MC: It's been 4 whole years (!?) since we released your Ocean Memories album. Looking back at that project, how do you think you've grown / changed as a musician and producer?

DiS: Yeah, it feels like forever ago! To be honest I'm not totally sure, it's kinda hard to keep track of progress or how much things have changed when you're going through all the things in life. Looking back at that album, I believe the music has evolved for a more "open ended" form as an outcome of my exploration of modular synthesis and seeking for different ways to approach music composition and performance. It's not like these new songs are totally free of the foundational musical elements like structure, tempo or whatever - these elements are definitely there. But now everything feels less linear, like, it's no longer a narrative but an abstraction of a picture. I believe that a lot of times we try to imagine things through our creative lens as a way to bypass reality for a while, and at least for me, music making feels like this. In a very specific way these atmospheres and moods that I try to create are some sort of abstractions of places, they are like musical pictures that are presented as songs. Something that has always motivated me to keep doing this is that I believe music can be a powerful, emotional tool, so I try to write songs that urge people in a positive direction.

Your music has always felt like an extension of your love for nature and environment - I'm curious how this came to be. Is there something specific about where you live or grew up that inspired that side of your creativity? Was there someone specific in your life or maybe particular artists that fueled this?

I live in a busy place in downtown Curitiba and things usually get hectic after a while due to the stressful life in the city. My relationship with nature and environment comes as a sort of escape from all the rush and stress of daily life. It's a conscious effort to find balance between the busy life in town and the slower pace of the country. I feel inspired by the natural ambient sounds and I think they're an intrinsic part of life that is often overlooked due to modern lifestyle. Nature sounds are frequently associated with feelings of relaxation, calmness, well-being and peace and I find it interesting to delve into these feelings sonically. I often record the sounds of different places I visit on my phone. Sometimes they just end up sounding too noisy, but I actually like that and always try to preserve a certain amount of the natural roughness of the original audio - I don't polish it off too much. I like to think that every piece of those field recordings has a little history built into it. That sometimes gives me context for creative decisions during the creation process and even inspires some cool track titles.

The way many of us in this world initially connected was from our love of synthesis / studio culture and sharing our sketches on social media. What is the role of hardware gear in your music? I know it can be inspiring yet overwhelming (and expensive). Do you feel you have a healthy relationship with it? Has your feeling towards it changed at all over the years since we met?

Well, I've always worked with a hybrid setup. I use software all the time for recording, editing and post, along with hardware gear. I usually write and produce music using electronic and acoustic instruments though. I think playing with the real thing is definitely more fun than playing with software plugins - the tactile experience you have when interacting with hardware interfaces and the astonishing nature of instruments is difficult to emulate. However, as an audio professional I understand and recognize how important software tools are in modern music production these days, and in some specific situations hardware instruments can become impractical. For example, when working on projects that have tight deadlines or when I need to do some really specific job involving editing, audio post or even orchestration, you know? With that being said I also believe that sometimes it's easy to get sucked into the hype over gear acquisition and forget to actually spend time learning and exploring new approaches with what you already have. I like to keep an organized mind and a clean work space with just the right amount of tools, so having a room cluttered with too much gear definitely doesn't work for me, I find it hard to keep the creative juices flowing when I have too many options available. Ultimately I think what inspires me the most isn't the gear but having a cozy place with a good vibe to produce in.

MC seems to have organically been drawn to working with Brazilian artists. Aside from you, Mystery Circles has released projects with Felipe Ayres, Jaime Silveira, Dramón, Carlos Ferreira, Fu_k the Zeitgeist... and I'm sure there will be more to come. What's going on down there? Is there a vibrant scene of experimental / ambient / synth music in your area, or does it feel like something exclusively connected by the internet?

It's great to hear that Brazilian artists are getting noticed in the US. Brazil is a giant country that embraces many different cultures and there's a huge myriad of music being made here. I believe the whole ambient / synth music is far from being popular in our country. It definitely feels like a niche thing that is often connected by the internet. Felipe and Jaime are great friends of mine and we have our little "synth music" scene going on here in South Brazil along with some other friends. It's nothing crazy, just a handful of people that share similar interests and vision towards music and arts and we try to support each other's work in the best way we can.

One of those creatives I mentioned, Jaime Silveira, is responsible for creating the artwork for our Sycamore Tape release and some of your other recent work including “Evergreen”. How did you connect and do you have plans to work with him again in the future? Your music and his design feels like such a natural pairing.

Jaime and I met in 2009 during college, we were both studying visual arts at the time. We hit it off right away and became really good friends since then. The thing is, we have so much in common and our collaboration simply works. He always gets what I try to express through my music and we have known each other for long enough to just enjoy the process of creating things together. We genuinely lean on each other in order to make something that is greater than ourselves. I am grateful to work with a truly talented visual artist and friend.

What are you currently up to? Anything new on the way?

I always have a ton of new materials in-process. To be honest, I have a lot more music I need to start releasing. Right now I'm finishing the mixing process of a new EP that I hope to share early next year. I'm also excited about this collaborative music project with Jaime. We both do a lot of the "contemplative ambient" kind of thing, but with this new project we want to explore different approaches and music styles like House Music, Balearic and Dub. I'm also fortunate enough to work as a full time music producer, mixing and mastering engineer.

Ramon is currently accepting projects for mastering - you can contact him here for more info.

ARTIST PLAYLIST

We asked Ramon to send us what he’s currently listening to and inspired by in the form of a playlist which you can check out below:

ARTIST LINKS