| RAW: |
Well then Oistein, welcome to our studio! Before we start the interview, could you please tell us something positive about Tip and Mantronix |
| Oistein: |
I really don't know Tip and Mantronix. I can't compliment their personaleties blindly. Anyhow, I am certain they both have their positive sides. |
-----------------------------------
HISTORY
----------------------------------- |
| RAW: |
Why did you employ Tip, of all the musicians in the world? And which songs if his impressed you the most at that time? |
| Oistein: |
For the last time; neither of the two Swedish chaps were ever really employed in MON; they never had any documentations to prove their employment at all. Anyhow, IF Tip would begin working for MON, it'd be because of his bond with Mantronix; two musicians works faster than one. |
| RAW: |
Did you give Tip and Mantronix a lot of work? And of so, were you you happy with it? |
| Oistein: |
Tip never did anything under MON, but Mantronix did some additional work on Robocop3. And yes, I was rather happy with his work, even though he did not do much, I'm afraid. |
| RAW: |
Is it true that you didn't pay Tip and Mantronix for some of their work? |
| Oistein: |
Concerning the law, no. |
| RAW: |
Why are they mad at you? |
| Oistein: |
I would be the last person to know. They've both had every chance in the world to tell people why I am this big shit in need of psyciatric treatment. But no, rather irrelevant crap than direct use of words. Doesn't fit, does it? |
| RAW: |
If you had been in Tip and Mantronix's shoes once, would you feel framed? |
| Oistein: |
But I never did frame them! I won't deny that I promised them more than I could give them, but I'd never have given them those promises if I did not know I'd be able to keep them one day; now, I could (not that I want to). To fail being Martin's friend resulted in myself being crushed underneath his, and Tip's huge popularity. Not that I know where I failed, but I do know that I find it REALLY childish to use fame, a state of pride, as some kind of weapon to mess up another's name. What they never understood is that this Amiga shit is just a game to them, while it is, for me, real life. |
-----------------------------------
ZINE
----------------------------------- |
| RAW: |
You were laughed at in Zine 11. Do you feel that the Zine team acted against you? |
| Oistein: |
Yes. He really disapointed me, Axel. He used to be a nice chap! Two of his friends were in conflict. And so what did he do? Act neutral? No. He took part with popularity. Disapointing. Grow up, Alexander! |
| RAW: |
Tip and Mantronix has a whole lot of friends and fans in the scene. As a professional musician, you don't. Do you think that is the reason why most people believed in Zine? |
| Oistein: |
Adolf Hitler ended millions of people's lives during Wo rld War II. How could one man be responsible for so many deaths? That answers your question I persume. |
| RAW: |
In Zine, Axel made you look like a fool because you wrote something like this; Tip and Mantronix are likely not even signed up with Sonic Projects. Did Axel misunderstand, or did you actually lie? |
| Oistein: |
Are you blind, Axel? How the hell could Tip and Mantronix be registred employees of Sonic Projects when it's a group? Read; they are probably not signed up with the company. Now read; they are probably not members of the group. Do you see the difference? Huh! So much for a false roumor! Disapointing. |
| RAW: |
Do you think Tip and Mantronix envies you, like you wrote in Zine? |
| Oistein: |
Perhaps. If Tip would have had a MEM module, I'd sure envy him. I know Tip has got a Roland D50, which is an old duotimbral synth. I've now got five powerful units; Roland, JD-800, Korg 01/Wfd, Korg Wavestation A/D, The Gravis Ultra (a 16 DAC 16-bit sampler) and a 16 track Fostex mixer. Tip would trade his synth for ANY of those units (he would be a fool not to). Now does that answer your question? |
| RAW: |
What does Charles Deenen, the leader of MON, think of Tip and Mantronix's ways against MON, after it all began back in Zine. |
| Oistein: |
I guess Tip and Mantronix never really meant to stab MON, for they respect Charles deeply. Anyhow, Charles does not love Tip and Mantronix, but he gives, more or less a damn about MON's reputation in the scene. There's only one reason why MON's still around; our 16-bit projects. In terms of economical profit, I doubt MON's ever been this strong. So to those of you who think I am MON's rotting remains, think again! |
-----------------------------------
CRYSTAL SYMPHONIES II
----------------------------------- |
| RAW: |
What's your first thoughts when we mention words like these... |
| Oistein: |
| Scrolltexts: |
Crystal Symphonies II; ABOUT MUSIC, FUCK YOU, MAC BANANA, TO RAW (secret scrolltext not to be forgotten). |
| Morten H: |
I know his article in RAW was directed against me, thanks to my foolish acts; I used to have this urge to tell people that I was the best, making me very arrogant. It took me a lot of effort to rid me of that plague. Now I'm just happy someone even bothers to listen to my crappy work. I was a shit, I know. Maybe I still am, but at least I apologize. And believe me, Morten, you need NOT apologize to Tip and Mantronix for speaking your mind. |
| Nightshade: |
The poor chap happened to rip some of Tip and Mantronix's work, making him a complete tweed, concerning the two Swedes. Believe me Nightshade, you ARE talented, and if Tip has the guts to call you a ripper again, ask him why something just doesn't seem right about the tune in Dual Crew's golden oldie; Yum Yum. |
|
| RAW: |
Do you think it's right to critisize other people's opinions? |
| Oistein: |
Not really, no. It's a human right to speak one's mind, I would say. At least to a certain degree, for there certainly ARE laws against speaking one's mind; defamation. It really all depends on where you put your words. |
| RAW: |
Tell us your honest opinion about the tunes in PHA's Crystal Symphonies II... |
| Oistein: |
1 - SWEAT SHOP:
Not very varied to be 190kb, that's for sure. Making several parts in a tune doesn't mean that it's varied. Anyhow, some of the samples are really badly looped. A volume adjustment redigitized x-faded (without ANY emphasis waveshaping though), and those loops would have been perfect. There is one thing Tip and MTX never learned, and that is what the technical parts of music does to the music itself. A good, yet boring tune.
2 - YUMMY GAP:
Another boring tune, but very original. Charming drum arrangements, but the lacks pressure and a good melody. Fairly nice samples, but when there are more than twenty of them just to create a silly flanger effect? Not impressing. A computerized, yet entertaining tune.
3 - LIBERATION:
The first thing I noticed about this tune was the horrible chords. That piano must be taken from the Roland D-10, because it's really dry. You don't transfer a 16-bit rhythm into 8-bit, cut it up, then use it along with some 8 bit piano chords taken from a 400 synth. Anyhow, the tune's got a very nice melody, but an analog-bass would have fit this tune much better than that heavy, sticky one. Anyhow, I don't like sax tunes on the Amiga, exept Nuke's in Legalise It, which were really good. But even Nuke uses the sax as an analog-lead, making the sax sound rather ackward. If you want to fake a sax, you've got to spend a LOT of money on a MEM module. I do not think a sax is ment to be digitized.
4 - DISHARMONY:
Very good drum-/precussion-line. Though it sounds like an old TR-808 sequence, it's very charming. Very interesting use of chords. But yet again, a tune lacking a good melody. An analog-lead can do so much to a tune like this. Oh the melody is good, but not strong enough. Oh and speaking about disharmony, Tip and Mantronix does NOT know much about music. They wrote, in CS2, that harmony is one of music's most important sides, which is dead wrong. It's not harmony that seperates music from sound.
5 - LIFE-PHOBIA:
Does this tune use 5-DAC's? Bah! Just because you digitize several sounds in one? Oh what a fucking great sercet! Very amusing! Europe's most popular musicians doesn't know that a multidigitized sound is a multi-sample. 5 fucking voices my ass, happy fucking Easter! Anyhow, this is not a bad tune. It's good, but very boring. Very charming bass-line, but it lacks variation. Good, yes, but the tune lacks pressure.
6 - THE SEARCH FOR ME:
The first part of the tune is good. Nice bells, very moody. But that silly up-beat sounds like some hi-tech sound from the late 60's. In fact, it sounds like shit! It's so very tame, like just about all tunes on CS2, due to their lack of pressure. |
| RAW: |
Any final comments about CS2? |
| Oistein: |
It's a good musicdisk, but the arrogance, the hatred, the childish SHIT written in its many scrolltexts make me sick just thinking about the product. The crap written about me is so stupid that I don't even mind. Besides, I can take a push in the back. But the SICK boasting and arrogance is just unbelievable! Fucking up one's name just be cause he didn't like the tunes in CSI?
Demanding Europe's most popular diskmag a full apology for having printed an article where someone spoke his mind? Telling a truly talented musician to go fuck off just because he used a BIT of their work, when they themselves used more than twenty of my samples without even THINKING about crediting me? I could go on for ages! But deep down, I think they are two nice guys, but fame has gone to their heads. Huh! Fame is nothing! There are a LOT of musicians that could have taken your places ages ago, so get those damn feet of yours back on the ground! |
| RAW: |
Tip and Mantronix suddenly changed their name to Mantronix and Tip. Don't you think Tip and Mantronix sounds better? Why do you think they changed the order of their handles? |
| Oistein: |
The truth is that Mantronix is a far more talented musician than Tip. Mantronix is the stronger side of the duo, making it more fair on Martin to call the duo Mantronix and Tip. Oh, but God knows what made Tip agree to put his name last! |
| RAW: |
In CSII, Tip and Mantronix wrote; computer-music is rather ridicolous. What is your opinion about that? |
| Oistein: |
Bah! Nearly ALL popular music today is done with computers. Do you think computer-music is another term for what, 4 DAC 8-bit Amiga music? It's MIDI. Even the Gravis Ultrais a small CPU. Michael Jackson, Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Mezzoforte, Brad Fiedel, you name it! It's all computer-music. Oh yes; you ment blah-blah-blah, and not blah-blah- blah, I know. |
| RAW: |
You've heard Tip and Mantronix make both fast disco tunes and so-called symphonies, which style do you think is best? |
| Oistein: |
I prefer their fast work; the first and last part of Overload was brilliant! No offence Tip, but you'll never become a respectable pro. Not composing with 4-DAC's 8-bit. You'd be a far better musician if you'd do something with 16-DAC's 16-bit. I took the fast way to paradise; went to the bank and raised a fat loan. Then I rented an appartment, fixed it up real nice, and moved in. Then I built up my own studio (5 units), and went full-time pro. Oh sounds better than a blow-job, doesn't it? It bloody well is! Well, aeh, sort of. Like, uh, in a way. Oh, anyhow, think about raising a loan for your studies. You can end up with 5000£, and you need, what, 400 for your studies? Give it a thought, Robert. |
| RAW: |
Tip and Mantronix suggests that you should get psyciatric treatment and shave off your moustache. Have you got some suggestions to Tip and Mantronix? |
| Oistein: |
Bah! I'm not THAT childish! |
| RAW: |
Do you think that it's right for Tip and Mantronix to try convincing the audience with sentences like this; This is probably the best music ever done on an Amiga? Or perhaps people should make their own opinions about Tip and Mantronix's music? |
| Oistein: |
Tell me, does a guy die when getting a 20mm bullet through his head? Predictable, yes? |
-----------------------------------
OTHERS
----------------------------------- |
| RAW: |
Do you think that Tip and Mantronix could do it better in the playground than in music? |
| Oistein: |
In the playground? Naw. |
| RAW: |
If you compare Tip's music with the work of a 7 year old, wouldn't you prefer Tip's? |
| Oistein: |
Give me a break! |
| RAW: |
How much would you pay to avoid spending a month with Tip and Mantronix on a desert island? |
| Oistein: |
Not again? Well, why would I mind? I mean, spending a few weeks, on a desert island with Tip and Mantronix, now that could turn out very interesting! |
| RAW: |
Do you hate Tip and Mantronix? |
| Oistein: |
No! Not that I could, even if I wanted to. Hating someone is like wanting someone dead. If they'd be wanting me dead, they'd not be quite normal. You really don't wish for other people's life to end, for life is the greatest gift of all. Laugh if you please, but I am very depressed these days, even though I now live a happy life, for there's so much evil in this world. How can someone have the heart to call a lame child in a weelchair 'an-ugly-fuck'? Or an adopted child 'fucking-nigger'? This is how people are to eachother, and it REALLY hurts me to know! Not all everyone can take a push in the back; think about that! Why can't we help one antoher, not be so careless against our own kind? Life is too short for this shit! As for Tip and Mantronix; believe me or not, but if I could, I would give these two chaps a truly wonderful life, even if they'd really want to see me dead. I don't expect you to understand, but I'm afraid I really mean that. |
| RAW: |
Is it true that you really have the copyright on your samples? |
| Oistein: |
Yes. The copyright law isn't complicated; Surely Korg holds the copyright on the samples in their units, but when I re-program the sound-data, re-sample the sound from 12 /16-bit to i.e. 8-bit, it becomes mine as soon as I copyright it. Korg did not sample it; I did. That is the law, not my opinion. |
-----------------------------------
THE SILENTS
----------------------------------- |
| RAW: |
You have recently joined TSL, is this because you are getting interested in the scene? And if so, what do you think of the scene? |
| Oistein: |
Yes, I'd like to give the scene a shot, just for fun. The scene? Horrible! It seems so important for people to tell the scene who's the bigger fuck than the other. Fame, what? A position of power? Two, maybe three more years, then what? |
| RAW: |
Why did you join TSL? Couldn't you make music for others, as an independant? |
| Oistein: |
Sure I could, and I guess I will. But TSL is, in my opinion the best group in the scene. Therefore, I wish to priority my nonprofit work for them. Another reason I joined up with TSL is due to the really wonderful chaps found in the group. |
| RAW: |
Are you going to take a break from doing music under MON, now that you're in TSL? |
| Oistein: |
What? And starve? I doubt it! |
| RAW: |
Are you working on anything for TSL so far? |
| Oistein: |
Yes. I'm organizing the Norwegian division, a divison thaAt's turned out unbelievably good, no thanks to me. I have just finished designing the trackmo we are working on, along with some other chaps in TSL. It is going to be so mething much like Hardwired, maybe just as hi-class. I've got some of my friends in Ocean Software to do some REALLY fancy stuff for our project. Otherwise, I am most likely going to do something for some of our foreign divisons too. |
| RAW: |
Thanks for answering all the questions. Well then, you've got any final words maybe? |
| Oistein: |
Yes, thanks, a few words. It has been sommerfugl being interviewed. Anyhow, without putting you on, Tip and Mantronix, I am willing to supply you guys with samples. Oh much rather that than see you rip off those I've already used. Send me some text listing up all samples needed. It's either that, or you STOP ripping my samples. Anyhow, I am already doing some 8-bit sampling for some other Europeans. I am asking very reasonable prices. I'll digitize the sounds exactly like you want them, even looped if required. I've also got loads of sound effects on Sonic Image's sampling cd's, so if you want it, I have got it. Oh, and if you're looking new sounds for your synths, I can get sysex/voice/MIDI-data for just about any synth on the market (that does not include ROM's with PCM's of course). I am also very interested in exchanging sounds for the Korg 01/Wfd, the Wavestation and the Roland JD-800. Ok, that's it. Please feel free to drop me a line for any other reasons too (to all my old friends and those that has already written to me during 1992, may expect an answer soon). |
| RAW: |
Thank you. |