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@BEGIN_FILE_ID.DIZTraxWeekly #52 - Music newsletter + more @END_FILE_ID.DIZ . founded march 12, 1995 _| : _____ t r a x w e e k l y # 52 ______________ |___| _ _______/ /\___________________________ / ____________/ /\__\ _ _______/____/_____________________________ / / _________ \/__/ ______\ \_____________________________ / / / `_ . .~ \____\/ _ __ ___ / / / _____ . _ \ __ ___ _/__/\ / / / / /\ _ The Music Scene Newsletter __ __\__\/ _/__/ / ____/ /__\_________________________________ _____ ___ _ / /\/ /___ __________ _ ______ _ ___ \/ /\ / / /____/ \ \ / /\ / __/\ / /\ \ \ / \ /____/ / / \ / \/ /_ \___/___/ \ \_/___/ / \_/ / / \ ___\ / /_/ /______/\/ \ /______/\/ \ /_____/ // \ \ / / / \ / / \ \ \ \_\ \ \ \_\ \ //____/\____\/ / / / / / \______\/ \______\/ \_____\/ \ \ \ \ / / / / \____\/\____\ / / / / _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ / / / /__/ w /\___/ /\___/ e /\___/ /\__ / l /\___/ /\____/ / / __/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/________/ / __\ \____\ e \____\ \____\ k \ ___\ \____\ y \__________/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/ \____\/WW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - | TraxWeekly Issue #52 | Release date: 03-28-96 | Subscribers: 562 | - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Introduction]------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ _ _________________ /_\ \__ / ____ ______ \____ ____/____________ ______ _/ \ _/ \ \ww_/ \ _/ ________/_/ _ \ __/ \/ \ \/ \/ \ / | \__ ___ ___ _______ _/ \\ \ \\ \\ | \\/ | \_ ___ __ __ ____ /___________\__\_______\________\____|______\____________\ \__\ Welcome to TraxWeekly #52. As you can see, our number of subscribers is slowly increasing. We passed the 500 mark several issues ago, and we've gained another 18 subscribers since last week (544 to 562). Hopefully, as we refine the content of this publication and work on keeping consistent in reviews and articles (like our big brother, DN), we'll be able to expand to a much larger audience. Judging by the numbers of songs uploaded to HORNET each day, it's evident that there are still lots of musicians not linked up with TraxWeekly yet! This week, we're hoping to set a trend in TraxWeekly music reviews. Kal Zakath has redefined our ratings system, and he and Mick Rippon present us with not just one or two, but *seven* song reviews. A hand for their hard work and dedication! Faces in the Crowd features Daedalus and Ganja Man, interviewed by Zinc. Group columns don't seem to get too much attention, as Explizit, Noise, and occasionally STJ are the only contributors. If you or your group needs a billboard, all you need to do is ask. =) Enjoy the issue! Gene Wie (Psibelius) TraxWeekly Publishing gwie@owl.csusm.edu /-[Contents]---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ ________ _________________________________________________________________ / ____/_/ __/ \ __/ / _____/ \ __/ __/ ___/_ < \____\ \ \\ \ \\____ __/ __/_\ \ \\____ \_____ \__ \ \ \ \\ \ \ww\ \\ \\ \ \ \ \ \_ _\________\________\\___\____\ \_____\\_______\\___\____\ \_____\_______\ General Articles 1. New Music Reviews.............................Kal Zakath Mick Rippon Faces in the Crowd 2. Interview with Daedalus.......................Zinc 3. Interview with Ganja Man......................Daedalus Group Columns 4. Explizit Advertisements 5. Grey Matter, Going Mental.....................AndrewM Closing Distribution Subscription/Contribution Information TraxWeekly Staff Sheet /-[General Articles]-------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ --[1. New Music Reviews]----------------------------------[TW Review Crew]-- Welcome back to TraxWeekly's Review Section. As always, we are doing our best to review quality tunes by lesser-known musicians, as well as trying to fulfill review requests. We have four reviews for you this week, which is more than we've had in a while. Hopefully, we'll continue to increase quantity without sacrificing quality... Joining us in reviewing this week is Darkwolf. I'd like to personally welcome him to the Review Crew, as I'm sure his contributions will help us greatly. :> Also this week, We're introducing some changes/additions to our rating categories. The old system (composition, samples, originality) worked well enough, but as we thought it over, we realized that not all aspects of a tune were included in those three (at least not the way we interpreted them). Therefore, we've made a switch over to the rating system used in MC3 (technique, samples, form, originality, and personal). Here's a brief explanation: TECHNICAL refers primarily to the tracking of the tune. how good is the composer at translating his musical ideas into tracked music? does he make leads interesting through portas, vibratos and vol. slides, or are they flat, cutting each other off? SAMPLES is fairly self-explanitory. were the instruments high quality? were they original, or samples that obviously have been ripped a hundred times? if there were extended samples, were they used well? ORIGINALITY might not mean exactly what you think it does. :> if you read my article in the last traxweekly, you'll understand what i mean. any song, imho, is 'original' if the tune sounds to me refreshing or different. i have no problem giving demo music or techno tunes high marks for originality, if they have their own style... FORM addresses the composition of the song itself. to balance out with 'technical', the 'form' refers to the musical structure of the song. does it flow well, or break from part to part? does it have variety, or does it get boring after 30 seconds? PERSONAL is just how much we liked the tune. maybe it was rough, but still catchy; maybe it was well-tracked and composed, but seemed to lack something special. i don't know. this is where we get subjective -- as if the whole rating process wasn't subjective enough. ;> Now a brief summary of the percentage-scale ratings... Don't think of them like grades, _please_. 65% does not mean 'failing'. :> For clarity's sake, here they are: 100% - 95%: _excellent_ tune, awesome! 94% - 90%: very high-quality tune, one to keep in your collection 85% - 89%: nice tune, definitely stands out as better than average 80% - 84%: overall very good, may have a few rough spots 70% - 79%: composer has potential, but still needs work in places 50% - 69%: mediocre, like 95% of the stuff out there, nothing special Except in the case of a request where the composer _insists_ on having their tune reviewed in TW, we will refrain from publishing a review of any tune with a rating any lower than 50%. Instead, we will send the review to the person requesting it, as a sort of personal criticism on their music. There's no need for us to humiliate anyone. summary of tunes reviewed this week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) don't stop now - vegas/mystique [74%] 2) castaway - sikamikanico/mistery [85%] 3) maximalism - mick rippon [92%] (editors' tune of the week) 4) no truth - rage/jade [91%] 5)*hyperion - outrage and orc/ormicron [68%] 6)*the river eternal - vegas/mystique [60%] 7)*stepback - kitsune/oxygen [60%] * reviewed on OLD rating system tunes which will be reviewed next week ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ kanamon worms - lord blanka the black/terraformer jasmine tea - lord blanka the black/terraformer the ballad of romeo - doj/cubic team wasser - doj/cubic team ... and others! review - 'don't stop now' by vegas/mystique ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: jazzy duration: 2m09s patterns: 29 orders date of release: not yet released (for Mystique's upcoming musicdisk) where to get: the Mystique musicdisk composer's e-mail: vgs@loop.com - [ technical: 75% ] - - [ samples: 65% ] - - [ originality: 75% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 74% ] ==- - [ form: 75% ] - - [ personal: 77% ] - 'Don't Stop Now' is another nice tune from a relatively new tracker, Vegas. I reviewed one of his earlier tunes, 'Search for the Missing Link', in an earlier TW, and I noted then that Vegas had excellent potential. He has come quite a ways in developing that potential since then. 'Don't Stop Now' has excellent piano chords, a solid bassline, and nice drum work. It is overall a nice tune to listen to, but let me point out some flaws. The lead sample could have been better chosen, it is inappropriate for this type of song. Perhaps a sax sample would have suited this jazzy tune better? And leads in a tune like this should have some sort of effects use to make it more smooth and interesting. The tune is a bit repetitive, and transitions need a bit of work. Don't be too discouraged by these comments, however. Your music is coming along very nicely. If you address the sort of problems that I mention here, it will help you bring your compositions to the next level... I know that we can expect excellent work from Vegas in the future. - review by kal zakath review - 'castaway' by sikamikanico/mistery ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: guitar duration: 3m45s patterns: 39 orders date of release: march 1996 where to get: HORNET [/incoming/songs/xm/sik-cast.zip] composer's e-mail: johanl@dataphone.se - [ technical: 80% ] - - [ samples: 90% ] - - [ originality: 90% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 85% ] ==- - [ form: 80% ] - - [ personal: 85% ] - I don't know if you're familiar with Sikamikanico, but he has been the winner of quite a few of the Trackering music compos, and his music for those compos is excellent, especially considering the circumstances (i.e. pre-chosen sample sets). Therefore, I was very eager to listen to one of his regular releases. I was not at all disappointed when I heard 'Castaway', a superb guitar ballad with nice synthleads. Sikamikanico is obviously a very talented guitarist as well as an a skilled tracker. Combine these skills and you get this beautiful, mellow tune. Perhaps its only fault is that it's a bit repetitive, but it's certainly well-composed and very relaxing to listen to... - review by kal zakath review - 'maximalism' by mick rippon [Editor's Tune of the Week] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: various duration: 7m(+) patterns: 61 orders date of release: ? where to get: HORNET [/incoming/songs/xm/maxmlsm.zip] composer's e-mail: rip@hunterlink.net.au - [ technical: 90% ] - - [ samples: 93% ] - - [ originality: 95% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 92% ] ==- - [ form: 94% ] - - [ personal: 90% ] - Wow... 29 channels, over a meg in size (hence the name, I suppose :>), and excellent composition and tracking make this tune one of the most impressive I've seen. This song must have had much effort put into it and it shows. It combines so many styles of music that I'm not sure what to call it. :> Let me just say that this is my personal 'tune of the week', and everyone should hear it. :> Beautiful melodies, harmonies, samples, _everything_... Congratulations to Mick Rippon for another superb piece of music! - review by kal zakath review - 'no truth' by rage/jade ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ style: techno duration: 2m39s patterns: 35 orders / 34 unique patterns date of release: march 1, 1996 for GBP compo where to get: HORNET [/incoming/songs/xm/notruth.zip] composer's e-mail: hablom@lokki.edutec.pori.fi - [ technical: 93% ] - - [ samples: 95% ] - - [ originality: 91% ] - -== [ OVERALL: 91% ] ==- - [ form: 86% ] - - [ personal: 90% ] - Ahh... Another awesome Rage tune... 'No Truth' starts out nice and mellow, then develops into one of the most original techno pieces I've heard in a while. The whole style of this tune is excellent, and the tracking is superb. Everybody who enjoys techno music of any sort should definitely check this one out. - review by kal zakath review - "Hyperion" by Outrage/Omicron & Orc/Omicron ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Filename: HYPERION.ZIP [xm] Email: Not given. Presented to us by Outrage and Orc is a rhapsodic fusion of Trance, Ambient and Jungle. As expected with a trance-like intro, we are greeted with a minimalistic rapid multi-textured (farty) bassline, followed by differing but forceful percussion work overlaid on top. The prospect of witnessing another piece of music with this formula was enough to give me a headache, but before I reached for the earplugs, I was heedlessly greeted by the soft flowing melodical presence of Ambience. As you would expect from a piece where the whole philosophy is based on variation, the sound doesn't hang around for long before compulsively exposing the listener to another dose of 'farty bassline and drum rhythm'. A nice piece of execution however sees this dire combination engulfed by some great orchestration. The next section brings us to the Ambient Jungle genre, the combination of the jungle rhythm, strings, piano, and the standard gm, Eb, F progression is an attention grabber. We are then greeted by the Fartphony in gm again but the presence of a chordal based melody and nice chordal movement are a welcome feature. We say goodbye with a few moody chords. Nice ending. I think it would be more correct to describe this piece as a musical mind map more than an actual piece of music. The sections within themselves are well tracked, and the overall sound is very good. I couldn't help thinking that the desire to avoid repetition ruled supreme over the desire to exploit each section to it's potential. The way the sections were strung together were not very innovative, and there was not really a sense of unity between succeeding sections. Composition: 62% - Nice pleasant harmony, good rhythm, some lazy modulation great ideas but were not exploited and minimal compositional craftsmanship when dealing with a new section. Sound Quality: 81% - Good exploitation of the samples. Great Piano sample, Stereo effects were great and very noticeable. Good presence. Nice sound. Some tuning problems but too marginal to bother. Originality: 65% - nothing that really struck me as original. Overall: 68% - Nice implementation and refreshing orchestration, but let down by no development and poor linkage. -review by Mick Rippon review - "The River Eternal" by Vegas / Mystique ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Filename: V-RIVER.ZIP [s3m] Email: vgs@loop.com Composers Notes: "I based the entire mood of The River Eternal on that tranquil yet unsettling echoing drip instrument that plays throughout the song. The smooth base and 9th chords only serve to augment the feeling of eerieness. Even when I add the snare/base/hihat drumline, the ringing piano and the sad synth lead keep you focused on the main feeling. The first time I listened to it build up and boil back down to that final echoing droplet at the end, it sent a shiver down my spine. If my music can do that to anybody else out there, then I've accomplished something." One echoed 'drip' note per bar for an intro at a slow tempo concluded my suspicions that I was a true cynic. The next phrase saw the entrance of an absorbing sombre bass that complimented the 'drip' a 9th below - surprising to the ears, but it worked well. Tradition demanded the entrance of a strong sombre rhythm track. Expectationalist won't be disappointed with the next phrase as we then welcome a nice mellow easy piano melody. We then see the introduction of the main theme with the piano being arpeggiated and a new melody being given to a synth, including a slight change in the chord progression. The rest of the piece contains basic variations on the theme and a recapitulation of the progression and theme in a few modulated keys, two steps above and below the home key. The piece concludes with the sparse texture of the intro. Technically, there's nothing much to rave about. The harmonies, although very rarely dissonant could have been a bit more musical. The melodies, although mostly improvisational, needed a bit more melodical flair. Although the percussion track manages to hold everything together rather well, it really needed a tom to add to the sombre atmosphere, and the quick succession of the snare drum at then end of each phrase started to get repetitive. There could have been more done with the arppegiated piano as it never seemed to acknowledge the melody's existence, and it was too loud. The chord progression didn't really change, as there were only 2 characteristic progressions [fmin, DbMaj, gmin, cmin] and.[f min, DbMaj, cmin, DbMaj]. Emotionally, the tune felt good. A great haunting sombre bass enriched by a powerful rhythm really added weight to the texture. The thing which grabbed me the most was the 'emotional shape' of the melody as the high notes and the low notes were in exactly the right places - very dramatic, and very inspiring. Although it took ages to come to terms with the melody. There's a common habit nowadays with so much music going around that you immediately dismiss a track if it doesn't capture you the first time. It's a sad reality that if you attempt to write anything that requires an acquired taste, then the implementation must to damned good, or you have the initial credibility for people to take your work seriously. There's a strong correlation between meeting new music and meeting new people. Some people you don't like at first, and they grow on you. Some people you don't like, and you never like again. Some people aren't that charismatic, nor intelligent, but for some abstract reason you're drawn towards them - "The River Eternal" in a nutshell. Composition: 60% - Mediocre implementation saved by a dramatic and emotional melody. Instruments suited the music pretty well. Sound Quality 66% - Great bass sample. Stereo effects would have enhanced it greatly. Samples are pretty generic. Originality 70% - Each element has been done before, but the overall feel of the tune has a unique feel. Overall 60% - Althought it's rather simple, it's still one of those pieces that you have to listen to a few times to come to terms with everything that's going on. Once you become used to the shape of the melody, the technically crude aspects of the piece become less and less apparent. No bells and whistles, but who needs them? Recommended. -reviewed by Mick Rippon review - "Stepback" by Kitsune / Oxygen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Filename: STEPBACK.ZIP [s3m] Email: raphael@it.com.au This was the last song played out of the 25 played at Oz96 and I put it down as my 2nd favorite entry. [It ended up coming equal 7th] After hearing many endless tunes which took pleasure in caving in my head four times a bar, I welcomed this with open arms. What makes this one different is it's use of singing, and it's solidarity with the music. I won't reproduce the lyrics in full, but I'll quote this from the samplenames: "Sometimes, ya know, ya gotta stepback ... take a long hard look and make sure you know when you're bound ... " The piece is simple both musically and instrumentally, but this is necessary if you want to draw attention to the lyrics. Basically, the first section consists of a 'dig-dug' bassline swapping octaves every once in a while, a relevant static chord flowing underneath, and a sparse but tuneful vocal line drawing the attention. The next section sees a guitar solo happening, which we witness the entrance of the drums and a few more 'synthy' instruments adding to the overall texture of the sound. We then see the theme from the first section but with the medium tempo drum rhythm happening in the background. This section concludes the piece. I liked this piece. The sound was very pleasant and relaxing and the lyrical melody and the chords tied in together perfectly. It might have done with a bit of variation, and maybe some more instrumental solos. The lyrics weren't all that clear, but it was saved by it's melody. The percussion line could have been used far more effectively, maybe with some more samples as all I could hear was a kick and snare. Maybe a few little counter melodic lines in between the short lyrical phrases might have added to the interest of the sound. Composition 55% - Simple, but effective. Needed a little more. Nice lyrical melody well supplemented by a simple but effective chordal structure. Might have benefited with a solo in a contrasting key. Sound Quality 54% - Vocal samples "distorted so the listener can hear what I'm (he's) singing without straining" - I didn't understand the logic behind that. Stereo effects used. Nothing special. Samples could have been better. Originality 80% - The use of lyrics that actually were there not there for sake of 'just having lyrics'. The overall feel of the piece was unique. Overall 60% - Nice track which needed a little more. -reviewed by Mick Rippon _____ That's all of our reviews for this week... I hope that you all have the time to check out all four of these tunes, they're very nice indeed... Don't forget that _you_ can have your tunes reviewed in TraxWeekly, just contact us (at the below addresses). Next week we have some requested reviews of tunes by Lord Blanka the Black and Doj/CT. We'll see you then! If you want to discuss reviews, or the music scene in general, feel free to e-mail us at the addresses given below, or just chat with us on IRC. - kal zakath / inferno [jtownsen@sescva.esc.edu] - Mick Rippon [Rip@hunterlink.net.au] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Faces in the Crowd]------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ --[2. Interview with Daedalus]--------------------------------------[Zinc]-- <zinc> Hello Daedalus.. We've been planning this interview for a while now. :) <Daedalus> yeah, we have. <Daedalus> a few months or so i guess? =) <zinc> hehe yeah.. I've done about 3 interviews this week alone though already, so I'd better get to you :) <zinc> Anyways we should begin now.. <Daedalus> wow <Daedalus> ok <zinc> To start off, please tell us about about yourself. Real name (if you want), Age (if you want), Sex (you have no choice in this matter, I'm afraid!) pets, lawsuits, etc etc.. <Daedalus> My real name is Brian Bennetts, I'm 28 (one of the oldest people in the scene i guess, ack, dunno if that's bad or good) I'm a Guy obviously, no pets, but may have some lawsuits pending a couple of web pages i'm writing at this time. =) <zinc> So in all this time, what groups have you been in? <Daedalus> well, i've been in Neophyte, epinicion, and a new one that's about to be introduced soon. =) <zinc> Well, please explain how you got involved in tracking, and what musical interests led up to that. <Daedalus> Well, after the earthquake in northridge in 94, i was introduced to modedit 1.0, played around a bit.... then i was introduced to malakai, thru a friend of ours, and he got me into st3... i had really no musical background before then... and just kind of emulated some music that i like, until i was able to develop a style that was similar, but my own. =) <zinc> Okay, so did you have real-life friends who were also trackers? <Daedalus> No, i had infact just recently purchased my PC, was on an apple //e before then...so didn't know anyone else with a pc, let alone any trackers. =( <zinc> Okay then. Could you please describe the styles you were talking about a minute ago? <Daedalus> Well, a lot of the music I liked was stuff by Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Amin Bhatia, and The Tubes (personal way cool fave)... <zinc> Does it bother you that Bill Gates has a personal bias against the tracking scene? <Daedalus> Tangerine Dream is an all electronic band out of Germany, and i sought very hard to emulate some of their types of sequences... wasn't too successful at first and ended up with music that sounded like a drunk monkey pounding on the keyboards.... <zinc> :) <Daedalus> later, i learned a little bit more, and was able to use somewhat of their technique, and mold it into something a little different. i've found that people either really like, or really despise my music. =) <Daedalus> I wasn't aware that gates was against the tracking scene, is he really?? if he is, then heck yeah it would bother me... here's a guy who is one of the richest people on the planet, and all he has to do with his time is complain about the tracking scene? GET A LIFE BILL! <zinc> hehe.. Actually it was a joke, but it seems like he is.. Anyways.. <Daedalus> hahahah <Daedalus> I think Bill Gates is opposed to anything, if he's not getting a percentage of any possible profits. <Daedalus> especially when it involves computers. <zinc> Okay, well, most people don't think about what trackers do outside of the scene, so I thought maybe it would be interesting to find out! :) What DO you do when you aren't at the keybord? <Daedalus> Well, i spend most of my time at California State University Northridge, as a theatre major, acting in their productions, as well as designing lighting for the plays, and also designing sound.... <zinc> Do you get paid for that? <Daedalus> When i'm not there, or behind the computer, i spend time out with my friends, going to movies, eating out, going to parties, and doing things that normal people do. <Daedalus> Nope, not yet. all the designs i do are usually to meet production requirements for the major. <zinc> Okay. So then, what do you plan on doing over the next 5 years, in and out of the trakkin' scene? <Daedalus> heh, i use the term 'normal people' very loosely. <zinc> hehe <Daedalus> Well, in the tracking scene, i'd love to do the same thing that every other tracker does, do some video games, and i'd LOVE to score a movie some day <not of course, done with a tracker> i'm also going to persue an educational background in music, to gain a little more knowledge about it <obviously, as to score a movie, i'd have to know something> it probably wouldn't be a BIG movie, i'd be happy scoring someone's budget film, just so i could say i've done it. <zinc> Sounds neat. Have you ever done any computer game music? <Daedalus> outside the tracking scene: i'd like to focus on my acting career, i've done a few commercials, and worked on a television series, and had a few smaller parts in films, but i'd like to make my mark as a character actor in film. <Daedalus> re: computer game music: nothing released yet, but some negotiations in the works. <Daedalus> Id also like to get more education as far as computers, learn some decent programming languages, and since acting is not a guaranteed career, have that to fall back on. <zinc> movies? anything we could see you in? ("look! that's me in the back row!") <Daedalus> hehe, well, yeah... if ya look real hard i guess. =) I did "Child's Play 3", "Shout" and "Grand Canyon" as far as TV goes, i did a smaller role in the TV series "The Flash" <zinc> Do you like Grand Master Flash? <zinc> (did I get that right, fans?) <Daedalus> Grand Master Flash? the old rapper? yeah, i vaguely remember listening to some of his stuff when i roller skated when i was younger. =) <zinc> hehehe :) Wow, you ARE old! j/k :P So then, back to the tracking scene business... <Daedalus> actually, i guess Grand Master Flash was more funk, not rap. <Daedalus> hey, i'm so old that i can remember when gas was a dime a gallon... <Daedalus> ...oh wait, dinosaurs didn't use gas. <zinc> What are your personal opinions on groups, and the pros + cons of having them? <Daedalus> Well, there's definate pros and cons... i guess the pros would be that if everyone combines their talents correctly, you can have a terriffic result, as far as a song, or a demo goes, provided everyone is good at what they do <or can fake it real well> <Daedalus> cons: well, there can be a lot of arguements over what's good, bad, and what SHOULD be done, and that can cause a lot of tension among the members. <zinc> Couldn't we all help each other out just as well without groups? <Daedalus> Yeah, we could I guess, but just as there is something to be said for individual efforts, there is something to be said when a team comes together, and produces something that's astonishing, this doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's a pretty tremendous feeling to know that as a group, the members can function as a well oiled machine. <zinc> Okay then. How about the age old debate of ft vs st? people are still arguing about this. Do you think this is getting all too silly? <Daedalus> I think it's beyond silly. This arguement is one that has been going on forever (as you've pointed out) and will continue forever, and get worse as other people develop other tracking programs. Everyone has their personal preference of trackers to use, and most players support these formats. if someone chooses a different tracker, that's their choice. people should just accept it, and let that stupid old arguement DIE! <zinc> yay! <Daedalus> (Tho i would like to point out that my current choice IS screamtracker 3.21 :) <zinc> Okay, being an old guy (relatively, of course!) :), what do you think of people's attitudes and maturity level in the scene these days? <Daedalus> oh man... this is a tough one. <Daedalus> I've only been in the scene for a little over a year now, but, sad to say, i've seen the attitudes of people slowly go downhill.... <Daedalus> not necessarily people who've been around, but of the newer people coming in. there is such a sense, and need for them to feel "Elite", that instead of focusing on doing quality material, they seem to just try to 'fit in' and 'be cool' <zinc> True. I don't know about you, but over the last few months, I've noticed that all the old buzzwords have all but dissapeared. ie. Woop :) hehe.. Have you noticed this? <Daedalus> I still use werd and w00p, but yeah.. <zinc> Okay.. now for the fun part.. <Daedalus> hehe, uh oh <zinc> If the sky was falling, and you only had 10 minutes left, what song would you listen to while you build yourself a little sky-fallout shelter? <Daedalus> PC or commercial? <Daedalus> =) <zinc> pc <Daedalus> PC: "Global Motion" by Purple Motion; Commercial ...well, since we're about to die..."Talk To Ya Later" by The Tubes. =) <zinc> hehe. Actually, the sky falls every day, and nobody dies.. But that's called rain... (c: <Daedalus> hehe, in that case...i'd listen to "Rainfall" by me. =) <Daedalus> <shameless plug> <Daedalus> hehehe <zinc> haha <zinc> Okay, and now for another question.. this IS an interview.. <Daedalus> ok <Daedalus> <hopefully i'm not too boring> <---- leave that out. =) <zinc> haha, no :) <zinc> If another group similiar to Epinicion formed, and you were the president, 1) what would you call the group? 2) what would you do to attract members? 3) what would you do to make it the most interesting group? (you have unlimited $$$ remember :) <Daedalus> Hmm, it'd be called "A Million and One" 2.) i'd say that that name was our goal, as far as how many members we wanted on the roster, 3.) unlimited money? wow, i'd buy everyone incredible setups, make an entirely new sample set, hire someone to write the ultimate tracker (exclusive to all 1,000,001 of us) and pay people to listen to our music. <Daedalus> =) <zinc> wow! I like the name :) <zinc> I think there should be a tracker college, don't you? <Daedalus> well, kind of a pun on how many members were in epinicion. <Daedalus> a tracker college? sure, but we'd have to screen out the people applying who thought it was a model railroading development class. <Daedalus> change class to school. <zinc> I think I'll make a group called xM like Five Musicians but the x can be any number at all. No problems! hehe <Daedalus> <variable>m <Daedalus> heh <zinc> Anyways, this interview has taken a turn for the worse.. hehe.. we better end it :) I just have a couple of standard questions now.. <Daedalus> heheheh...ok <zinc> What is your email address where we can send ansi-bombs? <Daedalus> like i say, hope i'm not too boring...just been a really long day. <Daedalus> hahahha, daedalus@westworld.com <zinc> okay, and where can we find your s3ms? <Daedalus> right now, a few of them are on ftp.cdrom.com, but coming soon, there will be an ftp site set up <which will be announced in the future> where everything will be. <Daedalus> or, people can email me, and i can send them whatever they want. <zinc> Okay, and finally, anybody you wish to thank or spank at this time? <Daedalus> well, i could think of a few girls i'd like to spank... but they'll never read this article. I'd like to thank all the old members of Neophyte for a really great time, Basehead, Necros, Maelcum, Purple Motion, Skaven, and other old schoolers for the musical encouragement they've given us all, with the music they've produced, and everyone out there who listens to my music, and the music of others, as well as the people who help to keep the scene alive...best wishes <zinc> Oh, I just wanna say to the readers that this interview was conducted very very late (or early, depending how you look at it) at night.. so any craziness or nonsensicalness or idiocies etc can be attributed to what I just said. <Daedalus> yeah, it's like 2:00am here. <zinc> Oh, wanna say that infamous daed line? hehe .. re the lemonade? <Daedalus> ya know, after seeing it 100+ times, i'm not sure how it goes. <Daedalus> hehe <zinc> haha <Daedalus> err still not sure... <zinc> Okay, well if anyone is interested, they can ask me in #trax.. i guess :) Anyways, good night :) <Daedalus> g'nite. <Daedalus> well, how do ya think that went? <Daedalus> heh <zinc> hehe <Daedalus> that bad? <Daedalus> hehe <zinc> fine, and this is still on! <Daedalus> oops. <zinc> err.. recording :P <zinc> Okay, I'm turning it off now :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --[3. Interview with Ganja Man]-------------------------------------[Zinc]-- <Ganja_Man> OK <zinc> Hey Ganja Man <Ganja_Man> Hi <Ganja_Man> Can we get on with the interview?? <Ganja_Man> My breakfast is almost ready.. :) <zinc> Okay, well, first off, the boring, repetitive, monotonous stuff.. Like your name, age, vital stats, group affils, etc <Ganja_Man> OK.. real name = Sam Bashton, I'm 15 (!), member of LOK, and I'm currently doing the music for a game.. <zinc> Cool, Sam, so what kind of music do you track? <Ganja_Man> Well, basically all UK club styles. I love to listen to Happy Hardcore and Jungle, but I'm not too great at tracking them. I prefer tracking handbag house, 'cos it lets me experiment with pianos a lot.. <zinc> So what exactly is LOK all about? <Ganja_Man> Well, in the UK (where I live) there weren't really any demo/music groups (at least not that I knew of). So I decided to set one up. I also wanted to educate people about Jungle a bit (I remember the days I used to offer Jungle, and people used to ask what it was.. :)). <zinc> Yeah, Jungle seems to be one of the last underground styles.. At least in North America, anyways. Do people listen to jungle much outside of cyberspace where you live? <Ganja_Man> Yeah, Jungle has a HUGE club following. We also have a LOT of pirate radio stations blasting out Jungle. But we try to stop the BBC from finding out about it, 'cos it'd get included in the Eurovision song contest or summink.. ;) <zinc> What are your musical influences? As in trackers, as well as real-life musicians. (Should trackers be considered 'real-life' musicians?) <Ganja_Man> Well, Maelcum was a big inspiration to me early on. Sonic Ectasy, a little-known Candian house group were another great tracking inspiration. In real life I get inspiration from the Happy Clappers, LTJ Bukham, Goldie & Photek mainly. A bit of a Jungle bias really... :) <zinc> Are you impressed with anyone in the tracking scene? Not only in the talent respect, but also as regards to their attitudes. <Ganja_Man> I was sort of surprised by the tracking scene when I first logged onto IRC almost a year ago, actually. It was like 'oh my god! It's Maelcum!!', 'cos I had all their stuff, but I thought they were like gods or summink. OK, well perhaps not that far. But I was quite impressed by their "we're no anybody" attitude. Then I found out they *weren't* anybody.. :) <zinc> haha :) <zinc> We've probably all felt like that at some time or another <Ganja_Man> Yeah, s'pose <zinc> Is there anybody, or anything that really bugs you about the scene? <Ganja_Man> Well, I know a LOT of people are going to say this, but the reviewers on Hornet. <zinc> What bugs you about them? <Ganja_Man> They do a good job if you like demo-style music, but for us 'normal' people the ratings are no good at all. To be honest, I wouldn't care if they kept the rating as they were, as long as they sorted the music according to style. <zinc> Okay, well I'm going to ask you a couple of off-the-wall questions, just to try and throw you a bit :) <Ganja_Man> kool <zinc> You have the choice of registering FT2 for _free_, or getting an African Elephant fed-ex'd to you in the mail.. which would you do, and why not? <Ganja_Man> I'd have to go for the free FT2, 'cos I'd have no space for the Elephant, and London Zoo is almost bankrupt as it is.. :) <zinc> Good point :) <zinc> Okay, OTW question number two: <zinc> You are locked in a room with your cat, and your computer. You hypnotize yourself by watching the rotating Bill Gates in 'Verses' over and over. When you come to, there is a masterpeice composed on your computer. Your cat is the only one who could have done it, unless you did it by automation. Do you credit the cat? Assume you did it? What? How do you handle the situation, without the use of bell-bottoms or eggbeaters. <Ganja_Man> Well, I'm always hitting the wrong key when I'm tracking stuff, play it back and find it sounds kool. I'd record it onto cassette and send it away to a record company, 'cos I don't mind telling the general public I made something I didn't, but lieing to the music scene is different. :) <zinc> Aha! Kind of like a milli-vanilli <Ganja_Man> Yeah, only at least the cat can't expose me... :) <zinc> good thing for that! <zinc> Okay, now for the final question. (This is an easy one) <zinc> What are you, nuts? <Ganja_Man> I am the only sane person around here. <zinc> So thought I. <Ganja_Man> The voices told me what to say <Ganja_Man> :) <zinc> Okay, well enough foolishness... :) <zinc> Since you are only 15, what do you plan on doing by the time you are 20? <Ganja_Man> Does this include sex?? :) <zinc> Naw, man.. I don't have all night. <zinc> This only includes scene related stuff (and other music schtuff) <Ganja_Man> OK, well, being discovered as the next Liam Howlett (of the prodigy), earning tons of money, and inventing my own style of music <zinc> Good plan :) <Ganja_Man> Thanks <zinc> When you are tracking, how do you come up with inspiration, and ideas for your music? <Ganja_Man> Well, usually I'll be listening to a CD, hear a sample I like, sample it, then I just go in to a trance at the cat does the rest! :) <Ganja_Man> Actually, my inspiration usually comes when I get back from clubbing <zinc> What format do you use? <Ganja_Man> XM, because I can't stand the text interface of ST3. I started with TCB tracker on the ST, so using a tracker without mouse support is alien territory. <zinc> Okay, well since we now know what style you track, where can we find your tunes? <Ganja_Man> http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ad021/index.html <Ganja_Man> Or ftp://tillbm.rpi.stu.edu/LoK/ <zinc> Okay, and would you like to thank or spank anyone at this time? <Ganja_Man> Erm, Snakey7 for giving me all those great music samples.. <Ganja_Man> (That's a THANK BTW) <zinc> Okay, dude, now is your chance to say anything you wish to all the sceners around the world... <Ganja_Man> Remember however good you are at tracking, there will always be someone who thinks someone else is better.. <zinc> Okay, one more thing. If you so desire, please state your email address so we know where to send all that fan-mail! <Ganja_Man> Oh yeah, ad021@dial.pipex.com <zinc> Okay! Well that wraps it up. <zinc> Cya later <Ganja_Man> Cheers.. l8r ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Group Columns]----------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ --[4. Explizit]------------------------------------------------------------- .____. .....______________.____________________________________________| |__... :::::\__ _____ | ______ \ \______) \_____)_ _____/::: :::::::/ __>/\/ . __/| __/ / /__ \_____ \ \| |:::::: ::::::/ | / \ : \| \_____/ / \ \_ _____/ \ |:::::: :::::/ \__| \_ :::\ / / / | \ / |:::::: :::::\__________/::|______/____|:::\_______/_____/________/_____/___::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::[sYNOPTiC]::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Explizit TraxWeekly column issue #13 - March 28, 1996 Hi there! What about us ... we're explizit and we make techno music. That's all =) If you want to contact us for any reason, write to explizit@dds.nl. You can receive our modules thru internet e-mail if you want by subscribing to the explizit e-mail distro list. New releases in the past week: E-RIDE2R Ride To Da Rhythm by Jay, 100% german rave E-FLY2 Are You Ready To Fly - The Do-Re-Mi-Mix by batjo, happyHC E-WORLDS Worlds Apart by KoM'AH, Mellowtrance I got some feedback! -whow- .. Thankx to Szazm (i think was his name) for the email. He asked if i could talk less and say more :) Well i'll try. Anyone heard Heretic's new song? It's a remix of Robert Miles' "Children"! I guess you ALL know children, even if you don't know the title. The song gets played all the time on the radio (at least over here) and it's in the top-10 at the moment. Heretic's remix really is great, a not too big XM file. I could talk about Coolio with his "It's too damn hot" or that new song of his that 1-2-3-4 ripoff...not that ANY of coolio's songs are original but who cares. I've never heard a Coolio remix on MOD ... volunteers? Did anyone say "why don't you give it a try Ch:ilm"? You must be joking! The best remix i ever made was Zig & Zag's "Them Girls" (them girls them love me, them girls them luuuvvme). I'm not much of a tracking-talent. I know some people who are, though. Jay for instance. 14 years old and one of the best whappie composers i know. I think we'll be hearing a lot of Jay in the future. There's Thunderbass, not too old as well. Wants to release his S3Ms on vinyl (but hasn't got the right connections). There's Mad Max, making german rave-music. But that's all techno and house. I know some other composers as well, like VooDoo/MTB who doesn't exactely make techno. There's Sturm / ZODSoft, there's Mairsil and Dark, there's Mindcrime. All make demo/rock/metal/ambient/progressive/alternative music. All are great. Whenever one of them releases a great song i'll let you know. Bear in mind that i like techno myself (i could write a big story on techno as well, but it wouldn't be in the right mag would it, since TW is pc-music oriented). Lately i wrote a nice article on a public radio-station here, radio 3 FM. Unfortunately it's in Dutch and even if i wanted to publish it, it's on the school server right now (i'll attach it to an email to myself ok). I've been setting up the impulse tracker European HQ lately. European readers should be able to download the latest version directly off http://huizen.dds.nl/~im-pulse mind the "-" .... Everybody is free to visit this site offcourse, but European visitors will have faster transfer speeds. Well that's about all i can think of right now. If you want to receive all our modules from us, subscribe yourself to our e-mail distro list! It's so easy, just write an email message with keyword SUBSCRIBE in it. Thank you for reading, you can ftp all our releases from: ftp://tillbm.stu.rpi.edu/explizit/ For feedback, info and more, visit our homepage: http://huizen.dds.nl/~explizit Ch:ilm/Explizit explizit@dds.nl (Like the short one better? ;-) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[Advertisements]---------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ --[5. Grey Matter, Going Mental, and other things]-------------------------- Hey all. I've been reading TW since issue one, and have been in #trax for. uh.. well... a long time. So chances are if you hang out in #trax, you've probably met and talked to me.. and if you haven't.. well... Hiya! ;) Anyhoo, I just wanted to just wanted to let people know of a couple of things. Grey Matter: First off, I finished my first album, Grey Matter, a couple of months ago. This is the same ablum I've been talking about doing for the past 3 years, but I eventually got my ass in gear and put it all together, re-mastered the songs, etc. This tape contains a lot of songs that have been released already, however most have been improved on somewhat (either by post-production sound enhancement, or I've remixed them). This tape was aimed at the non-tracker market (ie, people who haven't heard my stuff, or very little of it), but a number of people involved in the tracker scene have bought copies and are very happy with it, and I'm pretty sure they're not just being nice. ;) The song list is.. SIDE A White Sands, My Place in Space, T2 (A trance remix of GooRoo's The Terrorist), ... what the?, Real, World Wide Slack Remix, Alterraid (this is a live mix using the samples from Dune's song of the same name) SIDE B Slow Groove, Razz, Razz Remix, Ultrasubmarine, Dino (remix of the song in the demo of the same name), They Came from Above, Earthtones (slightly extended), The Return of Cornholio!@ (slightly funkafied) Anyhoo, I should make this message short, so I'll just close this part off by saying that the whole tape is about 90 minutes long, and only $8 Canadian. You can get a copy by sending $10.50 (that's tape + SH) to Andrew McCallum 101 Centre St. West. Richmond Hill, Ontario L4C-3P6 Go-Mental email list: I've set up an email list to distribute my songs right to people's mailbox. The songs (about one every 2.5 months) are emailed MIME encoded, and are decoded automatically by most mail software. If you want to get on the email list, email andrewm@io.org, with the subject "subscribe go-mental", and you're on. If you want to find out more information on any of the things I've disussed, you can find them on my web site, http://www.io.org/~andrewm . You'll probably be hearing more from me.... --- .oOo. Andrew McCallum = Mental Floss [KFMF] .oOo. .oOo http://www.io.org/andrewm oOo. K o s m i c F r e e M u s i c F o u n d a t i o n *NEW!* album Grey Matter @ http://www.io.org/~andrewm/greymatter ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-[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 WWW Page: Dragunov (Nicholas St-Pierre)........dragunov@info.polymtl.ca TraxWeekly is a HORNET affiliation. 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