An Interview with Stefan Hartwig

by Neil Carr

Another Guy who provided some excellent tunes for the Turrican series of games. For some reason Stefan wan't consulted about about his music for Turrican before the game hit the market. Stefan explains that he was a bit disappointed by this. Some of the Software Houses in the days of the c64 really do have a lot to answer to.

Real name: Stefan Hartwig

Born: 1972

Nationality: German

Interview date: 2 May 2021


Neil

Which other c64 composers did you like?

Stefan


Well, in addition to all these famous and well-known names like Hubbard, Galway, Tel, Hülsbeck, etc. I would like to add Thomas Mogensen, Kim Christensen, Johannes Bjerregard and Geir Tjelta.

Stefan Hartwig
Neil

Which other sids did you most enjoy?

Stefan

Generally I would say the tunes of Jeroen Tel were still amazing. But there were a lot of great musics from unknown composers I enjoyed a lot. - Mainly Intro and Demo tunes I think.

Neil

Which tunes of your own were you most pleased with?

Stefan

Difficult to say, one or two of the Intro/Demo tunes did fine, but with regard to the games I only remember the Illgen tunes, because a friend of me had written the music routines and it was quite cool to be the first musician who was able to experiment with this little piece of code.

Neil

Why did you start composing music on the C64?

Stefan

I was a real scene maniac and part of different C64 Groups. Every member had to contribute something to the group and the easiest and most natural thing for me was the contribution of music. It was also a real challenge to push the group forward in regard to scene rankings and demo competitions.

Neil

LMan mentioned to me that there had been some copyright discussions with Rainbow Arts regarding Turrican 1 and 2, could you explain this?

Stefan

Well, after the Turrican 1 game was nearly finished I was told that my work was also onboard and that it should be a honour for me to contribute something to the game. In fact I was a bit disappointed that no one had asked me before the game hit the market, but what do you want? - That's business and company policy and with Turrican 2 it went in a similar way.

Neil

How did you become part of the game music business?

Stefan

After a lot of Intro/Demo tunes I began to create series of musics for the so called Intro- and Demomakers, programmed by Sebastian Broghammer. Then I contributed music for some C64 magazines like Magic Disk before my work for Digital Marketing, Digital Excess and Starbyte Software began.

Neil

What are your thoughts on people who are re-creating C64 music with modern sounds, and especially your work?

Stefan

It's rather cool to hear all these old C64 tunes in a new environment, especially when the essentials of the original tunes have been kept alive. During the hot days of the C64 there were a lot of talented musicians and I think it is worth to recover and rebuild their musical ideas.

Neil

Have you ever considered writing game music again?

Stefan

Yes, of course but the times have changed. During the C64 era one musician with his Commodore was enough to handle a complete game project. Today there are partially complete symphonic orchestras and dozens of people who are involved in a game soundtrack. The game industry has become an important employer for professionell componists, especially from the film business. My two favourite ones are Bill Brown (Undying, Rainbow Six, Trespasser) and Jeremy Soul (Icewind Dale, Total Annihilation, Giants). - Search the web, listen carefully to their music and you know what I mean!

Neil

Have you ever considered remixing some of your old C64 music with modern instruments?

Stefan

No, really not, I don't like to work on a tune after it has been finished. There are people who have more talent in remixing these musics and adding new ideas and features to it, like Lman who has done a great job in revitalising the Turrican tracks.

Neil

What were your likes/dislikes regarding the sid chip?

Stefan

- Three channels of sound: On the one hand three voices were definitely too little on the other hand you learned what is really important for a tune and how to get the most out of the SID chip.

- Different SID chips: CSG (Commodore Semiconductor Group) produced different SID generations which all sounded and worked a little bit different, for example model 6581 used a 12 volt source while model 8580 used a 9 volt source. One result was a different effect on filter range, volume, digital noise and sample play.

All in all I think the C64 Sound Interface Device with its programmable ADSR generator, different waveforms and l/h/b filters filters was quite innovative for a simple homecomputer (and it is still today).

Stefan Hartwig
Neil

What are your fondest memories of the C64?

Stefan

Man, you can ask things. - Well, I think it was not the C64 itself, the people around the C64 scene pushed the Commodore legend forward. People from all over Europe met in strange locations (even in old subterranean bunkers) and tried to find out who did the best programming, graphics or sound. It was a real creative time, in other words it was cool!

Neil

Have you ever heard about bitlive, and if so what are your thoughts on it?

Stefan

I have heard about the Back in Time CD's which contain some remixed and rearranged C64 musics but I've never heard about bitlive, sorry.

Neil

So, you are still an active musician, what can you tell us about your recent work?

Stefan

Currently I'm working together with a group of very talented multimedia producers here in Munich called Triplex. Beside professionell webpage-design they're creating innovative multimedia titles. At the same time I'm also working on a dance music project.

Neil

What inspires you musically?

Stefan

Most inspiration I find within film soundtracks, it's very interesting how composers add music and musical effects to film scenes and how they emphasize certain moods. I rarely hear Hits running on MTV, Viva, etc. (a lot of them sound peculiar equal). Additionally I hear a lot of classic music and try to figure out how certain musical forms are working and why an orchestra sounds like an orchestra and a multisample not.

Neil

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

Stefan

I was always very interested in music with a solid bass fundament and a unique melody line, therefore I list the following examples:

  • Omega Force One; Street Cred Boxing (Johannes Bjerregaard)
  • Tomcat (Jeroen Tel)
  • Thymos; Tristesse (Thomas Mogensen)
  • R-type (Chris Hülsbeck)
  • Haakon (Geir Tjelta)
Neil

You were part of what I'd call the second generation of C64 composers. In other words after Hubbard and Galway, etc. Did the first wave of composers have any bearing on you?

Stefan

No, I don't think so, because everyone had his own unique style and the last thing I wanted to do was to copy or to imitate a certain style. - I think after first experiences you should try to find your own way of interpreting things.

Neil

So what work are you working on now?

Stefan

Today I'm working in a big aerospace company and only during my spare time I can afford to work on my musics. - Sometimes I'm really glad not to make my living with music because I'm not under pressure to deliver music in time.

Neil

What plans do you have for your music in the future?

Stefan

Well, beside doing some musics for multimedia and dance projects, I try to go on with my music theorie because even in times of GHz-Computers, 24 bit samples and automated composition software it remains the backbone of every composition. I will also improve my studio equipment and try to cope with all these ugly little DirectX and VST Plug-Ins.

Neil

What equipment do you use?

Stefan

I use the usual stuff like Synthies (Korg M1, Roland U110, Casio CZ1, Roland Juno1, etc.), Sampleplayers (Proteus2, XG Player, etc.) and of course the SID-Station, which is based on the original MOS6581 chip. The signal pass of my setup is as much as possible digital, with a digital Yamaha mixer and Audio Logic Platinum as software core. I also experiment with different digital cards and software synthesizers.

Neil

There have been many stories regarding composers being ripped off by software companies or individuals, have you had any experience of this?

Stefan

As I already said, the Turrican sounds were a kind of disappointment for me because I think every side has to contibute to the success in a fair and reliable way. This means, every person involved should be informed in time and not after a project has already been finished.

Neil

Lastly, what would you like to say to the remixing scene?

Stefan

Personally I think a good remix should add something new and fresh to the original sound. I never rely on this big special murder effect no one ever heard before, I try to invest as much time as possible in the structure of melody and harmony because the last decisive instance for your music should always be your ear and your personal taste.

Commodore changed the filter of the sid chip many times over the years. This has annoyed countless c64 composers to the point where many failed to use filters, thus failing to use the SID chip to it's fullest. This too was an annoyance to Stefan. So it seems that the SID chip was bugged, limited and had awkward filters. Yet still this simple home computer managed to impress us all with its revolutionary and innovative sounds. Remarkable!!

- Neil