An Interview with Marcel Donne/Mad or Mad69

by Neil Carr

Marcel Donne has produced some of the most complete covers that can be found on the Internet. He has bravely attempted some of the most complex pieces from the C64 and has come out of it with much credit.

Real name: Marcel Donné

Handle: Mad or Mad69

Born: 1970

Nationality: Dutch

Interview date: 12 March 2001


Neil

What are your hobbies?

Marcel

Listening to music, watching films, making music, writing short stories, make some more music, reading and er, did I mention making music?

Marcel Donne
Neil

What equipment do you use to create your c64 mixes?

Marcel

Mainly a Roland JV2080, a Yamaha A4000 with a Yamaha SW1000XG card, a Yamaha DX7 as a master keyboard and a few analogue extra's which are a Yamaha CS60, A Roland Juno106 and a Korg MonoPoly. Cubase for midi recording, Soundforge for producing the bits I can't get out of the other hardware and Acid for putting everything together.

Neil

What are you top3 c64 composers, and why?

Marcel

Rob Hubbard, for showing the world that you don't need a 3 million-Dollar studio to create an intense, emotional soundtrack. Instead he managed to do all that on a $15.00 chip.

Martin Galway, for creating the most atmospheric music without using rhythmic sounds.

Ben Daglish, Mostly for Trap but also for music that made me feel good.

Neil

What are your top3 Sid tunes?

Marcel

Knucklebusters, Terra Cresta and Trap

Neil

What are your top3 c64 cover arrangers?

Marcel

I'm afraid I don't know anyone else's work apart from the Back In Time lot and judging from the high standard they maintain it will have to be them. Mainly Chris and Boz because of the tremendous amount of work I know they have put into BIT3. I'm sure you'll agree once you get to hear the released version of BIT 3😉

Neil

Are you apart of the bit 3 project, and in what capacity?

Marcel

I was involved in a few tracks on bit3 as well as providing a few 'connecting' bits 'n bobs.

Neil

Have you heard about Back In Time Live, and will you be attending?

Marcel

Yes, absolutely. I booked my flight a while ago😉

Neil

Are you working on anything new, or have plans to do something new. If so what are they?

Marcel

At the moment I'm having a stab at Lightforce again and I'm doing the backing track for Bowie's Space Oddity for a Dutch band.

Neil

Is there a tune that you wish you could claim as your own?

Marcel

That would have to be Terra Cresta, definitely.

Neil

What non c64 performers do you like?

Marcel

Jarre, Vangelis, Cocteau Twins, Recoil, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, This Mortal Coil and The Beatles amongst many others

Neil

What is your opinion on the music in modern day games?

Marcel

It seems that none of the music stands out from the rest anymore. It doesn't have that impact on me these days to be honest.

Neil

Did you ever compose on the c64 itself, if so was it commercial or just a hobby?

Marcel

Uhm, yes I did. Maybe 2 or 3 projects were commercially released but I don't really like it very much. There were also a few pieces for demos.

Neil

Marcel, your covers seem to stand out from the crowd, what in your opinion makes a good remix?

Marcel

Thank you😊 It depends on what you try to achieve with a cover. You can try to stay as close as possible to the original or you might want to produce a different interpretation of the track. In other cases you might decide that adding (or altering) different instruments would do the trick.

Neil

Who do you think gives the c64 revival the biggest boost?

Marcel

Chris Abbott, definitely

Neil

Why did you start doing C64 remixes?

Marcel

Because it's such great music!
When I work on a project different than C64 music and come to the point when I'm running out of steam I usually start doing a C64 cover to divert myself and try to get 'unstuck'. It usually works.

Neil

Is there a piece of equipment that you do not own, that you would like to buy?

Marcel

That would be a Yamaha CS80 but there were only about 2000 built unfortunately. In case an owner would like to sell one, please contact Neil😉

Neil

Have you spoken to any famous c64 composers, if so what impression did you get?

Marcel

Charles Deenen. We go back a while. He hasn't changed a bit since he left Holland to start working for Interplay. Other than that, none, I'm afraid.

Neil

Do you think that the C64 remixes can make a breakthru in the commercial sector?

Marcel

That Kernkraft single seems to be proof that it is possible but that was only based on a short riff. It's probably going to be quite hard to land, say, Flash Gordon or Parallax in the charts.

Neil

Is there a tune that you have not yet covered that you would like to cover?

Marcel

Thalamusic for one. And I'd still like to do a complete rendition of Knucklebusters, and Monty On The Run.

Neil

What in your opinion should a remix sound like to give the original justice?

Marcel

Hard question. I guess it depends on how one interprets the original. You could, for instance, cover Master Of Magic with medieval instruments or electronic instruments or maybe you don't want to choose obvious instruments and go for, say, a traditional Chinese instrumentation. It really depends on the piece.

Marcel Donne
Neil

The future of c64 remixing will it get bigger or do you think it has a life span?

Marcel

I truly hope that it carries on forever but if I look at it in a level-headed way I think it's a revival that will have a limited life. I hope I'm wrong though.

Neil

What are your hates about the remixing scene?

Marcel

People who simply take a Sid and stick a '4 on the floor' to it.

Neil

Has there been anything or anyone who has given you a lift regarding your remixes?

Marcel

Chris is a very good judge and encouraged me to do some work for the Back In Time 3 project. And I really enjoyed reading the reviews you gave my covers in your review section 😊

Neil

What musical history do you have?

Marcel

I did jingles and station calls for different local radio stations in Holland. A whole bunch of karaoke tracks and 2 or 3 remixes for a few Indie bands.

From the few times I have spoken to Marcel, he seems very modest about his work. His answers are short, but to the point. There is no doubting that this guy has done some terrific covers which is concise and well designed.

- Neil