Klasse Wrecks & Kid Who launch .NFO, a series of records showcasing previously unreleased house, techno, acid and more from the 90s Amiga Demoscene.

Created using early sample sequencers such as ProTracker, these tracks radiate the authentic energy of techno’s golden era - and they’ve been hiding in plain sight in Demoscene web repositories for many years. It was during the long days of the 2020 lockdowns that Kid Who began to explore these archives, sifting through thousands of tracks to eventually amass a collection of several hundred of his favourites. Curated by Klasse Wrecks and Kid Who in close collaboration with the talented artists behind them, the .NFO project aims to bring some of these finds to the broader dance music community via a series of VA 12”s and mixes.

The Demoscene is an international computer art subculture whose members produce non-interactive multimedia presentations (‘demos’) in order to compete artistically at large-scale Demoscene events, also known as ‘demoparties’ or ‘compos’. These demos are self-contained computer programmes, often of incredibly small size (well below 1MB) that generate audiovisual presentations, with the aim of demonstrating the skills and artistic flair of the programmers, visual artists and musicians who collaborate to create them.

The Demoscene dates back to the home computer revolution of the early 1980s, and continues to this day. In 2020, Finland became the first country to add the Demoscene to its national UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, followed by Germany and Poland in 2021.

Although demos have been created on a wide range of computers including the Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and even early PCs, the Commodore Amiga is perhaps the most notable. Launched in 1985, the Amiga outshone competing systems of the time, boasting hardware accelerated graphics and audio, which (as Amiga advertising at the time proudly acknowledged) quickly secured its reputation as ‘the first personal computer to give you a creative edge’, and making it the machine of choice for a burgeoning generation of Demosceners.

For musicians, the Amiga heralded the arrival of the first sample-based music sequencing software, known as ‘trackers’. Ultimate Soundtracker, launched in 1987 and intended primarily for developing sound for games, established the basic concept, however its popularity was hindered by stability issues and a complex interface. In the following years, several improved (albeit unlicensed) versions of Soundtracker emerged from the early ‘warez’ scene, and in 1989 a freeware alternative called NoiseTracker further refined the idea. It was with the arrival of ProTracker in 1990, however, which added a simple sample editor for even greater flexibility, that the tracker phenomenon really took hold.

ProTracker gives the user four monophonic (one-sample-at-a-time) lanes of sequenced sample playback, with per-step control over basic parameters including pitch and volume, but lacking the effects we now expect as standard in any modern music production software, such as reverb (these effects would need to be pre-existing on any samples used). These limitations aside, the sequencing power of trackers far outstripped that of hardware samplers of the day, making them a natural choice for sample-based musicians looking to create intricately sequenced patterns, such as the frenzied breakbeat cut-ups of the early UK jungle scene. Compositions written on trackers are not saved as actual audio recordings, but as much smaller files which contain both the samples and sequence data. This made the tracker the perfect tool for the Demoscene musician, competing at compos where keeping file sizes as small as possible is an integral part of the challenge. The most prolific of these formats is the module, or .mod file, which can be loaded into any capable tracker or player to be heard, and, unlike raw audio, allows for the constituent samples to be easily extracted, and sequences remixed.

I first learned about the Demoscene during the lockdowns of 2020, while the world was reeling from the first waves of the COVID19 pandemic. I had some very basic awareness of trackers and the .mod format, but had never delved that deeply into the subject. I am a musician myself, and spend a lot of time working with samplers and sequencers, so this seemed like an avenue worth investigating for my own work. Before long, I had discovered archives and FTPs cataloguing tens of thousands of .mod files from the Demoscene, dating back to the early 90s. Intrigued, I found a free .mod player and began sifting through them - after all, with all entertainment outside of the house on pause, I had time on my hands.

To my surprise, in amongst the thousands of chip-tune tracks (which make up the majority of what is on offer in these archives), I began to find the odd interesting ambient sketch or jungle track, and before long I happened upon my first techno module. I was blown away; the sound was lo-fi and punky - owing to the Amiga’s distinctive ‘Paula’ 8-bit audio chip - but powerful, bursting with that unmistakeable and elusive techno energy which makes the 90s golden era so special. Energised by this first find, an obsession took hold, and thus began weeks of listening to thousands upon thousands of .mods, each new find providing the impetus to carry on searching, until I had amassed a collection of several hundred.

Some weeks later, during a break between lockdowns, I excitedly shared my finds with my long-time musical collaborator, Andrew Yukon. He was as astounded as I to learn that such a cache of great music was out there, relatively untapped and hiding in plain sight, and suggested that there was potential for a label project, if I could get permission from the artists. I spent the next year scouring the web, trying to reach as many artists as I could; Demosceners use handles for names, and information online about their true identities is limited at best. Many emails, messages and dead ends later, and with the help of other 90s ’Sceners (and a lot of luck), I managed to find most of the people behind my favourite .mods, and secured their blessings to take the label project forward. It was at this point that I approached Luca Lozano and Mr Ho at Klasse Wrecks, who immediately shared my excitement for the idea and offered to take me under their wing, launching a sub-label with the sole purpose of sharing this music, and the history behind it, with the wider dance music community.

NFO is that label.

- Louis (Kid Who), 2023

Vinyl comes with A4 insert and stickered sleeve.