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Knatter / XAKK
Added on May 1st, 2004 (8334 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=133
Tell us something about yourself.
Björn Fogelberg, born July 1st 1969 in Ängelholm, Sweden. I currently live in Helsingborg, Sweden. I currently work at www.homeenter.com. Interest: Making music, playing computer games, watching movies and clubbing.
What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
Knatter (a friend of mine came up with it). Knatter is a Swedish description of the sound you get when tapping on a keyboard.
What group(s) were you in?
XAKK.
What roles have you fulfilled?
Mainly organaizer, artist and musician.
How long were you active for?
From 1986 to 1990, but XAKK's most active years were in 1987 and 1988.
Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
I had started to code some simple demos, mainly as a way to spread my first attempts of C64 music. My contact info could be found in the scrolltexts. Some friends of mine were into the swapping scene so I gave them the demos and after a while I got a few contacts of my own. I then teamed up with ace coder Andreas Gunnarsson (Jolly Cracker), we founded XAKK and the rest is history.
Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
I got home from school and checked the mail. I went through all the new disks and copied some to send in return. Then maybe I made some music, drew graphics or talked to some of the other XAKK guys on the phone.
Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
Yeah, we released a linker, an assembler and some other stuff. One of the members, Mr Cross, liked to put together hardware things. I built myself a sampler and I also built myself a lightpen I think. Oh, and not to forget, the custom-made cartridge Mr Cross did for coding assembler. High class stuff! It still amazes me when I think about what brilliant minds we had in our team.
When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
Making something out of nothing. Turning down the offer to join Triad. Haha!
Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
1001 Crew for inventing the side-border effect. Those guys were real heroes! I actually had some snail-mail correspondance with Charles Deenen back then. He didn't like my music... Haha!
What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
I'm really really proud of the routine in the last part of our final C64 demo Bound to be Best 2. What a way to end things! Mr Cross coded it and I find it hard to believe that anyone has been able to do similar version of such an extremely advanced side-border scroll. But on the other hand, I quit the scene right after it was released, so maybe someone has done a similar effect.
Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
Sure, we went to a lot of those. The first one was in Furulund, Sweden in early 1987 (I think) and the last one was probably The Gathering, Norway in 1995/96.
In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
There's a lot of ways to answer that question. On one hand it was a lot about nerdy teenagers trying to be noticed. On the other hand – and this is may fav explanation – it was about pushing the limits. That was what we in XAKK aimed for. We were not trying to be the best in cracking or swapping games, anyone could do that if they had enough manpower. It was about creating the most amazing stuff you could think of, something that really blew your mind. Also it was about enjoying the time you spent with friends that shared the same interest as you did.
What were the particular highlights for you?
Winning the demo-competition with No Sleep 2 at The Silents copy-party was pretty cool.
Any cool stories to share with us?
Nah...
Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
Yes, I see Stefan Walter (Vivace) every day since I work with him. I got ICQ contact with three other guys.
When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
I bought it in 1985 and it's still here somewhere. I got Frodo in my GP32 as well. :-)
Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
Oh yes!
When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
Probably never. But I do use the SID-chip since a Sidstation is part of my studio and the music I'm making. Check out www.fogelberg.com.
Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
Keep it real!
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