Echo / Spoon Wizard | Retro Tea Break - The Amiga Demo Scene

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks for watching, don't forget to check out fusiongamemag.com - If you'd like to enjoy these episodes as an audio podcast then search for "Retro Tea Break" on all good Podcast apps or use the links here to follow the show: audioboom.com/channels/5001251 - Thanks for listening Neil - RMC

[@MinhasA]

can you include a link to Echo's website?

[@RMCRetro]

Links to his website and more are in the video description

[@RollerMatt]

Great interview! Glad you guys finally found each other. :) I hope this brings a new audience to Jesus on E's after all these years.

[@djalmada]

Could we see the interview with the fake Echo uploaded again? I know it probably goes against your principles as a professional but maybe with a blurred face and distorted voice.... damn I'm still curious at what that twat said when questioned about the old days scene of computer music. Thanks in advance :)

[@RollerMatt]

By the way, if anyone wants to check out the Total Kaos demo Graham refers to that he, Shagratt, and myself worked on, you can find it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIK7oZmae7Bqd9U

[@jantestowy123]

The one down vote, we know who you are! ;)

[@iconoclasttastic9258]

hahahaha

[@dazkenney6154]

Who was it? Pazza??

[@ambroselwatson]

"Yep, it's definitely the right Echo" is exactly the sort of thing a fake Echo would say.

[@defense200x]

haha no u

[@tspcrowther]

I'm the real Echo

[@TommyAgramonSeth]

I am HowToBasic

[@elphive42]

I *am* the fake you

[@kandigloss6438]

I feel like this is an inappropriate thing to joke about at this point, but that's just me I guess.

[@andy70d35]

Thank you, Echo / spoon wizard brings back so many memories from back then

[@moggy1972]

Jesus on e's is something i still tell and show people today. I can remember how blown away i was when i first got the demo disk. I emailed Graham a few years ago thanking him for the memory's and asking if i could use some of his old music on a game i was creating, but i sadly never got round to finishing it. What a legend he is

[@bazza5699]

What's fascinating is remembering the names flashing up on these demos and thinking these people were mythical programming pioneers living in america somewhere.. it's so funny to think they were actually just kids in grantham and gainsborough

[@Fularu]

The demoscene wasn't a thing in the US. It was mostly a UK, France, Germany and Sweden thing at the time

[@tspcrowther]

It's surprising how many producers of rave tunes in general at the time were practically kids in their bed room. Most of the Suburban base records crew had barely left school

[@sneekeruk]

If you ever look through grapevine magazine on the amiga, the editors address was in it in gainsborough

[@Jamal_Tyrone]

i thought demo sceners were mostly german with all those german flag colours flying everywhere.

[@digiowl9599]

And European gaming companies were often hiring directly from the demo scene. One Norwegian guy, Bjørn Lynne, got hired by Team 17 thanks to his demo music.

[@Mind-your-own-beeswax]

These guys were mythical beings back then. I’ve said it before on another video but I should dig out my 3000 plus discs and my Amiga for a listen to the old demos

[@paulfisher6713]

Yes this is definitely the right Echo, friend of mine from the good old days. Still remember him making "channel zero" in our common friends attic (Jon). I think Matt Bland may have been there also.

[@spoonwzd]

Hey Paul :D

[@mattbland2380]

I was! Chadder's attic with all our computers hook up, coding away :)

[@TigCM]

Damn this takes me back, I still remember Shagrat's flat in Gainsborough! I was so gangster, being driven over there by my Grandmother :)

[@RetroSegaDev]

Great interview! And fantastic to listen to the real Echo / Spoon Wizard!

[@stevedommett8500]

It was good to see Spoon Wizard at Sundown a few years ago. The party held in Budleigh Salterton town hall each year is now called Nova Demoparty.

[@mattbland2380]

I can confirm that this is definitely the correct Echo, we knew each other as kids. I still have a mix tape of his early work and his CD. He’s a top bloke and musician 👍

[@spoonwzd]

Hey Matt, thanks mate ;)

[@paulfisher6713]

Yup definitely the right one!

[@InfiniteFrontiers]

I was going to say that it's definitely him too - used to swap Amiga demos with him pretty much every week although we only ever got the chance to meet up once at the Anarchy party in April '92. (Simon)

[@davidsmall6322]

Echo was a total hero of mine. And impostor video had me completely fooled. Pretty much any new system I buy (stereo/computer) gets an LSD Production run before it gets passed. Thanks for this follow up video! Thank you Graham. Thanks RMC.

[@doctorcrankyflaps1724]

Thanks for this interview. I loved the Amiga demo scene : )

[@iconoclasttastic9258]

Amazing insights into my youth, I was entranced by these demos at the time and loved protracker / dpaint so much I became a designer in later life drawing on those skills I'd built up in my early teens. Never thought I'd see these peoples faces. Excellent stuff. THANKYOU

[@lactobacillusprime]

Very cool interview. Thanks to you both for sharing this!

[@MrYazbo]

Great to see him do a shout out about the Digital Symposium party that we ran back in the early 90s. Graham (Echo) came over to mine for a weekend or two back in the day and we a good laugh. Good times :) Dextrous/Yaz - Magnetic Fields/Digital/SAE...

[@osgrov]

Glad we got to hear from the real Echo! :) Love the Tea Breaks, please keep them up.

[@karlreading3201]

Fantastic video, well worth the wait for the legit version. Very humble guy, clearly a little perplexed at the impact he had on the scene and many peoples younger years. Thank you neil for smashing out the great content (as a ST fanboy, i can almost forgive you for your dark side tendencies!!)

[@stanneh1978]

Never heard of him but the backstory not only made for an epic tale it also proves this guy is clearly a legend people don't go around imitating people for nothing.

[@Dev_olution]

Great interview and thanks for the links, time to relive the demo days :)

[@dunderdotten]

Wow! Great vid :D So awsome to see Echo beeing such a humble guy Thank you for this TB ^^

[@antony1974]

Absolutely loved this interview.

[@off1k]

LOL I remember a KZbin channel quite some years ago (maybe 6 or 7 years) of someone demoing their own rave music, I had a listen to some of the tunes and instantly had a problem with some of them as I recognised them as old Amiga mods. My channel is all about Amiga mods, I've listened to thousands :) The mods I recognised were Satan on Speed 1 2 and 3 that were done by **drumroll** Echo, the problem was that these tunes were renamed to something different and the channel seem to have to nothing to do with Amiga or the demoscene or LSD. The funny thing was I had only found Echos KZbin channel (spoonwzd) a few days earlier so I contacted Echo to let him know of this "Lamer" that was plagiarising his material. Sure enough Echo typed a message on the video and sure enough the channel was removed the next day :) For anyone that may be interested, I uploaded the Jesus on E's mods in tracker format --> kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4e0lHihZ56Ug6s

[@spoonwzd]

Ah, so it wasn't Mr X it was the hoffmeister! Well remembered sir :)

[@frankowalker4662]

Great interview. I'm not a rave fan, but I just checked out Jesus on E's, and it's a technical marvel, Esp on a 500. Stunning visuals and great sample quality. Awesome.

[@Steeps1969]

Gainsborough home... wow I lived there when I got into the Amiga scene! Small world!

[@Zenas521]

Being an American I am not familiar with Echo / Spoon Wizard, but I did enjoy the interview. During the 80s and early 90s I had a Macintosh hand-me-down from my dad's business. No one I knew used a Macintosh when I was using a Macintosh. Those where lonely days of computing for me. I will search for Echo / Spoon Wizard music now, just to hear what it is all about.

[@10minGameplay1]

Rave music have not aged very well but these old demos are still super impressive!!

[@deludedrich]

I like this echo much more than the last one 🤣 Had a similar history, started with the ST connected to my Yamaha keyboard, then saw an Amiga and swapped over. Did a few little demos but nothing like the mighty JoEs.

[@judewestburner]

He's not the real Echo, I'm the real Echo and so is my wife

[@HPPalmtopTube]

How dare you say that... Everyone knows I am the real echo!!!! ;)

[@Jamal_Tyrone]

@@HPPalmtopTube you're not the real echo , you're a very naughty boy!

[@ShishakliAus]

I'm the real echo

[@ratspike8017]

@@ShishakliAus Hmmm. You all seem to be echoing each other...

[@dazkenney6154]

I'm Spartacus!!! Erm....

[@Dkentflyer]

I remember Quartet on the ST, great piece of software

[@aminekostone1411]

Wow Neil - his latest music is AWESOME!! That's some talent.

[@GoWstingray]

Gees I played Jesus on E’s a lot on my Amiga, which I still have with all my disks, Graham you helped shaped my life, thank you.

[@spoonwzd]

Wow, thanks man!

[@AmirKhan-qx2lr]

@@spoonwzd You have no idea how many peoples lives you influenced, myself included. Thank you, genuinely thank you.

[@inpurgatory]

Nice to see the 'right' Echo lol :D I still use trackers to this day, though I've moved on to Renoise on a PC and using VSTi's nowadays lol...This video brings heaps of nostalgia :D

[@TheHeyess]

Jesus on e's, never forgotten!

[@rhythmrealmclubmixes3957]

I believe you changed lives with Jesus on e's mate, blew the minds of me & my friends back in the early 90's, SO grateful!

[@dazkenney6154]

Enjoyable interview and well timed after all the recent shenanigans. 👍

[@dazkenney6154]

It's all about the contrast.

[@spoonwzd]

I do love a bit of contrast @@dazkenney6154 - i think I mentioned it ;)​

[@dazkenney6154]

@@spoonwzd It would be a boring world without it mate. 👍

[@RiotRetroGaming]

Yaaay! The right guy. Nice one Neil. Watching now 🤩 When I was making music I used Megamix Master to rip the samples and OctaMED v5.02 I think it was and ProTracker v3.1b

[@RDJ134]

Loved this interview, as you can see the bad thing lead to somthing realy good :)

[@DaveWhiteside]

Thank you , Mr Awesome... you made me what I cam - [not sure if that is a good thing now] but carry on dude

[@jw31209]

Very interesting watch, thanks. Like many others Jesus On Es was hugely important to me. Before that I had no interest in rave music and Jesus On Es was the first thing that opened my eyes to that scene. It changed my taste in music instantly and I've not looked back since! Massive respect to Echo & LSD.

[@TheRetroByte]

Absolutely brilliant tea break. Well done 😀👍🎶

[@johnmarshall8395]

Wait, that's not the real Neil! Kidding of course, great interview RMC!

[@happyspaceinvader508]

The Atari ST was the natural choice for musicians, given the built-in MIDI ports, and Steinberg Pro 12 / Cubase. When I was doing a Music Technology HND at college, we had six Atari STs and one Amiga running Music X. Despite Music X appearing more impressive (colourful compared to Cubase’s monochrome theme) it was very much considered “the short straw” you were left with if you’d forgotten to book studio time.

[@MontieMongoose]

Glad you found the right person.

[@Steeps1969]

Great video, thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheers!

[@jeffreymorris1752]

Really a fine interview. Thank you.

[@Okurka.]

That CD cake box in the background is almost retro.

[@a1exh]

Amazing to get the REAL Echo on. Kudos.

[@gonzo3915]

I recall those days well, Another world opening cinematic was my go to for showing off the Amiga and of course Shadow of the Beast.

[@namakudamono]

Gonzo Gaming Another World was mind blowing. I remember watching the intro on an Amiga Action coverdisk, jaw on the floor, then playing it again to my dad when he came home from work that evening. Great days!

[@EXITMUSIC2011]

I remember Quartet on Atati ST. We wrote a demo. It's on KZbin somewhere lol. The software was flaky! Got into the house scene in the early 90s and it was a great time ;)

[@gotmygoodelf]

i used to run jorvik PD back in the day and it was crammed full of demos from LSD, Red Sector, Quartex etc

[@JB_inks]

My dad used to run Viking PD that sold ST disks

[@xnonsuchx]

I only ever made one MOD (on my ST)...for the M.U.L.E. Theme from 8-bit machines, borrowing samples from a few other MODs. I just kinda found the trackers available kinda teduous, so didn't delve much further into it vs. MIDI sequencers w/ real synths/drum machines (why I bought the ST). Before that, the only computer 'chip' music I did was a few Rush AMS files for the Atari 8-bits.

[@glyph2011]

I’ve just gone and found J.O.E’s ..that all fitted on one 3.5 inch disc? Astonishing. :-0 btw. Took me right back to the early 90’s music scene. Too, too cool.

[@spoonwzd]

Two disks actually ;)

[@DerykRobosson]

Cool interaction. His work reminds me of the IRC days before the Big Split where sidewind would join #amiga, immediately saying, "SHEEP! SHEEP!" Perhaps he'd be another interview possibility. His name from memory is Eric Gieseke, and from what I can see, he's still producing music, and is active on Twitter (sidewind69) and KZbin (Sheep Hour Records channel).

[@colingale]

this reminds me of The Red Sector Demo maker, use to use that to make bootsector intro's for years.

[@jigsey.]

Lol thanks for giani sisters

[@RetroJay1974]

Greets from Exeter :D

[@P5ychoFox]

I was into my SNES back in ‘92 and never saw this. I’ll have to get a download and pop it on the Gotek. Just watched the demo and am impressed, even though the credits show it has a sample from Rolf’s Cartoon Club 😳

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Great interview.

[@antogden]

Great tea break 😁 Ah, the sampling days on Amiga,. I used to love my Trilogic sampler, uaed to sample things of radio showa and then edit using Audition 4 to make people say stupid things, fun times 😏

[@numbers9to0]

I guess you tripple checked your guest's identity. The CIA now calles RetroManCave for background checks.

[@SabretoothBarnacle]

Waving from Exeter✋

[@WINTERMUTE_AI]

Glad you found the real guy, amazing! Great interview!

[@hazy33]

But that's my local milkman!

[@robertjones3223]

Excellent interview :)

[@Joliie]

The Mahoney & Kaktus - His Master's Noise (Amiga Music Disk) : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZ6Vk2ysqrd6adE

[@pronstorestiffi]

Fun interview, thanks.

[@VladoT]

More interviews with the Scene heroes please!

[@abucketofelves]

I believe Norman Cook still uses his ST, we didn't all switch to Amiga ;)

[@TheDarkHour684]

What a bizarre period in UK history lol

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

Love this very beautiful and very interesting.

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks David. I really like seeing people discover these episodes. They aren't immediate hits but over time people find them and I hope they help to document our great micros histories and the people who made them sing

[@sethrd999]

Clearly the original, all the right names, only a true amiga user would remember Mahony and Kakkis ( spelling? ) .. the disc he mentioned was one of the very first that put sound/pro tracker on the map.

[@osgrov]

Mahoney & Kaktus. Legends. :)

[@sethrd999]

Just as an addition, if you want to see a pro use of the effects column of a mod, look no further than cream of the earth, Red Sector CeBit90 demo. This one had an extra effect a super echo of all things, if you did not have a player that supported it, you would get some very odd results on playback ;).

[@_.OX._]

I'm Echo and so is my wife.

[@reggiep75]

I remember most samplers for the Amiga were not the best and there was always a pitched whine when you sampled from tape. You really had to shell out some money for the better samplers. I opted to generate some samples with simple synth programs and they sounded good for sustained synth notes and I then bounced then in a copy of ProTracker I got where you could combine 4 tracks into one which was great for deep, detuned, raspy synth drones and for lead notes. The thought of all that takes me back to the late 80's to the mid 90's and also using sample rippers (Hunter III) to get specific sounds from Bitmap Bros games I liked. I had to go and check a load of the demos and clearly remember the Jesus on E's demo as someone brought their amiga into the computer training place I was at, one xmas, and just slapped loads of demos thru it as nearly everyone was into rave but I was more into the technical aspects of it all.

[@SpeccyMan]

Yes indeed, the "ripped" mods are still out there as I downloaded them myself just last week for a trip down memory lane. I do still have my floppies but the disk drive on my Amiga is old and temperamental (a bit like its owner.) So instead I played them on Protracker 2.3 on my PC (oh, yes indeed lol). I do still play the demo on Amiga Forever from time to time. The irony is, I was never into the rave scene myself but a good tune is a good tune ........................ I also downloaded the remix MP3 from Soundcloud and noticed an issue with it. It was hitting the level meters at +1.5dB on both channels. I don't know if it is a Soundcloud issue or an encoding issue, but I had to put it through a limiter to tame it a bit. Still, it is a good remix, a little different in places but the heart of the original still beats within.

[@Yuushiboy]

Great video! I did a lot of modules on the Amiga 500 and the Atari 1040STE, the Atari was a notch better for music and especially midi hence I bought one cause the music interest didnt stop there , from that it just escalated with synthesizers and stuff ^^. So loved that time with all the awesome demos and music :)

[@SpeccyMan]

I had a sampler/midi interface for my Amiga so your contention that the Atari was a notch better for music isn't quite right. ;)

[@Yuushiboy]

@@SpeccyMan Yeah I actually sold the Atari got the Amiga and bought a midi interface. Back then I was a brat and did not know much about midi hence the Atari was a bit more convenient :)

[@firstsurname9893]

I'm glad I missed the impostor video, well done for copping to the mistake and sorting shit out. It was worth it in the end. Personally I thought JoE's was fine but Project Techno by Quartz (released months earlier) was a much more enjoyable mix and better reflected the big club tunes of the time.

[@jigsey.]

Grantham.... Wow I'm originally from Grantham never knew echo had a connection

[@Anthony-ym6iz]

Total respect! Amiga all the way! Awesome!!!!!

[@protonjinx]

now its time to find "Mr X", the literal one, father of the demoscene/crack intro

[@ScandalUK]

Was Rolf Harris the only voice performance in Jesus On E’s?

[@RussellRiker]

Great video. Thank you.

[@BdR76]

Pretty interesting interview. However, it could use some video or image overlays, like show screenshots of the things you're talking about in the corner or something. It is video after all.

[@RMCRetro]

It's good constructive feedback thank you. The series came about as an experiment to create extra content that could be made without detracting from the time I have for my slicker Thursday releases. It's also an audio podcast so I can't reference on screen activity. But... it seems to be gaining popularity so I'll dedicate a little more time to tweaks like this, I think it's a great idea thank you

[@gurthuk]

Amiga!

[@The.Doctor.Venkman]

Well worth waiting for!

[@twmbarlwmstar]

Where does the time go?

[@BigStickyNugs]

So did he do this all by himself or just the music? The reason I ask is the bit 'in ur thoughts would b slowed down' is obviously not what it says n I always thought the coders were not native English speakers. Amazing demo though. Inspired me to start writing music on the Amiga. This and State of the Art

[@spoonwzd]

Classic case of misheard lyrics :)

[@djsquibby]

Awesomeness matey, remember you from back in the rave days Amiga demos etc. Thanks for the demos on my Amiga. If its okay with you I'd like to use some of your tunes on my KZbin channel is that okay? I see your under the creative commons licence ;)

[@spoonwzd]

Thanks bud. So long as credit is given, fill your boots!

[@djsquibby]

@@spoonwzd Thanks matey, credit will be most definitely given. I use to mess about with Octamed, MIDI etc on my beloved Amiga 500 back in the day but only for fun ;)

[@YesiPleb]

Still here in Exeter by any chance?

[@spoonwzd]

Yups

[@YesiPleb]

Yup. I see he is, even attended Nova so chances are I've already met him!

[@SpeccyMan]

@@spoonwzd Greetings from Plymouth.

[@samueldevulder]

Echo.... echo... echo.... Yes, this seem to be a fairly decent echo :)

[@chopschoppsta7197]

I wasn’t dropping no E’s Mr Frodo, honest 😂

[@Lordborak316]

I'm Spartacus!....and DJ Echo

[@toxlaximus3297]

Saying Rave is a bit of generalisation, there was 3 sub genures Techno, Jungle, Happy Hardcore. Then you had house, this was for fechers.

[@rickyelqasem]

@@Fattydeposit yup in the beginning it was just "rave" ... and I would through house music into the rave bucket too.

[@Joliie]

So the real Echo stood up :)

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

We are all echo

[@retrogamesrevived1189]

There was rumours shortly after Jesus On E’s that there was going to be a sequel called Satan On Speed. How true was this Graham?

[@otherreality]

Legend!

[@46danz]

Need some t-shirts”I’m the real echo”

[@towerblock2]

Legend.

[@BillyNoMates1974]

I wonder what happened to Shag rat and the others. Maybe they all work in IT these days