| Compass: |
How and when did WOTW have the first encounters with Amiga music? |
| WOTW: |
I can remember that I started in the middle of 1991. At that time I was a poor swapper in Supplex! When I heard that our only musician wanted to leave the scene I saw my chance to do a better job than just swapping. It was always my dream to make music, since I was very fascinated by the C64 tunes! |
| Compass: |
We are all very eager to know why you have chosen the so complex name, Warrior Of The Wind? Does the wind stand as a symbol of inspiration for your music? |
| WOTW: |
It has nothing to do with the symbol of the wind! When I was 16 years old, I was looking at a comic film called Warriors of the Wind. It was a great film and I liked the name immediately! So I decided to call myself Warrior of the Wind! Although most people don't like this name I will never change it! I'm born and I'll die with it! |
| Compass: |
Most sceners still remember the time when WOTW was a member of Supplex, the infamous trainer group. You composed hundreds of chip tunes for that group, still, after many years of service, you decide to leave the group. Was this group change just a move to maybe gain more popularity, in the ever growing demo scene, and to have the possibility to do more complex acoustics other than chip tunes? |
| WOTW: |
I had a lot of fun with the Supplex members and I must thank them for using nearly all of my tunes! They motivated me very much! We had real friendship in that group! But the time came when I wanted to have nothing more to do with illegal activities! I deleted all my games and so my relation to this group broke down! Of course I wanted to do also real modules and that was only possible in the demo scene! So after 3 years I joined a new promising group called Gothic! |
| Compass: |
You are now a member of Essence. Why did you choose to join this talented German group? |
| WOTW: |
I joined Essence because I knew that they're very talented! Another reason was that my best friend Storm was in that group! HE convinced me to join them lately! Today I'm very glad to be a member of this f(u)ntastic group because all members are real masters in their function and all of them deserve a big respect! |
| Compass: |
In the last UpStream issue, we noticed a whole article in the war zone area, totally dedicated to you. Since you have been heavily accused, we think that this should be a good opportunity for you to reply to all those accusations. Do you believe that the writer was just aiming at another Tip-Mantronix scandal? |
| WOTW: |
Maybe, but I'm not sure! I think the author of that article has real serious problems with himself! He should concentrate more on his music and not on attacking other musicians!
I'm composing tunes for myself and not for others because it's a hobby! It's very boring to reply to all those accusations because you can't achieve anything with it! The said musician will never change his opinion due to my music! So it's only a waste of time, trying to convince him! |
| Compass: |
Most musicians own a synth and some other music-making equipment, which they also prefer to play, apart from using it as a sample source. Do you think that making music on the Amiga is much simpler that playing an instrument, or do you think that the Amiga has much more limitations in this area? |
| WOTW: |
Of course it's simpler to make music on Amiga than with an instrument! The biggest advantage of the Amiga is that you can edit a song but, for example with a Saxophone, you can't do that!
A disadvantage of the Amiga is that the quality is very low compared with that of real instruments! There are a lot of more limitations like only 4 channels, limited memory and limited size of samples, but it's always nice to find new tricks how to improve the quality of one's modules! |
| Compass: |
A synth is the best source for getting samples from, and most musicians put a copyright notice on "their" samples. But don't you think that by doing so, everyone is breaching the copyright law, because after all, the internal sounds of a synth are all copyrighted by the various synth-manufacturing companies? |
| WOTW: |
You are exactly right! No owner of a synth can copyright samples, simply because they are copyrighted by several companies! I dislike the trouble musicians are making when other people use their "so called" own samples! |
| Compass: |
Some musicians have been heavily accused, just because they borrowed some samples from other musicians. In the last UpStream issue, you have been classified under this category. Do you think that borrowing samples from other musicians is not as bad as everybody is trying to make it seem? |
| WOTW: |
Of course I don't believe that it's bad to use "their" samples! Where in the hell shall one get samples when he doesn't own any equipment? You should know that it's only a poor hobby and nothing more! The result is the ONLY matter that counts, and that's the main point! I think musicians who are attacking other musicians because of having used their samples are only angry towards them because the so called "rippers" achieved a better song than the original owner of the samples! |
| Compass: |
When Commodore released the A1200, many were those who seemed to dislike the fact, that the sound chip was still only able to handle 4 sound channels. Still, musicians continue to churn out fantastic musical masterpieces, far better than those on the consoles. Do you think that talent can never be replaced by advanced hardware? |
| WOTW: |
I was disappointed that they didn't change the sound chip! But I think that this will happen soon. Yes, it's true; talent can't be replaced! But talent combined with advanced hardware is even better! |
| Compass: |
Sceners always seem to turn out to the most popular charts, to decide who is the BEST, in our case, musician. You have been brutally accused of cheating and of having used others' names to vote for yourself. Is all this true? |
| WOTW: |
I haven't cheated, but it's true that one year ago I said to some people that they should vote for me! I think that this is not a crime because everybody did this once in his scene life! At that time I was looking for international fame and therefore I did that what I have written above! |
| Compass: |
Some of the most popular musicians always seem to seek different music styles. Do you think that finding an own style and develop it further is the right move for the starting musician, or do you think that one should always try and experiment on all possible kinds of music? |
| WOTW: |
I developed my own style when I did chip tunes! But when I started to do real modules I tried to do a style which every musician was doing! Today it's not really feasible to copy a style because you'll get a lot of trouble with other musicians! Copying styles is the wrong step!
Take the music competition from The Party 3; There were only 2 different styles played: Tekkno and guitar blues! And that's pure shit! |
| Compass: |
You have also been accused that your music has no particular remarkable melody. How much do you think that melody should be important in a tune? |
| WOTW: |
I think that the melody is the most important part in a tune! A tune which is full of commands but without any melody is like a man without a dick! Sorry for that worse example! My strength lies in the melody! That musician that said that I have no remarkable melody should turn on all four channels and not only the drum line! |
| Compass: |
We, common sceners, are always hearing musicians talk about the advanced technical moves they use in Protracker. Is it possible to judge the technical part of a piece of music, just by listening? |
| WOTW: |
Not in all cases! It's very difficult to say if it's a special command or if the sample sounds so! For a normal swapper or coder it's impossible to judge while listening to a tune! |
| Compass: |
Judges, after sample-rippers, are the most hated thing for you musicians! Is this also the case with you, and have you ever entered or placed yourself in any music competitions? |
| WOTW: |
For me sample rippers are no problem because I was also one of them! And I can understand the ones who are ripping! It's simply because they have no other opportunity from where to get samples! I entered 6 times in a music competition! I also won 2 times, but only at smaller parties! |
| Compass: |
Do you think that having judges to select a few pieces of music from the hundreds that enter music competitions, is a right move? More than often, part of the jury is composed by rival musicians, so do you think that these can really judge in an unbiased way? |
| WOTW: |
Of course it's not right, but the high amount of tunes forces the jury to select only a few of them! It's a problem with the time! I dislike the way how the selection of modules is made! If the jury has to decide between Jonas of Ritter Sport and Moby of Sanity, they will take Moby's tune even if Jonas did a better one! NO name, NO fame! A beginner has no chance to win a music competition! |
| Compass: |
There are a lot of talented musicians out there, yet we would still like to hear your opinion about the following stars. We would especially like to know something more about their composing style, melodies, quality of their samples, and maybe also something about the innovations they brought amongst all musicians. |
| WOTW: |
JESTER is a special friend! I hate him! But I will try to judge him without having prejudices! He is the master of disco tunes! There is NO special technique in his tunes but sometimes he comes up with good melodies! The quality of his samples is getting better! He has learned much from Virgill! In my eyes he is the most overrated musician the scene has ever had!
I still like MOBY's old modules like KNULLA KUCK and PERLFORTH BLUES but he is the one who didn't develop any more! I think he is at the same level he was 2 or 3 years ago! He always has the same style! His bass lines are always very good! His sample quality is good too! Many musicians are trying to copy his style nowadays and that's very lame! His character is very good; He accepts every guy! And I think that he has no prejudices against people he doesn't know personally!
VIRGILL is my favourite musician! He is also the most underrated musician in the scene. He has a style which nobody can copy! His technique is abnormal! He can play more than 10 instruments in every channel and all will be perfect, and every step will fit in the tune! His improvisations are superb! I'm proud to have him as a real friend! His sample quality is always good, but he is also able to create good tunes with poor samples! My advice is to VOTE FOR HIM! He really deserves it!
HEATBEAT is as nearly as good as Virgill, but I dislike his strange modules! They are really stupid, since they have nothing to do with music! His samples are sometimes good and bad! He's also an overrated musician! Good technique, good tunes but too crazy!
No one can handle the protracker as good as AUDIOMONSTER! He has a very bad sample quality but he always comes up with good ideas! His tunes are short in memory and that's very good for coders! His best modules are FLORENCE and THE WAR! There is a very good atmosphere in his tunes but sometimes he can be as crazy as Heatbeat! He deserves big respect anyway!
LIZARDKING is a very talented musician too! He always uses good chords, remarkable melodies, good samples and moreover he's a good guy! But he reminds me too much of Mantronix! I have heard his new tunes which will be released soon and I must say that they sound all the same! Sorry! Anyway we must thank him for giving the scene fresh and extremely good modules!
I have only heard 2 modules from BRAINBUG so I can't judge him very well! But I can only say positive things about his music! I liked the music he did for MC DISK some years ago! That tune had good samples, a good technique and different parts too! To say it fast... It sounded very promising!
NUKE is a musician who made a lot of good tunes but also a lot of average ones! I dislike the blues stuff he is doing but that's because I don't like blues and not because it's badly composed! His samples are above average! His technique is also quite good! All in all I like his short tunes more than his long ones!
JULIUS is really a great musician! I like the power in his tunes! He uses a very good sample quality and a good technique but he is ranked too high in the charts! He released too less tunes to be so highly placed! He would deserve an even higher position if he had released more tunes!
SLL is one of the oldest musicians but also one of the best ever! He has his own uncopyable style! He always uses very good samples, has a very good melody and technique but he's too lazy! I can understand his inactivity! Come on, don't let Laxity become your group's main musician!
LAXITY is a very good coder but he seems to be also a good musician. His technique is simple, his samples are average but his ideas are great! I like his tunes because they fit perfectly in his demos! He is the best all round guy the scene has ever had and that's simply great!
BRUNO is a legend! Superb technique, high quality samples, and he has the best style! His sound disks are unbeatable! Many musicians tried to copy him but they simply have no chance! Bruno is the best!
TRAVOLTA might be very talented but I haven't heard so much from him; only the music from State of the art! That module was quite good! I don't have it as a module, so I can't say much about his technique, but the samples sounded quite good! |
| Compass: |
Do you think that there are some especially talented musicians which we involuntarily forgot to mention, and which you especially appreciate? |
| WOTW: |
Yes there are a lot of other talented musicians like CHORUS and SID of Razor! They are really good and they will reach the top very fast! JASON is also an underrated musician! JOGEIR is a very good one too! |
| Compass: |
We sceners often forget about the professional game producing scene, which also has it's own share of talented musicians. Can you maybe mention some musician from this field, who's work you highly appreciate, and who is not active in the scene? |
| WOTW: |
One of my favourites is Chris Huelsbeck! He is the master of the melodies! He has composed a high amount of great tunes that he deserves more respect from the scene musicians! Another great musician is Jochen Hippel! He also composed some fab game tunes! |
| Compass: |
At the utmost of his scene career, Bjorne Lynne, decided to leave the scene to start working commercially. Do you think that maybe too much talented musicians are abandoning the scene? |
| WOTW: |
No, I don't think so! Bjorne was a very old musician and it was a good decision for him to leave the scene! I heard that he married some months ago! He earns a lot of money with his commercial stuff! He is too old for the scene! There will be only a few musicians who will leave the scene because it's really hard to get a well paid commercial work for us musicians! |
| Compass: |
You composed part of the music for Essence' recent success, namely A.S.S. Did you model your music especially for this particular demo, or was it the coder that just picked up that particular music? Can you maybe tell us something more than we already know, on the time when you made the music for A.S.S.? |
| WOTW: |
Don't remind me of that music! I never liked it because I composed it under pressure and in sleepless days! I did it in the summer holidays when I had to work in the night from 22, until 6 in the morning! It was my own idea and I think that the music didn't fit very good in that trackmo! I had no preview to combine the music with! Please forget that shitty song as fast as you can even if you like it! |
| Compass: |
I believe that you also agree that tailor-made music has a great impact when combined with the visuals of a demo, and can create a certain magical effect. Still, creating tailor-made acoustics puts more responsibility on the musician and surely calls for greater involvement in the production of the demo. What has WOTW to say about this matter? |
| WOTW: |
Yes, this was not so in our trackmo! The main sound didn't really fit to the trackmo! Of course it's thousands times better if the music fits perfectly but the circumstances forced me to do that poor result! |
| Compass: |
A.S.S. has reached a good place in the EuroCharts just after it was released. Did all this maybe inject in you a kind of unique satisfaction? |
| WOTW: |
No, because I didn't like it! We finished it too fast! But wait until our next trackmo, Dreaming 2, will come out! We all agreed that this trackmo will be the best one to be ever released and that's NO joke! |
| Compass: |
Can we expect to see, at one time in the future, a music disk from you? |
| WOTW: |
Not a real sound disk but Talktime will take the part of a sound disk! Just wait and see! |
| Compass: |
Good music disks are very rare these days, yet groups like Andromeda came up with something different with the release of Mirror. Do you think that also the graphics and code DO MAKE UP a music disk? |
| WOTW: |
Yes it's true; without a great code and great graphics the modules are half as good as they are with good graphics and code! Otherwise the sounds will become very boring from time to time! |
| Compass: |
Do you think that spot sound effects have become a standard in demo making? |
| WOTW: |
Yes, because demos get the main ideas from commercial spots and therefore they need also spot sound effects! |
| Compass: |
You have also collaborated and contributed with your music to various productions, apart from those of your current group. Do you think that it is important for today's musicians to have their work as widely heard as possible? |
| WOTW: |
If a group has 2 musicians and only one coder then it's nearly impossible that both can release many tunes in that group! Too less productions are forcing the musicians to spread their songs in disk magazines and charts! Otherwise their chance to get fame is very small! |
| Compass: |
You can be considered as the master of the chip tunes, simply because of the sheer number of such tunes you composed over the last years. Some musicians have confessed to be unable to compose chip tunes, so what is the main difference between composing a fully-fledged demo music and a chip tune? |
| WOTW: |
Yes, it's true! Not everybody can compose good chip tunes! The main difference is that on a chip tune you work with no real samples since you simply play with beep tunes! You must have a good feeling for that kind of tunes! Also a chip tune starts immediately with the melody! There is no real introduction in such a tune, and the most important is that you MUST love C64 tunes! I have to say that I'm the best chip tune composer and I'm very proud that people like my tunes as much as I like them! It would be great if people would take more attention to this kind of music!
Chip tunes must be played from your soul! I'm sure that I will never stop composing chip tunes even if I'm the last one who is doing such music! Don't think that I'm the best music composer because I JUST said Chip tune composer! |
| Compass: |
Do you think that the art of chip tune making is becoming always rarer and rarer these days? |
| WOTW: |
Yes, and that's a pity! More and more musicians are leaving that kind of music and that is, in my eyes, very sad! Chip tunes can be so cool if you know how to make them! Chip tunes have always the best melodies! Don't be sad now! Papa WOTW will always compose chipies for you! |
| Compass: |
You have also released a chip tune collection with all your recent work. You know that other groups, even before you, have also released such productions. Do you think that chip tune based music-boxes are becoming a new trend in the Amiga scene? |
| WOTW: |
You said, one question ago, that chip music is becoming rare! It's a trend but the chip boxes contain mostly old tunes! I composed totally new ones and that's the way it should be in the future! |
| Compass: |
Every interview must have an end, and I must really admit that talking with WOTW was a real pleasure. There are so many other things to discuss that, if we don't stop now, we would never reach an end. We hope that you enjoyed being our host, but in the meantime, we would like you to end this interview by putting down your last comments. |
| WOTW: |
I must really thank you, Mop, for this real serious and honest interview! I had a lot of fun answering the questions, but too less time to answer them better! You should also know that my English is not very good! I want to wish you and Alcatraz a big success with Compass, and also sunny days in Malta! Of course I must also thank all the people who believe in my work! I can promise you some nice tunes in the near future! |