The -RetRo- Music

In recognition of my releasing tracked music for 10 years or so now, and in realizing that "the times, they are a'changin'!" (and not overlooking the network/storage/speed improvements over the decade, either..) I created this special sub-section for my older tunes -- FINALLY available to the world in MP3 format! So you can either jump right on down to see the tunes or continue reading a moment for an explanation/history Christo-mercial on the 'why' of it all.. :)

There's a method to the madness, folks. The rationale behind formats is pretty simple: back in 2002 I didn't have a web site, but wanted to share the music I had begun to create. On the Mod Archive, you couldn't post MP3 files because an MP3 could be anything; meaning, not tracked (or, otherwise known as a 'module' back from the Amiga days). Additionally, there was a 5MB-per-file size limitation in place at that time. So, my tracks were released in tracked format so that people could open them up inside tracking software and have access to all of the sound samples AND be able to see how I had written the tune.

To make matters more interesting, back then I used smaller (less quality) samples in my music (mainly because I was a poor college kid who couldn't afford paying for high-quality ones, but also because they were MUCH smaller than the multi-sampled instruments I now use). So, one could release a track/module which itself would be significantly smaller than the same audio in MP3 format -- and at the same time, help others out by providing samples and technique.

Now we shift to the modern-day scenario, where I'm focused on realistic instrumentation and sound samples -- which can be HUGE in comparison. No site in it's right mind would host several tracks/modules if they were each 300MB in size! Take my latest (at the time this section was written..) release, 'Focus' for example: It was about 300MB in size, but the MP3 file is less than 10MB. So while now, my releases won't be able to show others how I did something or provide samples, they'll be able to be played by anybody out there. On the samples, though; don't worry, I'll be opening a section of the site specifically for FREE SAMPLES and high-quality sounds and instruments I've made and used in my own songs. :)

Of course, part of the reason I'm opening THIS page is because there's a good number of people out there who might actually WANT to hear my old tunes, but don't want to mess with configuring a third-party and somewhat-propriatery module player just to take a listen. At the same time, no longer would I need worry about the users' settings in said player -- with MP3 files, they'd sound the same no matter the player software users use. Each different module player on the contrary could actually play the same track/module differently... hence on the main music page, the talk about specific settings in ModPlug player (for those who want to see inside the music). :) If you decide you want to delve into the tracking data, just go back to the main music page via the menu to your right and grab the .IT version from there!

AND LASTLY, this section also features 'behind the scenes' information on the tunes which otherwise would not be available to you. Things like stories or background information on a themed tune, or just fun facts -- or maybe even 'random' things most people probably never knew about the songs and/or how they took shape! Please enjoy. :)

• Files marked with are Funky Brains releases.
• Files marked with are releases from the Modula Series.
• Files marked with are releases from the ThunderHawk Series.