Aleksi Eeben (born 2 July 1976), born Antti Aleksi Mikkonen, is a Finnish composer,
sound designer
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
, musician and
programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming.
The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...
. He is best known for his musical contributions to the
demoscene
The demoscene () is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off computer programmi ...
under the alias Heatbeat, where he has composed hundreds of
modules using
music tracker
A music tracker, or simply a tracker, is a type of music sequencer software for creating music. The music is represented as discrete musical notes positioned in several channels at chronological positions on a vertical timeline.
A music tracker's ...
software and developed his own tools. He has also composed for video games, and was employed as a sound designer at
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
(later
Microsoft Mobile
Microsoft Mobile Osakeyhtiö, Oy was a Finnish subsidiary of Microsoft engineering groups#Windows + Devices, Microsoft Devices involved in the development and manufacturing of mobile phones. Based in Keilaniemi, Espoo, it was established in 2014 ...
) between 2002 and 2015, creating many ringtones and sounds. His brother is Konsta Mikkonen, also a demoscene musician and dance producer known under the alias Muffler.
Biography
Early life
Eeben has been interested in music and computers since he was a child, where he played with bongos and sung, and took basic tutorials from magazines. This led to him programming in
BASIC
Basic or BASIC may refer to:
Science and technology
* BASIC, a computer programming language
* Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base
* Basic access authentication, in HTTP
Entertainment
* Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film
...
on the
VIC-20
The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...
and
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
, as well as composing music.
Demoscene and games
Eeben joined the demoscene group Rebels in 1990, and later formed his own group Carillon, which merged with Cyberiad to form the group CNCD. He composed hundreds of tracks for demos and competitions, as well as the soundtrack for the
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
game ''
Elfmania
''Elfmania'' is a 2D fighting game developed by Terramarque and released by Renegade Software in 1994 for the Amiga.
Gameplay
The gameplay is a standard fighting game, but ''Elfmania'' does not have special moves triggered by various button comb ...
''. He later became inactive in the demoscene, although continued to compose music, while his younger brother continued being active composing music in the demoscene.
In 2001, he composed for the
Game Boy Color
The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
game ''
Project S-11
''Project S-11'' is a game developed by Paragon 5 and published by Sunsoft for the Game Boy Color. It was released in North America on January 3, 2001.
Gameplay
The game is played in a manner similar to a shoot 'em up arcade game. Players contr ...
'', with fellow demoscene musician
Jonne Valtonen
Jonne Valtonen is a Finnish composer, arranger and orchestrator. He contributed to demoscene and tracker music, under the name Purple Motion, and with Future Crew.
Life and early career
Jonne Valtonen was born in Turku, Finland and was rais ...
.
Paul Bragiel
Paul Bragiel (born 15 September 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) is an internet entrepreneur and currently a managing partner of Bragiel Brothers.
Early life
Bragiel, the oldest child of Mary and Walter Bragiel, was raised in Mt. Prospect and South Ba ...
, the founder of Paragon 5 which developed this game, recruited both composers to write music using the company's own tracker, Game Boy Tracker. The music in this game has been considered by critics to be rather complex for the system. Additional titles he composed for include ''Tom and Jerry: Mouse Hunt'' and an unreleased game, as well as a track for the homebrew game ''Mean Mr. Mustard'' and the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
game ''Hardcore Pinball''. He also developed a music tracker for the Game Boy Color titled Carillon Editor, as well as demos for the system.
During this period, he returned to composing music for the Commodore 64 and developed tracker software for the computer named John Player, feeling that other music tools for the system were unintuitive. He also developed Polly Tracker in 2004, a 4 channel
MOD
Mod, MOD or mods may refer to:
Places
* Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band
* M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US
* ...
tracker for the Commodore 64 and Sid Vicious in 2006, a software emulator of the Commodore 64's
SID chip for the VIC-20.
He has also returned to developing
Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
software, including the monophonic synthesizer Carina in 2022; funding was supported by
Arts Promotion Centre Finland. He maintains an archive of tools and software he developed for
8-bit
In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...
systems, titled Aleksi's Eight Bit Shed.
Nokia and Microsoft Mobile
Following his work as a freelance game composer, Eeben joined
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
as a principal sound designer in 2002, although continued to work on demoscene and chiptune-related projects in his own time. During his time at the company he composed ringtones, alerts and other sounds, as well as being responsible for creating
DLS sound banks for phones and managing projects. He later served as the creative director of ringtone sets on
Lumia models, which included a selection of ringtones performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra and conducted by David Hernando Rico. The team collaborated with Asbjoern Andersen of the music company Epic Sound, who was another former demoscene musician. He also developed a
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft Mobile for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design languag ...
app in 2014 named Nokia Tones, which includes 1000 Nokia ringtones. The team also worked with a jazz band to create ringtones.
Music projects
Eeben has also released a large number of solo albums and EPs, as well as participating in collaborative albums by CNCD. The first EP he released was ''Please Annihilate Oulu'' in 2000, through the net label Monotonik. The label later released ''Music Box'' and ''The White Box'' in 2002 and 2004 respectively, two collections of SID modules he composed.
He later released non-chiptune albums through the label, and has also released albums through the
Kahvi net label. His albums are currently self-published on his Bandcamp.
Works
Discography
Albums and EPs
* ''Please Annihilate Oulu'' (2000)
* ''Music Box'' (2002)
* ''The White Box'' (2004)
* ''Spaceman Far Away From Home'' (2006)
* ''Three Times The Music'' (2007)
* ''The Five Fish Fingers'' (2007)
* ''Perseverance'' (2008)
* ''Space Age Cherokee'' (2008)
* ''Little Man Entered A Big Village'' (2010)
* ''Various Secret Continents'' (2010)
* ''Fruits For Druids & Vines For Valkyries'' (2015)
* ''Dandelion'' (2021)
With CNCD
* ''CNCD'' (1995)
* ''Harmaa Vyöhyke'' (2000) – sounds; with Markku Saarinen
* ''Harmaa Vyöhyke MMXX'' (2020)
Singles
* "The Grand Rules" (2002)
* "Planet of Vines" (2014)
* "Even Cities of Gold" (2020)
* "Resolution" (2022)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eeben, Aleksi
1976 births
Demosceners
Finnish techno musicians
Finnish video game composers
Living people
Microsoft employees
Nokia people
Chiptune and tracker musicians