A while ago I had mentioned in this same blog that I wanted to make a selection of some of my tracked music made with Fast Tracker 2 on 1997, and produce modern versions of each song.
The idea is to take all original tracks and then rearrange, remix and remaster them. But with an added challenge: I can only work with the source material. No new content may be recorded under any circumstances. I'll just be allowed to remove or edit what doesn't work and find a way to polish those sounds into the best I can.
In the present, trackers have become complex editors that provide the possibility to use software synthesizers and a broad range of effect processors, with all the flexibility that this implies. But back in 1997, a tracker was just an extremely basic sampler that could just play 16-bit, CD quality samples. And that was about it. There were no equalizers, no filters, no compressors, nothing. Getting a well balanced mix was an absolutely artisanal task, and it was very, very difficult to create "professional" sounding results. There were a few tricks to simulate things like filter sweeps, but they were very limited.
However, it allowed you to compose music at home, using a below average computer and nothing more than that.
For these reasons, the new album will be called "No Synths!".
I am currently finishing production of the eighth and last track. Once I complete that, I intend to make an extra polish pass on each mix. And finally, I will master all tracks and publish them gradually until the album is fully released.
I now present you the original versions as they were published back in 1997, so that you can appreciate what the starting point was for each of them:
Believe me when I tell you: they have changed a lot. Especially regarding length. For the love of God, why were my tracks SO long back then?