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TraxWeekly Issue 029
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* U N D E R P E R M E N A N T N E W M A N A G E M E N T *
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TraxWeekly Issue: #29 | Release date: 10-06-95 | Current subscribers: ...
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/-[Introduction]------------------------------------------------------------
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_ _________________
/_\ \__ / (stoney askee)
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Welcome to the 29th issue of TraxWeekly. For your convenience and ours,
Popcorn's associations with TW have been terminated now and for all time.
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!$$@#%&U^&#^^#@$^#!#*&
TraxWeekly features a brand new interview division this week, called
Faces in the Crowd. FITC is an outfit within TW which focuses on exposing
new, developing, and less famous musicians to the music scene public.
Atlantic, DennisC, Jtown, and Master of Darkness have formed a highly
comprehensive unit that promises to play a major role in the restructuring
of TraxWeekly. They bring with them a world class interview and ratings
set that brings that special "feel" to TW.
TraxWeekly is in need of some regular columnists. If you are a
writer and wish to join our news staff, please email me. As always, guest
contributions are always welcome, and we credit everyone who takes part in
the shaping of this publication. Group columns can be submitted by any
group, regardless of size or status. Also, we encourage feedback from you,
the reader! TraxWeekly will never improve until we know what you desire.
With that, go and enjoy the newsletter (NOTE: The TraxCulture article
is slightly excessive. We apologize for any inconvenience that it may
cause for you this week. In the future, we promise to limit the size of
that section).
Psibelius [TW]
gwie@owl.csusm.edu
/-[Contents]----------------------------------------------------------------
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General Articles
1. Why Popcorn is Gone .............................Psibelius
2. TraxCulture .....................................Random Lamers
Faces in the Crowd
Interview with Smeghead ............................Master of Darkness
Esper Division ......................DennisC
Group Columns
1. Aim Higher
2. Epinicion
Advertisements
Closing
Distribution
Subscription/Contribution Information
TraxWeekly Staff Sheet
/-[Articles]----------------------------------------------------------------
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--[1. Why Popcorn is Gone]-------------------------------------[Psibelius]--
I know most of you are in shock right now, reading this issue. But
here are the specific reasons why Popcorn is no longer the editor of
TraxWeekly, and never will be again.
1. Those lame comments about Island of Reil (ior) in TraxWeekly #28 were
completely uncalled for. TraxWeekly was started by Populus, Neurosis,
and myself for the purpose of concentrating on the music scene and
music issues, as well as #trax. It was not meant to be a personal
message board for lamers like Popcorn to bash on people.
2. Popcorn assumed the identity of ChuckB, used it to get ops one night,
and bankicked ShadowH and ior. Previously, Popcorn had been flooding
the channel with his numerous bots, and arguing with a number of old and
respected scene members, kicking them in a fit every time they disagreed
with him. This immature and childish behavior is the kind of crap that
we can't tolerate. #trax is a forum for discussion and letting people
discuss their opinions. Beating down the opposition is nothing short
of facism.
3. As one of the majority contributors to TraxWeekly's content each week,
I really don't appreciate being harassed for articles. I also don't
appreciate the fact that my ideas to make TraxWeekly better are often
ignored. As a columnist with committments to cover, I don't appreciate
TraxWeekly being released late every damn week. I don't think any of
you readers appreciate that either.
4. The editor of this newsletter should put some serious committment to its
content and quality. As most of you know, Popcorn has done neither.
Not only does he fail to meet deadlines, he doesn't contribute any major
substance to the newsletter. When's the last time we all saw a real,
creative, article by Popcorn?
But in any case, TraxWeekly will return to a regular weekly Thursday
night release from now on. I have taken over the entire publication and I
pledge to all of you that we will return to the standard of excellence that
once made TraxWeekly popular reading material.
Psibelius [TW]
gwie@owl.csusm.edu
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--[2. TraxCulture]-----------------------------------------[Random Lamers]--
T R A X
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\_____\\_____\\____\\_\/ \_____\/\___\__\/\____\/ww
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This week in TraxCulture, we have an ancient IRC capture dcc'd to me by a
faithful reader...most of the miscellaneous garbage was deleted to save
space and make this easier to understand.
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<_UnderT_> Some prefer ST3, some FT2, neither really sucks. They're
different.
*** necros has changed the topic on channel #trax to ENUFF ABOUT THE STUPID
ASS IDIOTIC MORONIC FT2/ST3 DEBATE
<b> i just hate it when people say an excuse for not using it is lame.. it's
an excuse that's good enough for me to not change.. and that's all that
matters
<Chromatiq> b: oh well.. your pref I guess... sure as hell doesn't hurt my
eyes...
<Manson> Let's set this straight: XM is the most advanced format. S3M is
not. Scream Tracker 3 has the best editing commands and layouts.
What St3 dosn't have is about 100 features FT2 has. Use what you
like. But remember Ft2 has the best apptitude to create really
advanced music.
<GD> i prefer st3 to ft2 and i'll leave it at that :0
<Trifixion> b: I could insult you but I won't :)
<psibelius> manson: really advanced music???
<b> Trif: well i'm sure your just a fabulously witty guy, but i'm not in the
mood ok
<psibelius> manson: what are you smoking???=)
<claim> lets set this straight! I like butter!
<Trifixion> b: Why thank you...!
<psibelius> It doesn't matter how "advanced" anything is. If it sucks, it
sucks!
<karl-foo> manson: sure sure dood... i think some1 had a good point... it's
not what tracker u use... but how u use it... fool
<_UnderT_> mason: 100 features???
<karl-foo> claim speaketh
<k8to> claimn: me too.. margerine sucks
<karnaaj> claim : FUCK YOU MAN!! MARGINE FOREVER!!
<Trifixion> It's technology is better, but there interfaces are so vastly
different, that it'll appeal only to some...
<claim> karnaaj- you stupid foo!!! BUTTER HAS SO 104219 more features than
margerine!
<k8to> GD: they're much more advanced
<Manson> psi: 16 channels dosn't cut it.. If your doing really advanced shit
Not saying I can do anything special or anything at all.. but 16
channels verses 32.. bigger samples.. you can actully play the
keyboard like a real piano unlike st3..
<karnaaj> claim : FUCK YOU! margerine IS CAPABLE OF MAKING YOUR FOOD
HIGHTLY ADVANCED!
<_UnderT_> Of course, nobody will ever "win" this type of debate.
<Trifixion> That's the main reason I use FT2 actually..
<neuropsy> 16 channels wtf? =)
<psibelius> Manson: ever heard of something called MIDI? =)
<necros> god damn this is fucking lame
*** necros has left channel #trax
<b> if 16 channels doesn't cut it u need to rethink your way of composing =)
<Trifixion> I didn't use anything else besides FT till FT2 came out...
<neuropsy> my x3r only has 16 W
<_UnderT_> mason: Some people can do stuff in 4 channels that others
couldn't come close to with 16!
<Trifixion> I think having a built in sampler REALLY encourages more
original samples, and just plain cleaner samples...
<psibelius> Well shit, multitracker has had 32 channels since 93', WHO HAS
USED ALL OF IT?
<k8to> UnderT: don't be bringing up the stupid "4tracks are good" argument
<karnaaj> claim : if you'd get ur thumbs out of your ears and back up your
ass you could listen to me and understand =)
<Manson> UnderT: yes it's also impressive when someone cuts the lawn with
sissors
<b> Manson: not true.. you can do that with st3 too.. just hit Alt-2 to
space the notes, and i think Alt-N on each track to put that track into
multitracking mode, and just play it like a keyboard.
<Manson> UnderT: but imagine what 4 channel people could do with 32
<b> Manson: cutting the lawn with scissors doesn't require talent.
<claim> karnaaj- dude.. so many more people use butter.. so butter is
obviously better..
<b> Manson: HORRIBLE HORRIBLE comparison.
<karnaaj> claim : i'm sorry, but i'm not a trendy asshole, i don't follow
the crowd, society WILL NOT MAKE MY DECISOINS FOR ME!
<Manson> b: you gotta admit that cool ft2 keyboard thing is rad when you can
see what notes you hit..
<k8to> b: it's a rather good comparison.. it's doing somnething a far more
difficult way that doesn't produce as good a result and it's
pointless
<_UnderT_> mason: I'm sure 32 could be used in a good way, I'm just saying
you don't NEED that many to make good songs. cool, this works
now. =)
<karnaaj> claim : AHY PIDDY DA PHEWL WHO MEZZEZ WIT MEH!
<Manson> Under: it's not what you have, but it's what you do with it..
<Chromatiq> UnderT : why stay limited to certain size channels..
<Trifixion> hell no 32 really isn't needed... But it's nice to have the
capibility...,
<Manson> Under: but why limit yourself
<Trifixion> I actually think 16 wouldn't be enuff for me in a lot of
situations tho...,
<b> not so. if that was true all the time, why does 4-channel music rock
multichannel 9 times out of 10? people go crazy and forget about the
limitations of the field of sound and what the listener hears.. the
clearness of a mix is lost in all these cheesy multichannel tunes..
i'm like "blah, this sucks.. it's so garbled and muddled"
<_UnderT_> Personally, I never need 32 or even 16 channels, if I go that
far, I'm probably wasting channles, and over-doing the song. But
thats just me.
<k8to> b: 1) you're wrong that 4tracks are better
<b> k8to: no i'm right.
<claim> butter has better viscosity.. it has higher resolution.. it support
more bread formats.. you are just dumb..
<k8to> b: 2) 4tracks are all about working really hard to get the music to
work in 4tracks
<Manson> k8to: what the hell do you know.. You don't track.
<k8to> b: while multitracks are just abnout making the music
<b> k8to: some people are as used to 4channel as they are to 16channel.
<k8to> mason: I've composed a many MED in my day, dorkhead
<Manson> k8to: everyone agrees.. 2 is better than 1.. 16 is better than 4..
32 is better than 16
<Trifixion> k8to: Yeah, 4tracks hold you back from the actual raw music, and
make you think about how your going to fit this in there, and
this in here... It's all very technical, not artistic...
<Manson> k8to: are you sure.. you told me that you were just a fan
<k8to> manson: because I kindn of SUCK
<Manson> k8to: acceptable reason.. ;)
<k8to> manson: and I haven't composed in like 2 years
<k8to> manson: not seriously
<b> k8to: multitracks is about ppl having too much to work with and not
being able to keep track of it or handle it.
<hadji> 4 tracks teaches impossibility ;) muhaha ;)
<loserbaby> I'm whipping out my SID tunez...I'll show yas! :)pic. It
<Trifixion> No such thing as too much to work with..
<Trifixion> For the kind of ideas I have in my head, I need more channels...
<b> k8to: i will stick by 4-channels.. for tons of reasons
<Manson> To all you 4 channel lovers: try doing chords with 7 note chords.
full drum tracks.. full piano that is multi channel.. it just can't
be done in 4 channel.. Music is not about limitations.. Music
should have no limitations.. but 4 channels have limitations
<Trifixion> I just can't execute the ideas I have in 4 channel...
<k8to> b: 4tracks exist ONLY becasue the amiga has for channels
<Chromatiq> Bingo Manson
<b> Trifixion: yeah but those huge number of ideas usually end up coming out
all at once because there's nothing to stop you.. and it's just LAYER
after LAYER after LAYER.. and you can't follo wit
<Trifixion> Tho I've said that twice now.. oh well, I'm trying to make a
point... done and it has.
<psibelius> manson: It can be done and it has.
<hadji> *** Topic for #trax: ENUFF ABOUT THE STUPID ASS IDIOTIC MORONIC
FT2/ST3 DEBATE
<Manson> you guys can all quote me on that
<b> k8to: i fuckin know that josh, i had an amiga before you did, remember?
<b> Trif: well i'm not into as experimental stuff as you are. that many
things at once sounds like crap to me.
*** hadji has changed the topic on channel #trax to 4 CHANNELS?!
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK DAT!
<neuropsy> ive forced myself to do channels ... i wanna learn how to do 4
tracks well then when i move back out to mulktichannel it wont be
sop cluttered...
<psibelius> Artistic? YOU WANT ARTISTIC? Then go get a 120 piece orchestra
and a recording studio then, damn...
<b> Manson: anything can be done in 4-channels.. not necessarily tracked
100%.. but you'd be amazed. listen to vinnie's "jammin cindy"
<Trifixion> b: Yep, that's why you like 4 channel so much... I like some 4
channel, but I think much of it sounds similar...
<Manson> b: I think 32 channels is great. we just need someone talented
enough to use them.. look at coolio Nine Inch Nails. He uses like
50+ channels of digital audio.. his music isn't that garbled..
<b> manson: and what do you mean full piano tracks? if u want a perfect
fifth played, instead of using 2 tracks.. sample a perfect fifth (shrug)
<Trifixion> b: But you gotta draw the line somewhere...
<b> k8to: anything that i would ever want to do could be done in 4 channels.
<Manson> b: true.. but you know how piano parts cross each other out..
<Roland> manson: he also has considerably better equipment than 386's and
gusmax with 512k. :)
<Trifixion> Why do it in 4 channel if you have 32 channels available to you?
<psibelius> You could track a song in ONE channel and10 megs of samples with
ft2.
<_UnderT_> I'm sure some 1MEG+ song with tons of huge samples and 32-tracks
could sound decent...But that's sorta ridiculous to me...
<b> Manson: i detest NIN.. if he needs 50+ channels to do that, he needs to
get a life.. i could do any song he ever wrote in 12-16
<Manson> b: it dosn't sound full because the next note is always cutting out
the previous..
<b> Manson: not so.. you haven't heard enough 4-channel stuff that is worth
hearing.
-> *b* man, bust it out. =)
<_UnderT_> If you go that far, just start recording huge .WAV files...Then
of course it isn't tracking anymore.
<Manson> b: yeah.. but most people seem to like his 50+ channels.. his
music is odd yet it is almost part of mainstream popular culture
<k8to> b: whether the music is good or not is unrelated to how many tracks
it has.. how much stupidity you have to go through to get to your
result?
<Trifixion> b: Again that's with enuff samples... Who CARES how many tracks
anyone uses, if it sounds cool to you, fuck it...
<b> Chromatiq: you don't think so eh? hook me up with the sounds he uses.. i
could track any song he's ever done note for note.
<b> trifixion : WORD.
<Roland> well, a more samples vs. more tracks debate. At least this is newer
than os debates or tracker debates :)
<Trifixion> I've alwayss thought that, if I like what I'm hearing, HELL if I
care how it was produced...go. =)
<b> Manson: hey, that's time-sensitive.. people thought Debussy and Ravel
were weird 100 years ago.. *shrug*i
<Manson> b: you would be able to get the groove.. but not the full effect..
there is so much hidden stuff.. all the hidden vocal tracks that
seem to fade in and out..=)
<Trifixion> Undert: Your an old school 4 channel guy, what do you think?
<_UnderT_> None of these 32-track monsters could ever go in a game and
expect to work on anything less than a Pentium-120! :>
<b> Manson: it's all random. if he makes any attempt to describe an artistic
reason for every part of his music, he is bullshitting.. because he has
little to no idea what he's doing, and that's evident by some of his
interviews that ask him more tech questinz
<Manson> UnderT: if the game only supported gus it could run on a 386sx16t
<Trifixion> if your doing game music, then you have to start worrying about
what format, and how many channels, and how many samples, and
all sorts of shit...
<hadji> I could track three fucking songs in one! and just say "unmute the
channels to hear the other tracks!" HEY YEAH! THAT'S IT! I'M DOING
IT!
<b> i don't LIKE really huge layered music. i like music where the mix is
easily listenable.. i hate straning my ears for things. that's why i
like really clear acid jazz.
<Manson> b: you like simple yet intelligent music.. like sounds of the 80s..
:)
<b> i like to hear every part at once in it's entirety, but still in a
clean,balanced mivet song
<_UnderT_> I think that 8-channels is cool. It gives you plenty of room,
and usually doesn't sound muffled.
<Trifixion> I like to be able to listen to a song and hear different things
every time...
<b> Trif: i don't.. i'm too baked to care usually, and too laid back and
tired all the time to want to have to WORK to understand the music
i'm hearing. i like to chill and that's it.
<Trifixion> I espically love songs where when I'm in different moods I tend
to hear other things....
<psibelius> I'm deaf, so all this crap you guys are saying doesn't mean
anything to me.
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/-[Faces in the Crowd]------------------------------------------------------
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
ÛÛ²²±²±±±±±°°°± ±±±±²±±²²ÛÛÛÛ²² ²²²²²²±±±±±°°°°± ±±±±±±²²²²²²ÛÛÛ
ÛÛ²² ²²²Û ±±± ±±± ³
Û²²²±±±±°±°°°±± ²²ÛÛ ±±° ±±± ³
²²²± ±±²±²²²²ÛÛÛÛ²²² ±°° ±±±²±²²²²ÛÛÛÛ²²
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú. I S S U E 2 ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.ú.³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
News .................................. Staff
Interview ............................. Mdark with SmegHead
Interview ............................. Dennisc with Esper Division
Comments/Suggestions .................. Mdark
Reviews ............................... Mdark
Staff ................................. Staff (!)
.........................................................................
-===================================================================-
N E W S
-===================================================================-
Welcome to Faces in The Crowd - Issue 2.
Faces In The Crowd has returned to it's original roots in traxweekly.
as you can well see. This was a decision based on a number of factors
the biggest of which was distribution. While the premier issue did get
good attention, we the staff - along with Psibelius of Traxweekly -
felt that it would be more benefitial to add the publication into TW.
The publication itself will not change, in fact it is almost totally
separate of TraxWeekly in the sense, that it has it's own unique section
all to it's own.
The format will stay the same, with the exception that Jtown will of
course be included (as it was his original idea). We will have as you
see now our own news section, along with the interviews, and of course
the reviews.
By doing this we hope to bring traxweekly and faces in the crowd the
exposure they both deserve, and bring them back into being a major
influence in the scene today.
One last note. You might be thinking it was rather a harsh decision
last week when we decided to release FITC as a publication on it's own
rather than doing what we did now. We felt that the general audience
of traxweekly were focused more at the top, then perhaps at the bottom.
But with the obvious events that have happened, and Psibelius' renewed
determination in making traxweekly what it used to be, we decided to
take the chance we were wrong.
Hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoy bringing this to
you.
- Mdark
.........................................................................
-===================================================================-
I N T E R V I E W S
-===================================================================-
---====[ Faces In The Crowd: The Publication <> Interview #4 ]====---
Interviewer:
{Mdark} = Master of Darkness / Aim Higher <> maz@io.org
Interviewee:
{Smeghead} = Smeghead / Terraformers <> smeghead@vt.edu
.........................................................................
= Interview conducted on Sat Sep 30 @ 4:15 PM EST
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[mdark] ok so ya ready to rumble?
<smeghead> yeppo
[mdark] ok let's get this party started. Introduce yourself...
as in your name, affils... how long you been composing,
what colour you think the sky really is in your world...
<smeghead> my alias is 'the smeghead', my name is david oranchak,
my group is Terraformer, i've been composing for a little
over a year now, and there is no sky in my world.
just gibbons.
[mdark] gibbons?
<smeghead> it's a southasian monkey...
[mdark] ahh see. ok. So Terraformer is there some special
significance to the group name?
<smeghead> hmm... i could ask Kiwidog, the founder/coder of Terraformer,
but he'd probably just say that it just sounded like a cool
name for a group to have. Terraformer, as in Making Worlds :)
[mdark] so with that respect, is your group a WORLDLY one or do
your members all come from the same area?
<smeghead> all of the members of terraformer, besides me, come from
Northern Virginia, here in the goold ol' USA. me, i'm from
Fayetteville, NC, so i'm the oddball of the bunch.
[mdark] I see, so they weren't quite personal friends. How did you
get involved with the group anyways?
<smeghead> i met kiwidog up here at college (Virginia Tech) and he
expressed an interest in some tunes i released last summer
(Pollution). soon thereafter he asked me to join Terraformer.
[mdark] And how did you originally start off composing, do you have
a musical background such as playing an instrument or do you
know any musical theory?
<smeghead> i used to play guitar, and i still do at times, but i'm not
all that good at it. my musical experience consists of me
screwing around with an instrument every once in a while.
[mdark] So would your style be indicative of what you used to learn
with the guitar? Your composing style that is...
<smeghead> my songs do not incorporate music theory at most because i
don't believe songs should fit some sort of defined 'theory'.
and i don't really think my guitar experience has transferred
over to tracking, because it is very very difficult to get a
decent guitar sound out of a MOD or S3M or something unless
you've got 1000k of pre-made guitar riffs.
[mdark] that's true of the few guitars I've heard other than big-jim
they've been looped samples which other than chords you don't
really want in your songs IMHO
<smeghead> i like tracking for the futuristic sound it usually produces.
[mdark] so you would categorize your style under what industrial
techno maybe?
<smeghead> i would classify my tunes as being my tunes. each song that
i make is too damn weird to classify under certain categories.
i track 'techno' because it is easy to track. the non-techno
ones that i DO track end up sounding strange. i've done a neo-
classical piece recently, and several mellow tunes, but i don't
know. it's usually just stream of consciousness that drives me
and screamtracker 3. :)
[mdark] Smeg_bug I believe. So you DO believe that techno is easier to
track than say demo. Why would that be?
<smeghead> it takes a certain amount of skill to make any sort of techno,
because for every good techno tune, there exist 20 that are
terrible. demo music requires chord progressions and all that
crap. i've given a shot at that sort of thing, but no matter
how pleased i may have been with the result, the people who
generally like my tunes prefer the techno-ish stuff that i
do over the non-techno stuff.
<smeghead> it's the adrenaline component that people go for, i think.
[mdark] Well I think that's a good point. the majority of techno out
there is pretty mediocre if not reduntantly similar. But I
wouldn't call chord progressions and that music theory crap.
<smeghead> i wouldn't say it was crap, it would say crap as just a
blanket term to cover all the things that i don't know about
which i should know about or learn some day. :)
<smeghead> by the way, i use the word 'crap' to equate to the word
'stuff'. just to clarify... :)
[mdark] I understand. But some readers might've taken offense.
So do you try to incoporate your mood into your songs then?
<smeghead> sometimes i write mood music. donovan's carnival was a mood
piece, as was parliament of eternity. but i like to try and
make energetic tunes, because they're easier to make... :)
[mdark] sure. I guess they don't take so much influence and emotion.
<smeghead> influence and emotion have showed up in my tunes before,
but usually i track out of sheer boredom. on top of it all,
it's just a damn fun thing to be doing.
[mdark] sheer boredom? So just something to do like a hobby...
<smeghead> exactly. i do not take myself seriously as a musician. i'm
just a big kid with a big toy, and i gotta pass the time
somehow. might as well be productive and contribute something
to the scene. if people happen to like what i make, then
that's great. if not, oh well. ain't no thang. it's just
something fun to do on this machine.
[mdark] THen since you do it for fun basically, do you think that
this element has been lost in the scene recently?
[mdark] The fun element that is.
<smeghead> in some cases, yes, the fun element is gone because a lot of
groups spend so much time trying to show off or blow their
own horn, so to speak. but following the scene, i have found
that it is still as interesting is it always has been.
[mdark] Personally I think that's the right view to have
<smeghead> i like how a lot of demos are being made these days. LOTS of
original effects, and more artistic components. people are
wising up, i think.
[mdark] I think there are a lot of people out there that are here for
fun. But the majority of people just want to be in it to be
known (IMHO), and as I've stated before on occasion this is
wrong. But you haven't mentioned your inspirations :)
<smeghead> inspirations? hmm... there's just too much... LizardKing,
PM, Skaven, Necros, CCCatch, and loads others in the computer
realm... there are so many good musicians out there that i
draw inspiration from all of 'em.
[mdark] Ok well I'd like to know what SMEGHEAD himself is trying to
get out of the scene... or is it just the same as your
influences... for fun?
<smeghead> it's always nice to get a nice word or two when i release a
tune. i'd like to see a decent rating for a change in demonews
on the songs i just upped to cdrom.com. course, four guys
voting on the songs of the scene ain't exactly a precise
measurement.
<smeghead> but, like i said, it's something to pass time with. if
terraformer happens to become super well-known, then it'd be
awesome. if they don't, oh well. it's fun either way.
[mdark] AHh so without me even asking you about that, you have
displeasure with this method right? Sorta caters to the
'already good' composers. ANd well-known ones. Although they
seem to be fairly consistent with picking out the really GOOD
songs and the really 'bad' ones.
<smeghead> yeah, that method sucks bad. but when they give a song one
star, they're 90% of the time right about it. :)
[mdark] Like I said, true. although I've been on the receiving end of
a 1 1/2 :).
So in closing is there anything you'd like to say about the
scene, or about yourself, anything, this is your chance.
<smeghead> to the scene: keep up the good work. there's a lot of talent,
and a lot of ambition. put it to good use. i'd also like to
mention that there's a sorta Terraformer ftp site at
gremlinx.bevc.blacksburg.va.us. just look for a 'tf' or
'terraformer' directory. it isn't up all the time, but give
it a shot every once in a while. :)
[mdark] ok well thanks for your time, I'm sorry we couldn't go more
in depth, but we willl definitely have to do this again in
a later issue :)
<smeghead> cool... preciate it.
<smeghead> take care
[mdark] ok
<*> Where You Can Get SmegHead's Tunes <*>
SmegHead releases through TerraFormers. They can be found on the
HORNET archive ftp.cdrom.com and its mirrors.
Here is a list of his releases:
/demos/music/disks/1995/s/smegpol1.zip Disk Of Three Songs
/demos/music/songs/s3m/a/another1.zip "Another One Over My Head"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_2sp.zip "TwoSpace"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_atn.zip "Attention Span"
/demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/smeg_bug.zip "Scatterbug"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_dnc "Donovan's Carnival"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_dys "Dystfunction"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_eff "Effervescence"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_gen "Generica"
/demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/smeg_epi.zip "Epileptic Machine"
/demos/incoming/music/sonsgs/s3m/smeg_ful.zip "Full Circle"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_mnd.zip "MindStream"
/demos/incoming/music/sonsgs/s3m/smeg_mrs.zip "Martian Twilight"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_opi.zip "Opiate"
/demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/smeg_pig.zip "SwineFlight"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_poe.zip "Parliament of Eternity"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_rve.zip "Rivet"
/demos/music/songs/s3m/s/smeg_trn.zip "Transition
.........................................................................
---====[ Faces In The Crowd: The Publication <> Interview #5 ]====---
Interviewer:
{dennisc} = Dennis Courtney <> maz@io.org
Interviewee:
{EsperDiv} = Francois-Jean de Brienne / <> debriefr@dmr.ca
Esper Division
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
dennisc> okay: names and handles (start with the basics)?
EsperDiv> No handle. Don't want one. Esper Division is the band's name and
we're two members.
dennisc> who's in Esper Division?
EsperDiv> Me (Francois-Jean de Brienne) and Alexandre Jean-Claude. Both
from Montreal, Canada.
dennisc> okay... so, how long have you all been tracking?
EsperDiv> I've been tracking for 3 years now... None was released on the
scene. We went public with MC3
dennisc> cool. have either of you gotten any responses to your work?
EsperDiv> We do shows. That's the main purpose of Esper Division. We put
lyrics on the tracked pieces. I guess, the main response we
got from the tracking/demo scene was 11th veteran at MC3!
dennisc> what styles do you do?
EsperDiv> We like to call it techno-esoteric or techno-gothic. Sort of
orchestral stuff with a beat. Music is hard to categorize isn't
it?
dennisc> yep :)
dennisc> who are your biggest influences?
EsperDiv> Biggest influence comes from the "outside" world. Bands like
Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode or Front 242... Got into
tracking after hearing skaven's work. It was a cheap alternative
to producing good-sounding music.
dennisc> what do you guys think of north american tracked music quality?
EsperDiv> I'll get flamed for this :)
dennisc> go ahead, there's a little Zteel in all of us :>
EsperDiv> I think that 50% of what's tracked out there basically sucks
(and I might just be in that 50%). People get into tracking
without any musical background just because it seems easy.
But producing something that sounds good, requires more than
just learning to use a tracker...
dennisc> what sorts of "real" music backgrounds do you guys have?
EsperDiv> 11 years of "forced" violin lessons wich I now can finally enjoy!
EsperDiv> Not playing the violin mind you. But just composing. Learning
music enables you to listen with a more critical and learning
approach.
dennisc> cool... what do you guys think of #trax?
EsperDiv> too political. Composing is an art. People turn that into
pointless arguments about what style is better or flame the
"pagan sample rippers"
dennisc> if you guys could change one thing about the music scene, what
would it be?
EsperDiv> Not the music, not the scene, not the people. Just maybe a feeling
of collaboration that can be found in other groups with people who
share interests... In other words, cut the noise...
dennisc> what advice do you have for beginning trackers?
EsperDiv> Eat three times a day and sleep at least 4 hours.
dennisc> what do you guys consider your strengths? (ie drums, chord progs,
etc)?
EsperDiv> Since I talk on the group's behalf. I'm stronger with melodies,
the other one with rythms... We're also very nimble with our
bodily appendages.
dennisc> gee, thanks for adding *that* :)
dennisc> any other personal info? ie ages, majors, words to live by, etc?
EsperDiv> age 26, words: "Informations wants to pay to be free" & "Love is
allways over in the morning". I've got a brown spot on my left
thigh and I'm also married.
dennisc> whoa... neato. finally, email addresses?
EsperDiv> email: debriefr@dmr.ca (me) or alexandre.jean.claude@softimage.com
(my shadow side)
dennisc> any other stuff to add/share/shout at the scene?
EsperDiv> Yes. "MAKE MONEY FAST" really works.
EsperDiv> I totally dissociate myself with the above-written sentence.
EsperDiv> Will this ever appear anywhere or are we on candid IRC?
dennisc> :) it's for FITC...
EsperDiv> All right. Well it's off to bed we go... Thanx again.
.........................................................................
-===================================================================-
C O M M E N T S / S U G G E S T I O N S
-===================================================================-
This area will be reserved for comments or suggestions about Faces In
THe Crowd. It will either be an article handed in or just a general
consensus of things such as this.
THe biggest suggestion we received last week was to join traxweekly
as a whole instead of just the one article from Jtown in TW, and the
three separate ones in the publication. This suggestion came from both
the interviewees, and Psibelius. The main reason for this was due to a
lack of publicity of the inaugral FITC publication last week.
So we have obviously taken the suggestion to heart and engrossed the
idea. We hope and feel that it will only benefit the publication, and
the scene as a whole as well.
As for criticisms, we have received a few for our reviews section - or
really our Suggested Songs Section. Apparently our opinions are not
viewed in the same context as other trackers, which is fine. But just
keep in mind they ARE our opinions and do not reflect the entire scene's
views by any stretch of the imagination - much like demonews which has
taken a beating as well recently.
So if you would like to critique a selection intelligently, and
thoughtfully by all means email myself or atlantic, or find us on #trax
and state your case.
I brought this up because one unnamed composer lashed out at one of
our selections. The individual in question blurted out while talking
with me "I didn't find the song very good at all, in fact if I were to
give it a rating it would get AT BEST -**"
This is the type of thing that IMHO I don't think is necessary in the
scene today. There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism, as many
have pointed out but the above comment was not helpful in any way to
anybody.
So please if you have a mature basis for your disagreement, then
bitch to us about it sensibly. If not keep it to yourself.
Once again thank you for your time, and sorry to COMPLAIN back, but I
think it's better we commented on this now rather than let it continue.
- Mdark
.........................................................................
-===================================================================-
S O N G R E V I E W S
-===================================================================-
In this section we will suggest some songs available on
ftp.cdrom.com that might otherwise be ignored or perhaps lost due to
the lack of regonition of the composer.
Remember these are the sole opinions of the staff of the
FITC publication and are of course a matter of personal taste.
Thus we will not actually rate the songs, but suggest the ones
we think you'd like to hear most.
We listen to most new music uploads to ftp.cdrom.com. Keep
in mind, we can only download as much as time permits. If you feel
that your song was worthy of being mentioned in this publication, by
all means mail one of us and bitch. We'll justify our selections
a little, but again, it's primarily personal taste.
"Mystique - part 1" by Timelord Email: timelord@nol.net
Style: Demo Format: S3M
Found: /demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/tl-myst.zip
Released: 10-02-95
"Mystique - Part 2" by Timelord
Style: Demo Format: S3M
Found: /demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/tl-myst2.zip
Released: 10-02-95
"Mystique - Part 3" by Timelord
Style: Demo Format: S3M
Found: /demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/tl-myst3.zip
Released: 10-04-95
"Bawal" by Fred Email: fred@paracom.com
Style: Demo/orchestral Format: S3M
Found: /demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/fred-bwl.zip
Released: 10-02-95
"Wake the baby" by Mik Rippon Email: unknown
Style: Dance/techno Format: S3M
Found: /demos/incoming/music/songs/s3m/wakebaby.zip
Released: 10-01-95
........................................................................
/-[Group Columns]-----------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------/
--[1. Aim Higher]-----------------------------------------------------------
²ÛÛÛÛÛÛ²² ±±° ±±²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ²
²ÛÛßßß²²± ±±° ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ²² Û Û
ÛÛÛ ²±± ±°° ±²Û ÛÛÛ ²²² Û Ü Û Ü
ÛÛÛ ²±± ±°± ²²Û ÛÛÛ ²²± Û ÛßÛ ß ÜÜ Û ÛßÛ
ÛÛÛÛ²²±±° °°± ²ÛÛ ÛÛ² ²±± ÛÛß ßÛ Û ÛßßÛ ÛÛß ßÛ ÜÛßßßÜ ÛÜßßÛ
ÛÛ²²²±±°° °±± ²ÛÛ Û²² ²±± Û Û Û Ûß ßÛ Û Û Ûßßßßß Û
Û²± °°± ±±² ²ÛÛ ²²² ±±° Û Û Û ßÛ Û Û Û ßÛÜÜÜ Û
ßÜßÛ Û
P R O D U C T Û I O N S
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ßÜÛß ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Recent News
-----------
Okay, so we lied about the Unification disk. The different aspects
of the group have been way out-of-sync this week. That, added to the
fact that our graphician took sick (sigh) meant that it still didn't
get out.
Although our promises are becomming hollow, the disk will be out before
the next traxweekly, regardless of the circumstances. Up to this point
we've been waiting for the graphics and code to pull together, but that's
outlived its importance. The music will be released on its own if the
other fluffy stuff isn't done.
Our only new member this week is Nitrous. He's a tracker with prior
musical knowledge who is likely to progress quickly.
Again, if you need any help you need not join AIM Higher but
simply look for us on #trax or email us and we will be glad to help
you and listen to your songs.
Tc, and mail me or Mdark (maz@io.org) with your inquiries or worship.
- Atlantic
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[2. Epinicion]-------------------------------------------------------------
___ _______ _____________ ______ ______ _______ ______ _______ ___________
| // \\ \\_____) \\_____) \\_____) \\ \\ |
: / o \ o \ \ \ \ \ \ o \ \:
// _____// / \ : / \ _____/ \ / : \.
\\_______/ _//______\\_|__//______\\_____//______\\_____//____| /:
: \\____\\ ______________________________ oT /___//|
|________________________// e p i n i c i o n \\________________|
The 6th Epinicion musicdisk, "BLT" will be released in a week or so!
It features over 35 songs...(perhaps more, we'll see =).
Thanks to the following for their current contributions: Airon, Aradia,
Axl, Bert, Blackwolf, Clef, Daedalus, Dodger, Frankenstein, Neuro-
Psychosis, Ng Pei Sin, Red King, River, Simul, Swill, Tsumi, Zalt, Zeus,
Zoner, and anyone else that may have submitted after this article was
released for TW.
NOTICES:
ALL of Epinicion's 1995 releases can be found through ftp at:
kosmic.wit.com /kosmic/epinicion.
The Web Page is now up! http://www.csusm.edu/public/guests/gwie/epi.html
New interface, new graphics, a new look.
Psibelius (Gene Wie)
Epinicion Founder
gwie@owl.csusm.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/-[Advertisements]----------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------/
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E a r t h C r i s i s
Infinity Disk Mag . Kosmik Music . Inertia Player
Katharasis . Oxygen . 7th Perspective . Codenet . OSN
Impact . Twingle . Obv
203 . 568 . 1502
Sysops : God Speed . Skull Crusher . Tranquility
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/-[Closing]-----------------------------------------------------------------
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TraxWeekly is available via ftp from
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TraxWeekly is also available via WWW from
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TraxWeekly does not discriminate based on age, gender, race, political
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For questions and comments, you can contact the TraxWeekly staff at:
TW Editor: Psibelius (Gene Wie).................gwie@owl.csusm.edu
Columnists: Island of Reil (Jesse Rothenberg)....jroth@owl.csusm.edu
Mhoram (John Niespodzianski).........niespodj@neonramp.com
Graphics: White Wizard (...)...................aac348@agora.ulaval.ca
WWW Page: Dragunov (Nicholas St-Pierre)........dragunov@info.polymtl.ca
FITC Editor: Atlantic (...).......................as566@torfree.net
Interviewer: DennisC (...)........................dennisc@community.net
Founder: Jtown (Kal Zakath)...................jtownsen@scscva.esc.edu
Reviewer: Master of Darkness (...).............maz@io.org
TraxWeekly is a HORNET affiliation.
Copyright (c)1995 TraxWeekly Publishing, All Rights Reserved.
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