Substructures increasing through reduction 11/5/2020 1:09:59 The Interview How were you able to burrow deep into your mind to come up with those sound palettes? What I am referring to is the "euphoria" of getting into that state of mind. You have a talent for selecting particular ambient sounds. Not the average producer can detect those sounds to make it work all together. Is the prerequisite of entering that space is a firm grasp on introspection? How I create or select sound palettes is more of an implicit understanding of how I want things to sound. I rarely explain my process in detail—it just happens, but I know that I'm very focused on the textures or timbre of what I hear. It's also a process of music shaping my sense of "euphoria" (as you described) or emotional/critical reaction to specific sounds, and then my sense of how I want to further shape that audio based on what I'm hearing. The sound changes me, and then I change the sound—in a kind of feedback loop. When I make or select tracks (as cliché as it might seem) they have to be "deep." I would be curious to see your music compositions converted into modern classical music for either a film score or the symphony. Is that something you ever considered? I probably would be hesitant to make my Submersion project totally orchestral. I haven't considered it. Can you describe how you came up with the mix for this week's episode? When it comes to making mixes I have this usual process: When I find a track or a segment of a track that I like, I'll write down the artist, track name, and position. So, over the course of weeks or months of listening, I'll usually have proper source material. What was your thinking behind the theme "Substructures"? I was thinking of the title "substructures" as the deeper rhythmic and tonal structures of the sounds used in my mix. Also, I was thinking of how everyone has a substructure—the base self that is developed earlier in life, and the superstructure of further development building on what has come before. The same goes with an idea or concept (musical or otherwise). It has a substructure or a foundation of other base ideas or concepts that support it. Sonically, the textures used in your production sound so rich. How many years of experimentation did it take to reach that level? The textures I use are the result of plugging away, trying to develop a specific sound and workflow over time, with limited tools. I started experimenting with different electronic sounds in 2002. I was exposed to and began collecting electronic music genres, and I would spend countless hours listening to and making music. I would stay up late, most nights, listening to and discussing electronic music with people online internationally that are now long gone. The internet was a much different place then. I was much different, too. Someone online that I'm indebted to recommended a new album to me called Deepchord Presents: Echospace – The Coldest Season, and that was the tipping point. Afterward, in 2007, I became obsessed with ambient and dub techno sounds, and the result was my first album Cicada under the Submersion alias in 2008. Around that time I had a somewhat nocturnal sleep pattern. I would be awake while most people were asleep. I remember in 2009 I was out roaming around my city on foot, alone, at three or four AM. There were the noises of humming street lights, electrical lines, distant traffic sounds from the highway, and to me, it was like this chorus or wall of droning night sounds that were coming in through this iridescent, shaded atmosphere of the empty streets. I lived near train tracks, and the sound of periodic train horns passing by with their eerie doppler effect also is an inspiration. The particular chord used in some train horns I've reproduced in my chords. Also, the sounds of nearby Lake Erie, and a certain cicada call that's ever-present where I live during the late summer I use in my tracks. I've recorded a collection of weather / atmospheric sounds that are heavily used and processed in my releases (especially the sounds of severe weather). So, the audio footprint of where I've lived (and elsewhere) comes out in a lot of my music. I love playing with and manipulating really rich and detailed acoustic noise taken from field recordings, or electronically sourced noise. Sometimes, there are sounds hidden in noise that would be inaudible without otherwise revealing them with audio tools. What are your upcoming releases/projects you have in the pipeline? I'm in the initial stages of working on a second album collaboration with mon0, which will probably be a long term project. Also, I've finished a compilation track made with mon0 that was just accepted by a newer Spanish label called Slope Point. A very tentative collaboration with BT Gate X-138 has planned to start work in January. As far as solo Submersion releases, there isn't anything planned.