An Interview with Mr.Sid
Who were your favourite c64 composers?
Many. Among the obvious ones are Hubbard, Galway, Daglish, Tel and Ouwehand but I'm also very fond of the new school, mostly GRG, Jeff, PRI and Mitch& Dane.
What sids are your favourites?
Too many to mention. My SIDPLAY playlist with my favourites tunes has more than 2500 entries. Pick any popular tune, and you've most likely found a favourite of mine.
Why did you start remixing c64 music?
I always wanted to prove to myself that I can do more than just listen to music. Since I'm a musical illiterate, remixing seems like the only possible way to be creative with music. I tried composing several times, but always failed terribly.
What remix that you have done are you most pleased with?
Always the latest one, because I'm still very much in a learning process, so I feel that I make great progress with each remix, mostly technically.
What equipment/software do you use?
I use Propellerheads Reason on a Mac exclusively. Since I'm actually a programmer, not a musician, I'm not doing any of this for commercial/professional reasons. That's why I can't afford to buy some expensive gear. Software synths such as Reason are the only way for somebody like me to get into producing music without resorting to trackers (for which I have absolutely no talent, so I'm pretty much impressed when somebody tells me he does remixes with FT2).
So the only equipment that I can call my own is a CMK-37 MIDI master keyboard, mostly because it was the cheapest quality keyboard that I could get my hands on quickly, and you can't do anything with Reason if you don't have a keyboard.
What equipment/software that you do not own, would you like?
Any actually. All donations are welcome… 😉 I don't plan on making any investments myself for the aforementioned reasons.
What are your likes/dislikes about the scene?
The issue of quality control on R.K.O was brought up recently. While I can not ask Jan to reject bad remixes, I would like to see more personal judgement by the remixers themselves. Just don't upload remixes that can't compete. I myself have several nearly finished remixes on my harddisk that I wouldn't dare to release. That's just that little amount of professionalism that I can come up with, I expect others to do the same.
What do you look at in a sid when remixing it?
Apart from the obvious reason that I have to like the tune, I try to remix tunes that have a special feeling that can be reproduced with real-world synths/instruments. Some tunes just rely on special SID effects, that are very hard to reproduce. Anything that is too weird sounding for normal instruments is not something I would choose for a remix.
What/who influences you?
Music that I'm currently listening to, which can be anything from popular to underground music.
What other arrangers do you like?
I personally like THC Flatline, o2, Kent Wallden, LMan, Mixer and many others.
Is there a sid that has not yet been remixed that you would like to hear?
Yes, mostly Cybernoid (and others by Jeroen Tel), and stuff by Follin. That's the kind of tunes that I wouldn't dare to touch, because I've just too much respect for them. Anyone trying to remix those should know what he's doing.
Who do you think gives the scene the biggest boost?
R.K.O sure is a great thing. I remember the times before that site, and it wasn't that great.
Why do you think that c64 music still to this day is so popular?
It's all just stupid nostalgia hype. C64 music isn't popular, only a very small number of crazy people like it. The vast amount of the earth's population wouldn't listen to sid music unless they're forced to. 😉
What are your fondest memories of the c64?
Gaming, coding, listening to music, and getting bad grades at school when I was 12, but it was worth the trouble! 😊
What non-c64 music do you like, and does this reflect in your music?
Most likely. Although I cannot name music genres that I like, since I don't think music should be categorised into genres. I generally like any kind of good music, and I dislike bad music.
How do you think the scene has grown over the years?
By word of mouth mostly.
For those who don't understand the speech at the end of your remix of Relax again, could you translate it?
It's something I grabbed from a radio show back in 1992. It was used as an interlude sample between two dance tracks. The text basically is an advice to relax from everyday stress by listening to music. It might have been taken from some kind of educational tape, I don't know exactly.
What tunes are you considering remixing?
I have several tunes in the pipeline, but I can't know if any of these will turn out good, so I can't tell which ones I will be able to release. I'm always trying to work on good tunes that are not that well known, or more accurately demo tunes, not game tunes, but my time is very much limited. I definitely won't do any Last Ninja, Commando or Giana Sisters remixes, because I think we have enough of those.
Lastly, what would you like to say to the scene?
Stop those Last Ninja remixes!! 😉 Remix tunes that have not been remixed yet!
There indeed does seem to be a vast amount of Last Ninja remixes on R.K.O. Too much… Well fans of the music would obviously disagree. But for the rest it is becoming monotonous.
- Neil
