

the non-fake
 . system . disk                           by axl. dc5. and others.

                     nowhere you can find system.
                     nowhere you can find them.
                     just admit it.
                     system control is how we are.
                     and you just think you dont know.

                     we're all controlled.

                     http://hem.passagen.se/axl/system.html
---
beginning.


we all know about the system.  sure, necros released system as his last
musicdisk, right?

no.  you don't know.  system was around before necros, before any of us.
system was alive and well even before fake systems (like nec's musicdisk
and the bot on scenenet #trax) existed.  and who was tracking about it
then?  not necros.  thomas axelsson.  thomas axelsson knew.

this archive goes back before anyone knew, to 16 september 1995.  it takes
us all to 3 january 1998.  this proves that axelsson knew long before
necros ever released his fake system.

we all had our eyes opened by coma when they released their demo 'control.'
unfortunately, this demo became too popular for its own good.  many people
now quote from control when they don't even know what's going on.  they are
fake.  they don't care about system, and they just think they don't know
how controlled we really are.  they're the same people who quote random
texts from demos in order to be 'cool.'  to them it's just another #trax
inside joke.  they don't know.

but thomas h. axelsson knew.  and he made.  he made tunes which tell you
more about the system than coma ever could.  and we bring them here to you,
as part of an effort to increase public awareness.  don't quote sampletexts
unless you know.  don't even talk to us unless you know.  don't be this
guy:

<urgh> system has control!  fight the system!  you can't stop system!
system is invincible!! =DDD HEHEHE i am the system!

(name changed to protect the guilty)

if you think you're system, you're probably fake. you're dead and you don't
even know it.

just die.
                                      . dennisc . dc5 .
---
tunelist.


here are the tunes you will find in this release, with short release notes
about style and other things.  while many of the tunes themselves speak
volumes about their content, often vital themes are also discussed in the
sampletexts.  unfortunately there is not space to discuss the sampletexts
here.  you will find that many have quotes from others.  many contain
greets.  they all contain the truth; it is up to you to study them and find
it.  a total of 42 tunes are in this disk.

1 system controlled
2 system made
3 firebrigades killed dennisc's ai
4 brandbilen i fara
5 brandbilen gr
6 brandbil at 'acid96'
7 brandbilens blues
8 brandbilens vrede
9 vldtagen av en brandbil
10 controlled death
11 we're all dead alive
12 deadcream of fire
13 rumble in the fire
14 mystic firecreams
15 tragic firecreams
16 magic wonderbras
17 the song about the lonesome abflex
18 i ate my abflex
19 i ate it not you am
20 empty minded
21 time travels
22 dancing in neon
23 ctcp ping amusic 66s
24 yes no hell
25 no time for play
26 in the army
27 graddfilskola
28 runimntina
29 whfgoih khaeg fuck
30 axlhardy.xm
31 axlhard2.xm
32 www.system.gov
33 nolife.xm
34 dennis is number
35 firecream megamix
36 fd.xm
37 1,2,3-propantriol
38 tankar?
39 trive (close open mix)
40 fsdfdsfs.xm
41 gnk2.it
42 it's not our life

--
information .

. &('*.xm . firebrigades killed dennisc's ai . irc compo? .
. hard percussive system .
. 13 september 1996 .
the filename of this song is perhaps the most easily notable difference
from the other works in thomas axelsson's long list of compositions.  in
addition to the obvious, however, sensitive and complex rhythm structures
are developed in this piece.  its conclusion is perhaps most system of all,
making it one of the true must-have system tunes.

. axl-bbil.xm . brandbilen i fara . 20mc #xx .
. experimental system .
. 2 december 1995 .
this tune is comparable only to 'brandbilens vrede' in style, with echoes
of 'yes no hell!' in some areas.  the sonic landscape constructed depicts
an action-packed scene where a brandbil's safety is at risk.  the
structural themes in this work are very representative of axelsson's work
in this era.

. axl-bra.xm . brandbilen gr . 20mc #xx .
. happy system / light control .
. 3 april 1996 .
this tune is more of a soft system, much like andreas dagnell's comparable
stylistic expression in "snll brandbil."  it's notable in several
respects.  first off, it is one of the many of axelsson's works with a
reference to en brandbil in the title.  it's also worth mention that mr.
axelsson had utterly no recollection of ever making this tune when i
brought it to his attention.  we assume the system is involved in this.

. axl-ctcp.xm . ctcp ping amusic 66s . 20mc #xx .
. experimental system .
. 14 october 1995 .
yet another of axelsson's compositions for the 20 minute chip compo
(organized by the greek scener amusic), the title would have one believe
that this is just a musical tribute to the numerous problems amusic's host
(something like kapatel.gr) had with keeping up to speed with the rest of
the world.  the astute listener will notice, however, that leads
reminescent of 'no time for play' sneak through, and clearly this piece is
just as controlled as the mc4 entry of the same period, 'system
controlled.'

. axl-empt.xm . empty minded . 20mc #xx .
. soft system / system jazz .
. 26 april 1996 .
this work, my favourite of all of the 20 minute pieces, embodies true
system with low, barely audible chipchords and masterful system
percussion.  just like the system, this work lies low until it creeps up on
you in an explosion, which in this piece occurs in order 6.

. axl-kola.xm . graddfilskola . 20mc #xx .
. swing-happy system .
. 21 october 1995 .
there are elements of soft system here, but mostly this is a carefree,
sprited foreshadowing of the style to be refined in later works such as
'brandbilen gr.' fascinatingly defying our expectations, axelsson creates
a swing-timed tune without the use of periodic tempo-effect variations.

. axl-resp.xm . yes no hell . 20mc #xx .
. experimental system .
. 24 november 1995 .
it may seem to many that the last few patterns of this tune were randomly
tracked, but especially in the ultimate pattern we notice not randomness
but uniformity.  this composition is steeped in true system horror, which,
while difficult for the uneducated listener to accept, is crucial in
achieving a level of dynamic tension without equal.  this follows along the
moods of 'brandbilen i fara' and 'brandbilens vrede,' with more emphasis on
the system elements, and less dramatic emphasis on the brandbil itself.

. axl-run.xm . runimntina .
. soft system .
. date unknown .
this piece accentuates the stochastic nature of life in the system with a
very soft main theme.  punctuating the relatively uncontrolled music
(similar to the style explored in 'time travels') is the traditional
retriggered hihat line which has come to be one of the trademarks of system
music.

. axlacid.xm . brandbil at 'acid96' . irc compo? .
. system acid .
. 17 august 1996 .
aside from the interesting use of chip-acidsamples here, there is an
interesting percussion line which combines breathtaking use of
channel-doubling and pitch slides to truly give insight into the controlled
world of the brandbil.

. axlbrand.xm . brandbilens blues . 20mc #xx .
. system blues / soft system / etc .
. 9 august 1996 .
perhaps the most structurally varied chipsystem composition after 'mystic
firecreams,' brandbilens blues mixes several styles (soft system, slow
system house, etc) to achieve a diverse tapestry of control.  by
interweaving various flavors of the same theme, axelsson lets us know what
it's like to be an agent of the system, and sad at the same time.

. axldidit.xm . i ate it not you am . traxism 7 .
. happy system / europop .
. 30 november 1996 .
'i ate it not you am' is one of the most interesting tunes in axelsson's
collected works.  it masterfully switches styles from the intense forms of
system which axelsson developed in the past to more traditional formes of
europop.

. axlg4n.xm . whfgoih khaeg fuck . irc compo? .
. slow soft system .
. 24 november 1997 .
this is one of the newest chip-system tunes.  it develops in a traditional
soft-system way (its intro can be seen as a complex variation on the
exposition of 'empty minded') and climaxes in several truly controlled
patterns.  in a technical nod to dune and axelsson's other works
(especially in the hard system genre), retriggered hihats are used
extensively.

. grismat.xm . the song about the lonesome abflex . traxcompo 2 .
. system blues .
. 3 august 1996 .
echoing 'brandbilens blues' we have 'the song about the lonesome abflex.'
the crucial element here is not found in the song, but in the sampletext,
where many of the most important musical messages are found.  here,
axelsson writes 'no time for system,' a statement which clearly runs
against any existing precedent i know of.  the reader is meant to think,
'well, of course, there's always time for the system, since the system
gives us time itself.'  the contradictions in the sampletext are evident in
the song itself, where axelsson again mixes several styles in what can only
be described as 'system blues.'

. axlhardy.xm .
. 40-megaton system controlled audio .
. 14 july 1996 .
few pieces of music have attained the level of notoriety that axlhardy.xm
currently enjoys.  perhaps the ubiqitous nature of remixes of new order's
dancefloor classic 'blue monday' is the only comparable example where one
tune has touched off such a trend.  the system, through axelsson, compiled
quite a samplepack here.  samples from this tune have gone on to fuel three
sequels by axelsson himse.f, plus a parallel series of compositions which i
have written.

. axlhard2.xm .
. 40-megaton controlled audio .
. 24 august 1996 .
this breaks more ground in the hardcore system area.  one will notice that
the synth-sitar samples, amiga-converted bassdrum, and all of the other
samples from axlhardy.xm are present here.  in this tune, however, the
sitar has a more leading role, acting as a sort of melodic time-keeper
(instead of in axlhardy.xm, where its use was limited to what can be
characterised as percussion).

. axlhard3.xm . deadcream of fire .
. evil system control .
. 12 january 1997 .
this is perhaps the most sonically abusive track, due to its mellow,
innocuous beginning theme which pervades the piece in varying levels of
audibility.  particularly of note is the extreme system part, which is
particularly evil around order 010h.

. axlhard4.xm . www.system.gov .
. light hard system .
. 9 december 1997 .
this is the most relaxed of the axlhard series, perhaps because the style
with which axelsson was at first experimenting has been so firmly
established that it is no longer necessary to experiment with new rules.
here, many of the themes in the previous three tunes are re-explored with
more emphasis on the melodic.

. brandbil.xm . brandbilens vrede .      * coop with andreas dagnell.
. 'experimental' according to aminet .
. 10 october 1995 .
this is to my knowledge the only existing piece of thomas axelsson's work
to be on aminet, where it is classified as 'experimental.'  i would not
care to second-guess their stylisation of this tune.  this is perhaps the
first truly system tune in axelsson's canon.

. gbglace.mod . mystic firecreams . (intended for tpolm chipdisk?) .
. hard system / melodic system .
. 6 september 1996 .
topping the chip-system size charts at 80k, 'mystic firecreams' is clearly
the most long and involved work of the genre.  it is the epitome of chip
system as we have come to know it through axelsson's works: deceptively
sweet harmonies, controlled percussion, and unpredictably moody style
variations.

. m4r-cont.xm . ..system.controlled.. . music contest 4 .
. hard melodic system .
. .
the title of this work alone makes it essential to intense study of
axelsson's works.  as we know, axelsson has never courted success in music
competitions, seeking instead to express the truths evident in his (and, as
a consequence of system control, our) worldview.  needless to say, the art
and realism of this work were lost on mc4 judges.  it is quite obvious to
the system adherent, however, that this tune knows a bit more about what's
really going on than m4v-fasc.it or m4v-pool.xm.

. nolife.xm .
. slow percussive system .
. 28 september 1996 .
the building block from which m5r-chia.xm was made yet tracked almost a
year before, nolife.xm establishes several stylistic tools which would
become integral to axelsson's expression of the system in later works,
namely, cryptic and evasive percussion lines punctuated by pitch-sliding
hihats.

. notlife.it . it's not our life .       * tracked by the author.
. europop system .
. 14 december 1997 .
this work, while not necessarily an original piece (it is a remix of
axelsson's unreleased ei.xm), is useful in that it combines the styles of
europop and system with limited levels of success.  the axlhardy.xm
bassdrum, sitar, and other samples are used, though unlike the axlhard
series or even 'tragic firecreams,' other samples are also used to achieve
a softer, europop feel.

. ruble.xm . rumble in the fire . irc compo? .
. light system / percussive system .
. 5 october 1996 .
this is a somewhat adventurous tune in that it weds light system with the
percussive, no-holds-barred edge of 'mystic firecreams' and nolife.xm.
this is not a trend-setting, groundbreaking piece, however; it seeks
instead to play with the existing system conventions and does a very good
job of it.

. system.it . tragic firecreams .        * tracked by the author.
. hard system .
. 21 november 1997
yet another venture into axlhard territory, this tune combines what
axelsson calls a 'happy hardcore-style lead' with some of the more familiar
elements of hard system.  while unconventional, within the style 'tragic
firecreams' is useful only as an exclamation point; while flashy and
capable of drawing attention, this tune has little intrinsic value.

. abflex.xm . i ate my abflex . irc compo? .
. orchestral system and system-techno .
. 7 september 1996 .
the slow, sentimental orchestral beginning, like the introductions to many
of the more system works produced over the last few years, is deceptive.
it prepares the listener for a long, drawn-out ballad to the misfortune of
consuming a fitness device.  'i ate my abflex' chooses not to follow the
path which seems so plainly set out at the beginning, quickly going into a
synth-pop style with rocking 'boom-tss' percussion and dizzying melodies.

. dc5-dc17.xm . dennis is number++; .
. percussive system-birthday .
. 8 november 1997 .
tracked in honor of the author's birthday, this tune combines system
elements in the sampletext with a breaking, varied percussion theme to
accompany a remixed yet still traditional birthday melody.

. made it.xm . we're all dead alive .
. soft system .
. 22 november 1997 .
this tune is hard to classify as a system tune, though it has technical
elements (most specifically in the percussion) which have roots in more
controlled pieces.  the title, however, ensures that the audience listen to
this light piece of system-pop with awareness of what's really going on.
axelsson wants his audience to know a bit, even when they're supposed to be
enjoying a light tune.

. axl-no.mod . no time for play . 20mc #xx .
. soft system .
. 16 march 1996 .
appearing the same week as many chips for the 'tpolm psychedelic 20mc album
volume 1,' 'no time for play' emphasizes the styles which were found in
bluesier interludes of other tunes and presents them in a context devoid of
hard-40-megaton percussion.  truly a unique piece.

. system.xm . vldtagen av en brandbil . 35mc .
. hard system / experimental system .
. 5 july 1996 .
this song is a stylistic throwback to the good old says of 'yes no hell,'
'brandbilen i fara,' and 'brandbilens vrede.'  the horrific imagery of the
title is reinforced by a lurid sampletext which paints a stark portrait of
the shocking, cruel realities we are often faced with as a mass of people
under control.

. axl-army.xm . in the army . 20mc #x .
. early chip system .
. 16 september 1995 .
we take a short trip with the army in this piece for one of the very first
20 minute chip competitions.  while devoid of many of the system elements
we find in axelsson's other tunes, this is one of the earliest known system
chiptunes around.  thus it is valuable in placing system awareness through
chiptunes in a historical context.

. crp.xm . firecream.megamix. . irc compo? .
. evil europop .
. 15 january 1997 .
'firecream.megamix.' is a more conventional foray into the realms of
eurodance.  it is impossible to ignore the constant, oppressive nature
of the system throughout this tune however.  the brain-numbing dance beat
and sparkling synth-pads conspire to seduce the listener into forgetting
about the system and pretending that he doesn't know.


. dancing.xm . dancing in neon . tt xx .
. europop .
. 12 october 1996 .
here, axelsson utilizes traditional eurodisco chords, orchestration, and
percussion fills to create a systemised version of the style of many
european (and, with increasing frequency, american) chart-toppers.  truly
evil patterns in this one.

. axlbajs.xm . 1,2,3-propantriol .
. happy lounge system .
. 7 february 1997 .
the string arrangements in '1,2,3-propantriol' make it stand out, but it is
the happy melody and light percussion which win the listener over.  lurking
beneath this soft exterior, however, is true control.

. axlobax.xm . magic wonderbras .
. one-pattern system melodic .
. 11 july 1996 .
magic wonderbras is interesting only in its use of many channels, something
which many chip-system tunes do not do (either because of time constraints
or limitations on channel use in irc competition rules).  while only one
pattern, it loops nicely, providing a periodic, pattern-oriented look at
the system from a different view.

. axl-dead.xm . controlled death . irc compo?
. happy system / light control .
. 7 april 1997 .
'controlled death' is perhaps one of the most complex tunes in terms of
chord structure.  unlike the usual style of beginning with a soft intro to
a hardcore tune, axelsson surprises us here with a song which remains
relatively mellow throughout, even jazzy in some areas.  axelsson does not
abandon the system entirely for this piece, however; there are true
elements of control here.

. 5cdlxa.xm . system made . irc compo?
. chip system .
. 5 december 1997 .
this piece is astoundingly systemed in chord structure. it builds upon
similar styles as 'time travels' and 'empty minded' but takes the idea in
a completely new direction.  truly an inspiring work.

. fsdfdsfs.xm .
. drunk systembolaget .
. date unknown .
this tune, appropriately credited to axl^drunk, is not in fact a product
of the system directly.  instead, systembolaget made this tune through
thomas axelsson.  nonetheless, it is evident that alcohol does not cloud
axelsson's dark vision of the control we are under.  if anything, his
awareness of universal control is sharpened, making this perhaps the most
controlled tune on this disk.

. p6666666.xm . time travels . irc compo?
. very light pensive system .
. 5 may 1997 .
a surprisingly smooth system tune, 'time travels' incorporates the
personality of the system figure 'g0ngk' with low synth pads a la 'empty
minded' or perhaps 'runimntina.'  the percussion is characteristic of the
control style developed in those works.  it is notable that while truly
representative of reality in a one-dimensional universe, axl's tunes have
never been particularly popular in competitions.

. p1.xm . tankar? .
. dancefloor system mix .
. 30 november 1997 .
'you know what i'm saying?' asks a voice in this recent song.  after
looping it several times at a loud volume, we certainly do.  this is an
excellent depiction of the sometimes unpleasant realities of controlled
life.  just as tupac shakur shocked the world of rap with his brutal,
realistic style, axelsson opens the eyes of a new generation with his new
innovation, 'system.'  it is suspected that the youth of today will embrace
system as the next major style, making it truly on par with the rap,
grunge, and electronica styles which have historically been prevalent on
youth radio.

. gnk2.it .                             * note: coop with paso.
. ambient control .
. date unknown .
this cooperative remix of the original g0ngk.xm is truly as controlled as
they come.  note the way the characteristically system percussion disguises
what would otherwise be a very open, up-front string arrangement and turns
it into truly horrifying controlled music.

. axl-triv.xm . trive (close open mix) .
. chip control / experimental .
. 3 january 1998 .
the most recent tune in this collection, 'trive' is struggling to find new
outlets of creative expression in the very well established system style.
as 1998 dawns on thomas axelsson and the rest of us, this tune seems to
contemplate what future changes to the system style that time might bring,
and whether these changes represent the loss of a truly clear artistic
vision or the refinement of as-of-yet incomplete ideas.  since it is
obvious that axelsson's work will not tarnish or fade from our memories,
clearly we hope the latter will remain true.

---
end.

these are the tunes.  if you can't accept the system for what it is, or
think you're cool because you think you know, die.  there's too much of
you, and you're better off dead.  for the rest of you, remember the system
around you.  i have tirelessly compiled, dated, and organized 42 tunes
from the immense system archive-- this is not the end of the story,
however.  just like control itself, there is always another layer hidden
from our view.  you are encouraged to study the sampletexts to see what
further truths you can glean from this font of knowledge.

greetings go to carl-mikael altemark for help with classification of the
axlhard series, to mr. axelsson himself for his distinguished work, to all
members of the dc5 multimedia syndicate, and to fedex and gbglace.

---
credits.

system compilation archivist/commentator

        dennisc - djc@uclink4.berkeley.edu

musician

            axl - axl@hem.passagen.se


                                                                this was dc5
                                                                         yes
