How did you get involved with computer music making? I did a sound engineering course straight out of school, but I didn't wake up to the computer music revolution until 1994. The idea of being able to do everything myself, at home, without having to deal with crazy drummers or temperamental guitarists was liberating. I bought Trax, the only sequencer that would run on my 286 PC (see www.intel.com/intel/museum/25anniv/hof/286.htm), a battered Korg Poly 800/A> synth and a Roland S330 sampler. I got carried away and stuck completely irrelevant samples - drills, dogs barking, Caruso singing - all over every song.
Is the publishing industry still fairly Mac-based? Macs are still the industry standard, but our online guys use PCs. Some people argue that Macs are better at handling graphics and processing images, but the Mac vs PC debate rages on and on.
Is the printed word safe for the foreseeable future? Hell yeah! Reading from a paper is more enjoyable than from a computer monitor. And the online experience hasn't evolved to the point that printed media, particularly magazines, have. Also, a magazine is crafted to complete the experience, from the feel of the paper and the colours to the "page furniture" that most readers aren't consciously aware of. The printed word is still perceived as more trustworthy.
How has the net opened up the music-making process? The opportunity to widen your horizons is certainly there. With things like Rocket Network you can create music with people you've never met. You can put together an entire software set-up from downloaded freeware and shareware, download free samples, then upload tunes on to sites such as MP3.com for the world to hear. Whether anyone will listen is a different matter!
What software would you recommend to create music on a computer? For putting together pro-sounding original tunes, the package that blew us away last year was Propellerhead's Reason. It's a self-contained software studio for £300. One favourite bit of software this week is Antares Auto-Tune ( www.antares-systems.com/products/auto-tune.html, the most abused bit of kit in history!
Any favourite websites? For music technology I like www.futuremusic.co.uk and www.samplenet.co.uk, and I check www.nme.com every day for music gossip. www.intellicast.com helps keep my obsession with world temperatures under control.
Visit: www.computermusic.co.uk
