15. Return of the Tekmann

You are listening to the Ericade Radio Network. Good evening and welcome to another hour of Amiga Retro music. And it's time for Amiga Flashback with your host Demon. Nothing says retro can't be done with flair and showmanship. Just think donning a superhero costume, complete with a blinking faceplate, and then dancing to the rhythm of two Gameboys while giving the audience a wickedDJ performance. On today's episode we meet retro artist and DJ Techman who keeps the retro music spirit alive. Let's get started with his latest tune that was released a month ago Enigma, some serious Gameboy goodness.speaker-0

As retro computing and gaming is making its comeback, so are the tunes from just a year. From C64 analog synth greatness, Atari tuning it up, and of course Amiga modules, the staple of this station, they're all great. But it's not just old stuff we heard before, there are many great artists out there who create new music on old systems or remix old tunes with new equipment. From Sweden comes Techman.who is one of those artists creating new tunes with old hardware, in this case Gameboys, and has recently released his latest album called Enigma. The Arcade radio network and Amiga flashback extends a warm welcome to you, and how are things in those Corona-laden days?Hello, hello. Well, things are quite okay. I live in Gotland out of Sweden, an island in the Baltic Sea. And things are a bit slow on the live scene, I would say.Yeah, we see that a lot. Many online things. the good thing is you can go there even if you couldn't otherwise. So not all is lost.No, definitely. And I've done a couple of gigs. And those have been great. And it's a new experience to listen to your own music and see your own show from a viewer's perspective. sometimes you like pre-record it or you do it live. And then you can just watch and see the chat.speaker-1

basically hear what people say during the show. And that's a really cool experience actually. So that's new for me.Yeah, I can guess. So you didn't have that much experience in the old days when it came to the democene, I guess.No, back in the 90s, actually I started up with mod music in the early 90s. But then I moved on to like synth music and using new synthesizer equipment for quite a while and worked with software. Then I found my way back to chiptune later on.Mmm.I guess. So, what's really your story with retro computers? Have you owned like Amiga's, Atari's, C64's, what have you?speaker-1

Actually, the C64 was my first computer. I really wanted like a Nintendo. had a Game Boy already and I wanted a Nintendo or an Amiga. But my father was kind of cheap, you know, so he gave me a C64 with a floppy and final cartridge and joysticks. So I used...that system and I had loads of old games and a really thick basic book. I know, we know. So my start.YeahYeah, same here actually. My first computer was a C64 and I read that thick basic book. was something released by this company called No Batteries Includer or something. It was custom.Yeah, like a tutorial how you make a moving like framed balloon or something like that if I remember correctly.speaker-0

Yeah, alright. Those were the days. Those were the days. Right, okay. So, how did you get the idea to start composing on a Game Boy? And why?Yeah, it was quite a long trip actually. As I said, after I started up with music using mod software, I used synthesizers, then I studied sound engineering, I started working with the software professionally for quite a long time, both composing and DJ software. So II was really into software and it was a lot to do on the work side. But that also drained some of my energy. When I came home I didn't want to start up the computer and it also started to get annoying with all the updates and the system was always evolving and there was something not working. I felt the urge to go offline.and use the closed system and not work with indefinitely possibilities, different effects and channels. I wanted to really close the setup and find the creativity within the borders of that system. So that was when I found my way to chip music.and I've been listening to, know, I had the mod players, you know, at work annoying my colleagues. But then I, my first love was the Game Boy. That was my first system that I received. And I found out that people were, you know, using the Game Boy composing and it you know, it was handheld and intuitive. So I just, you know, started hacking.speaker-1

the Game Boy and getting the software and started from there.It's more fun for you to use the Game Boy to make the music than play the games, I guess.Yes, nowadays. Of course, it's really fun to take out the old games like Tetris and Super Mario Land and all those games. I wouldn't say that I play for a long time. It's like, take it up for like 15 minutes or so. But I have quite a few Gameboys. I think I have like 12-ish.Collector done.Yeah, yeah. And I've also held composing workshops. every participant can get their own Game Boy and use the hardware because that's where the real feel and the love happens. You know this. You need to have the hardware as well. can't use simulated Amiga. You need to havespeaker-0

YouThe proper hardware as well.Yeah, actually, in a way you do, because emulators cannot guarantee to sound right. Also, it doesn't really feel the same way, does it now?No, it's definitely symbiosis between the hardware and the software and you really need to have both to get the magic going.Yeah, I guess so. So about your creative process if I may say so I mean how do you come up with and how do you make the tunes?speaker-1

Yeah, when I compose using Gameboys, I compose everything on the Gameboy system. I only use the cross and BA, select start. That's my world when composing. And I use LSDJ. It's a tracker, four channel tracker software made for Gameboy by a Swede.And that's it's really intuitive and kind of loop based and you chain the loops together to an entire song. So I usually start with like a rhythm or a like a bass line, a loop and build it from there.Do you know how long the songs are gonna be or you just put up loop after loop after loop and oops it's a half an hour nowNo, no never and it usually what usually happens is I'm like in the process of making one song and then I I come up with this loop That's really good, but it doesn't fit the song that I'm making So then I like I save down that to a new track and like erase all the old stuff and only keep That new loop that I really like and build up a new song around thatBut of course you start from scratch as well, many times. actually I program the songs from bottom and up. I rarely take up my keyboard and play and come up with a melody beforehand. I start with the programming.speaker-0

Okay, so it's a programming challenge more than a musical one,Yeah, of course, I mean, they go hand in hand, of course. But I found find that I often come up with more interesting melodies and especially from a more technical aspect, know, programming wise, you can do more, you know, with silencing or chopping up or setting envelopes and all that at the same time as you come up with the like melody.instead of just doing a really nice melody on the keyboard.Mm-hmm. I went to your your Facebook site and I immediately recognized your outfit from various demo parties most recently it was Displayed on the syntax error Halloween here in Sweden. So let me ask you What's up with this dead mouse style persona or is it some kind of superhero?Well, you're on to something there. Actually, I didn't have a plan that Tecman would be a full on stage experience with cyborg robot lasers and LEDs and screens scrolling on the suit and all that. That wasn't the plan. The plan was from the beginning just music.speaker-1

Then when I started making ShipTune, I immediately recognized that this is not only composing, this is hacking. Hacking software in some extent and also hacking the hardware because the old gaming systems, they're not made for music quality. So you need to help them.like extract the audio signal from before these noisy components, take them out straight from the chip many times and maybe filter it with some new equipment. I mean, they're not made for music. And that's where like the physical mechanical hackinghappened and that became a big part of my hobby actually.I think it's marvelous really. It's a great video. I hope we can put some kind of link to it if I can find it somewhere.where and well and this evolved into you know when I started started hacking the the hardware and then I Felt like hey, I think I I can do something more and When I started getting this invitations for gigs I felt like I I I need to to evolve this I need to make it more interesting becausespeaker-1

because as I said, I've worked in the music industry, music technology industry, and I've seen many live shows and worked with many DJs, for example. So I felt that if I'm gonna do shows, I wanna do it all out. And I wanna do it my way. So I found this connection with gaming.and in games they're superheroes. So I felt that Tech Man should become a superhero. And I started building a suit and made him like a stage persona.It's a great plan, Leroy. I must ask you, what do you work with, well, in your civil life, so to speak?Yeah, I'm a business developer for a couple of websites actually nowadays, but I started out working as a product manager for different audio related brands in the Nordic region. Brands like Native Instruments, Ableton Live,Stuff like that. The DD stuff, music creation stuff, basically.speaker-0

okay. You're not thinking about joining some demo group, or...I had some connections back in the days. I'm from Fåland in Dalarna, Back in the days, we had our own gang. But I was never really active. That never happened. When I started doing chiptune,Okay.speaker-1

I've already moved away a couple of times and ended up in Visby. So I didn't have my old friends anymore. And as life goes, being a father for two sons, you don't have that all extra time. actually it seems me quite...good to be a lone ranger in making music on my own terms when I have the time.Yeah, that is a plan. You call your music 8-bit cyborg music pure ship music. I think you a little bit explain that, but care to elaborate a bit?Yes, well it's really about, for me it's really fun to make pure ship music so I compose everything. start on the hardware on the Gameboy and I make it, I produce it in there and then I just line it out to recording equipment and record it. don't...you know, extract the different channels and mix it in the computer, put in reverb and stuff like that. it's straight out of the ship basically. Yeah, yeah. So that's what the pure thing is about.speaker-0

Nah, that's the pure-speaker-0

That is indeed coolYeah, and I don't I I listen to everything I listen I love I Love not raw music as well, but for me, it's it's really about pushing the the limits of the of the hardware so that becomes a challenge, know programming delays and Trying to push the everything you can out of that small4 MHz CPU I think the old DMG has or has it tooI'm not sure man, I can't say. The C64 had 1 MHz. But it seems reasonable, mean back then that's what we had.Yeah.speaker-0

Okay, so is this just a hobby or do you ever earn anything from it?Well, I occasionally earn something. Well, I mean, in this scene, it's not about money and you have love what you do and you're a nerd basically, playing for other nerds. And that's really, really lovely. But the scene is quite small in Sweden and the scene is quite small everywhere. Butit's existing so I've been traveling around to the UK, to Germany, to Denmark, different sites playing and performing and it's always nice not to know...ending up on the minor side, you know, with travel expenses and all that. I've been blessed actually to have had that covered with living and the traveling expenses. usually that's what it's enough for. But sometimes like when you do workshops together with Tekniska museet, the Royal TechnicalYeah, I'm see him againspeaker-1

Yeah, something like that. And I have like several workshops and shows and that kind of thing. Then you can get a bit better paid but on the other hand that's more like work also.Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Okay, so I must ask also, how can you get a hold of your music? You're gonna hear it here on this podcast, but if you want to listen to it yourself.Yeah, well, actually it's available on most major streaming services. So just hit up Tech Man, and that's spelled T-E-A-K-M-A-N-N.It isn't either.Tec-man, yeah. T-E-K-M-A.speaker-0

Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay. I'm gonna type it down. It's gonna be in the notes for this podcast.I spelled it out like on the screen here before calling you up.speaker-1

Yeah, I've also have it available on Bandcamp and there you can actually like buy physical CDs, can buy t-shirts and stuff like that if you're interested in that or want to download it as an mp3 or OVav format. and that's always nice to have like a physical copy. I like that.We are that generation in a way, aren't we? Hey, when do we get the vinyl?yeah, I haven't really come to that yet, but I've had some proposals actually. Yeah, yeah, it's a lovely format. I only have an old, you call it like stone cake player inI told you.speaker-0

I know shellac records, but I know it yeah. Yeah, stay in talkThat's what it's called. But I'm sorry to say that I don't have a vinyl player at home right now. I've had it a couple of times. But I have a couple of records anyways.That's so cool. I mean I have normal vinyl but shellac that is something really be careful dropping them because they are not very durable Talking about albums enigma then came out in December last year. What can you tell me about album? Is it just a collection of new tunes or some kind of concept going on?No.speaker-1

Actually I was kind of inspired by you know epic like interstellar sound. If you've seen you know the latest Tron movie with that really those epic tunes from Daft PunkOkay, I have to do many years since I sold out.Yeah, yeah, I don't know when it was released if it was like 10 years or 7 years I'm so old now almost 40 soCome on, I'm 4 to 6.Yeah, years just slip by. Anyways, was like that more epic sci-fi sound that I was inspired by at the time. So I made the Enigma track and I made the final frontier.speaker-0

Yeah, they do.speaker-1

track and the trip track. And they're all named in sci-fi names or game names, game-ish names.So it's a bit of a concept album then.Yeah, it's more of a concept album and then I had this really nice ASCII. I made this nice ASCII artwork for it that I'm really, really happy with. So I felt like I got everything together quite nicely actually.Yeah, great. So Enigma then, from TechMan, out now. Band, was it? Bandstand or bandcamp, right? Yeah.If you want to buy it, Bandcamp, stream away on all major streaming services.speaker-0

or listen to it here because we're have some tunes here. So could you say is your music just for retro folks or do you think it can appeal to people that never heard this kind of music before?Yeah, I don't have like a target group in mind when I make it. I just make it what I think sounds nice for the moment. And it's quite like inspired by new songs and old songs as well. Maybe not so inspired by other chiptuneartists, I would say, maybe more on the technical side. If you hear someone doing something technical, then you're like, hey, how did he make that?Yeah, a little bit of Demo Spirit.I always think live when I make my songs it has to be fun to watch live and I want it to be quite lively here. You should be able to dance to it. I like dancing. I like dancing to live music so that's what I'm trying to do.speaker-0

Yeah, all right any cool diva part is coming up here where we can hear your work. We'll see you you dancing around I guessThe latest I am I Performed at Edison party Her latest and on a other party. That's not a demo party, but like an electronic music show down in Italy But no, I have nothing nothing quite now actually So we I think we have toto a bit more for the corona bubble to burst so we can come out physically. I love playing live and I love visiting other countries and hanging with the guys and the girls.I can understand that well, we're hopefully gonna get out of this place So to speak in half a year one can hope one can yeah So it's time to lead you out with one last question. What's in the future for tech man?Well, now I just released a new EP, so I think I'm gonna start working on another one. And I think the EP format is a good format for me. Make a couple of sounds and release them. Don't wait too long to make an entire album because no one is quite... You don't need that in the same way anymore.speaker-1

Anyways, it's better for me that's not like I don't produce that many tracks a year. So releasing an EP is really, really nice format for me. But I don't know what route I'm going to take if it's like more hard hitting, throbbing beats, or if it's going to be like nicer melodies or what I'm going to do. Let's see.what comes out.Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hope you get good sales and more fans and stuff because this is great. I really thank you for visiting the Amiga Flashback podcast. This has been DJ Demon and yeah, as you know, Tech Man here. So again, thank you very much and good luck in the future.Thank you. Thank you. Great.speaker-0

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Tech Man's Final Frontier, also from the new album, or should I say EP Enigma, is now available on most streaming services or Bandcamp for a direct purchase, as are the other 10 albums he previously made. Listening to his music, well, it makes me see that the C64 wasn't the only show for making great chiptunes.You might also remember me talking about how good they can be even on limited sound hardware like on an Atari. And the Amiga, it was a great chiptune platform as well. We're going on with the third tune from Enigma. It's called The Trip.speaker-0

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Tech Man's Enigma Unraveled. Now we know all about Tech Man and also about his music. We have to go back a little bit in time to continue this journey. Laser Cyborg Machine is a previous Extended Play album and from that we get Laser Destroyer.speaker-0

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It's time for the last album from Tech Man. It's called 8-bit glitch fiend. Now try to say that five times fast. I dare you. And I really wanted to play Monkey Island Tribute because that is a great one about, well, copyright laws and stuff. And instead we're gonna have to go with The Hunt, but it kinda bears a...quite striking resemblance to the Monkey Island tribute.speaker-0

if you have seen the new logo type for Amiga Flashback. It's very good looking. It's a friend of mine, an old time friend of mine, Mattias Jaderskjöld who created that and it looks gorgeous really. So you can take a look at it and remember that Amiga Flashback will be on the air if that's something you call it still every Saturday at 9 p.m. here inSweden Central European time or as a podcast if you can't wait or if you can't listen at the time So don't miss out We're going on with the jump on still tech man, of coursespeaker-0

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This should be quite a good little introduction into the world of ship tunes. As you know, it is not just C64s, Ataris and Amigas and I don't know, Spectrums and stuff that can do those. Two connected Gameboys can obviously do the magic themselves.We have heard Tech Man talking about his work with those tunes and leading you out into this great night is, well, the last thing we're gonna play from him, Parallelo Lane. Remember that Amiga Flashback is available as a podcast wherever you find podcasts and of course it's also available on the radio station, the Arikade Radio Network.You just have to wait until Saturdays at 9pm. This is Daemon, signing off.