your five senses. Which one would you want it to be? (Or miss the least) I guess it would be smell. It seems like things smell bad more often than they smell good. Besides, I would ????ing die if I were deaf, and Blindness would really ???? up my movie directing ambitions. Touch would be (for obvious reasons) a pretty ????ty sense to lose, and taste, well, that would just plain suck giant gooey blobs of ????. Would you trade 5 years off of your life if you could have perfect health the entire time you are alive? Feel free to edit any explitives out of this (i have a bad tendency to swear when I am tired) :) okay :D Yes, I would. I am a total believer in quality of life rather than quantity. Okay, here's a question regarding the music scene... hit me... If you could change one thing in the scene, what would it be? (No limits!) It seems to me that there is, at least to some degree, a gulf between the european and american ends of the scene. I would really like to see a little more solidarity between the US and europe. Granted, we seem to have a lot of differences, esp. concerning musical styles, but I feel that we have a lot to learn from eacy other (this sounds cheezy but I think it is true nontheless) I agree totally. Those Euroz act like snobs sometimes to us NA's. (no offense to them, haha) Also, It seems that this gulf is especially apparent between the "big guys" on the american scene and the "big guys" in the european scene. Speaking of 'big guys', is there anyone(s) in particular who have helped you along the way, tracking wise? Well actually, I feel that the american's are just as much at fault. I mean, yes, there is a large contingent of European musicians that seem very bitter about the fact that the US has entered into a scene that, until a couple of years ago, belonged solely to them. No, not really. I have sort of kept to my own and not really had much outside help, aside from picking apart other tracker's work to figure out how they do what they do. How long have you been hanging out in #trax then? I always figured that people like Purple Motion and BaseHead were probably sick to death of receiving mail from lamers who were just starting out. Tonight is really the first time I have hung out in trax for more than 10 minutes! I am sure I will around much more from now on though. Cool :D Okay then, we are nearing the end of the interview, so I'll ask the regular sum-up questions :) Don't ask me why I haven't been around more often, I just didn't. I hung out on Undernet and played in Mushes. ok... :) Where can we find your stuff? Any web pages can also be mentioned at this time.. All of my stuff is on ftp.cdrom.com. Some is also on aol. All of my stuff is linked on my homepage (which I have recently spent a LOT of time updating recently). Http://pages.nyu.edu/~igl2670 My homepage is a good place to find all of my releases, plus a lot of other interesting things. Anybody you'd like to thank or spank at this time? I'd like to thank anyone and everyone that had encouraged me...esp ParticleX, GliTch, Xerxes, and Tobbe. had=has that=who :) I'd also like to thank Diablo, for being very patient with me...:) Okay, and finally, where should we send all that fan mail? :) Email: igl2670@is2.nyu.edu since you haven't heard my stuff, and are writing this interview, you should check some of it out.. Yes, I will certainly check it out.. it's nice to discover someone new :) Thank you for allowing me to interview you. I enjoyed it. Thanks for interviewing me. It was fun. Sorry for being a little groggy at this late/early hour.. SOK. cya! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --[7. Interview with Injekted & Subhuman]-----------------------[Cerulean]-- Interview with members from Ultrabeat - Injekted & Subhuman after their release of Lucid Okay .. lets start out with some basic info .. name, age, and all the extra s--- brandon douglas balliett, 16, legal enlisted raver and general techno head. :) oh, and i have a cat named spot, shes kool. ok, my name is Seth Miller, i'm 17, and I love goa. I live in injekted- some older #trax people remember you as Zer0 of Defiance .. what made you decide to start another group? err .. tribe. =) Hi seth. Ceru: I wasn't really into underground music/raving when i started defiance.. plus in this group, i actually track.. something i didn't do much of in defiance. injekted- so new external interest in music? Ceru: I'd also like to note that even though the original conception and name of ultrabeat was thought up of me, i owe subhuman for pretty much all the support.. so we both founded it. a 50/50 thing, persay. how long ago did you guys come up with this idea? Ceru: we based the group on the idea of music being the most important thing .. no coding, no graphics.. just the music Ceru: Yeah, a new concept in music.. i hadn't listened to much tracked music until i heard "earthtones" by mentalfloss and got some awesome acid/breakbeat stuff from cybie.. it was inspiring. i had faith in the scene again.. Ceru: We came up with the idea roughly a month or so ago.. its sketchy, lucid wasn't even supposed to be released that early.. it was a rush, we just had a lot of bottled anxiety.. Sybaris is a local, I go to school with him.. he isn't in the 'scene' persay, just writes the music for himself. I basically asked him if he'd be interested, and to support my efforts in tracking, he said sure.. Are you and Sybaris into raving and the underground music scene like Injekted? Sybaris is a big raver, yeah, he's really into it. We both are fanatic about music.. especially trance, and goa. It is probably the most important thing besides eating to us both :) I'm still trying to convert subhuman into a fulltime raver.. unfortunately, the oregon scene just isn't hopping yet. :) So tell me more about Lucid .. I heard that already from XDCC sends on #trax, over 35 people got it, and there has been a lot of positive feedback.. I'd say total, theres like 60-70 people who have it overnight.. so far no negative feedback.. some thought it was "average", but some thought it was really incredible.. Sybaris actually wrote Higher and Higher about 2 months ago.. I've personally been trying to track something that would compliment it, and my track on lucid is my attempt What are your current plans now that Lucid has been released? The track i contributed to lucid wasnt completely finished.. still a few things i would of liked to tweak.. but it fit the category, so i threw it in there at the last minute.. sub- so there is you, injekted & sybaris in the group .. anyone else? Balrog.Ca, Sybaris, Injekted, subhuman Well, i really really want to make some acid/acid house.. fun stuff like that.. so were releasing an all acid disk called "Happiness is a 303".. and a 2 song single by sybaris/someone else soon. =) that sybaris song is amazing, my favorite tracked song at the moment, definately something to look out for The members are sybaris, injekted, subhuman, canned ice, cubik, and recently joined balrog.. but the details on canned ice are sketchy, and cubik even sketchier.. hes got his own plans for a group, so hes probly gonna leave.. we'll most definetly want to do a co-op with cubik's group.. if things go well, that is. :> are you going to limit the groups members or is it going to be the next epinicion? :-) Infact, we proposed a 5 member limit.. a small little group with one goal.. it would be more fun that way.. I think that is a great way to start out. and lots of co-ops, working together Woo.. i answered the question before you asked it. :> too many groups want to be big too quick. exactly Yes, currently im working out details for co-op disks with the swedish underground group dr3amsource, and cubik's new norwegian group "beam".. we may or may not do those tho. do any of you foresee maybe some movement into writing tracks for outside the scene, possibly at raves or whatever under the Ultrabeat name? hm.. good question. Sybaris has played his stuff for a few of his friends, but he's in it for himself, not for recognition well.. i dont think MY music personally is good enough to release to the public.. but sybaris coudl get away with a phat trance cd anyday.. for the time being, probly just tracker releases.. i'm still growing, also that was my first release :) As subhuman said.. sybaris in it for himself.. were all in it for ourselves.. we all love music to the point we cant describe. you never know .. maybe you will run across a cheap tB-3o3 and start groovin' out the tewns. :) that would be rockin' .. a dream yeah, balrog wants to destroy the earth with reverbed 3o3 sounds.. i like his visions. :) so a love for music, 24 hours, 7day a week type of thing.. :) ceru: yeah, i dont go anywhere without a walkman and house/acid tapes. =) that is what Ultrabeat is.. that was the original plan how do you guys feel the group fits into the scene compared to Kosmic, FM, etc? were trying to cater to the people who like the kinds of music we make as much as we do.. like, the people who find music spiritual.. the ravers, foreign techno heads, etc. etc. are you planning to use their ideas or go completely different and try to start a new thing (sounds like your trying to do the latter..) It doesn't have the kind of distrobution FM and Kosmic do FM caters to mainstream tracking.. which i give respect to them, but i think techno music has a special place in tracking because its an ideal suit for it.. with good samples, you can make stuff that sounds like real vinyl.. well, its structurally based on FM.. limited membership, music only.. as far as kosmic goes.. kosmic is an empire, wanting to appeal to everyone.. which it does, which is cool.. but we want a group that people know what there getting when they download.. anything else you wanna throw in? now granted, we might not have stuff that sounds like real vinyl.. but already, people have told us so.. i disagree, right now.. but i think groups like radical rhythms and hbe have supreme stuff.. i'll be putting up a Windows Browser compatible web page, at "www.open.org/seth/ultrabeat" .. all the releases can be grabbed there.. but it will just take time to perfect it .. after you get there, you will reign! :) ceru: yeah, world domination and such.. one world, one rave. :) any plans to attend NAID or other parties? i want to so badly, but i can't afford it me? no.. if i went to naid i can just imagine the stack of 400 disks labeled "my techno tune" which will appropriately be an annoying bleepy song with a rock drum and bass line. ahh .. so your not too impressed with 90% of the "techno" stuff out there? :) there are lots of bad samples used, that is my main problem with it and besides, its too predictable whos gonna win those things.. i want some guy in plastik clothing and a shirt that sez "I love acid." to bust in the NAID place and give them some module thats so hot everyone gets up and dances.. that would be a party. I guess thats all to be said, unless you have one last question.. You mean you don't wanna start dancing to "Ascent of the Cloud Eagle ][" ?: ) ascent of the cloud eagle ii? Wait.. what the f--- is that? =) I just covered the bases .. I guess we could go into favorite foods or something, but that isn't all that concerned with the interview. :) injekted- hehe Any last minute infos on how to contact members of Ultrabeat? www.open.org/seth/ultrabeat -- contacts, and releases in graphic form yeah, mail me and seth... injekted@host.yab.com and subhuman@teleport.com. :> preferably send comments and kool modules. :> werd sounds good! :) Thanks for taking the time to do this interview! =) n/p, keep ravin'! and as a close.. i'd just like to greet all the underground groups, ravers, and peace in soul loving individuals out there ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Closing]----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ TraxWeekly is available via FTP from: ftp.cdrom.com /demos/incoming/news (new issues) ftp.cdrom.com /demos/info/traxw/ (back issues) A WWW project featuring TraxWeekly will be featured sometime in late Summer, 1996. To subscribe, send mail to: listserver@unseen.aztec.co.za and put in the message body: subscribe trax-weekly [name] (NOT address) To unsubscribe, mail same and: unsubscribe trax-weekly (in message body) Contributions for TraxWeekly must be formatted for *76* columns, must have a space preceding each line, and must be readable and understandable. NO HIGH ASCII IS ALLOWED. Different country code pages cause major problems in international distribution, so we must stay with regular text. Profanities and other derogatory subjects should be avoided if possible. Contributions should be mailed as plain ascii text or filemailed (MIME/UUE only) to: gwie@owl.csusm.edu before 6:00pm EST (North America) every Wednesday. TraxWeekly does not discriminate based on age, gender, race, political preferences, religious preferences, or eliteness. ALL COMMENTS GOOD/BAD AND SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME! Please contact the TraxWeekly staff at the following addresses: Editor: Psibelius (Gene Wie).................gwie@owl.csusm.edu Staff: Atlantic (Barry Freeman).............as566@torfree.net DennisC (Dennis Courtney)............dennisc@community.net Kal Zakath (John Townsend)...........jtownsen@sescva.esc.edu Master of Darkness (Todd Andlar).....as566@torfree.net Mhoram (John Niespodzianski).........niespodj@neonramp.com Mick Rippon..........................rip@hunterlink.net.au Populus (Nicolas Roberge)............nr@qbc.clic.net Trifixion (Tyler Vagle)..............trifix@northernnet.com Zinc (Justin Ray)....................rays@direct.ca Reporter: Island of Reil (Jesse Rothenberg)....jroth@owl.csusm.edu Graphics: Squidgalator2 (...)..................sq2@sv.net.au White Wizard (...)...................aac348@agora.ulaval.ca TraxWeekly is a HORNET affiliation. Copyright (c)1995,1996 - TraxWeekly Publishing, All Rights Reserved. /-[END]--------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ $P"^````$$$$$P"^````$$$$$P"^```````^"TP"^```````^"``````````^"T$$$$$````^"T$ $ .o@&$ $$$$$ .o@&$ $$$$$ .o@&$"$&@o. .o@&$"$&@o.`$$$$$"$&@o. $$$$$ $&@o. $ $ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $ $ $$$$$""" $$$$$"$&@o. $$$$$ $$$$P $$$$$ $$$$P $$$$$ $$$$$ .o@&$"$$$$$ $ $ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$""^~` $$$$$""^~` $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $ $ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $ $ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $SQ2$ $iCE$ $ $ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $ $ T$$$$ $$$$P $$$$$ $$$$$ T$$$$ $$$$P T$$$$ $$$$P $$$$$ $$$$$ T$$$$ $$$$P $ $, `~^"""^~` ,$$$$$ $$$$$ `~^"""^~` ,, `~^"""^~` ,$$$$$ $$$$$ `~^"""^~` $ $$o,. .,o$$$$$$ $$$$$ o,. .,o$$o,. .,o$$$$$$ $$$$$ o,. .,o$$ """"""""""""""""""" $$$$P """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" $$$$P """"""""""""" "^` "^` ...traxweekly emag