Demo scene: Playing ATARI music on Amiga for free

Arnaud Carré has developed a method for emulating the Atari ST's YM2149 sound chip on the Amiga without using the latter computer's CPU at all. In a blog featuring numerous audio examples and diagrams, he explains his approach: Three channels of the Amiga’s Paula audio chip are used to replicate the YM2149's square waves using samples.

https://www.amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2026-05-00071-EN.html

#demoscene #Amiga #Atari #Paula #music

Il Fatto Quotidiano: Paula per Bonnie Tyler: la voce di “Total Eclipse of the Heart” operata d’urgenza, la cantante è ora in coma farmacologico

Ore di forte preoccupazione per Bonnie Tyler. La cantante britannica di 74 anni, diventata un’icona mondiale grazie a brani come Total Eclipse of the Heart e Holding Out for a Hero, si trova ricoverata in un ospedale di Faro, nel sud del Portogallo, dopo un delicato intervento chirurgico d’urgenza. Secondo quanto riferito dal suo staff, l’artista sarebbe stata operata nei giorni scorsi per una perforazione intestinale. Dopo l’intervento, i medici hanno deciso di indurla in coma farmacologico per facilitare il recupero e ridurre lo stress sul corpo durante la fase post-operatoria.
“Bonnie è stata posta in coma farmacologico dai suoi medici per favorire la guarigione”, ha spiegato un portavoce della cantante, chiedendo allo stesso tempo rispetto per la privacy della famiglia in questo momento delicato. Alcuni media portoghesi hanno inoltre riferito che la cantante sarebbe sottoposta a ventilazione artificiale.
Nelle ultime ore diverse testate internazionali, tra cui la BBC e il quotidiano portoghese Correio da Manhã, hanno parlato di condizioni considerate “molto critiche”, anche se dallo staff dell’artista non sono arrivate ulteriori conferme sul quadro clinico oltre alle comunicazioni ufficiali diffuse finora.
Il tour europeo per i 50 anni di carriera resta in bilico
La notizia arriva in un momento particolarmente importante per la carriera di Bonnie Tyler. Tra poche settimane, infatti, sarebbe dovuto partire il nuovo tour europeo organizzato per celebrare i 50 anni di carriera dall’uscita di Lost in France, il brano che nel 1976 la fece conoscere al grande pubblico prima del successo internazionale degli anni Ottanta.
Il calendario prevedeva concerti in diversi Paesi europei, con partenza da Malta il 22 maggio e ultima data fissata a Cardiff, in Galles, a dicembre. Per il momento non è stato comunicato se gli spettacoli verranno rinviati o cancellati. Sui social, intanto, migliaia di fan stanno condividendo messaggi di affetto e incoraggiamento per la cantante, una delle voci più riconoscibili della musica pop-rock internazionale.
L'articolo Paula per Bonnie Tyler: la voce di “Total Eclipse of the Heart” operata d’urgenza, la cantante è ora in coma farmacologico proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Paula for Bonnie Tyler: The voice of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” operated on an emergency, the singer is now in a drug-induced coma.

Hours of intense concern for Bonnie Tyler. The 74-year-old British singer, who became a global icon thanks to hits like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero,” is hospitalized in a hospital in Faro, southern Portugal, after an urgent surgical procedure. According to her staff, the artist was operated on several days ago for a bowel perforation. After the procedure, doctors decided to induce her into a drug-induced coma to facilitate recovery and reduce stress on the body during the post-operative phase.

“Bonnie has been placed in a drug-induced coma by her doctors to promote healing,” explained a singer’s spokesperson, while also requesting respect for the family’s privacy at this delicate time. Some Portuguese media also reported that the singer would be undergoing mechanical ventilation.

In the past few hours, several international publications, including the BBC and the Portuguese daily Correio da Manhã, have spoken of conditions considered “very critical,” although further confirmation of the clinical picture has not come from the artist’s staff beyond the official communications released so far.

The European tour for the 50th anniversary of her career remains in the balance.

The news comes at a particularly important time for Bonnie Tyler’s career. In a few weeks, the new European tour was scheduled to begin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the career of “Lost in France,” the song that in 1976 introduced her to the public before the international success of the 1980s.

The schedule included concerts in several European countries, with departure from Malta on May 22 and the last date set for Cardiff, Wales, in December. At this time, it has not been communicated whether the shows will be postponed or canceled. On social media, meanwhile, thousands of fans are sharing messages of affection and encouragement for the singer, one of the most recognizable voices in international pop-rock music.

Article Paula for Bonnie Tyler: The voice of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” operated on an emergency basis, the singer is now in a drug-induced coma comes from Il Fatto Quotidiano.

#Paula #BonnieTyler #British #HoldingOutforaHero #Portugal #Bonnie #Portuguese #CorreiodaManhã #European #BonnieTyler’s #France #Malta #Cardiff #Wales #IlFattoQuotidiano

https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2026/05/08/paula-per-bonnie-tyler-la-voce-di-total-eclipse-of-the-heart-operata-durgenza-la-cantante-e-ora-in-coma-farmacologico/8379675/

C64 SID

The SID CMOS IC in the C64 delivers an interesting eight bit sound colour in the C64

When I first heard the C64 SID as a kid it was nothing to throw your hat at. I've had experiences with concert piano's, tenor saxophones, percussion instruments in the electric range professional synths, bass guitars so I knew this bleep bloop ssshtt IC could never sound the way of the pro musical hardware, especially not the acoustic instruments.

Last Ninja I

It was when I heard the music of Last Ninja I knew that with it's severe limits, the Sound Interface Device has something special to offer. The composer of the music of this game did something marvelous.

He used arpeggio techniques to make the SID play chords

• SID does not play polyphonic sound
• Arpeggio gives the illusion of chords due to the rapid succession of notes played
• Iconic music was spawned with Last Ninja
• Unique arpeggio chords created on the SID are still seeked by those who were kids in that period
• Others copied the technique and a cult music genre was born
• People still create SID chords on emulated C64's to this day, since the machine is long gone in the anals of history

Background & history

Personal POV

• Being brought up with acoustic instruments of all kind, I know how good and a great instruments should sound
• I have perfect pitch
• I can hear up to the 1/100 of a Hz if a instrument is in tune
• It's annoying when instruments are out of tune for me.
• That distuned instrument, sounds like a kakaphony of cats squealing making the played music horrific in my head
• I came with a high level of raw musical talent enabling me to easily pickup all different kinds of acoustical instruments
• Behind a piano, without any formal training, I could easily play a song in minutes with the chords and the lead tune in a good manner
• I loved to play on the electric bass, so the bass track which I first compose in my head, when I play the piano, is played in sequence
• I would then pickup one of the brass instruments (I love the Tenor Sax) and play the lead well in munutes too
• All that was left was playing the chords on any synth or keyboard available (usually one of the Korg or Yamaha synths)
• I can hear and mix the levels of instruments in my head
• It's easy to remix a sound in my head without having to touch a mixing console
• All of these talents combined give me good insights in music as a whole and computer (SID music then) as a detail
  
• I can work on electrical equiment on the pcb level, something I picked up as a young kid
• From the age of three I disassembled tube radios with expert precision, making me fluent in the disassembly and assembly of tube radios
• I assembled them back in working order from the age of four, after complete disassebly!
• This gives me great insight in the hardware level of electronics

Last Ninja+

• I naturally dismantled my C64 again when I heard the game.
• Why did the game sound that way from a hardware POV
• What makes the IC tick
• I've got the manuals of all the IC's
• I had already replaced the PLA906114 Program Logic Array with a new one on a socked, with no qualms
• The PLA9016114 got too hot in the tropics (max temp 70C) so it never lived long without a heat sink.
• My PLA's were programmed by a friend of mine who was an expert in the programming field
• The new PLA's came blank
• I did all the extraction, socked soldering and other work myself

The answer was in the C64 hardware manual

• SID does just 8 bit audio
• has zero polyphony
• a limited frequency range both low and high
• has scratchy output (which I later learned to appreciate)
• has monophonic, single channel analog output
• is in actuality a fair sounding IC but far from great

The Yamaha 8 bit sound IC of that period was much better

Yamaha had less succes than the SID for a simple reason

Mass deployment

• SID was everywhere!
• C64 machines were sold like warm bread in the morning at the old baker
• Mass deployment means much more software programmed for the IC
• SID won on mass deplyment and lower price in comparison with the lead 8 bit Yamaha audio IC of that period
• The ammount of games making use of the SID was staggering in comparision
• Games drove the success of the SID to astronomical heights
• I got used to the SID, later seeking it's sound when I transitioned to my Amiga A500 with

Paula

• Paula is polyphonic with 16 bit (14 bits actually) sound
• Paula sounds much cleaner
• has 4 channels 0 1 2 3
• hard panning of channels in the stereo analog output
• more stability
• more joy

Motivation for seeking SID after it was gone...

• Simple
• NOSTALGIA
• We all have it
• even kids do

Ode to SID

You've been great

Seek last Ninja on the C64 Archive sites for listening pleasure

#C64 #SID #Paula #Amiga #technology #mathematics #Physics #Chemistry #Linear #Algebra #directory #load #FDD #RetroComputing #music #Saxophone #Baritone #Piano #Korg #synth