Interview - Ricky Martin (Boozedrome, AMIGACORE)

Having recently discovered AMIGACORE as a genre, I was struck by the magnificent musicality exhibited in the Demoscene at Boozedrome, and have since joined their Discord. It didn’t take long for me to inquire of one of the promoters/organizers of that festival to do an Azarakh interview. This is the result:

Where are you from and what drew you to AMIGACORE as a music style of production that you wanted to focus on?

I'm from Finland. I used to listen to a lot of Dutch and German hardcore compilations (Thunderdome and Terrordrome in particular) when I grew up, because they were cheap and plentiful in local record stores. Since I was already into computers and making music, it quickly went to "hey, I could do this too".

Where do you live, and where did you grow up?

I live in Helsinki. I've lived in the south of Finland all my life.

How many other people are in your daily life on average who belong to the Hardcore enthusiasts community in your region?

I can't really claim to be in any hardcore scene. More that I've been in, and around the demoscene, for close to thirty years now. And I still chat with a couple dozen people online practically daily.

How long have most of you known each other?

A lot of my friends participate in the Boozedrome thing in various ways, and we've all known each other for 25+ years now.

Do you travel to festivals and help produce any for the AMIGACORE genre?

Apart from Boozedrome, not really. I'm a family man in my early forties, so time and energy tends to be limited. Maybe if someone asked. :)

Outside of Boozedrome, what are your own personal projects named?

I use the nicknames Ricky Martin and Ylvaes in the demoscene groups Dekadence and Jumalauta, respectively. I also play drums in a crossover thrash band called Discreant. I mostly use my real name now. I also used to release acid techno as Ghetto B-Boyz, which is a name I've now retired for being too embarrassing. (I came up with it when I was 15 years old) To be honest, my main outlet recently has been demo soundtracks.

You are a producer, what are some links to your music, and where can we listen to it online or via a download?

Nothing's ever up to date, but here are a few things:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/superjohan

Personal Bandcamp: https://superjohan.bandcamp.com/

Discreant: https://discreant.bandcamp.com/

Demozoo page: https://demozoo.org/sceners/3041/

What software do you use to make your tracks?

For "proper" music, Ableton Live. On Atari ST, Maxymiser. My workflow for Amiga MODs is a little convoluted, because I grew up using PCs and I don't like ProTracker's mouse-driven workflow. Hence, I make the songs as S3Ms in Impulse Tracker, then I save them as MODs in Scream Tracker 3, and then I verify that they sound right with ProTracker. It's a pain in the ass but my Impulse Tracker muscle memory is very strong.

What hardware do you run? And do you also use emulators for any aspect of your work, and if so which ones?

I've recently been producing a bunch (as of yet unreleased) stuff using the Elektron Octatrack, along with a couple Behringer TD-3s and a Roland TR-6S. It's way less immediate and Octatrack is basically Ableton Live on hard mode, but it's more fun than just clicking around with a mouse. You could probably count 8bitbubsy's ProTracker clone as an emulator: https://16-bits.org/pt2.php Here's a dirty little Boozedrome secret (and a possible scoop): every single Boozedrome has been recorded using the ProTracker clone, not a real Amiga. It's that good. One exception to this though: Boozedrome Winter will be recorded from a real Amiga because of the very specific rules we set up for that edition.

Will Boozedrome Winter 2025 festival be online? What is that link?

Yeah, it's going to be online only. It's held in February, which is way too cold to do anything like the usual Boozedrome event! It's on Youtube, and that link will be over at https://boozedrome.com/2025winter.

Will you also have an audio live call or other chat to join on say, Discord? If so, what is that link?

It's going to be set up as a "premiere" on Youtube, which means that the page will have a chat. We'll also be chatting on the Jumalauta Discord, which is at https://discord.com/invite/bZAuetBhcf. There's a separate channel for Boozedrome talk.

Do you have any other events coming up that you would like to share the link and information for?

Dekadence is organizing a demoparty in May called 68k Inside, which may or may not have some Boozedrome-related activities! (https://68k-inside.party/)

Where in the world would you want to travel to attend, or play (music festivals)?

Just on a personal level, I'd like to travel to Japan, for both music and computer nerdery. I don't really like festivals that much; I prefer a loud, sweaty, dark club.

Who do you want to name drop that inspires you in the scene, and/or who do you like to listen to?

When it comes to direct genre influences, it's all pretty old, to be honest. Stuff like Nasenbluten, E De Cologne, and Explore Toi. It's good to listen to a variety of music. I tend to prefer either extreme and/or experimental music, such as Rotten Sound, Oval, Pan Sonic, Napalm Death, Snd, Emptyset, Ryoji Ikeda, just to name a few "big" names.

Would you have anything further to say to fellow techno and hardcore lovers worldwide?

Stay Amigacore!

Thank you for this interview, and we look forward to Boozedrome Compo, February 22, 2025!

~ Aryana Farsai

Ricky Martin Interview Links: