An Interview with Markus Siebold

by Neil Carr

Markus made only a few commercial tunes on the c64, however he is remembered for his music on the Turrican 2 game. He also made the music for Enforcer.

Real name: Markus Siebold

Handle: RANGER / VOGUE

Born: 1969

Nationality: German

Interview date: 16 April 2001


Neil

What were your favourite c64 composers?

Markus

Martin Galway (of course) and the Maniacs Of Noise

Markus Siebold
Neil

Which other sids were your favourites?

Markus

Some tunes by Rob Hubbard I think and SHADES by Chris Huelsbeck.

Neil

What were your likes/dislikes about the sid chip?

Markus

It is very easy to program and it has some great filters – but only 3 voices.

Neil

What are your fondest memories of the c64?

Markus

The time we made demos, the parties, and of course to visit Manfred Trenz in Duesseldorf (while I composed the Turrican musix and he programmed the game).
All in all it was a great time I won't forget.

Neil

Probably the most well known piece of music from you on the c64 was the music for Turrican 2. What can you tell our readers about this piece?

Markus

Manfred Trenz contacted me (because he saw a demo of our group PLASMA). So I just tried to compose the tunes. But first we needed a better sound routine. Edwin Determann and Dave Hogendorf (SCOOP DESIGNS) programmed a very good one (a very short time using one). Only with their help it was possible to compose the T2 tunes. Also Manfred searched for an opening. Stefan Albes (lives next to me) had the idea for the intro and he programmed it.

Neil

What sid tune of yours was your personal favourite?

Markus

I think it was the endtune of Turrican II. I think I've to cover it on my synths.

Neil

How did you get involved with the music for Turrican 2?

Markus

It sounds funny, but after T2 I composed the tunes for ENFORCER and quit composing on C64. But most of the people still remember me…
I never made any other tunes for games after quitting on C64.

Markus playing Turrican 2
Neil

Have you composed on any other formats other than the c64?

Markus

I've composed musix on Amiga (Soundtracker) and on PC with the Impulse Tracker (see at my homepage). Now I'm still composing songs on my synthesisers (you can order demo tunes 😊).

Neil

Why did you start making c64 sid music?

Markus

Because I was a really poor programmer and graphics painter. So I decided to start composing songs. REALLY!

Neil

Do you miss composing on the c64?

Markus

Sometimes I do. But today we've other, better possibilities to compose.

Neil

What do you do these days?

Markus

I'm still composing music, fixing my homepage and searching for old contacts (some I've met at the last Radwar party (may 2000 in Heinsberg).

Neil

Do you think that c64 music can make a commercial impact?

Markus

I think, if the musix get recomposed with synthesisers, it's possible (like the BACK IN TIME from Chris Abbott which is really great).

Neil

Do you follow the C64 music scene, if so what are your thoughts on it?

Markus

I've not followed the scene for a long time. Are there still C64 composers? Then contact me please!

Neil

What equipment do you use?

Markus

I'm using several synthesisers (Korg 03 R/W, Roland, Kawai…) and of course the PC (an old Pentium I with 200 MHz, 48 MB RAM).

Neil

If there was a tune you wish you could claim as your own what would it be, and why?

Markus

I only want to produce an audio CD with my own musix – that's my only dream.

Neil

What was your last project?

Markus

My last project? I finished composing my CD DISCOVER and some other tunes.
Click at www.siebold-online.de to get more information about my work – or write me an email to get some demo tunes…

Neil

What does the future hold for you and your music?

Markus

I really don't know. I hope I could produce my music (hey Chris Abbott 😊)

Neil

Do you think you’ll ever write music for a computer game again?

Markus

If there's a guy who wants to have musix for a game, of course! But only as WAV files then…

Neil

What are your thoughts about the state of music in modern day games?

Markus

The most of the musix sounds great, I think. But when the game is over, you've forgotten the melody. Nothing compares to the C64 music.

Neil

Lastly, an open question. What would you like to say to the scene?

Markus

I miss it and I'll never forget the great time we had. But the scene never dies – party on! I hope to meet you all again at another party (maybe RADWAR will start another one soon).

Markus still writes music to this very day, he has reciently finished his latest CD Discover. Why not check his music out… on this URL: www.siebold-online.de

- Neil