The Equalizer BBS/equalizer-bbs-collection_2004.zip/equalizer-bbs-collection/DEMOSCENE-STUFF/RESTLES1.ZIP/RST_1.ZIP/ARTICLES/MUSIC/DEATHJ.TXT

Text File | 1997-06-19 | 8KB | 194 lines

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BLuRry/0P8 interviews Deathjester -- an Amiga-borne modtracker
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BLuRry/0P8 --> Br:
Deathjester --> DJ:
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BR: It's been a while since you've been in the scene hasn't it?

DJ: Well all my mods (with the two recent exceptions of course) were
written between 1989 and 1992 when I was in high school back on
my Amigas.  It has kinda been awhile I guess.

BR: So is there any story behind the creation of the handle Deathjester that
can be retold?

DJ: Nope :)

BR: It's hard to let the old classics go -- Orgasmod, Industry...  Which is
your favorite?

DJ: Well I'm sure everyone's expecting some lame answer like 'Oh, they're all
special to me and I can't pick just one', but the truth is that Entity
has the most power to remind me of a certain feeling I used to have back
then, and as far as cool tunes go, it has to be a tie between a couple of
mods, Algorhythm(ic) and Asyxtasy(n).  Aevias is a runner-up.

BR: How many mods can you recall releasing before you took a break from it
all?

DJ: Officially?  About 15.  There were two batches.  The 'Old Mods' and the
'New Mods'.  Then there were a bunch of 'Singles' and 'Bootlegs' :)

BR: Yeah, that's about the time I began, actually.  If you had to choose
between
your mods and your midi stuff, which would you rather be stranded on an
island with?

DJ:Geez, Blurry :)   You mean which would I rather have in my walkman?  Or
would I rather have Protracker or my keyboards?  Aside from the fact that
I'd go completely insane on that island, I'd rather have my mods I guess.
My keyboard stuff doesn't have that old-school 4-voice charm to it :)

BR: Hehehe...  Right now, what equipment do you have set up?

DJ:Well there's my keyboards, A Roland D-20 (a new one to replace the D-20
I smashed to itty-bits), a Roland Alpha-Juno-1 (for those analog-moments),
a Kurzweil K1000 (big keyboard, nice choir), a Korg EX-800 (module), and
my friend the K2000 (16 megs sample ram, 800mb hd)...And then the Amiga
3000.  Every mod I've ever written has been with either my A1000 or A3000
running Soundtracker, Noisetracker, or (my favorite of course) Protracker.
Now that includes a PC (bleah).

BR: Wait, what happened to the Amiga?

DJ:Well it's still around.  I think I may have fried some ram chips while
troubleshooting a video problem but she'll be back up in no time :-)

BR: They just never die! ;-)  What are your plans for your PC?

DJ:Well I'm gonna build a P200 pro game machine after I get me a Roland
JP-8000.  I'm still holding out for whatever badass non-wintel box
they come out with next, but until then, I may try dabbling in the
art of 16-bit, 16-voice modding.

 BR: I could have sworn you were against pc's, What changed this attitude?

 DJ: The attitude hasn't changed.   They still suck.  They just suck faster.
 But I've gotten a PC because I'm now officially a computer professional
 :-)   My non-musical work requires that I have one. *shrug*  Whatever.

 BR: Once you get your pc all setup, do you have any plans to go back to
 tracking?

 DJ: Sure.

 BR: Okay, now I'm interested in a few stylistic points:  It is beyond all
 obvious that one cannot do as much in the 8-bit four-channel format like
 what is being done today with the multi-channel 16-bit formats.  Why didn't
 you switch to an eight-channel format or higher when they became available?

 DJ: I didn't like the interface of the first programs that supported more
 than 8 channels.  Startrekker, Oktalyzer, Octamed...I never thought they
 were as cool as Protracker.  And they weren't very well supported by
 players in the early days.  By the time they were, I wasn't writing
 much anymore.

 BR: One thing I always noticed about your 4-channel style is the way you switch
 different things "on and  off"  -- One pattern there's a beat, and the next
 there's a low orchestral patch instead.  And oddly enough, it all flows
 together.   Is there a way you can describe how to decide "what goes" and
 "what stays" from pattern to pattern?

 DJ: Hey 4-channel real-estate is a very precious commodity.  I throw shit
 in where there's ROOM for it :)  If you want a bunchafucken instruments
 for a certain part, you have to cut off what's needed the least and
 listen to it to make sure that was a good decision.  I always try to
 keep the most prominent stuff in the foreground.  If you introduce a
 subtle instrument and in the next pattern you hammer in with a bigass
 lead, the little subtle dude gets the shaft because he would be barely
 audible anyway. The listener just kind of feeels his presence from
 that point on.  This of course no longer matters with 16-channel mods.

 BR: What would you consider to be the most interesting source of vocal samples
 for your music?

 DJ: There is no single interesting source.  Films and TV have done very well
 for me :)  Microphones sufficed for the drills and clangs of Industry,
 and cable TV served me well for the samples in Orgasmod.  Die-Again
 stuff came from all OVER the damn place...and that was before I even
 had a sampler.

 BR: Do you have any tips for those just now learning to track?

 DJ: Use your own damn samples :-)   Don't make mod-versions of songs that
 already sound better than a mod.  Don't just sequence a bunchafucken
 loops.  DO make sure there's no wasted space in your sampledata.  DO
 make sure your samples are clear and don't distort (unless you want
 them to).  Always use keyboard command equivalents even if you have
 to look them up.  Once you learn 'em, things will go a lot quicker.
 Keep writing mods!  And always make sure they're at least semi-kickass
 before releasing them.  You know they're done when they're cool enough
 for your friends to copy off your hard drive when you're asleep :-)

 BR: Alright, now I know you've been inactive for a while, but bear with me...

 BR: I'm going to say a word or two, just give me the first response that comes
 to mind:

 BR: Workbench.

 DJ: 2.1

 BR: Workgroups.

 DJ: 3.11

 BR: Kurzweil.

 DJ: 2000.0

 BR: Acme.

 DJ: 281.474129

 BR: 371+3.

 DJ: 374.0

 BR: Gates.

 DJ: 666.0

 BR: Odyessy.

 DJ: 0.0

 BR: What do you think has remained the same in the attitude of the demoscene
 since its birth on the Amiga?

 DJ: My demo is cooler than your demo, therefore your dick is shorter than
 mine :-)   I think people still code them for the same reasons.  The
 competetion and the pride of being known for something cool you've
 created.  The spirit of demodom is alive and well.  Beats the hell
 out of being a little IRC dork :-)

 BR: How many demos/groups were you a part of?

 DJ: Like 3.  I can't really say how many have used my songs.  Nor can I
 say I was a member of any group for a substantial period of time.
 My work was mostly freelance :)

 BR: What brought you into the scene long ago?

 DJ: My friends :)   They thought my mods were pretty cool, and there was the
 promise of free warez :)

 BR: Is there any one thing you feel you still need to do with your music
 that you haven't done yet?

 DJ: Oh HELL yeah.  When people ask me when my next mod is gonna be out, I
 just tell them to wait for the CD :)  Of course I know that's not
 gonna happen anytime soon, but if it ever does, there's a LOT of cool
 as yet un-realized vision to be converted to sound.  We'll never run
 out of neat things to do.

 BR: Great! Look forward to seeing ya' carry your plans out!  Thanks again
 for "stopping by!"

 DJ: No prob.... talk to ya later!