SYS:mods/4M_Scene Better Days.crm
SYS:mods/BZ_BBS Intro.crm
SYS:mods/DX_Sonic Evolution.crm
SYS:mods/SL_Fun Tune.crm
SYS:mods/PK_Global Confusion.crm
SYS:mods/ST_Weed.crm
SYS:mods/BU_Spring Yard.crm
SYS:mods/CX_Wild-Eyed.crm
SYS:mods/JG_Twilight Warp.crm
SYS:mods/LK_Song without Name.crm
SYS:mods/FF_Vector.crm
SYS:mods/NK_Hazey Waves.crm
SYS:mods/FB_Funkey2.crm
SYS:mods/PC_Samenschleuder.crm
SYS:mods/FA_Glittering Caves.crm
SYS:mods/VG_Rigid Obstacles.crm
SYS:mods/OS_Highway.crm
SYS:mods/HO_Lazzer.crm
SYS:mods/JO_Dozey.crm
SYS:mods/MZ_40K Intro.crm



 artstate are back with our first release of 2023, %the beautiful machine% volume 1.  a music disk celebrating the paula chip and its many talented composers that have graced the amiga, 20 of which are featured on this very disk.  credits go to motion for code and graphics.  the a1000 scene is based on the high definition render by thomas koch aka pixelwizard, only now in glorious 32 colour, low resolution!  music by various artists and text by motion and judge drokk.  the controls are: cursor keys up/down to select track and return to load your selection.  before i hand you over to judge drokk, i'd like to send a few new year greetings to: 4play/resistance, adkd/artstate (surprise!), amiga bill, andy/arkanix labs, andy/hewco, asle, bifat/the electronic knights, ctrix, depeche/spreadpoint, elkmoose, grip/istari, hoffman/logicoma, intric8/amigalove, phantasm, pink/abyss, rhayader computers, scourger/talent, sidwave, synesthesia/defekt, galahad and stingray of scoopex.  that's all from me, so over to judge drokk and his nice long text.....  thanks, motion. as i began to write these words, i learned of the sad death of roger kean, a name that is familiar to readers of ground breaking british computer games magazines zzap!64, crash (for the sinclair zx spectrum) and others. magazines he edited and publshed from 1984 until the early 1990's. his partner was oliver frey, a famed illustrative and comic-book artist who worked with roger and painted more than 200 covers and interior illustrations for the magazines they published. upon hearing the news, i immediately opened a folder of photos that roger had sent to me, while i was making an interview with oliver and himself in 2018. at the time he was rather busy with the work on the first crash annual (30 years after the original magazine had ceased) and oli had just signed to do some artwork for a netflix 'interactive-drama' (black mirror: bandersnatch), but was under nda, so could not disclose what the project was at the time. they still found the time to make the interview. they put so much thought, time and detail into their words, which in print would take over an hour to read aloud. it was wonderful. i made the interview into a video in which several friends took on vocal duties for the interviewees, steve williamson (a man from the midlands with a strong accent to match) at the time, was a manager of videogame chain 'game', voiced oli frey and i read roger's words. twitter friend and sinclair enthusiast, zx wife, narrated the questions. several guests contributed video monologues, including software industry names and broadcasters such as artists, simon butler and paul docherty, tv personality and author, iain lee, football manager author, kevin toms, steve turner of graftgold and andrew hewson of hewson consultants. after watching the completed video, roger complimented the production and said he found it, %moving%. explaining that oliver had said... %..but..i don't sound swiss%. %you haven't sounded swiss since the 1970's!%, replied roger. my job was done, the interview was intended to provoke long buried memories of bygone eras and over a period of 8 to 10 months, they conveyed them to me in detail, during the course of the interview. using photos that roger and oliver supplied that replayed days gone by, from school and college, career highlights and lowlights, right through to semi retirement in the early 2000's. oliver sadly passed away in late 2022 after a short illness. i'd never met them in person. as a 14 year old kid, he was the guy that edited and published my favourite games magazine for the commodore 64. a little over 30 years later, roger was editing a memoir of my own, 'anarchy and the demo-scene' for the book, 'the commodore amiga in pixels' (check out the amazing promotional video by motion of artstate) published by fusion books, under the helm of chris wilkins, a writer and book publisher who, inspired by roger and oli, was poised to continue the legacy of their gaming magazines of the 1980's, firstly with annuals (a4 hardback books published around christmas time) and then once again with regular magazines - reborn versions of the original zzap!, crash and amtix magazines covering the contemporary scene for the 80's most popular home computers. as a person with a history in the amiga demoscene, through my own team, 'anarchy' and having written previously, it was a thrill to be asked to 'make something' for an upcoming new version of amiga zzap! for me, the amiga is all about the memories of a chaotic period between the autumn of 1988 and the spring of 1993. a period that solidified my perception of what the 'scene' was truly about, from 'ducking and diving', to team-building and being constantly entertained by the forward thinking demo-scene that brought something new (usually through the letterbox), each and every day. these memories have become the foundation of two series in the new zzap! amiga magazine, demoscene legends and amiga party culture. the former gathers friends old and new, as we sit and recall the classic or most remembered demo releases from the golden period of amiga. the time when it seemed as though everyone had the machine and no one was ready to leave. amiga was life. you don't have to be a 'scener' to have remembered what it was like to be there. heck, some weren't even born yet, but learned of the scene and its amazing releases through the collections of an older brother. sharing the joy and the memories, is what 'demoscene legends' is all about. whether you're a demoscene coder with decades of scene history, knowledge and experience, such as motion of artstate, or a gobsmacked outsider, it matters little. personal experience is everything. which brings me right up to date, and how fitting that i find myself writing scroll text in a demo scene release filled with memories of the musical kind, and how good to hear works from two old team-mates, 4-mat and nuke. i remember vividly the day i received some tunes from nuke (martin iveson) and his friend and comrade, cosmos, who were both interested in joining anarchy in 1990. i was a little hesitant at first. there was certainly something different about his style and this no doubt won him a place in the membership. nuke flourished very quickly in the team, formed alliances with dan and facet, and went on to work as sole in-house musician at core design, working on amiga and console soundtracks. 4-mat (matt simmonds) joined anarchy from a rival uk team (slipstream), formed a partnership with kreator (phantasmagoria/brian the lion) and very quickly rose to the number one spot in the crusaders eurochart. a pioneer in tracked chip music on amiga and still very much active today. i spoke to matt in the last couple of months and he will hopefully be contributing to something i have been working on soon. nuke and i haven't spoken for 30 years since the break-up of anarchy in the spring of 1993. as i prepare to begin writing the next episode of 'demoscene legends', i contemplate a future episode looking back on how thrilled i was to be writing scroll-text for this very release. ahh 2023, great memories!  motion back at the keyboard. thanks for that great text, Judge Drokk! i hope you've enjoyed this release and i hope to see you all in a forthcoming artstate release. i sincerely hope that 2023 is a productive and happy year for you! it's a wrap..... see you in volume 2.