    ._____________________________________________________________________.
    |   _______________________________________________________________   |
    |  |                                      /\                       |  |
 ___|__|__________________ __ ____  _____  _ /  \_______ ___ __  _  __ |  |
 \\_\_          ______    \  /    \ \    \  /    /                     |  |
    | \___:     ||   /    / /   |  \ \    \/    /  !! TRAXWEEKLY !!    |  |
    |  |  |     ||   \    \/    _   \ \        /                       |  |
    |  |__|     ||    \    \_   /    \/        \_     ISSUE TWO!       |  |
    |  \_      _||    _\     /  \  __     /\    /___ ______   _ _ _____|__|
    |  | \__  /  |___ \ \   /_  /\/ /    /  \  / _____       _  _ _        \
    |  |    \/      /  \ \_//\\/   /    /    \/  \_   \_  _________\___    /
    |  |           /    \  /  \   /    /___________\_   |/    /\   \  /   /
    |  |           \__   \/    \_/    /____ \_______ \__/   _/  \   \/   /|
    |  | fallow da    \              /   _/   \   _/   \    \    \_     / |
    |  |  for ">" news \    /\      /    \____/   \____/\    \___ /    /  |
    |  |   'bout        \  /  \    /\    _____\    _/   |\      //    /|  |
  __|  |__  MuZic! ). .( \/    \  /  \  /      \  / \  _| \__  //   _/ |  |
  \      /         \   /        \/    \/        \/   \/      \// __/   |  |
   \    /           )+(                     (N0 StYl3 l0g0 bY: \/ WW   |  |
    \  /          _ __ __  ____  _______     __________________________|  |
     \/           _ __ ___   __  _____    ______   _______________________|
			  
			  - TraxWeekly Issue #2 -
			     03/23/95 Release 

-[ Introduction ]------------------------------------------------------------

   Well, already a second issue of our little newsletter. I hope you all
liked the first one. But, I can guess that since you're reading this ;).

   Now, a lot has happened in the pass week. I can't tell you everything
since I don't have a big memory. But, I can't tell you this, our issue is
packed with articles and an interview. I can't do more than one interview
per week, since I don't have that much time.

   Our issue this week includes some nice articles, and more columns than
last week. First of all, I was very happy to get, the day after the release
of TraxWeekly One, a nice message from Snowman (Editor of DemoNews). I posted
it here, so you can be aware of the situation between the two newsletters.
Also, Psibelius contributed an article on how the old Renaissance
Multi-Tracker still works for him. Phoenix did a cute review of the Expoze
Austrailian musicdisk released by Heretics. Zer0 has done a very provocative
and opiniated analyse of the European demo scene. I got Leinad in an
interview and learn what happened to him the past years or so. Karl has done
his first album review in the mag also. Probably he will continue this every
week.

   Also, I got a lot of mail about people wanting to help out. Well, you have
to tell me what you can offer. It helps me a lot. I always need people to
review Musicdisks and other big releases. Like on the Amiga Scene, the
Primavera'95 competition has finished and has 12 or so modules that need to
be listened and reviewed. That kind of thing. Or, articles about music. Not,
flames against people, just tracking advice and music commenting. You can
have opiniated arguments, but don't use this mag to give more importance to
your words.

   I'm always opened to suggestions, so mail me if you find anything to say
that might be interesting. I could always publish my reply also.

   Well, I guess you can wake up! It's time to begin reading issue 2 of
TraxWeekly - Newsletter of IRC channel #trax..

						- Populus
						  populus@llc.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ Contents ]----------------------------------------------------------------

   1. Letter from Snowman - Editor of DemoNews
   2. Renaissance Multitracker v1.01b by Psibelius
   3. Expoze Musicdisk Review by Phoenix
   4. Zer0's Perspective of the Demoscene
   5. Interview (Leinad)
   6. Weekly Tekno Album Review by Karl
   7. Epinicion Column
   8. Defiance Column
   9. KFMF/Kosmic Column
  10. PURE (Ex-TRAXX) Column
  11. Advertisements

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 1. Letter from Snowman - Editor of DemoNews ]-----------------------------

Hello there,

I just downloaded Trax Weekly Issue #1.  My reaction is very different
than what I expected.

About two weeks ago, I first heard that the crew on #trax was thinking
about putting together a newsletter.  My first thought was to make it
part of HORNET's new newsletter.  That was a bit presumptuous.  :)

Then I thought perhaps it would make a good _competitor_ to our new
newsletter.  Again, this was jumping the gun a bit.

After reading your newsletter, I feel it provides some excellent music
scene coverage: something our newsletter has not and will probably not
be able to do in the future.  So in essence, your publication fills a
much needed role in the scene.

A few helpful comments from someone who has experience doing this:
	-The table of contents was helpful, be sure to keep it.
	-The Hadji #trax capture was perhaps a bit too long.  Got the
	  point though.  :)
	-You mentioned about having a regular ascii guy on staff to
	  help with the article banners.  Just watch that the ascii
	  doesn't get too excessive.  People flamed me up and down
	  when we had our newsletter full of banners.

I really did not know what to expect from this first issue of Trax
Weekly.  Whatever it was, I was _very_ impressed.  In fact, I would like
to help out in some way if possible.

Christopher G. Mann / HORNET
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 2. Renaissance Multitracker v1.01b ]--------------------------------------

Aarticle by psibelius [acid.epinicion.alotofgroups]

     Wasting a large part of my life everyday hanging in irc channel #trax,
once in awhile, the same old argument about trackers comes up.  And as
usual, I'm stuck defending good ol' mmedit from the st3 freaks.  Why?

     Maybe I'm a bit biased because multitracker was the first tracker I
started on, but I'm still convinced its tops.  First off, I kinda like
having everything on one screen all at once.  I seem to recall someone
saying that st3 is "better because is doesn't cram everything together all
at once."  Well, I get more disoriented by having the better of 3/4 of the
screen flashing every two seconds to write notes, change patterns, and edit
fields, etc...(hotkeys?  Like what?  ST3's ctrl-< or whatever?  Give me a
SINGLE button for cryin' out loud).  Second, the 8 track display rules.
I have no idea where ST3 got itswhacked 5 track display from, but it's as
annoying as hell.  I regularly compose 8 track mods, and it's nice to be
able to see the whole picture.  Also, mmedit doesn't switch screens when it
plays the mod.

     Multitracker looks cooler.  ST3's puke colored background doesn't
appeal to me, and there's NO way I'm going to bother learning how to
configure the colors in that damn thing (go try it).  Finally, Multitracker
hasn't managed to nuke three of my mods like ST3 has.  Sure, mmedit has a
lot of limits, especially in memory, several effects, and space to write
all those k-rad comments in, but...anyways, enough on this.  Use whatever
you like, I just personally prefer mmedit to ST3.

     Then there's the other trackers...x-tracker wins my award for the
most k-rad piece of software on the planet (except for the ansi drawing
progs).  Ultratracker, Farandole, and the rest earn my award for total
impossibilites not to waste time on (gimme a break, we don't need 9999999
colors on the screen while tracking!).  And I'll bring up another point,
those "crippled" tracker progs that can't save...what the f--- is that
sh--?  No wonder we hardly see any x-tracker, farandole, or ultratracker
songs out there...the idiots that programmed them just can't get it into
their heads that we're not going to pay $25 or whatever.  No wonder we're
all using ST3 (we don't really have a choice).

     Well anyways, there's my two cents. =)  Direct any comments or
whatever to gwie@coyote.csusm.edu

						-psibelius
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 3. Expoze Musicdisk Review ]----------------------------------------------

 Phoenix's Rating Scale of Doom(tm?):

 *         A waste of your precious ears.
 **        I've heard better stuff by the Smart E's.
 ***       You might like it, you might not.
 ****      Get it quick so you can brag to your #trax friends.
 *****     Better than sex!

		      _____ __ __ ____   ___  ____  _____
		      ||--   >X<  ||--" (( )) ,,-'' ||--
		      `"""" '' `` '`     """  """"' `""""
			  Musicdisk Review by Phoenix

   What a better way for Australia to introduce itself to the music scene
 that with a collaboration of the best artists the country has to offer?
 The overall effort was coordinated by the demo-group Heretics.  I'm not 
 sure how the title should be pronounced, whether it is "eks-po-zay"
 (which I prefer), or "eks-pohz", but either one is catchy as long as the
 "oz" for the land down under is in it. 

   This is a very nice production.  GUS/Max, SB/Pro/16, PAS16, and even
 the PC-hooter are supported.  Sound quality is not the best (on my
 SoundBastard Pro that is) but it's decent.  Things are run by the F-keys, 
 much like other musicdisks such as Epidemic and EGG 2.  There is a credits/
 greets screen, instrument list screen, info screen (much more info than 
 other disks), song select screen (with a nicely drawn background), and 
 the main player  screen.  No wacky effects, no plasma, no vector-spectrum-
 analyzers, this musicdisk is straightforward in its aesthetics.  I would 
 like to have seen a help screen, but the mouse buttons on the main player 
 screen are self-explanatory.

   The music itself.  The thing I like best about Australian tracked music
 is that it has no guidelines.  _Expoze_ is not confounded to just techno or
 light synth-muzak, rather it combines various styles into something any-
 body can enjoy.  There are 11 songs in this package.  They are in CBA
 format, which was made just for _Expoze_.  They're very large, and you can't
 do much with them, but they support stereo panning and 16 channels much
 like Screamtracker.  Here's a look at the tracks.

 1. "Journey's Beginning" by Chuck Biscuits/Heretics (3:40, 15 chan)
  
  The intro-tune for _Expoze_ is house-style.  It's simple and catchy, 
  nothing big.

 2. "Reactivate" by Force Format/Heretics (5:10, 8 chan)

  Being the breakbeat-techno fan that I am, I nearly got up off my chair 
  when I heard this one.  Highly energetic, this is the kinda stuff that
  made groups like Kosmic and Traxx famous.  A must-hear for dance-fans.

 3. "After Sunset" by Jase/Oxygen/Enigma (8:35, 8 chan)

  This demo-techno piece makes great use of string and resonance samples.
  The mixes of aggro-techno and synth-muzak account for the length.
  Something good, for everyone.

 4. "Virtuous Reason" by Firelight (3:22, 6 chan)
  
  Hate tracked music, period?  Would you rather just pick up a guitar and
  jam?  Check out track four.  Firelight has made a great rock tune you
  can groove to, kind of like Daredevil's "Moonglow Groove".  He's also
  just released a musicdisk titled "Firestorm ][", something you might 
  want ot pick up as well.

 5. "Panoramica" by Chuck Biscuits (9:36, 15 chan)

  This track will no doubt get Chuck Biscuits some more attention in
  the music scene.  It's of the demo-dance-music genre.  The guitar leads
  are incredible, and there is some nice piano in there as well.

 6. "My Child" by Jedi/Oxygen (3:40, 12 chan)

  A rather gothic tune with bizarre, if not enchanting, string chords.
  Some deep voice samples start it out.  

 7. "Endless Legacy" by Myzer/Legion (3:15, 8 chan)

  It may be the simplest song on _Expoze_, but it's my favorite.  The use
  of the guitars and synth-leads is fantastic!  Even the orchestra hits
  fit in well.  This tune reminded me a lot of Skaven's old work.  It 
  shall remain in my head for months (thus the name? :) ).

 8. "Release Me" by Sane/Xtatic (3:30, 16 chan)

  And yet another nice tune.  The piano chords are well done, and there's
  a good dance beat to it.  Ambient-demo-house would be the best way
  to describe it.

 9. "n'trance" by Maral/Kosmic (5:31, 13 chan)

  Being the acid/trance whiz that fellow Kosmic member Maral is, this
  is the most bizarre track on _Expoze_.  Yes, it's trance all right, but
  it has a horror-movie sound to it, with bells and choirs.  The bad part
  about this track is that it's so repetitive, only 2 patterns are needed
  to get the feel of the whole song.  Still worth checking out.

 10. "Mirage - Lightspeed ][" by Void/Reality (6:18, 4 chan)
 
  With its four channels and simple synth leads and chords, this song
  would be perfect for an Imphobia diskmag.  But seriously, although
  it doesn't compete with the other tracks on _Expoze_, Void put this
  tune together very well.

 11. "I Can Feel The Beat" by Hunz/Smash! (4:14, 10 chan)

  As you near the end of _Expoze_, you probably think "What haven't I heard
  yet.. of course! Disco!"  OK, maybe that isn't what you think, but it's
  here.  This chirpy pop-techno tune should be taken light-heartedly,
  because they _never_ would have used it in Epidemic. :)
 
 Total time: 56m 31s

   So while the player itself is fairly simple, the music content easily
 makes up for it.  Although I had only heard of three of these musicians
 prior to _Expoze_, I will now make sure to check out all these artists.
 Mission accomplished.  Oz has made its mark.
 

 Rating: **** (4/5)

 Expoze takes up 2 disks compressed, 1.2 meg each.
 It is found on FTP as:
   ftp.cdrom.com /pub/demos/incoming/music/EXPOZE-1.ZIP & EXPOZE-2.ZIP
	      or /pub/demos/music/disks/EXPOZE-1.ZIP & EXPOZE-2.ZIP

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 4. Zer0's Perspective of the Demoscene ]----------------------------------

	Hmmm.. TRAXweekly.  I suppose the name of a mag never stopped me. 
=)  This, my friends, is my current views on most, not all, of the demo 
scene.  I'll warn you right now, my views aren't positive.  If you agree 
with me, and it's only fair, or disagree with me, please mail me at : 
zero@host.yab.com.  Send flames/comments/criticism.  Flames can be fun 
mail too, so don't hold back!  =) 
	I think the demo scene in general is doomed unless a major 
revolution takes place in the factor of originality.  It seems that ever 
since demos like Panic, and 2nd Reality (The oldies, but goodies), nobody 
has thought of anything new.  90% of the demos out there use the same old 
shit!  Sure, maybe THEY coded it, but did THEY think it up?  No, download 
a few demos, and see what I mean.  I think I'm going to puke the next 
demo I see with plasma or vector balls.
	Another thing I seem to be seeing a lot lately is 'improved' 
effects that were introduced earlier in the scene.  I don't care how many 
transparent vectors you can display on the screen at once!  I want to see 
something new!  Have they all run out of ideas?  Well, I'm sure if I was 
a 'real coder' (as some of the more obnoxious euros would put it) I could 
think up quite a bit of new stuff!  
	Please don't think I'm bias against ALL demos, and all European 
coders/artists/musicians.  I've seen some great demos before!  One of my 
all time favorites is the demo Catchup (Maybe Katchup?  Oh well.. :) by 
GRiF.  The demo with a witty quote, and a horrible sounding VOC/WAV (I 
don't know if it was that format for sure.. but it was like a long 
VOC/WAV.. you know what I mean. =) of the music from the Cantina 
(spelling?) in Starwars.  This was, of course, on purpose.  
	That's a slice of originality right there!  The whole demo is 
filled with simple, but strange and ORIGINAL effects.  The art was some 
of the coolest looking I've ever scene, and the music was BEYOND cool.  
Not only was it one of the best sounding demos I've ever scene, it was 
the most original, and it had the best design of any demo I'd ever 
scene IMO.  
	The music in demos are usually pretty nice IMO.  I like a lot of 
the demo/techno music out there, but I do like demos that don't use the 
normal trend of music.  One demo that comes to mind is NO by Nooon.  
(Yeah, I probly got the name wrong on that one too)  The music wasn't 
very good, and the player quality kind of bit clam shit, but the music 
was different!  I also think most demo coders don't realize how many 
people don't own GUS soundcards.  I myself am a proud GUS owner, but I 
think too many demos assume you own a GUS.  I think they should think 
about a bigger listening audience.. 
	Welp, I'm done bitching about the demoscene.  REMEMBER, I am not
bias towards the whole scene in general, but I think it needs a big kick 
in the butt.  I respect anyone who can code as well as most of the people 
in the demo scene, but they need to apply there talents in a better 
form.   If a demo guy sees this and makes an original intro/demo, then I 
know I've already accomplished something.  Peace out fewlz, 

						 -Zer0 + Defiance 1995
						  + TraxWeekly Writer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 5. Interview with Leinad ]------------------------------------------------
 
   Well, where did I dig up Leinad? I meet him on IRC by coincidence. Maybe
you've forgotten a bit about him, but this interview will probably refresh
your memory.

   Very active about in the 1990-1991s. But now, all "grown" up, he is doing
our little past time a mean of living. Well, enough of the introduction,
let's visit with Leinad!

Conducted by Populus [Epinicion / TraxWeekly] [populus@llc.org]
Subject was Leinad   [MAGE]                   [bertil.skoglund@s-data.se]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
	    .oOo. Started - Wednesday, March 15 at 14:57 .oOo.

Populus - Please state your real name, group(s), occupation, crime record, etc.

Leinad  - Daniel Falk, MAGE, computer nerd, no crime record as far as I know, 
	  um...

Populus - What happened to Avalanche?

Leinad  - Most members go too involved with work/school so me and Fabian (Zax)
	  decided to drop it. Of course we'll use it if we ever release any
	  more stuff, but I doubt it.

Populus - What's MAGE?

Leinad  - Mage is a um.. erh... some sort of group but at the same time it's
	  not :) We're more like a couple of friends who are developing games
	  and maybe we gonna use it as a company name.

Populus - Now, am I right to assume you've been composing for a long time, how
	  long?

Leinad  - Started when I bought my first Amiga and that was back in -89.
	  I'm 23 now btw.

Populus - How many songs have you done since you started?

Leinad  - Released about 25 I think. And ofcourse many older which never will
	  get off my Amiga disks :) I'm rather lazy and my most active time
	  was during 90-91.

Populus - What's your favorite song, you did?

Leinad  - Probably a song called "Carry My Torch" which was written for a game
	  which never got around...

Populus - Is it released?

Leinad  - It was released (so I've heard at least) in some music disk
	  organized by Syntax Error. Have yet to see it.

Populus - Where can we find most of your stuff on the internet?

Leinad  - I'm afraid you can't. I had a directory at wasp/hornet (whatever)
	  but I'm not sure it's there. As I just recently got access to
	  internet again after 8 months I haven't had time to get a site to
	  carry all my stuff.

Populus - What instruments do you play?

Leinad  - I used to play the drums. For maybe 12-13 years something. At the
	  age of 18 I sold them and bought a synt instead. But I'm no good at
	  it. So drums is the only thing I really CAN handle :)

Populus - What kind of songs are mostly done by you?

Leinad  - eh. hard one :) As you might have noticed I like to do kinda
	  different stuff, with song, rap and stuff like that. It's easier for
	  me to say what I WON'T do :) And that includes: Funk, "pop" and
	  soul ? I do have a problem with that kind of music :P  And of course
	  no Ace of Bass covers (one guy actually asked me about that once..
	  grrr)

Populus - What musical groups or artists do you often listen to?

Leinad  - Dead Can Dance, Front 242, Green Day, old Metallica, Candlemass,
	  lots of Swedish synth like Mobile Homes, Elegant Machinery and
	  SPOCK, and um... Bad Religion etc... very varied...,
	  no euro-techno.. please note that :)

Populus - What's your motivation to begin a nice tune?

Leinad  - My motivation often begins with some kind of weird sample or
	  something... sometimes I plink on my synth (a Kawai K4 for those
	  who are interested)... and then ofcourse, a perverted mind with
	  perverted lyrics in it do help ;)

Populus - What kind of equipement you use to create songs?

Leinad  - Sometimes I use my A500 for sampling but not very often nowadays, I
	  use my GUS (sponsored by Gravis ofcourse ;), my synth, my Dr-550
	  drummachine and lots of music CD's. The software is most of the
	  time AudioMaster III on the Amiga, Extreme's Tracker, FT 2 and
	  GoldWave for Windows.

Populus - What's your last song?

Leinad  - Vote 4 Me, and The Happy Hamster Hop (both released at Asm -94)
	  .. I've been busy :)

Populus - Doing what?

Leinad  - Moving, working, looking for a new job and now working again.

Populus - What do you do?

Leinad  - I author multimedia... that includes doing 3d animations, digital
	  video editing, image editing and ofcourse sampling. I also do some
	  programming in an athoring tool called Director.

Populus - What's your best 5 songs, you ever did?

Leinad  - + The Happy Hamster Hop (still think it's a shame it didn't even
		make it to the final at Asm -94)
	  + Carry My Torch
	  + Kingdom of the Hedgehogs ? (dunno the spelling there)
	  + Fear of The Exams
	  + Do it! Pull the Trigger.

	  That's among the released ones of course.

Populus - Are you working on a song right now?

Leinad  - Not yet. I have plans and lyrics for a couple of ones but I haven't
	  had time to get down to sampling and such yet.

Populus - Tell me how you start to compose a tune. The full step by step of
	  the process.

Leinad  - I usually decide which samples to use first. That can take alot of
	  time. I try to do most of the samples myself. Then I just down and
	  punch out some simple drums to have a base to build on. I try to get
	  some chords into action and start fiddling with the effects far too
	  early :) After that I try to grasp the whole thing and decide where
	  the refrain should come, do the intro etc and add lead instruments
	  with all kind of effects needed. Then back to the drums again and
	  adjust the volume levels of everything so no instruments "drown" the
	  others and I try to vary the drum patterns so it won't get too
	  booring. And the the though part, give the whole thing a name :)
	  Ofcourse I always try to do everything at once though :o

Populus - Are you still using an Amiga to create tunes?

Leinad  - I did before we moved (last November). But now I don't have any
	  room for it so it's gathering dust in the closet I'm afraid. But I
	  still think I get alot better sampling quality with my Amiga than
	  the GUS.

Populus - I wonder why there are still songs coming from the old ProTracker
	  even if better trackers exist on the PC or Amiga. What's your
	  opinion on this, why are YOU still on ProTracker 4 channel music?

Leinad  - I don't do much 4 channel now, mostly rap tunes and that kind of
	  stuff. The reason for that is that I don't need more channels and
	  that I want to be in all possible compos at the partys ;) I was in
	  the gfx compo at both Asm 93 and Asm 94 too :)

Populus - Are you happy with the capabilities that ProTracker can offer? (Some PC trackers have the ability to have multiple effets at the same time, separate volume commands, etc.)?

Leinad  - Nah. I don't use ProTracker nowadays. For my last 4 ch (Vote 4 Me)
	  I used Extreme's tracker from the start and just limited myself to
	  the Amiga "rules". On the other hand, my multichannel song for
	  Asm 94 used 3 and in some cases even 4 effects at the same time in
	  some places. I use Extreme's tracker. There are a couple of reasons
	  for this. The coders are friends of mine, I live rather local to
	  them, and I got to beta test it early when FT 2 wasn't released.
	  Then I get most of the stuff I want into it, it's very easy to use
	  for us ProTracker nerds, and works well on my computer. I never
	  liked text-mode based tracker like ScreamTracker. Think it's far too
	  much pain to learn yet another interface... 

Populus - Which mod-maker have you noticed out there that seems very good?

Leinad  - My fave on the PC is Zodiak / CDA. Except for beeing a great
	  composer he's a nice guy too (even though a bit on the slow side
	  when it comes to returning disks hint hint). Then I like Necros
	  (doesn't everyone ?). CC Catch! (that good old Kenny)

Populus - What are your plans for the immediate and long term future?

Leinad  - I'm hoping to release some kind of musicdisk/pack with songs that
	  were made for various demos/intro and mainly, game which never got
	  released. I gonna try to release some more nifty sing-along song at
	  some future party I guess and this spring, also music for an
	  actiongame from Mage, called Iron Plague.

Populus - Have you anything to say to all the readers of TraxWeekly?

Leinad  - Try to be original. And if you can't, atleast not booring.
	  Stay cool - Dont close the fridge (my slogan)

Populus - Thank you for the interview.

	    .oOo. Ended - Wednesday, March 15 at 16:13 .oOo.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 6. Weekly Tekno Album Review ]--------------------------------------------
			  WEEKLY TEKNO ALBUM REVIEW [karl]
 
[PRODIGAL SONS.return]
[STYLE: acid house] 
[TRAXX: 11] [TT: 65.11] 

If you laugh at the sound of the words: "CHRISTIAN tekno", then you're
like most other people who don't understand that Christians are as able
and talented as the rest of the rave traxx krew.  The Prodigal Sons are one
of those groups that catches you with it's vibe the instant you listen to it.  
It's unlike anything you've ever heard.  The Prodigal Sons are a guaranteed 
fresh journey into acid house.  If you imagine Christian tekno as being a 
"PREACH TO DEATH ABOUT JESUS" type of music, with blaring "jesus" samples,
well... then you're partly right... The Prodigal Sons hardly delve into the
void of using music as a tool to preach, unlike the Raving Loonatics (which
i'll talk about later... :).  Be forwarned that you won't find any dark moods
or overtones in this journey.  The music is quite uplifting, but surprisingly,
it's quite odd.  Maybe i should shut up and start talking about the album 
itself, hehe... ok, here goes:

The album starts out with yer basic tasty analogue drums and klaps.. good
stuff. If you dig the old skool sound, then you're quite apt to like this song
[EXALT], due to it's acidity and style.  Although this isn't one of my favorite
toonz, it does hold itself up pretty well... whenever i listen to a track, i
always imagine it on the dancefloor, and what kind of effect this song would
have on the krowd... this song is the kind that would konfuse you at first,
then send you into another world. If that's not enough, then 
you can marvel at the wonderful MC- J.R. Barbee with some live samples. ouch!
With some really rippin cymbal stylus and krafty drum manipulation, Exalt will
get yer dancin feet warmed up and ready for our next track, Godhead.  I
remember the first time i heard this song, it reminded me of a nintendo toon..
maybe not, but it did sound like a nintendo sample... oh well... anyway,
nice lead.  I'd recommend tying yerself down to the floor for this one,
otherwise your going to be dancin it up when the phat drum loop starts pumpin
in.  Another really nice aspect of this song is the fact that it's
multi-faceted.. . or something like that... it's got lots of different
melodies and leads.  Not just yer basic "two melodies per song" type of a deal.
Guaranteed ka$h. Rip out yer snapple and get tootin on the whistle cuz the next
two toonz [APRICOT TREE & RAVIVAL] are definite winners for the pardy-hardy
krowd. ouch. oowaahh.. heh. I think my tweeter just spanked itself to death,
oh well. In terms of sound, i'd use this setup:  (okee dokee roll em... :)
krank the bass to middle, and the treble to max.. . analogue soundz mult-waxx
on treble maxx. so pump it up. "i looked out the window and what did i see?
popkorn poppin on the apricot tree". Alrightie, 'ravival' is another brilliant
3O3 slobbery toon, but if it's 3o3 beatbox that yer lookin for, hold up until
the last few beauties.  Trakk 5, Firebrand, is a scorch and a half with it's
bewmin [certified hadji bewm!] bass and loud klappage attack. Monotony is
koolio. The trakk progresses quite quickly, adding in various 808 cymbals, and
different klaps, and snares, until the the melody comes out by 1.26. then the
song really kooks up at about 2.00. multi-tymbral polysonix dog chambers start
flying at about this time.  

oowaahhh... i heard a nawty rumor on the street that pirate copies of 'pastiche'
were being on the black market (on tape) for $20. The song starts out with an
extremely wicked 3o3 riff that makes me wish i was squirrel. Oh so good. Kernel's 
original spices and juices.  Speaking of juices, pastiche lays it up at 1.45 when
the kikkin cymbal-type samples come in and blaze it up.  I hope you don't have
arthritis.  Cuz arthritis just plain hurts.  Trakk 6 continues to warp around
and meld itself with various themes and drum loops. Quite exciting if you really
dig the acid house vibe.  Pastiche, #7, comes out with prototypes blaring with
some really lipid lines and bass boomin.  But i must admit that i'ts not my fave
. "People of Earth, please heed my warning... a terrible accident has occured..
i am pluton, sanitation captain of the planet pluton.." starts out "ode to johnie"
, #8. This one is major ripping with some koolio hard samples and "how u feelin"
krowd response.  Once again, this song is laced with some nice cymbals and drums
[+o]... "how u feelin"... ok... one little problem that i had with song was it's
tempo.. just a bit too slow for my regular tekno habit. but the song still kooks
it up at 5.37 minutes. "the time is now 3:03".. "time and tempo" is one the nicest
, most clean sounding 3o3 riffs i've heard in a while, add in a phat 909 bass drum,
and you've got a stylus song that just doens't quit.  Oh, and yer regular 909/808
krew [snare,cymbi,cymbi2,shaka]... at just 2.00 minutes into the song, you get
another lethal doseage of pure lovin bewm in yer bottoms. The song sounds so 
full and lethal with no preservatives added.  With just 20 grams of fat. :)
Considering that this album came out in about 1993 (or 1992), it holds itself
up pretty well.. I still listen to it everyday.  And i have yet to get sick of
cymbals and the tb-303 monstah.  To cap off the album, the second to last track
is a chill tribal toon.  Hey, everyone has to use their 707 latin beatz don't 
they? :) hehe... "cross the jordan" is a fat bass/conga laden toon with some 
phresh innovative squelches and "peeooches"... This toon would really hold itself
well on the dancefloor, considering it's deep moody feel & un-relenting melodies
that change at about every 45 seconds or so.  The Psons definetly saved the
best for last. "3o3 wiseman" rips in quick with some nice 3o3 loops and dj 
chris white on the wick wicky wickidi wack turntable [1200], and b4 you know it
, the beatz are in and sending you to mommy cryin for more.. well... i'd say
this is the fastest and best song on the album [no correlation whatsoever]. 
You can't beat the "bill clinton has no.... BASS!" samples and the totally 
wicked tb loop that won't quit.  I'd take a guess and say that this was recorded
live, due to it's intense mood and feeling.  This mind shattering acid song
brings you to a better understanding of how plate tektonix really work and how
you are affected by nucleo-physics.  Or not. "you've just heard one of the most
remarkable applications in modern electronix."

The klever Prodigal Sons konsists of :
Greg Hobgood - Keyboards, Programming, Sampling

Chris White - D.J., Samples, Scratching

J.R. Barbee - M.C.

with an acute sense of taste in musical equipment:

Ensoniq ASR-10, EPS-16+,SQ-80

Roland, TR-909,R8,TB-303,JUNO-6,Octapad 2,M-120,SE-50

Alesis D4, Microverb3

Mackie 1604

Tannoy PBM-8

Panasonic SV-3200

Crown Power Base-1

Furman PL-8             [for real?? :)]

OBX 163X

Technics 1200's

wowo.. what a list eh? I hoped i've opened your eyes a little bit to the world
of CCM (christian contemporary music) and the christian tekno scene.. It's ALIVE
AND WELL!!! You can rest assured that the CCM market won't be dying away anytime
soon, so go to your local christian book store, and pick up your copy of Prodigal
Sons [return].. 

if you have any comments, grunts about my grammer, or complaints, or compliments [??]
then send me a note: braczyns@esu3.esu3.k12.ne.us  or if your interested in 
hearing more about christian tekno and some other music, then web it up at:
http://esu3.esu3.k12.ne.us/~braczyns/home.html
i'd be delighted to speak to anyone and everyone. till next time ravers, dance it up!



-"satan is dead!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 7. Epinicion Column ]-----------------------------------------------------

			e  p °i  n  i  c  i° o  n ²Ü°
			 °   ±      ±  °   ±    ÜÛÛÛ±°
		      ° °±ÜÛÛÛÜÜ ² °²ÜÜ±°  ²°  ß°²Ûß²
		      ±ÜÛÛß²  ßÛ²± ÜÛÛÛ² ÜÛÛÛ²Ü  ±ÜÛÛ
		      ²ÛÛ  ±° ÞÛß°ß ²ÛÛÛþß²  ßÛÛ °²ÛÛ
		     ÞÛÛÝ  ° Üß°    ±ÛÛ² °±  °ÞÛÝ ÛÛ²
		      ÛÛÛÜ Üß  ±Üþ  °ÛÛ±  °  ±Û²  ÛÛÛ
		       ß²ÛÛÛÜÜÜÛß°   ²Û²fm  Ü²ß±° Û²ß
			±°ßß²  ²±    ±ÛÛÜÜßß±  °  ß±°
			°   °  °     ÛÛ² °  °      °
				    ±ÛÛÛ
				    °ÛÛÛ
				     ÛÛ²
				     Ûß°


  Epinicion Productions is a music group.  Our staff of over fifty represent
  the people of four nations on two continents.  Starting on March 21st,
  1994, Epinicion rallied together for the new people.  You know the ones.
  You may even be one yourself.  You try to make music, and you make sure
  progress.  Unfortunately, some of the better people around you flame you
  just because they think they're just so much better.  So you get blocked
  out by their actions, think the scene sucks, and you quit.  Well there's
  an easy way around that problem.

  Ignore them.  In fact, tell them to go f--- off.  That's what we did.
  Why let anyone else tell you that you suck?  Why be in a group where you
  get harassed by some "senior staff" member?  Make a difference.  Join
  Epinicion.  Get your work spread.  Get some real criticism for a change.
  Earn some respect and friends that will stand by you.  Improve.  Be proud
  of your work.  That is the goal of Epinicion.

  Anyone can improve.  Everyone can get better.  That's how things are.
  And we need your support.  The longer we stay alive, the better the
  chances for everyone to get a shot at recognition.  Regardless of whether
  you are inexperienced or a master, Epinicion always has room for you.
  Everyone willing to put in some effort is welcome.

  Epinicion is a group for you, the musician.  Our motto comes from P.
  Cadigan's novel, Synners: "We do what we do, and we do it because we can."


				     Psibelius (Gene Wie)
				     Epinicion Founder
				     gwie@coyote.csusm.edu

				     Epinicion Productions
				     4921 Amador Drive
				     Oceanside CA 92056
				     United States of America

				     ftp.voima.jkl.fi/pub/mod/epi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 8. Defiance Column ]------------------------------------------------------
  .----..-----.-----.--.-----.-----.-----.-----.    ..defiance music..
  |  .  |  .  |  .  |  |  .  |  .  |  .  |  .  |   ...productions 95...         
  |  |  |  |  |  |__|--:  |  |  |  |  |__|  |  |     |              |       
  |  |  |  |__|   __|  |  .  |  |  |  |  |  |__|_ _  :              :   
  |_____:_____:__|  |__|__|__:__|  |_____:______ _   .              .     
_______________________________ :  : ________________________________________
	   Spiffy Ascii Artwork provided by Cerulean/Defiance            

	I'm sorry to report we have no new releases under Defiance this 
week. :(  The reason being Zer0's (thats me) hard drive crashed while 
messing around with Linux.  Once I get my stuff back up and running 100%, 
I'll be able to recollect all the songs (got a few already!) and package 
up a brand new Defiance disk.  Sorry, but shit happens.. hope you can 
understand that.
	BTW, I made the mistake of posting a few sites we had our files 
on.  The reason being, they were down for a week because of Spring 
Break.  Everything should be back up now, so have fun leaching!  
	
	Lates alls.. sorry I couldn't write about more.  

						 -Zer0 + Defiance 1995
						  + TraxWeekly Writer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 9. Kosmic Column ]--------------------------------------------------------
	       ____
	      |    | ___                       /\    ______
	      |    :/  /___ _____ ____ _____ _|  |_ /      \
	      |       /    \     \    |     |  \/  |        |
	      |      |      |  ___|         |      |    \__/
	      |    . |   o  |__   | .    .  |      |    /  \
	      |    :  \     |     | :    :  |      |        |
	       \___|___|___/_____/__|____|__|______|_______/

		     Kosmic News for March 21st, 1995
		     --------------------------------

Hello friends! This is some of what's been going on with the world's
goofiest music group lately, in easy-to-read listings format:

* Necros and Jak (Mellow-D) have left the group for a new music group. We
wish them the best of luck with their future projects!

* Zab has joined the group. He's a coder, also with Hardcode, and a
long-time (IRC-speakin :) friend of many kosmic members. Drop him a line at
zab@teleport.com to welcome him!

* latest releases are "Funk Saboteur" by Maelcum (K-FSABO.ZIP) and
"Synaestatia" by Phoenix (K-SYNAES.ZIP). They're on kosmic.wit.com
/kosmic/songs/95/

* look for the new kosmic art dir on our ftp site at kosmic.wit.com,
/kosmic/art coming soon, and the latest art "Interstella" by Maelcum,
starring Cardiac, Maral, and some chick :)

that's it for now folks, till next time!

- Maelcum

Kosmic sites:

ftp: kosmic.wit.com /kosmic/

World-Wide-Web:
http://kosmic.wit.com/~kosmic/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 10. PURE Column ]----------------------------------------------------------

[0[[[[\  [0[   [[ [0[[[[\  [0[[[[[         Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?
[0[   [[ [0[   [[ [0[   [[ [0[             3 s 33 o 33 u 33 n 33 d 3
212^[[_  212   22 212^[[_  212^[[          @[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y
121      121  11  121  [[  121           Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?Z[[[?
0[0       0[000   0[0   [[ 0[00000       3 c 33 o 33 l 33 u 33 m 33 n 3
					 @[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y@[[[Y
012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210 012[[210
 012[10   012[10   012[10   012[10   012[10   012[10   012[10   012[10

If U don't know yet, the group formerly called TRAXX has changed it's name
to PURE . This change is the result from a merging of different demo oriented
groups in BELGIUM! We're now one of the biggest demogroup in Belgium and even
in Europe. (without forgetting that some of our composers aren't from Belgium,
we have people from all around the world composing for us.)

The groups actualy composing PURE are TRAXX-HYPERNOVA-DIGITAL HOUSE

But don't worry too much, the music packs that U love will continue to
be released, only the name will change, and I can assure U that the quality
will still be there and even raise as we have now herited from the composers
of the other groups forming PURE and from whole new composer. Some are still
unknow from the PC scene, but begin to get known in the music underground
scene as they have released a vinyl and a CD (and other tunes are due to out
soon, watch for the VITRIOL CDs or VINYLS): these composers are PIET & PHIL
And another new composer for us that U all know because he is often on #trax
is our friend karl (karl-nerd, DJKarl) who have contributed with an amazing
Acid Tune!

At the time U're reading this, the first PURE pack can be found on
ftp.cdrom.com in the /demos/incoming/music directory!

all future releases will be posted there or on hornet if the site is reopened
for uploads ;)

In the future, we will try to implement our own player and build an interface
for our packs, so they will be rather music disks than packs.
The release rate will be monthly or bi-monthly if possible.

This pack is quite a huge one and is of a really High Quality!
It's composed of 4 zip files named pure_m1a.zip, pure_m1b.zip, pure_m1c.zip
and pure_m1d.zip totaling 2.7 megas (uncompressed, nearly 5 megs!!!)

If U like all techno related musics, U'll be amazed! there is tunes for
everyone from dub to hardcore going to acid and making a little turn over
hard trance.......

So, download them and tell me what ya think of this.

Cya on #trax, #coders or #rave one day ;)

Blaze Runner (BLR on IRC, blaze.runner@pcb.mpoli.fi, fidonet 2:293/2220.1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-[ 11. Advertisements ]------------------------------------------------------
		    EXCEEDING GREAT GROOVES WANTS YOU!
		   WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR
			      EGG MUSICDISK 3
			     "Feelin' Groovy"

We want music of all kinds. Retro-groove stuff is especially appreciated
(ie 60s influenced psychedelic rock, ambient etc). Email submissions to
moddan@ritz.mordor.com
submissions can be MIME-attached (file attachments in PINE), or UUENCODED.
or you can dcc them to me (Maelcum of Kosmic) on IRC.

watch for a new EGG world-wide web site soon.

--------------------------------[ FINE ]-------------------------------------
