so... who exactly is this 'ansgaros' person?
i am a hobbyist musician, and this was originally the only reason i made a website for myself; to distribute my music. in the physical realm i reside in Finland, Europe, and go by the name of Anssi Jääskeläinen. as you already know, i am known as ansgaros everywhere i go on the internet. that's right, all lowercase.
so, about the music then. i started playing/composing music when i took up the guitar in 1995. i never did get around to learning to read sheet music though, so i usually go by ear if i have to learn something. in 1997 i was introduced to tracking(external link) and with it, the fascinating world of computer-based music. i tracked more or less actively until 2002-2003 or so (check the news archive for reference), when my musical output in general took a nosedive.
nowadays i mostly use a DAW(external link) program called Tracktion 3(external link) with some miscellaneous VST effects and instruments(external link) to create music.
all the while i've continued with the guitar. after all, guitar is my main instrument. i've been in a few bands since 1996-ish, most of which didn't last two months. one of those bands, Antarktis Utopia(external link), has existed since 1997 to this day, though only since 2003 in its current form. the music we play is death metal.
when i started consciously listening to music i began with techno and the like (this was early 90s). in mid-nineties i was introduced to punk rock and Metallica (Black album) and other guitar-driven "light" music (Nirvana, Offspring, can't remember). this was also about the time and reason when and why i picked up the guitar.
from there my taste in music got gradually heavier, though i still listened to some electronic stuff every once in a while as well. nowadays i'm not restricted by genres (though i don't think i ever was), i will listen to anything and everything that happens to sound good to me. as i see it, this is the only sensible way. even so, most of the music i listen to is some kind of metal.