An Interview with G.o.D
Who were your favourite c64 composers?
There are a lot of composers out there and every single composer produced a few good and a few bad sids. Therefore i normally dont care much from which composer a single sid is. Im interrested in the sid itself. But if i had to limit my sid folder to one or two composers i would choose Jeroen Tel and Ben Daglish… i think.
What sids are your favourites?
Hawkeye. Commando_86. Bombo. …lot of others
Why do you remix c64 music?
I had the idea long time ago to grab my guitar and record a few sid sounds, this has no particular reason, maybe it was simply because i always want to analyze and play what i'm hearing. Until 2001 i had no equipment to record, so it took some time for my first remix. After recording the first (bombo) there were not really plans to do another, but after finding remix.kwed.org and realizing that there are way too much techno remixes, a inner voice forced me to continue.
Today the main reason continuing is to improve my recording, guitar and drum technics and experience.
You have used guitar in your remixes, what would you say this can add to a remix?
Stringed instruments (not limited to guitar) give you much more freedom to bring in your personal emotion into the things. You have complete freedom of giving vibrato, slides, bends, etc. to the song which is not possible with most other instruments.
What non c64 music do you listen to, and does this reflect in your own music?
I listen to all that guitar heroes that make instrumental music - like vinnie moore, satriani, malmsteen, etc. and to death metal. Also i always try to get the songs as close to the original as possible, i think on certain parts anyone cane hear out my musical backgrounds.
What are your fondest memories of the c64?
For me there's no need to reminisce about the c64. The only computer i have at home is a c128 and i use it regularly.
If there was a tune you wish you could claim as your own what would it be, and why?
Hawkeye, because it's simply great.
What remix of your own are you most pleased with?
If i look at the final result, i'm not pleased with any. I'm neither a good drummer nor do i have much experience with recording. I have to work on this. If i only look on the guitars, i'm most pleased with myth.
What other arrangers do you like?
puffy64, machinae supremacy
What software/equipment do you use?
I converted my stuff into mp3 with i-tunes on a mac, thats all software used. I prefere handmade music, making music with computers is not really an art. The equipment used was a Schecter 7string, a boss gt3 effect-processor, a boss br8 multitrack recorder and yamaha drums.
What would you say if the most difficult part of doing a remix using a guitar?
Playing melodies that were developed on a computer. I like to go as close to the original sid as possible, so most times i play the original tune just with a distorted guitar. But often tunes made on computer or piano are easy to play there, but are hard to play on guitar.
How did you come across the current scene?
Heared about puffy64 from other c64 users and digged through his linklist.
What in your opinion makes a good remix?
I like remixes kept near to the original, converted into a new music-style. There are a few good ideas like orchestral versions, acapella or rock
On average, how long do you take on a remix?
I cannot really say this, i never took care about it. I work a lot so i only have the time to record on weekends - usually it takes 3-4 weekends for getting a new song done. I would say that it takes something about 10-20 hours, but i'm absolutely not sure, could be much more, could be much less - and ofcourse it differs from tune to tune, depending on how hard the melodies are to play on guitar.
What are your likes/dislikes regarding the scene?
I like to see, that there are still people remembering the c64. I dislike that there are too much people JUST remembering the c64 by using stupid emulators or by producing sid remixes with ultra hitech pc's. I'm still an active c64 (and soon c128) programmer and i would like to see more users on REAL c64/c128! …and well, the other thing that i dislike is that there are to much techno remixes.
How would you like to see the scene improve?
I think almost any well known sid is yet remixed so the only future is to do remixes in other music styles. Ofcourse someone could remix any single sid available in hvsc, but who cares on remixed sid tunes where nobody knows the original sid?
There has been a massive injection of planned C64 remix CD's in production, what are your thoughts on this?
This may be hard words for a few out there, but i REALLY think it is an unbounded cheek to take others hard work - take the notes over into a midi program - put loud techno drums over it - play a bit around with the instruments on the midi-channels - feel like the most creative person in the world - and earn money with that sh* .
Lastly, what would you like to share with the scene?
Give the bluescreen back to it's owner! Get a REAL C64 and boycott Micro$oft!
His views on the CD's are very strong, and i can see his point entirely. Though i feel that if you want quality remixes then commercialism is the only way you are going to improve the standards set on RKO. Ofcourse every now and then something enters rko that is exceptional, but by and large Studio enhanced remixes are not gonna happen for FREE, especially as you do have to pay royalties to the original composers as is only right.
- Neil
