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WT: How did you
first come into contact with the chiptune scene?
El Musho: When I was eleven or twelve I got a shareware CD
with modplug tracker on it. It took me some time to learn how to use it but at
thirteen I was spitting out midi-instrumented tracks at a steady pace. A while
later I learned that the music from my favourite games (jazz jackrabbit and
unreal tournament) were actually XM modules and a lifelong spree of stealing
samples began.
In 2011 me
and a friend decided to buy Gameboys to further progress in the chiptune scene,
I was bored with milkytracker and thought that a real sound chip might spice
things up (it did).
WT: You also work under the moniker ‘Six Eyed Cat
Abyss’, could you tell us a bit about that please?
EM: Well Six Eyed is more of an electronica project; it’s
highly experimental and spans many genres... I use my voice there, as well any
instruments I have laying around - and synths, of course.
I live in a forest and a lot of songs take place here, among trees and moss and rain and dirt. When my Gameboy tunes tend to be happier and upbeat, six eyed cat abyss is slow and sombre. More longing in this kind of music.
WT: What’s
the chiptune scene like in Sweden from your point of view?
EM: I don’t live
in a major city and I don’t travel much, so I haven't been to many shows.
Locally it’s kinda dull; my town is occupied by metalheads. It seems to be a
completely other matter in the three biggest cities though, lots of interesting
people and projects!
We also have a massive backlog of great artists/music from the demoscene, especially from the Amiga days.
We also have a massive backlog of great artists/music from the demoscene, especially from the Amiga days.
WT: Could you
walk us through the favourites of your past releases and what went into creating
them?
EM: Well there's the "major" release, MEOW
(said the traveller) which is a full-length Gameboy album from 2012? 2011? With
some great (and some not so great) tunes on it. It wasn’t exactly a planned
effort but rather just Some Songs I Happened To Make While Learning LSDJ Magic.
They are kind of happy; I like the eurobeat-influenced demoscene style so it
probably sounds a little like that.
Then there's one called WHY? which is a bunch of the modplug tracker modules I made when I was between thirteen and fifteen, and they’re really HORRIBLE but I released them yesteryear anyway as a joke.
My favourite album of mine, though, is not released yet but it’s all done and finished, just waiting for me to actually get my shit together and put it out there!
WT: How would
you say influence you the most musically?
EM: Oh, that’s probably extremely many! And I tend to
be unable to see whom inspired what until after it’s all done and gone.... but
if it could only be one I’d say it’s a dude called BZL, he has some really
funky tunes all right!
WT: Could you tell us a bit about what went into
your WeeklyTreat entry?
EM: This is a Gameboy doing some groovy things, I like
making happy chiptunes. Also an approach vie experimented some is adding some
more instruments like guitar or kazoo, so there's some of that too.
WT: What
are your future plans for ‘el Musho’?
EM: I want to make Musho a more
live-friendly act, for now there’s awkward loading pauses between songs because
I only have one flashcart :( I have an extra Gameboy but it "needs"
prosound and backlight... and another cart.
But mostly I want to mix it more with regular instruments, I can almost play guitar nowadays, there’s melodica, kazoo, piano, etc - and my sister plays fiddle and wants to help, so it’s very possible it may turn out a 2-player "band"! We've made some tunes already and they’re great!
But mostly I want to mix it more with regular instruments, I can almost play guitar nowadays, there’s melodica, kazoo, piano, etc - and my sister plays fiddle and wants to help, so it’s very possible it may turn out a 2-player "band"! We've made some tunes already and they’re great!
