A new MiKro MaKro release "The Being of Energy" (Full-On)

[MikroMakro]

This one is slightly up tempo at 146BPM, dare I say full on in style. I hope it energizes and provokes a good feeling in you !

 

[gfp1]

smooth like a belgian tripel. wouldn't look out of place on one of those VA compilations populated by the psy scene's heavy hitters... it would probably even stand out as a highlight. i can definitely hear the care that you've taken to develop each section and i like there's 2 nice big peaks that build on each other before it tapers off.

there's this indescribable effect in well made psy that i will attempt to describe where it feels like the sound effects are dancing around the bass and being carried by an oscillating rhythm. on lesser quality full-on it can feel like the bass is abrasively tacked on and the melody exists as a disparate part. not with your music however, as there is always optimum synergy between the highs and lows.

as far as constructive criticism, i will say that the full on technique of dropping out the sounds (around the 5 min mark) in order to transition to a climax feels like a bit of a trope by now... i find it to be more psychedelic when it's more in the goa style of contrasting confusion and order where short sequences of dissonance/ambiance (or just repetitively maintaining a melody throughout) transitions more subtly towards the climax portion. that's what i enjoy about the sequence around the 3 min mark, the theme and tempo is constant and the energy doesn't dissipate but the tension still mounts and gets released over the coming few minutes. at the 5 minute mark it feels like it goes from 0 to 100 in an instant, almost like the track was over but it wasn't... maybe that's what you meant to do, i don't know, i am just a consumer not a producer.

i don't normally use my left brain to analyze psytrance. it sounds good so it sounds good and that's a right brain type feeling, but i tried to analyze this track for you...

are you getting more efficient in dreaming the tracks up? are you able to objectively judge your music while being so close to the creation process?

 

[MikroMakro]

Highly appreciated response gfp1.

First and foremost I am a listener and dancer to psy trance. A consumer also ! All I can really say is I latch on to some tracks from specific artists such as.. Tristan, Electric Universe, Space Tribe, Lunarave, Cylon, Aardvarkk, E-Mov, Spirit Architect, U-Recken, Sonic Wave Control etc. I usually have specific "WOW" tracks from each of those sophisticated and current artists often to the exclusion of many of their other releases. Then I have a healthy attitude towards the origins of psy trance so I like a few specific classic Goa trance tracks. On top of that good music comes from any year, so whether that is 1999 or 2003 or 2017 it matters not. if it gives a trancey feeling or has some beautiful melody, sweet synthesis or all 3 together I latch on and listen to that exclusively. I often listen to a selection exclusively and extract the maximum sensations I can from that on loop for a few months. As far as older artists tracks I love Human Blue/Orion/Alien Project/Cosma and always have open ears for "new old" sounds.

I usually start by a synthesis session making sounds and sometimes recycling sounds I love. By sitting working with synths for deep 2-3 hour synthesis only sessions you discover new sounds and those that have gone before that you have heard and stored in the memory banks as "cool". There is a specific effect in this track that lasts 0.5 - 1 second and took me 3 hours to reverse engineer. Yes I hate to say I have heard it in someone elses track.. In fact I heard it only in 2 artists tracks but adored that specific sound effect. So those nice challenges exist but of course sounds in themselves are not much use without a kind of track idea in the head. Nothing sure in mind but for this one I thought... ok I want to try a more full-on bass style, higher tempo, more consistent energy and loud squashed mastering. Other than that I sit down and make lots of sounds and then end up with 60-70 tracks of synth sounds to start developing and arranging. I suspect this is a very similar approach to many other artists.

I always try and dance along at various stages of production, so as you and I know that often (but certainly not 100pct necessary) means well worn arrangements that trance excite, allow a little rest and then drop another adrenaline releasing power section. The tracks are mainly made 95pct sober and 5pct not so sober, having that shift of perspective is very useful and helps widen the appeal and make these dance floor ready. (and hopefully nice to hear at home and with sufficient details/surrounding elements using some nice crystal clear headphones)

Each track tends to take 8-12 weeks and I do this in spare time around normal life. What I do know is I won't release something until I am totally satisfied (at that time). I came to realize you can only release a track once really, so I aim to make sure it is as good as I can personally manage at that time. So yes it is a bit slow and painstaking and at times frustrating as sometimes I have to re-write entire sections if they don't work.

At this moment I have in mind something that might be a bit retro say 2000-2005, maybe less formal modern psy kick and bass and something harking from the past. I don't have a "career plan" as such, ha ha... other than make something I like that has some melody and is trance-y. and hopefully that resonates with others.

The ideal would be to make magic. That can be elusive even in a good track. For magic you need a synergy between the track and the listener and that is not something predictable. The music that puts the hairs up on my arms from other artists is the ultimate goal, those moments where you become totally absorbed in someones music and you feel connected to something larger than the specific track. That for me can be the magic of psy trance. It is spirit music for me, ultimately a form of active meditation. Thanks again for the kind words !

Edited to add and answer your actual questions... I think it is becoming a little more efficient, not much.. but a bit. The issue is there is a situation developing where I have to push myself a bit harder with each track, this can make more work despite learning and being a little more efficient in some areas of the production. Objectivity is always difficult making music but I have a "know what I like to hear" approach and I cut what I don't like and keep what I do. It seems to basically work out.