SID music
The SID (Sound Interface Device) is a microchip containing a digitally controlled analog synthesizer. Due to its unique sound, its advanced nature (at the time), and the fact that the popular Commodore 64 home computer came equipped with it, the SID chip has attracted a cult-like following, of which I am a part.
SID related pages
15 Years of Scene Spirit
Here's a C64 musicdisk containing 18 SID tunes that I've released in various demoscene competitions over the years. The collection is simultaneously released as an album on Spotify and other streaming services. Read more.
- lft-15-years-of-scene-spirit.d64 (Musicdisk, 170.8 kB)
- lft-15-years-of-scene-spirit-sid-files.zip (SID files, 78.3 kB)
- Linus Akesson - 15 Years of Scene Spirit - mp3.zip (MP3 files, 111.1 MB)
Posted Saturday 19-Feb-2022 10:58, 0 comments.
A 9-bit pitch technique
This article describes a new approach to representing pitch in C64 playroutines. The intended audience is people with a general understanding of C64 coding and SID playroutine design, although readers outside this somewhat narrow demographic may still find the article interesting. Read more.
Posted Monday 30-Mar-2015 22:44, 5 comments.
A Chipful of Love For You
I made a schlager chiptune for Gubbdata 2013, and it won the C64 Music compo! Read more.
- A Chipful of Love For You (SID tune, 5.2 kB)
- Linus Akesson - A Chipful of Love For You (MP3, 2.7 MB)
Posted Monday 6-May-2013 22:07, 9 comments.
A Computer In My Backpack (And A Chiptune In My Heart)
This was my contribution to the Oldskool Music compo at Revision 2016. It ended up on a 5th place. Read more.
- A Computer In My Backpack (C64 executable file, 4.2 kB)
- A Computer In My Backpack (SID tune, 4.9 kB)
- Linus Akesson - A Computer In My Backpack (MP3, 2.7 MB)
Posted Monday 28-Mar-2016 11:51, 8 comments.
Air on a Rasterline
My contribution to the C64 Music compo at Datastorm 2013, where it ended up on 5th place. Read more.
- Air on a Rasterline (SID tune, 2.9 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Air on a Rasterline (MP3, 2.3 MB)
Posted Wednesday 20-Mar-2013 16:08, 3 comments.
Allt under himmelens fäste
I suppose it's a bit upside-down to make a SID cover of a Visa Röster song. Read more.
- Allt under himmelens fäste (SID, 6.5 kB)
- Allt under himmelens fäste (C64 executable file, 6.4 kB)
- Linus Åkesson - Allt under himmelens fäste (MP3, 3.1 MB)
Posted Thursday 9-Aug-2007 08:32, 3 comments.
A Mind Is Born
Making a demo in just 256 bytes would be a formidable challenge regardless of platform. A Mind Is Born is my attempt to do it on the Commodore 64. In the absence of an actual 256-byte compo, it was submitted to the Oldskool 4K Intro compo at Revision 2017, where it ended up on 1st place. Read more.
- a_mind_is_born (C64 executable, 256 bytes)
- A_Mind_Is_Born (SID tune, 325 bytes)
- Linus Akesson - A Mind Is Born (MP3, 2.1 MB)
Posted Thursday 20-Apr-2017 06:13, 99 comments.
Bach Forever
A short loop based on Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582. Read more.
Posted Friday 5-Apr-2024 11:41, 1 comment.
Bärnsten
"Bärnsten" (Swedish for "amber") is the result of an experiment I made a couple of years ago. I created some sounds on the C64, sampled them using an 8-bit sampler, and mixed them with some drum loops using a multi-channel tracker on the Amiga. Read more.
- Linus Åkesson feat. Hassan - Bärnsten (MP3, 2.3 MB)
Posted in ancient times, 2 comments.
C64 Theremin
I used a C64, two 555s, four resistors, a spoon, and a clamp to build a working Theremin. Read more.
Posted Monday 29-Aug-2022 20:24, 7 comments.
Chopin vs. the Flappy-Bird Volume Control
Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4, with the right-hand part played on a Commodore 64 running Qwertuoso, demonstrating the new Flappy-Bird volume control mode. Read more.
Posted Friday 10-Mar-2023 07:52, 0 comments.
Chuck Rock
The intro theme from Chuck Rock (Amiga version) performed with an ensemble of Commodore-based instruments. Read more.
Posted Friday 8-Sep-2023 07:32, 2 comments.
ClownC0re's “Computers” on computers
This is my reinterpretation of ClownC0re's Computers, performed on computers. Read more.
Posted Saturday 16-Mar-2024 14:28, 1 comment.
Dial-a-SID
I rebuilt an old bakelite phone into a jukebox for SID tunes. Here's a video about it! Read more.
Posted Sunday 4-Jul-2021 21:31, 10 comments.
Dishwasher Groove
A beat was coming from the dishwasher in the kitchen, so I turned it into a SID tune for the C64 music compo at Gubbdata 2017, where it ended up on 3rd place. Read more.
- Dishwasher_Groove (C64 executable, 5.1 kB)
- Dishwasher_Groove (SID tune, 4.9 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Dishwasher Groove (MP3, 5.4 MB)
Posted Thursday 21-Sep-2017 19:32, 0 comments.
Fratres
Fratres by Arvo Pärt is one of my favourite pieces of music. The analytical meets the aesthetical as Pärt takes us on a meditative, harmonical journey, built up from a simple set of mathematical rules. Read more.
- Linus Åkesson - Fratres (Arvo Pärt) - Dual SID (MP3, 15.0 MB)
- Fratres DualSID (SID, 7.3 kB)
Posted Monday 3-Dec-2007 06:52, 49 comments.
Fugue on a theme by D. M. Hanlon
This is a SID tune that I composed for the Crack Intro Music Competition 2017 at CSDb. The rules called for a looping tune, no longer than 1 minute. I decided to write a fugue. Read more.
- Fugue_on_a_theme_by_D_M_Hanlon.prg (C64 executable, 2.5 kB)
- Fugue_on_a_theme_by_D_M_Hanlon.sid (SID tune, 3.1 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Fugue on a theme by D M Hanlon.mp3 (MP3, 5.7 MB)
Posted Wednesday 4-Oct-2017 21:01, 3 comments.
Glyptodont
Glyptodont was my contribution to the C64 music compo at Datastorm 2017 Summer Edition. It achieved a meager 5th place out of six, although that is perhaps to be expected for a pensive and melancholic tune. I hope you will enjoy it anyway! Read more.
- LFT - Glyptodont (C64 executable, 6.3 kB)
- Glyptodont (SID tune, 6.1 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Glyptodont (MP3, 5.5 MB)
Posted Thursday 21-Sep-2017 19:42, 1 comment.
Glyptodont performed on the... Qwertar?
My SID tune Glyptodont performed live on a new C64-based instrument. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Glyptodont Live.mp3 (MP3, 7.5 MB)
Posted Friday 7-Jul-2023 10:51, 10 comments.
Hardsync
Named after one of the characteristic features of the SID chip, Hardsync is a C64 party game that follows in the (wait for it...) footsteps of games like Dance Dance Revolution and StepMania. Read more.
- hardsync (D64, 170.8 kB)
- Hardsync (Sid, 4.8 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Hardsync - Menu (MP3, 1.7 MB)
- Linus Akesson - Hardsync - Hi-score and menu (MP3, 2.5 MB)
- hardsync-tools-1.0 (Source tarball, 11.4 kB)
Posted Thursday 8-Nov-2012 14:23, 12 comments.
In Darkness Hope
My SID tune In Darkness Hope performed live on the C=TAR. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - In Darkness Hope (C=TAR Version).mp3 (MP3, 7.5 MB)
- lft-in-darkness-hope.prg (Original C64 executable, 5.7 kB)
Posted Friday 22-Dec-2023 09:07, 0 comments.
Intertwined
I made a SID tune together with Dane of Booze Design. It ended up on 2nd place in the C64 Music compo at Datastorm 2017. Enjoy! Read more.
- Lft-Dane-Intertwined (C64 executable file, 13.2 kB)
- Lft & Dane - Intertwined (MP3, 1.8 MB)
Posted Wednesday 15-Mar-2017 07:08, 0 comments.
King Fisher 0x28
This little tune was composed for my good friend Linus Walleij, who turned 0x28 recently. Read more.
- King_Fisher_0x28 (SID tune, 5.3 kB)
- Linus Akesson - King Fisher 0x28 (MP3, 5.8 MB)
Posted Tuesday 10-Jul-2012 20:46, 6 comments.
Larghetto from Chopin's 2nd Piano Concerto
Featuring two SID chips and one piano. Read more.
Posted in ancient times, 4 comments.
Live at Fjälldata 2024
Mahoney (of Mahoney & Kaktus fame) and I sat down to play some SID tunes at Fjälldata, the only demoparty I'm aware of that features a grand piano. Read more.
Posted Friday 16-Feb-2024 08:26, 3 comments.
Lunatico
Lunatico was my entry in the prestigious X'2016 demo compo. To my surprise and joy it ended up on 2nd place, beating such titans as Censor Design and Offence/Prosonix. Read more.
- lft-lunatico (Official release zip, 266.1 kB)
Posted Monday 31-Oct-2016 23:29, 8 comments.
Machine Yearning
Machine Yearning is a 4 KB musicdisk for a modified C64 with two SID chips. Read more.
- lft-machine-yearning.d64 (C64 disk image, 170.8 kB)
- lft-machine-yearning.zip (Release zip including MP3s, 47.9 MB)
Posted Sunday 9-Apr-2023 16:52, 12 comments.
Making 8-bit Music From Scratch at the Commodore 64 BASIC Prompt
In this video, I make 8-bit SID music on a Commodore 64 without any software apart from the built-in BASIC interpreter. This involves poking numbers into memory and hardware registers and writing machine code in decimal. Read more.
Posted Friday 27-Sep-2024 08:28, 7 comments.
Monti On The 'Bin
Qwertuoso is put to the test in this rendition of Vittorio Monti's Csárdás for C64 and piano. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Monti On The 'Bin.mp3 (MP3, 6.4 MB)
Posted Sunday 2-Jan-2022 10:58, 5 comments.
Nymphaea
This SID tune was composed for (and partly at) Breakpoint 2008. Read more.
- Nymphaea (SID, 4.6 kB)
- Nymphaea (C64 executable file, 4.5 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Nymphaea (MP3, 3.5 MB)
Posted Tuesday 25-Mar-2008 18:26, 2 comments.
O Holy Night
I play O Holy Night on an assortment of 8-bit hardware. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - O Holy Night.mp3 (MP3, 6.7 MB)
Posted Friday 2-Dec-2022 10:55, 0 comments.
One man and his piano
This is my cover of Rob Hubbard's One Man And His Droid. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - One Man And His Piano (MP3, 6.2 MB)
Posted in ancient times, 11 comments.
Paraforce
A "bastard pop" track consists of two different pieces of music, by two competing or quarreling artists, played back at the same time. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Hubbard vs Galway - Paraforce (MP3, 8.3 MB)
Posted Sunday 24-Dec-2006 13:10, 5 comments.
Parallax for piano
Martin Galway's Parallax, by me, live, on a real piano, without any edits or overdubs. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Parallax For Piano (MP3, 11.7 MB)
- Parallax for piano, score (PDF, 2.2 MB)
- Parallax for piano, score (PostScript, 615.4 kB)
- Parallax for piano, score (MusiXTeX source code, 7.2 kB)
Posted in ancient times, 9 comments.
Partita Prelude for 8-Bit Ensemble
Floppy drives and stepper motors have been used to make music before, but for live playing I think the technology is underexplored. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Partita Prelude for 8-Bit Ensemble.mp3 (MP3, 7.6 MB)
Posted Friday 3-Jun-2022 07:16, 3 comments.
Perfectly Well-Adjusted
This was my contribution to the music compo at X'2016, where it ended up on 20th place. Read more.
- Lft-WellAdjusted (C64 executable file, 6.1 kB)
- Perfectly Well-Adjusted (SID file, 5.6 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Perfectly Well-Adjusted (MP3 file, 2.7 MB)
Posted Monday 31-Oct-2016 23:25, 0 comments.
Perpetual Fragility
Perpetual Fragility is a small Commodore 64 demo that I wrote for the snowstorm compo at Fjälldata 2023. Here's an explanation of how it works. Read more.
- lft-perpetual-fragility.prg (Demo, C64 executable, 9.2 kB)
- lft-pf-254bytes-full.prg (Music, C64 executable, 254 bytes)
- lft-pf-254bytes-compo-edit.prg (Music, shortened version, C64 executable, 254 bytes)
- Linus Akesson - Perpetual Fragility.mp3 (MP3, 8.2 MB)
Posted Wednesday 15-Feb-2023 21:20, 2 comments.
Platform Hopping
Let's recreate the sound of the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System on a C64! Read more.
- lft-platform-hopping.prg (C64 executable, 8.3 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Platform Hopping.mp3 (MP3, 4.3 MB)
Posted Tuesday 13-Jun-2023 20:32, 2 comments.
Qwertuoso
Qwertuoso is a small program for playing SID music live on a Commodore 64. Read more.
- qwertuoso-1.0.prg (C64 executable, 3.9 kB)
Posted Wednesday 29-Dec-2021 21:04, 2 comments.
Qwertuoso Tutorial
A hands-on introduction on how to play the Super Mario Bros Underworld Theme in Qwertuoso. Read more.
Posted Friday 4-Feb-2022 08:29, 0 comments.
Reverberations
It struck me that, at least in theory, organ pipes should generate quite primitive sound waves. If so, how come a church organ doesn't sound like a chip tune, which is also built up from simple waveforms? Well, actually it will, if you remove the church. And if you connect a Commodore 64 home computer to a loudspeaker in a large hall, it will sound like an organ. Read more.
Posted Saturday 10-May-2008 07:27, 26 comments.
Romance from Chopin's 1st Piano Concerto
Featuring one SID chip and one piano. Read more.
- Linus Åkesson - SID vs. piano - Romance (MP3, 9.3 MB)
Posted in ancient times, 6 comments.
Safe VSP
I contributed this one-filer to the C64 Demo compo at Datastorm 2013. It ended up on 7th place, which I consider quite good for a technical proof of concept. Read more.
- lft-safe-vsp (C64 executable file, 12.7 kB)
- Sideways (SID tune, 8.7 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Sideways (MP3, 8.8 MB)
Posted Wednesday 20-Mar-2013 22:23, 18 comments.
Scene Spirit
This was my contribution to the music compo at X 2014. It ended up on 10th place. Enjoy! Read more.
- Scene_Spirit (SID tune, 8.0 kB)
- scene spirit (C64 executable file, 8.1 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Scene Spirit (MP3, 3.4 MB)
Posted Monday 15-Dec-2014 10:36, 3 comments.
Shards of Fancy
Shards of Fancy is a C64 demo released in the Oldskool Demo competition at Revision 2013, where it ended up on 6th place. Read more.
- lft-shards-of-fancy (D64 disk image, 170.8 kB)
- Shards_of_Fancy (SID tune, 4.8 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Shards of Fancy (MP3, 4.1 MB)
Posted Tuesday 2-Apr-2013 16:01, 2 comments.
Sidreloc
Sidreloc is a tool for relocating SID tunes any number of whole pages, using a novel but remarkably simple algorithm. It can also relocate all zero-page variables used by the tune. Read more.
- sidreloc-1.0 (Source code, tar/gzip, 19.6 kB)
Posted Monday 28-May-2012 08:13, 19 comments.
SID theme search engine
Finally! The SID theme finder has been resurrected and upgraded to modern HVSC path names. Read more.
Posted Tuesday 29-Jan-2008 06:36, 10 comments.
Slaepwerigne
This SID tune was composed for Breakpoint 2009. It ended up 7th in the Oldschool Executable Music compo, which isn't too bad considering its original approach. Read more.
- Slaepwerigne (SID, 6.6 kB)
- Slaepwerigne (C64 executable file, 6.5 kB)
- Linus Åkesson - Slaepwerigne (MP3, 1.4 MB)
Posted Tuesday 5-May-2009 05:35, 0 comments.
Sommarfågel
A cover of the song Sommarfågel by Wintergatan, performed on a selection of my homemade 8-bit and 16-bit instruments. Read more.
Posted Friday 25-Oct-2024 08:51, 1 comment.
Sommargubbe
This laidback summer ditty got 3rd place in the C64 music compo at Gubbdata 2022. Read more.
- lft-sommargubbe.prg (C64 executable, 6.0 kB)
- Sommargubbe.sid (SID tune, 6.6 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Sommargubbe.mp3 (MP3, 6.2 MB)
Posted Sunday 3-Jul-2022 19:45, 0 comments.
Specular Highlight
I composed this SID tune for the Executable Music Oldskool compo at Revision 2014, where it ended up on 5th place. Read more.
- Specular_Highlight (SID tune, 9.6 kB)
- Specular_Highlight (C64 executable file, 9.7 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Specular Highlight (MP3, 3.3 MB)
Posted Tuesday 13-May-2014 22:46, 4 comments.
Spin, Crazy World
The Slängpolska is a Swedish folk dance that involves a lot of spinning. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Spin, Crazy World (Multi-instrumental).mp3 (MP3, 6.4 MB)
- Linus Akesson - Spin, Crazy World (Original SID).mp3 (MP3, 5.7 MB)
- lft-spin-crazy-world.prg (C64 executable, 5.1 kB)
- lft-spin-crazy-world.sid (SID tune, 5.9 kB)
Posted Friday 24-May-2024 06:40, 0 comments.
Stein Pedersen's Nocturne
A beautiful SID tune by Stein Pedersen appears at the very end of the Commodore 64 demo 2011 — A Press Space Odyssey by Offence. Here I've adapted it into a piano exercise for the left hand. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Stein Pedersen's Nocturne.pdf (Sheet music, 114.6 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Stein Pedersen's Nocturne.mp3 (MP3, 1.8 MB)
Posted Wednesday 6-Dec-2017 07:37, 2 comments.
Summer cloud
This is my first regular SID tune. It was written for Backslash 2007, where it ended up on 4th place. Read more.
- Summer Cloud (SID, 6.1 kB)
- Summer Cloud (C64 executable file, 6.0 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Summer Cloud (MP3, 3.5 MB)
Posted Saturday 14-Jul-2007 11:19, 2 comments.
The Commodordion
The Commodordion is an 8-bit accordion primarily made of C64s, floppy disks, and gaffer tape. Read more.
Posted Friday 21-Oct-2022 17:14, 64 comments.
The evolution of C64 games 1982–2023
A brief illustrated history of Commodore 64 games accompanied by that cello piece by Bach performed on the C=TAR. Read more.
Posted Friday 19-Jan-2024 08:33, 6 comments.
The SID septet
The "Vad faller..." ("What woodland...") movement of Lars-Erik Larssons Förklädd Gud (God In Disguise), arranged for a SID septet. Read more.
- Linus Åkesson - Förklädd Gud (SID septet) (MP2, 4.1 MB)
Posted in ancient times, 4 comments.
The sixtyforgan
The sixtyforgan is a Commodore 64 equipped with a spring reverb, featuring the keyboard layout of a chromatic button accordion. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Sixtyforgan - Ich ruf' zu dir.mp3 (MP3, 2.6 MB)
Posted Sunday 28-Mar-2021 20:13, 15 comments.
The Tenor Commodordion
The Tenor Commodordion is an ergonomically improved version of the Commodordion. Read more.
Posted Friday 16-Aug-2024 13:16, 1 comment.
To Die For
Here's my contribution to the C64 music compo at Gubbdata 2016. It's in the style of a highscore ballad—hence the name—and it ended up on 4th place. Read more.
- To Die For (C64 executable, 4.4 kB)
- To Die For (SID tune, 4.6 kB)
- Linus Akesson - To Die For (MP3, 2.7 MB)
Posted Tuesday 5-Jul-2016 22:14, 0 comments.
Toy Rocket
This little SID tune ended up on 3rd place in the Oldskool Music compo at Revision 2017. I composed it on a real C64 using my recently released tracker, Blackbird. Hope you like it! Read more.
- Toy Rocket (C64 executable file, 4.9 kB)
- Toy Rocket (SID tune, 5.6 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Toy Rocket (MP3, 3.6 MB)
Posted Tuesday 2-May-2017 20:37, 2 comments.
Triple fugue #1
When Frédéric Chopin wrote his rather melancholic prelude in C minor, he did not know that years later, a computer game called Ghosts And Goblins would carry the chord progression of the first few bars of that very prelude into the hearts and minds of a whole new generation. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Prelude And Triple Fugue No 1 (MP3, 4.7 MB)
Posted in ancient times, 3 comments.
Variation 18
This was my entry for the wild compo at Revision 2015. Read more.
- lft_variation18 (Original release archive, 99.3 MB)
Posted Sunday 5-Apr-2015 19:56, 7 comments.
Vivaldi Summer Presto
The Presto movement from Vivaldi's Summer performed on Commodore-based instruments. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Vivaldi Summer Presto.mp3 (MP3, 4.9 MB)
Posted Friday 17-Nov-2023 08:53, 1 comment.
Vocalise
Rachmaninoff's Vocalise arranged for C64 and piano. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Sergei Rachmaninoff - Vocalise.mp3 (MP3, 13.9 MB)
Posted Sunday 13-Mar-2022 22:02, 2 comments.
Withering Bytes
A short piece for human and machine. Read more.
- Linus Akesson - Withering Bytes.mp3 (MP3, 8.1 MB)
Posted Friday 6-Dec-2024 08:05, 0 comments.
Your Heptacular Eyes
Karmic organised a “Non-standard Time Signature Compo” over at CSDb, so of course I couldn't resist making a contribution. Here's my SID tune, which actually ended up on 1st place! Read more.
- Your Heptacular Eyes (C64 executable, 5.6 kB)
- Your Heptacular Eyes (SID tune, 6.4 kB)
- Linus Akesson - Your Heptacular Eyes (MP3, 3.2 MB)
Posted Tuesday 5-Jul-2016 22:14, 0 comments.