Interview with Zapper / Pure Metal Coders & Cartel

[4pLaY]

Hello Zapper, could you please do a small introduction of yourself to our readers?

Hey Ola, and thanks for remembering me. Way back when, I called my self Zapper and did some music for a few demos by Pure Metal Coders and before that, Cartel. Nowadays, I just go by my real name, Jørgen Manke, but still make a lot of music.

When did you get interested in computers, and what was your first computer?

I think I must have been about 7 years when my parents bought the first computer, so it must have been around 1982 or so. It was a Commodore 64, tape only, good times.

What Amiga(s) did you have in the past and if you remember, what were the configuration(s)?

I had a few Amiga 500s, I do not really remember much more.

Do you still have those Amiga(s) or did you get rid of them?

I think I sold it many years ago... to afford a pc . I actually had a friend help me build one of my Amiga 500's into a suitcase, so I was probably one of the first to have an Amiga laptop-ish .

Can you tell us how you got involved with the demo scene?

I was lucky enough to have a friend who was already into the scene, and got me hooked as well. His name is Børge Brunes aka "Lord Helmet" back in the day.

Could you tell us a bit about the demos you worked on and which production you feel was the best one overall?

I think the coolest one I contributed on must have been "Mesmerized" by Pure Metal Coders. I remember Cocy, our coder showing me quite proudly a mathematical triangle consisting of multiple triangles (don't remember the mathematical term.). And I, quite underwhelmed, and to his disappointment said that it looked ok. I then told him that it would be much cooler if it was in 3d, and that it should move. He laughed a bit because it had never been done before, but 2 weeks later, he had come up with the solution, and I still think it looks amazing.

Here is a Youtube version of Mesmerized.

Is there any production you wish you had not worked on or perhaps there is a production you wish had turned out differently?

Not really. It was a fun hobby for me, and I enjoyed whatever I got to contribute on I guess.

Was there any music you created back then that you were really satisfied with and can even look back upon now and be proud of?

The one I did for the Mesmerized demo, called Riff-Raff, is probably the one other people liked the best... I think I have to agree . I was also very proud of a tune I did for an intro, but I have no chance of remembering what it was called.

Was there any musicians at the time, either demo sceners or just musicians in general that you either looked up to or felt inspired you to create your own music?

In the scene, I remember looking up to 4mat and Dr.Awesome from Crusaders...  there were plenty of others too, but can't remember their names, sorry.

Could you tell us a bit about the equipment/application(s) you used to create music back then?

I had no equipment except for my Amiga. Got some samples from friends, and some I... eh...  mmm...  well...   Ripped from others . Used some different trackers...  Protracker was one of them. Before leaving the scene for good, I got my self my first real synth, and started using music-x and midi.

Can you tell us if you remember, what you considered the best Amiga demos back when you were active?

Can't really remember what was the hottest for me back then, sorry...  But Red sector had some great ones, and Spaceballs also. Not to mention the ones that Pure Metal Coders put out there .

Are you still making music today? If yes, could you please tell us a bit about it? equipment/application(s) etc

That's the only thing I do these days.  Well...  mostly I produce songs for others artist in the studio I run. (Skambra Studio) These days, most of the "equipment" are plugins and samplers, but some of what I use is:

Monitors:  Adam S3H for mains, and Adam S2V for nearfield.
Soundinterface: 2x Universal Audio x8p, and a Focusrite Clarett Octopre.
DAW:  Steinberg Cubase 10
and a bundle of different high end mic's for live tracking, of which I do a lot.

Have you followed the Amiga or demo scene at all since leaving the scene when you did? If yes, what do you think of the state of the scene today?

I'm sorry to say that I have not.

Would you ever consider doing any music for demos again, either on Amiga or modern platforms?

I never say never .

What do you feel you got out of the whole experience of being active in the Amiga demo scene? for example, did it lead you to make music professionally?

It definitely was the thing that got me hooked on making music professionally. Using the trackers got me a soft start, and maybe even a head start on using modern Hard disk recorders.  It feels almost the same making music on modern systems of today, just more possibilities and more of everything really. Not sure if I would have ended up doing what I do today (running a professional recording studio) if not for the demo scene ❤.

Have you ever considered remastering some of your old tunes?

No, I think they should be left alone . It shows what was possible with what little we had .

Is there anyone from back then you would like to send some greetings to? Or perhaps you have some other last words?

Big love to Yoghurt / Spaceballs and all the guys from PMC, Cartel, and Spaceballs. And thanks to everyone for building an including society, where everyone was equal, and everyone was lifting each other up. At least that was my experience with the scene, I am SO glad that I had the fortune of being part of it.

Here is a link to my Studio Skambra, we are also on Facebook.

That is the end of this interview, thanks for taking the time to do it Zapper, I am sure our readers will appreciate it .