>> media // early experiments with mod and s3m

The S3M and MOD formats were file format extensions called tracker modules. The information contained in these tracker modules were spreadsheets of sequenced instructions triggering embedded audio samples. Unlike MIDI, S3M and MOD were self-contained and thus playback essentially sounded the same from system to system.

I ended up composing about ten of these little nuggets in total over the course of my demoscene career with a group I founded in my early teens called Sonic Equinox. I have only been able to find four online, of which two are different versions of the same "tune." While they are probably doomed to obscurity, lost in the ether, or otherwise irretrievable on some 5.25 inch floppy disk locked in a storage somewhere, and, being the nostalgic person that I am, here they are ... in their full, unadulterated, eight-bit glory.

I am almost embarrassed to post these, but since they're already available online elsewhere I will make them available here. Imagine a fourteen year old, pimple-faced, video game playing, Eighties synth band listening, BBS-modeming demoscene computer nerd experimenting with music composition. Around this time, I also began to wane from my classical piano studies and I joined the school band playing bass guitar. All of these influences were brought to bear in the way these "tunes" were composed.

Techno-Sadness



Funky Fusion and Jazz



Pacifists and Patriots 1



Pacifists and Patriots 2



Downfall of Snow



Also, they were released under the pseudonyms Dark Avenger, Eternal Soldier, Indigo Dreamer, and Illusionary Enigma. So, before you do ... don't ask. Yes, Chris Trinidad went through that kind of a phase. This ain't Mozart or Beethoven, folks, so listener beware!

The original MOD and S3M files had repeated instructions to loop. The converted WAV files disregard the looping instructions and end abruptly.