Inteview with 4-mat

found inTypeAuthorYear
downloadRAW 03Diskmagazine
Pure Metal Coders
4-mat - Aristotle - Axel - ...
t6/92
added 8/94
        INTERVIEW WITH 4-MAT
------------------------------------

Those who have been in the scene for
more  than 1 year must remember him,
4-mat,  he  released  many excellent
music  pieces  for Anarchys' more or
less  good  productions.   He topped
all   musicians   charts   for  many
months.

After  he  had  been  on the top for
some  time  and  he  looked  to stay
there    forever,   some   musicians
started  to  complain that 4-mat was
not  talented.   He  ripped  all his
instruments  and there was no end of
the  complaints against 4-mat.  This
stopped with Zine 10.  In this issue
Zine   was   asking  all  the  OTHER
musicians on the Eurochart what they
thought    of   4-MAT.    They   all
slaughtered  him!   Because  of this
4-mat  left the scene and choosed to
make  music for different games.  He
was tired of the scene!

Now,  one  year after, the Scene can
welcome  4-mat  back.   RAW  is  the
first magazine that got an interview
with   the   most   "famous"   scene
musician on the Amiga ever.

Why did you return to the scene?

I   took  a  year  off,  with  Sonic
Projects,  and  basically just tried
to  write  better music, working for
companies helped a lot.  They expect
a  more varied amount of styles, and
when  Tip  &  Mantronix  joined then
obviously I had to push my talent to
try   and   keep   up   with  them..
Eventually  at  the  end  of 1991, I
thought  I  had  improved  enough to
rejoin the scene.

Do  you  think  that you make better
music now than one year ago?

In  my  opinion,  yes,  now  I don't
switch  the  Amiga  on  that  often,
there's no pressure to HAVE to write
music for Anarchy..  Besides, I much
prefer  writing  and  playing "real"
music   than   just   writing  Amiga
stuff..   I  think before, because I
was   suposed   to   be  this  GREAT
musician I pushed myself too quickly
before   I  really  understand  what
music  was  about..   Now  I  really
don't  care  what people think of my
work,  I  used  to,  so  I  stuck to
well-trodden  styles  like Eurodisco
and  stuff..   Now I feel free to do
whatever styles I like!

Tell  me  the  most  positive  thing
about the scene?

Hmm..   I  don't  know, probably the
demos,  I  mean  that's the reason I
first  joined  the scene, and for me
that's  what  the scene is about.  I
don't  have  games,  I  just collect
demos.   Also  the  cool  people out
there,  I  have some good friends in
the   scene,  most  are  members  of
Anarchy,  but I have friends outside
the group.

And the most negative one?

People  who are all to happy to slag
you off when you get some fame, even
if  you  didn't want it in the first
place.

Did  the  Sonic  Projects develop as
you wished?
Yes,  it did work out, I didn't lose
any  money, and it's lead onto other
things  so  that's  cool.   Tip  and
Mantronix  were paid for their work,
and  I was paid for mine..  Now I've
been    offered   a   job   with   a
development   house   so  I'm  still
working  in  the  music  field  even
though Sonic Projects has finished.

Tell us some of your previous/coming
game music work?

Okay,  well  over the last year I've
worked solely on the Amiga :

Cardiaxx (Electronic Zoo)
Agony  (with  Tip and Mantronix, but
we only did half the music!)
Princ of  the  Yolk, Folk, Violator,
Magic Land Dizzy (Code Masters)
G-Loc  (US Gold) 
Space Gun (Ocean) 
WarZone, Chuck  Rock  (Core)
Leander (Psygnosis) (title song)
    
I've  done various other pieces, but
I   can't  remember  them!   In  the
future I should be working mostly on
consoles,   and  that's  an  area  I
really want to get into.  Also, I'll
be  working  with my band so I doubt
I'll  do  much  more Amiga work this
year.

                      < Flip Page >





In  Zine  issue 10 you said that you
should  not  have been placed in the
Eurochart  list  at all!  Many think
you  was the Best!  Do you find your
own fans STUPID liking your music?

I  didn't  think people who liked my
music  were stupid, I was happy that
they  did,  but  in my own opinion I
didn't think what I was writing then
was  worth  all  the rave reviews it
was  getting.   I  hope they like my
new  stuff  because  it has all been
written  because  I  WANTED to write
it, not because I HAD to write it.

Well,  you  reached  the  Number one
spot!   Do  you  think  it  was only
LUCK!   Don't  you think that people
actually LIKED your music?

Obviously   some  people  must  have
liked what I was doing, but I wasn't
happy  with it, a lot of my work had
been  spread that was half finished,
or was just experiments, hence there
is  a  lot  more  4-MAT music around
then  most other peoples!  I think I
was  quite lucky to be arriving on a
wave  of  "new  talent" from the UK,
but   even   now  I  don't  think  I
deserved  my  placing for the work I
did   then..   Maybe  I'm  too  self
critical, but I think if I was happy
with   those  pieces  I'd  still  be
writing tracks like them!
You  was  quite  depressed when some
Musicians  slaughtered  your  music.
Do you only hear what musicians tell
you?  Can't you hear the thoughts of
NON-musicians ?

Yes,  I  do  now,  but  back  then I
tended   to  listen  to  what  other
musicians  were  saying, now I don't
really  care..  If I still listented
to what they say I'd just be another
clone like a lot of new musicians, I
think  I'm now just "4-MAT", and I'm
happy to be myself.  If I'm pleasing
myself and other people, that's fine
by me..

Tell  me  what  you think of some of
your songs:

Dna  Dream  -  
Oh  dear,  I don't like this at all,
but  a lot of people do, TDK/Anthrox
even did a MIDI version!

Phantasmagoria - 
This    I   do   like!    It   isn't
particulaly  original,  but for it's
time   I  think  it  did  change  an
outlook   on   the  UK  scene,  when
coupled   with  Kreator's  excellent
demo.  I think it was the first time
a  group  in  the UK went all out to
challenge  the  overseas groups..  I
listened  to  the  song a few months
ago,  and  surprised myself, I think
the  melody  is one of the best I've
written.   I've  now  done  a proper
STEREO   version,  and  that  sounds
okay.

Psychopugs - 
Eh?   Oh I remember this, took me 15
minutes  to  write,  and  was just a
"filler" track for an ECS musicpack.
I  had to rush around the day before
the ECS show compiling a disk, I was
going  to  release  a  3-disk  music
collection,   but  the  coder  never
finished  it..  hence this was done,
it's crap!

Many think you are a "Pop musician"!
Now  when you have returned to scene
will  you  continue  making the same
music  as  before or will you try to
make a new kind of music?

I  supose  I  used  to  be, though I
don't  like  any "Pop" stuff at all,
it  makes  me feel sick!  I did do a
lot of other styles though, but then
the  "Euromusic"  wave  came  in and
EVERYONE  was doing Eurosongs..  The
last  Euro  song  I  wrote  was  for
Anarchy's  Hardcore demo, and that's
going  to  be  it!   I'm doing a lot
more  interesting styles now, if I'm
going  to  keep  interested in Amiga
work,  I  better  challenge  myself.
When  it  comes  to  "real" music, I
prefer  bands like "King's X","Pearl
Jam","Last   Crack","Led  Zeppelin",
"R.E.M"  and musicians like "Jarre".
Amiga  musicians  I  admire  are Tim
Follin, Tip/Mantronix, AudioMonster,
Bruno and HeatBeat.


                    < Flip Page >











Before  you  got  a synth you ripped
many  samples!   Do  you  think that
ripping  samples  is  OK, or are you
today AGAINST ripping?

Hey,  what  synth  is this?  Where's
this  synth? (Ehhmmm, Maybe a little
misunderstanding  Ed.) What actually
happened  was  Tip,  Mantronix, Nuke
and a few other friends gave me some
sounds!   I'll  admit  I used to rip
loads  of sounds, because I couldn't
get  them  anywhere  else, but let's
face it, most musicians at one stage
have  ripped sounds..  You'll notice
with my new work, most of the sounds
are  mine,  I  sample my guitar,bass
and  organ  a  lot..  I should get a
decent  sound  module  this year, as
I'll  need  it  for this new job.  I
don't  rip  sounds very often at all
now..

What  about  NEW  musicians  without
synths?.   Do  you think they should
BUY  samples  or  can  they rip till
they can afford a synth?

It's  up  to  them, I'm not going to
say anything!

---

You  CAN'T call him a BOASTER!  90 %
would  have  been  totally  happy if
their  music  got a 1st place in the
Eurochart.  4-mat wasn't!

4-mat  left  the scene because every
complained  why  he  was  on the 1st
place.    The  scene  LOST  a  great
musician.  The same thing happens in
the  year  1992.   Tip  is  the most
popular   musician,  Many  musicians
complains  that  he is not the best.
Maybe  they  will  stop  complaining
then  Tip are leaving the scene?  Is
that what the complainers want?

Musicians  should  NOTICE that "MOST
POPULAR"  don't mean "THE BEST".  So
if   you  are  arguing  against  the
chart.  Tell why Tip is NOT the most
popular  musician,  and  NOT that he
hasn't got enough talent.

We  want  to  KEEP the best dudes on
the scene, don't we?