TW #109 — Interview: Skaven (Zinc)
zinc's first interview in months: skaven of future-crew, "a tracker who needs no introduction", back on #trax after a long absence.
Key claims#
- Skaven spent a year in Ireland studying cartoon animation, returned to Finland, started computer-science studies in autumn 1996 and paused them for a job at Remedy Entertainment (the Finnish company behind Death Rally), working on the Max Payne project. Tracks "whenever I can/have the time/motivation".
- Future Crew in August 1997: not disbanded, "just, like, 'inactive'". Trug, Psi and Wildfire were designing the Pyramid3D chipset; Psi was in the army; Gore, Skaven, Henchman and Marvel worked at Remedy; Pixel at Factory Post Productions; purple-motion "studies music full-time and is looking for a record contract". No scene plans before Psi leaves the army and Pyramid3D is done. Music & Computers (July/August 1996) had interviewed Henchman and shown Second Reality screenshots.
- Recent releases: the
.itfiles Revenge of the Cats and The Alchemist — the latter entered in Music Contest 5 and failed to reach the top 20 for being "too purple motionish" with "too familiar-sounding samples"; a small chip tune for the Emissions #3 musicdisk; a song built almost solely from samples of his Casio CZ-101, destined for a Bulgarian CD or release "as is". Revenge of the Cats was to be featured in the September 1997 Music & Computers. - On impulse-tracker: "All praise to Pulse. It is practically Scream Tracker 4, and lots more. It does certain things no other tracker at the moment can" — he had sent Pulse "a ton of suggestions" like everyone else.
- Scene trend: more trackers, the share of quality ones "the same, if not lower". Calls himself "oldschool and old fashioned, and don't even own a synthesizer".
- Favourite trackers: necros and CCCatch. Desert-island record: Jarre's Waiting for Cousteau.
Practical takeaways#
- Even a Future Crew member sourced a whole song from one cheap synth (the CZ-101) — sample libraries need not be big.
- The MC5 judging comment shows the 1997 scene's bias against recognisable "FC" samples.
Notable quotes#
- "It is practically Scream Tracker 4, and lots more." — Skaven on Impulse Tracker.
Relevance#
The status of Future Crew and its musicians in 1997 straight from a member; Skaven's own tools and releases; IT's standing as ST3's successor in the eyes of the ST3 generation.
Pages touched#
skaven, future-crew, purple-motion, impulse-tracker, jeffrey-lim, necros, chiptune.