*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************

                        EDITORIAL - BY BJORN A. LYNNE

*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************


Every  group  of  interest  has  it's  own magazines.  Windsurfers have their
magazines,  film  fans  have  theirs,  bird  watchers,  divers,  drag racers,
football  players,  you name it...  It's been that way for a while now - yet,
for  some  reason  I  have  yet  to see a magazine for the computer musician.
Until  now,  that is.  Well, compared to some of the topics I just mentioned,
the  computer-music  area is still relatively new, it's still expanding at an
almost  frightening  pace.   Pretty exciting, huh?  And for us who are in the
middle  of  all this, we just have to try to keep up with it the best we can.
Who needs their own magazine more than we do?

So  here  we  are  then,  welcome  to the first ever issue of a new, exciting
magazine!   Whether  you're  into  MIDI, sampling, chip music or just playing
around  with  bits here and bits there, AM/FM will hopefully provide you with
some interesting reading, some entertainment, and of course some software for
you all to enjoy.  And it will all be about music and musicians.

This  first  issue's  editorial  will  be  a  wee bit long, because I want to
introduce  our  staff  and  explain  some of the background which led us into
this.

The  people  behind  AM/FM  are not experienced magazine publishers, they are
just musicians, like you and me, who all have their interest in the Amiga and
it's  music  capabilities in common.  I guess this is both good and bad news,
depending  on  how  you see it.  The bad news is that we might not be able to
offer  you  a  magazine  of  the size or flashy appearance of Amiga Format or
Keyboard  Player.   The  good  news  is  that  we can easily connect with our
readers,  because afterall our readers are exactly the same kind as ourselves
-  just  plain, normal people.  I'm not trying to say that the editors of the
above mentioned magazines are aliens or anything (although I've had my doubts
from  time to time), but I just feel that there is a good chance we might get
something  really  good moving here.  What we want to achieve with AM/FM is a
magazine where everyone feel that they can take part in forming it.  Readers,
writers, we're all of the same kind, so let's do this one together, ok? We rely on feedback and support from ALL our readers - including you,
to make this magazine what we want it to be - a musicians' meeting place,
where information and opinions go both ways.

AM/FM will not be released at special dates - we will simply release an issue
whenever  we  feel  we  have  enough  good  material to let it go, instead of
depending  on  a  date,  and  maybe  having  to  release  something we aren't
completely satisfied with.

The AM/FM staff is not into this for financial gain.  We have no intention of
making  any money on this magazine, we do it simply because we want to.  Most
of us have other jobs with which we make our living, and all we really ask is
not  to  lose money on AM/FM.  So whatever price you have paid for your copy,
if  anything  at  all,  let me assure you that it is just enough to cover our
expenses  in  disks,  postage,  envelopes,  prints etc.  You might ask why on
earth  we  would  want to spend hours, days, weeks and months doing something
that  isn't financially profitable - well let's just say that we all love the
Amiga  -  we  love  music  - and we need to spend our time with it.  At least
we're  not  threatened by bankrupcy, because we've really been bankrupt right
from the start.  That's one way to look at it.

I'm  about  to  start writing a little about each of the members of the AM/FM
team,  but  before  I do that, I must point out that these aren't necessarily
the  whole  team  - within the next issue we will probably have added another
bunch.   Besides,  you  don't  have  to be in the AM/FM team to help out with
material or contributions.  Anyone who wants to are very much welcome to send
us material of any character, we will be delighted to review it and maybe use
it in a future issue of AM/FM.  So the staff isn't necessarily limited to the
people  listed  here  -  these  are  just the "permanent" contributors to the
magazine.

The AM/FM staff so far:

Bjorn A. Lynne       From Oslo, Norway, 24 years old.
                     The  one who started AM/FM, and who's trying to keep it
                     all  together.   Loves  everything  that has to do with
                     music,   composes   both  with  MIDI  equipment  (using
                     Music-X)  and  Amiga-only  sounds  (using  ProTracker &
                     MED).  Plays keyboards and drums.

Teijo Kinnunen       From Oulainen, Finland, 16 years old.
                     Registered  Amiga  developer  with experience on music
                     programming, MIDI, C-language and the 68000 assembler.
                     The author of MED and OctaMED music editors.  Composes
                     MIDI/Amiga  songs  using  OctaMED,  mostly for his own
                     amusement.  Plays keyboards.

Kon Wilms            From Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 19 years old.
                     Economics  student  with  a  great  interest  in music,
                     composes  with  MIDI  equipment and ProTracker.  Writes
                     original patches for a number of synths.  Usually found
                     near  some beach, when not playing or composing.  Plays
                     keyboards and sax.

Espen Beranek Holm   From Oslo, Norway.
                     Full-time  professional  musician  with  several albums
                     released  on  his  own and has also been working with a
                     number   of   other   artists.    Runs   "Animal  Voice
                     Productions A/S".  Prefers Dr.T's KCS for MIDI use, and
                     can  answer most MIDI questions.  Has also written some
                     MIDI  utilities.  Plays a number of instruments.  Known
                     aliases:  "Beranek", "Dr.Groove".

Allister Brimble     From Devon, England.
                     Full-time professional musician developing games music
                     for  the Amiga and Atari ST.  Specializes in use of as
                     little  memory  as  possible,  has  wide experience in
                     creating  and  using complex waveforms and use them to
                     their best. Also using synthesizers and MIDI.

Tor-Egil Braseth     From Narvik, Norway, 17 years old.
                     Jazz  fan  and MIDI/Amiga composer.  Always keeps up to
                     date  on  what's hot and what's not in synthesizers and
                     other  electronic music equipment.  A ruthless critique
                     of equipment and software.  Plays keyboards.

..Those were the ones who have taken an active part in producing this issue.
As  I  said,  more  people are still joining our staff, and as they join up,
they will be properly introduced in the editorial in future AM/FM issues.

Well,  off you go then - we all hope you will enjoy this issue as much as we
enjoyed making it.  See you all in AM/FM #2 - till then, take care!



                                                       Bjorn A. Lynne, Editor