Ocean loader music by Jonathan Dunn, a cover with Goattracker

Today I had a look at my old Goattracker worktunes and an interesting cover came out. Despite being very simple, I was glad to listen to it after so many time. I think I had been working on it ten years ago. It covers (or attempts to) a song that every Commodore 64 owner should remember: the famous Ocean loader music by Jonathan Dunn.

Two versions are known. The first one (Ocean_Loader_4 on HVSC) was the original version, while the second one (Ocean_Loader_5 on HVSC) was the remix. This tune is so famous because it was used on many Ocean games. My cover has features from both versions.

Screenshot of the loading sequence of the Ocean game “Cabal”. Ocean Loader 5 was used here.


 

Today I worked on the tune in order to get it fixed a bit. There was a wrong note on the main theme. It was OK from a musical point of view, but it was just different from the original. Just one note can change a melody very much.

This cover is very simple, but I have decided to release it because I think it may be useful for beginners. Also, if you play an instrument and you like this song, notes are easily available on the Goattracker .sng file that follows. If my ears are still right, notes should be OK and you may use them for live playing.

As a personal touch, I added drums at the beginning.

Files to download:

Please note that the song is 2x, so set up Goattracker speed mode parameter accordingly.

The heart of this song is a very catchy bass line. You can find it on track 01. Basslines on track 02 and 03 are actually this bassline again but played in other keys. The bassline on track 02 is two semitones lower than the bassline on track 01, and the bassline on track 03 is four semitones lower than track 01 bassline.

This fast playing bassline has a nice melody and it istantly grows on your mind.

Arrangements on tracks 04, 05 and 06 are inspired from the “ocean_loader_5” version. I combined the “plin” instruments with drums. No mixed instruments here. Please note that I have used more “plin” instruments. Each “plin” has its own pulse width parameter. I just couldn’t create a single “plin” instrument and use the “9” command on tracks to change its pulse widht dinamically. That is because we must have a fixed pulse width for drums, which is set to “800”.

As you can see from instrument B parameters, the sound that is played in the intro of the song is a sawtooth waveform with a very deep vibrato. This is more or less the same sound used on “ocean_loader_4” version.

Many things may be changed on this song. You can add filters for instance. You can change bassline and drums to your taste. There are many options available. The file .sng that I have provided may be just a simple starting point to support your inspiration. And you can do sound and music experiments with a song that as a Commodore 64 owner, like you probably are, you should know very well.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Insert math as
Block
Inline
Additional settings
Formula color
Text color
#333333
Type math using LaTeX
Preview
\({}\)
Nothing to preview
Insert