Inteview with Dr. Awesome (Bjørn A. Lynne)

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     SPACE-VIEW WITH BJORN LYNNE
              by Terrox

As  Bjoern  Lynne is an old Scener, we
thought it could be funny to hear what
a   former  Amiga  musician  is  doing
around  nowadays.  For more info about
'Dreamstate',  his  last  CD, read the
article  with  the same name somewhere
on this disk.

Age: 28
Favourite Synth: Alesis QuadraSynth
Car: Ford Sierra
Interest: Music, music and music...erm
Status: Single
Projects: Worms
          Witchwood
          Alien Breed 3D
          Final Over
          Rollcage
          Project-X II
          Allegiance
          Paracop
          and more...

These  are  obviously all Team17 games
under  development.  As for another CD
or  something  like that, I don't know
yet.  I have some new tracks, but need
a  lot  more, and these days I seem to
spend  all  of  my  creativity  on the
Team17 games.

Goodday  pal,  thanks  for  joining my
'Voyager'  on  a little trip to Space.
Oh,   don`t   forget  to  fasten  your
seatbelt  -  it`s not that funny being
kicked  between  the  walls.   If  the
instruments get destroyed, we get most
probably destroyed too, if not cracked
to  dust.   Puh,  let`s  wait with the
SpaceView  until  we arrive Space, ok?
Good.    Ready   for   some   Gigatons
downwards                    pressure.
There...go...wrooooaaaaammmmmm...

(10 minutes later)

Here  you  have  the telescope, take a
look  on  the Andromeda galaxes, quite
nice  shape  and colours.  What do you
think?  I ask him.

-  Huh?   All  I see are some dots.  I
assume  *this* must be the inspiration
for  Ozric  Tentacles cool album 'Dots
Between  the  Dots' - don't you think,
Terrox?

Sure.   Do  you  want a banana, melon,
lemon   or  spaceballs?   I  continued
asking   as  a  teacher  testing  your
knowledge.   The  spaceballs  are just
some   lemons   and   melons  squeezed
together,  and  are quite compact.  If
you  are  space-sick, please ignore my
questions.   Ok,  I  have  had  enough
food.   Let`s talk some sence, I said,
leaving  the  food-project.   What are
you    really   doing   nowadays?    I
continued, hoping to get something out
of his Dreamstate-Work.

- Well, besides watching dots in outer
space,  I  now live in England where I
work  as  head  of  music and audio in
Team17  Software.   In  the day-to-day
life,  this means that I spend my days
making music and sound effects for all
Team17 games on all platforms.  I have
also  just released my third CD called
'Dreamstate', and I'm doing my best to
sell   as  many  copies  as  possible!
'Dreamstate' has been out in the shops
here  in England (it was released on a
proper  record company this time), and
from  what  the  record  company says,
it's doing fairly well.

We   passed   the   moon  after  being
visitors  of  Andromeda  galaxes.  The
moon   was   halfed   with  light  and
darkness.   Light  being important for
all  life  and  making inspiration for
life.   On  the  other  side darkness,
pushing  minds downwards to the ground
and  the  devils  kingdom.   I started
thinking  about  a normal day when you
feel  just  pissed of, and life sucks.
I just had to ask him.

Who have been you motivator?

- Myself, really.  I don't have anyone
pushing    me   forward   with   these
CD-projects,  except  my own self, and
that's  ok  I  guess,  because as most
musicians  will  know, the music turns
out  best  if  you  just do what comes
naturally to yourself.  Musicians (and
especially those working on their own,
without  a  band or anything) are, and
will  always  be,  individuals  who do
their  work best when they're on their
own.

Reading some addy`s there are no doubt
that  collecting  modules  is  a hobby
number   one   among  Sceners.   If  I
mention   module-freaks,   what`s  the
first thing that pop into your mind?

- Loop points.

What  are  you  really  doing for your
space-time, when you don`t make music?

-  What  most sane people do, I guess.
Socialize  and  watch  TV, read books,
chat  on  the  phone,  try  to pick up
girls,  play  computer  games.   Oh, I
should  mention, I also write articles
for  a  couple of Norwegian magazines.
Proper   paper-magazines,  that  is  -
they're  called  'Tekno'  and  'Lyd  &
Bilde'   -  I'm  sure  most  Norwegian
readers will be familiar with these.

I had to navigate the ship, doing some
maneuvers  to  don`t hit some meteors.
Lynne  was  surprisingly  relaxed - he
seemed to be familiar with Space.

It`s just twenty years since Armstrong
walked  on  the  moon, I said, just to
fill  the  silence.   I  then  started
thinking  about the fast grow of heavy
technology.  Ah, time to introduce his
Scene points.  Let`s see...

During  the  long  run, from the Scene
started  in 1986, mankind can`t hardly
avoid  to  notice that equipment means
more and more.  Do you think this will
split  Scene  musicians?  I asked with
some pressure on 'Scene musicians'.

-  Absolutely.  Which is a pity really
-  but  that's  how  it is.  The Amiga
is/was a superb sound machine for it's
price,  but  you can't close your eyes
to  the  fact that people will move on
to  other  hardware - as I'm sure most
of  the  scene  musicians  from  a few
years back have already done.

My   'Voyager'  accellerated.   I  was
about  to  get  nervous myself.  Lynne
just smiled.

So you like speed? I asked.

-  Only  if I'm really drunk.  I quite
liked the movie though!

-  Well,  what  about  techno.  Do you
like  it?   He  didn`t seem to listen.
Some seconds later he continued.

-  Techno music is music that is aimed
at  a  specific  use  - that of heated
dance  floors  in  crowded  clubs.  As
long  as  it's played there and I'm in
the  mood  for  it, I can enjoy techno
music.   But  I  wouldn't buy a techno
album   and  play  it  at  home.   The
problem  with  techno  modules is that
there  are so many of them, that to be
noticed,   it   has   to   be   really
shitkicking.  So you would probably be
better off finding some other style of
music  that  hasn't been used, re-used
and over-used so much - it's easier to
stand out then.

Space  is great.  I pushed the trottle
towards  me  -  the  ship slowed down.
Lynne  grasped a spaceball and chewed.
Space   journeys   surely   suck  your
stomach  empty.  He seemed to like it,
and  just  after  that  he grasped one
more.

Hey, watch up! He screamed!

-  Puh, that was close, I said.  I had
almost crashed a meteor.

I spent long days and nights composing
for   the   forthcoming   Team17  game
'Worms'  -  which  is  going to be THE
best computer game ever!!!  (Thank you
Bjorn  for the best game I have played
for a long while, TRX) As for the 1995
scene,  I  have to be honest and say I
don't  know  that  much  about  it.  I
haven't  been  really  active  in  the
scene since the summer of 1991.

'Voyager'   was  now  going  down,  if
directions   means   anything  in  the
Space.   Earth,  Tellus,  was  growing
fast.

You  have  made  some  game-music  for
different companies.  Can you tell the
readers  what you think about Funcom`s
Space-hunting for talented Sceners?  I
dared to ask.

-  Headhunting  in  the scene is quite
definitely the way to do it, as that's
where  all  the really talented people
are.   Team17  have  also  got some of
their  best  people  from  the  scene.
Lots  of  guys  who used to code demos
are  now  coding games here in Team17,
and the same goes for graphic artists.
As  for  musicians,  well  I obviously
came from the scene too.

Dunk!   We  landed  just beside Lynnes
house  in  Wakefield,  England.  Now I
was   really  Space-tired.   Though  I
noticed   a  sign  saying  '33  Hollin
Lane',  and  just  under  that 'Calder
Grove',  and  finally on the last line
'West  Yorks.   WF4 3DG'.  My computer
display  puped up the phone number +44
(0)1924 267 776.

I hope you have had a nice trip, I was
of course hoping for a 'yes' answer.

-  Yes I have, although I caught a bit
of  Space  Deliria up there, and for a
while  there  I  thought I'd gone into
Tranze   Seven,  but  just  as  I  was
thinking  'Now  What??',  I forgot the
whole  thing and just enjoyed the rest
of  it...   Enjoy  your  trip  back to
whatever  weird  planet you came from.
See you!