It all began somewhere at the late 80's. Felix had just begun to make music with synthesizers. Felix began his exploration of the world of electronic music by composing music in M.I.D.I. file format. These pieces were inspired by classical composers like J. S. Bach, as well as contemporary artists like Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre.
You can click on the (orange) links for more info about that topic!
One of his first compositions was Bachtech, a fusion of Bach and popular contemporary synthesizer. Hans had been composing since the early days of electronic music. Hans began making music at the age of 17 and played drums, bass and rhythm guitar. He moved into electronic music in 1986, when MIDI just had entered the Dutch synthesizer-scene. One day Felix received the phone number of Harbour MIDI BBS (Bulletin Board System) which was specialized in electronic music. This was a time before the Internet was widely used and the BBS world was thriving in the Netherlands.
One of the leading Dutch MIDI composers making their music available for the BBS users was Hans Ouwejan who was also the BBS' Co-System-Operator. He began his MIDI experience in 1987 with the Yamaha HS-4 figuring out the three MIDI connections at the back of the HS-4. The first MIDI-sequencer Hans used was DR.T form KCS on a Amiga 500. Soon Hans switched to a Atari 1040ST, mainly because of the GUI of Cubase (version 1.0 at that time). Hans became one of the leading MIDI file makers in the Netherlands at that time, mainly for the SC-55 module of Roland, and became a known name in the Dutch MIDI scene. Hans also worked for several years as a freelance musician at a local recording studio. Felix became very interested in Hans' music and wished to meet him. Felix wrote to Hans and included one of his compositions with the letter. The next day Felix received a response from Hans who said he enjoyed Felix' music. He also suggested that they should meet. Hans then decided that Felix' music should have a special place on the BBS so others could hear and enjoy it. Over the next two years Hans and Felix worked together for Harbour MIDI BBS. This was a very creative time for both Hans and Felix. Felix became an expert on the MIDI format and learned much more about composing for electronic instruments.
Among the many ideas born during this period, was the formation of a music production company specializing in creating custom music for virtually any sort of project. This company would produce high quality music for commercials, video games, and movies. And so, Logic Audio Music Production was born. Hans and Felix soon realized that marketing their music was difficult, especially in the Netherlands. Even though they had the right tools and plenty of ability they didn't know the "right" people. They composed dozens of examples of their music ranging from radio jingles to news tunes. Even though they did not receive any significant projects the marketplace continued to learn about their music and capabilities
Hans and Felix had nearly given up any hope of success when they received a call from PixelHazard, a Dutch duo which was preparing a CD-ROM game for the PC called "Catgun, Victory Mission G" . PixelHazard learned about Hans and Felix from one of Felix' friends. This was a very good opportunity for Hans and Felix. They wanted to write music for the computer game market and now they would have the opportunity. PixelHazard hired them to produce 40 minutes of digital audio. It was time for a fresh start so Hans and Felix changed the name of their production company to Fluxus Music Production. (FMP). The project for PixelHazard could open many new opportunities for Hans and for Felix, who had just graduated. Catgun was presented at a game developer's and publisher's fair in London. A number of big companies were interested in the game and told Hans and Felix that they especially liked the embedded 44.1Khz CD-quality music. Not 30 second loops, but real tracks. This was the first platform game which had real CD-audio. Although one publisher (Philips Interactive) signed a contract with PixelHazard, Catgun was never released due to reorganisations. Shortly thereafter, Hans and Felix came into contact with Will Davis. Davis was a composer for Attention To Detail (ATD) Founded in September 1988 by five graduates of Birmingham University (ATD now employs more than 70 programmers, artists and designers) Davis mainly composed music (tracked music) for the Commodore Amiga and Atari 1040ST. Hans and Felix sent Davis a CD of their music. Davis was very impressed and enthusiastic about their work and planned a weekend in Warwick UK, a small town 94 miles from London. Hans and Felix hoped this meeting would lead them to valuable contacts in the industry. When they arrived in Warwick they found that Davis had begun working for Psygnosis, another major game developer. Although the meeting went very well, nothing of value came out of it. The next months were filled with disappointment and neither musician was at their creative best. Finally they decided that, once again, they should make a new start with a new name and a new focus on the music business.
For the third, and last, time in their history, Hans and Felix changed their name, this time to "E * Que - The Art of Listening". The new focus was non-commercial and that the music should express their feelings, both as individuals and as musical partners. By this time the Internet had grown to be the most popular and accessible medium for the transmission of information. Hans and Felix built their own Internet site where people could freely download their music in the popular MP3 format. This way they ensured that everyone would hear their music as they intended it to be heard. Many E * Que Internet fans supported E * Que's boldness in using this new way of distributing songs -- downloading through Internet for free! (See guestbook .) This also resulted in one of the first online awards:
At the age of eighteen Justin Frankel invented Winamp, the first software program that made it easy to play digital music on your computer.
Justin Frankel
Many requests for a CD of their music were received, so the next step to be taken was obvious. The perfect time to produce a CD has arrived! Hans and Felix started working on their debut CD called "Emoceans". At first, there was no clear theme for the CD. What was important to Hans and Felix was that they create something unique and that the listener should be free to decide the meaning of the music for themselves. All of the songs on Emoceans are named after the "seas", "lakes" and "oceans" on the moon. (Click here to see a map of the moon with these oceans en lakes) Some of these names describe human feelings and emotions. This lead to the naming of the CD, emotions and oceans combined into one name: Emoceans. The relationship between the song and its name is for you, the listener, to determine. Mark "Fyren" Haidar, a fan, wrote about his feelings for E * Que's music in the following:
I can listen to any of your compositions and become immersed, thinking what I want and feeling what I want...I believe instrumental music is great in that aspect because it lets the listener decide what it's about. The composers meanings aren't forced on the listener with lyrics that don't fit their feelings or thoughts of the music.
