Interface - Alone Coder interview.

<b>Interface</b> - Alone Coder interview.

Musicians interrogation room ...
Alone coder/i8

When and why did you start to make
spectrum music?

I love music and always was occupied with it, when there was a 
possibility. In a deep childhood, I had a one-voiced piano and 
a few child books with the notes

(However, I didn't learn to play).
Later, I used it to put notes in a
Wham. For the first time I wrote
on AY (in PT3) when I found this
editor and brought it to John in
december 1998. We didn't succeed
to do any music this time. First
module I wrote, when attached an
AY chip in 1999. In that time, the
sound was put to the speaker directly from chip, so it was 
barely heared:)


I suppose, the first technical experience you gained exploring 
someone's tunes for samples, ornaments and other tricks. Who 
was that spectrum musician who influenced your music and whom 
you can call your teacher?


Those years, certainly, John
Silver. Later - MMCM, Macros,
Nik-O, Ironman, D-Juice. Now, I
borrow good ideas from anyone:).

What was the first music editor
that you used?

Wham, not the FX version. I made a
disk version. But, maybe the first
editor was the one, I don't remember the name of - one channel 
with the duration, set for each note.

Also, I edited data for my players, written because of nothing
to do (using basic and asm).

What do you think about your past
as a spectrum musician, what important moments in your 
progression can you note? 

I'll repeat exactly the same words
as I said in Genz # 3, but adding,
that now I'am inclined to the semiclassic - semiambient style 
from the game Unreal. Also, now I prefer live (acoustic) drums, 
not electronic.


How do you think, do you have any
fans, and what do you think they
particularly like in your music?
Would you like to say some words
for them?

AY composers, whom I in correspondence with, know my music and
have an opinion about it. The main
mass of people doesn't know it. It
is mostly experimental, i.e. just
shows how it could be done - as if
intended for composers.

What musical instruments do you
use (if you ever used) during composing process? Do you have 
any experience of musicmaking on other platforms? What do you 
think about it?


Until this winter, I was drawing a
samples for each module anew, sometimes doing just two modules 
with the same samples. For now I have a

set of drums, which are tuned successfuly enough, and I store 
it as a samples. One of it - bassdrum taken from the track by 
Slip "Lena bay! bay! ". On other platforms I

use programm 'mod plug tracker' to
convert samples and music into
wav. Of course, I read notes there
if it is the point of interest:)

Do you like to criticize yourself?
What is the weakest spot in your
techniques (rythm, melody, arrangement or something else)?

I always critical inside and not
saying much about that:) The brevity of music is bad for me, my
tracks always consist of 1-2 repeating phrases.

What kind of music do you listen,
what bands / projects affect you,
what moods and feelings you try to
put in your own compositions? Remixes: what do you think of 
this? 

It seems, this question refers not
to AY music? I have no tape recorder, my pc is broken, that is
why I can say what I was listening
to and analyzing formely - tracks
by A. Brandon and M.van den Bos
from the games Unreal and Unreal
Tournament, music by Manwe and
audio cd by Slip, he send me some
time ago. If I catch something interesting on radio or TV, I 
stay and listen. But this is a matter

of chance. But in principle, I'am
familiar with the main trends in
classics, electronics, jazz, pop,
rock-music and so on. I took some
CD's from friends, listened the music from consoles ... Remixes 
are needed to gain experience and try

some new methods in sound.

What music compos did you participate in, what was the highest 
rate and what do you think about your

achievements?

I sent tracks to the various parties very often, but was taken 
only on Paradox'2002, Paradigmus'2003 and Antique Toy (not 
taking into account ours virtual The Compo, that is still not 
finished because of absence of filled votelists). The highest 
(4th) place was at Paradigmus, because

there were only five tracks:) But really high grade I regard to 
the _last_ place at Paradox'2002.


What do you feel when your track
is playing on a party? Are you concerned with sound equipment, 
people that vote or it doesn't bother you much?


The sound is very important - I
use refinements of YM2149F chip. I
attended Paradigmus and accepted
the sound, though it was played by
AY Emul. The point is, that the
old version of AY Emul plays
gentle envelope with the stunning
hiss, but big speakers lowered
this hiss till the merely pleasant
level. It (and the amplifier, used
in a TV set) gave an opportunity
to hear a sound at all, because it
was almost 30 times quieter than
average AY track, i.e. it is heared, generally speaking, not at
every home gear:) I have no hope
to the public, conniving it's tastes is not my principle.

Do you have any interesting ideas
about the future of spectrum
music? Maybe there are some
hardware or software innovations
that you would like to have?

New ideas could be realised by the
means of new methods of editing
overlayed channels, drum machines
and so on. Maybe it wouldn't be
tracking at all. Appearance of
100Hz music is not excluded. It could happen after the 
mastering of 1st tempo. Anyhow, I already discern 50Hz quantums 
and trying to defeat it by the envelopes ...


What is the most interesting aspect in spectrum music composing
for you-to perfect your skills
within the bounds of one 'style'
or 'genre', or to continue the
thorny path of experiments with sound and techniques?

I'am writing completely randomly
and can't answer this question.

Can you tell us some your original
ideas that you want to realize in
your music, maybe you want to make
a demo or a game soundtrack, may
be just to try what you have never
tried yet, the new field of applying your talent?

I already have an experience in designing magazines and games:)
What I want, is to complete majority of my tracks to the level, 
when it could be listenable. Then it would become the common 
property of people.


What do you think about co-operative composing, is it 
interesting for you?


Yes, I co-operatively composed quite often (live and in 
absentia). For example, a lot of John's

tracks, starting from 2001 were
written in my presence and usually
contain one or two my notes and a
pair of samples:) and almost all
my tracks, written in the beginning of 2002 were edited by
Macros.

Whom would you like to make music
with? Please name three authors among
the contemporary spectrum musicians that you like most.

Nik-O, C-Jeff, Miguel.

Can you say some words of advise
for those musicians who are just
starting out?

My friends! Compose music, that
will help you to understand it
better, and to perceive many details of life through it. If 
your music is turning out bad - do not despair. Our music is 
called amateur. The major part of mankind doesn't even know 
about it - you wouldn't find the name of Ironman

or Nik-O even in the most thick
dictionary and wouldn't hear it
even at the most alternative radio
channels. But it pushes people not
lesser than that, commercial, and
not lesser than the other, elitist. That is because it is 
listened by people, who can really find something in it. Be 
afraid to go the way, pointed by herd.