Miro Discusses His Influences and Creative Processes [Exclusive Interview]

Miro Discusses His Aliases, Influences, and Creative Processes

1/30/2019

Monty Hancock, better known as Miro, is composer, pianist, and producer out of the United Kingdom. This interview was conducted by Allax's Observatory.

Your sound design is absolutely incredible and the vibe you want to conceive in a song is clear and immersive. I recall listening to 'Vision' and 'The Garden of Escapism' for the first time and awing at how unique the drop plucks sounded. What is the process that goes in the architecture of sound - because that's the only way I can describe it as - for your songs?

I try to stretch myself with each track, so for those examples you gave, 'Vision' was trying to use the electric piano chords as a 'drop'. Combining the electric piano with glitches and crushed sounds worked really well and so I just ran with the stripped down drop for that song. With 'The Garden of Escapism,' I probably thought through it a little bit too much!

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A post shared by monty (miro) (@iammiro_) on Apr 14, 2018 at 2:42am PDT

I wanted to metaphorically juxtapose the piano and ambiance with the roughness of the neuro basses and crushed percussion. 'Escapism' was the first occasion where I felt I had grounded myself with a style for Miro. Miro songs I spend months on, but Xeuphoria tracks I tend not to spend more than one or two days on before I publish them.

You hail from the United Kingdom, one of the greatest hotspots of influential music acts. Examples among our contemporaries are Adele, Ed Sheeran, electronic legend Fatboy Slim, and your fellow chillstep musician Blackmill. How did growing up in the UK affect your musical path?

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A post shared by monty (miro) (@iammiro_) on Nov 2, 2019 at 2:44pm PDT

I haven't been as patriotic as I should have probably been when it comes to the UK music scene. Though I have spent my whole life so far in musical education in England, and with my emphasis on the classical style, musicology, academic music generally, I've tried to harbour those skills and apply them to my production. It's why nowadays I still absolutely love YouTube channels like Adam Neely's where he applies the academic sphere of music to a digestible, contemporary musical approach without losing the integrity of the level of academics he's discussing. Rick Beato, Multiplier, and SeamlessR have all been integral to my growth as a practicing composer and producer. My biggest influences starting out were EDEN and Puppet, though five years on, my influences are now more oriented around more instrumentally oriented artists such as Lorn, Rone, and Four Tet. My favourite band would definitely be Khruangbin.

I can see anime characters on the majority of your SoundCloud tracks' covers. How much and in what ways does Japanese culture inspire you?
I'm so quiet about anime around my friends in real life as none of them really engage with anime, so I like to channel all of my weeaboo energy into my music on Xeuphoria! (laughs) There's a certain emotional flair to anime music which I feel western music doesn't always nail. In particular, soundtracks composed by Yuki Kajiura have really influenced me, for example, I did a version of one of her compositions from the anime 'Erased'. My obsession for anime has gotten a bit less than it was during my teenage years. I still do love watching it from time to time. Netflix has put up some incredible shows recently so props to them!

To this day, the 'Gardens' EP holds its ground as a stunning piece of melodic music. More recently, you effortlessly touched multiple musical worlds - from techno, to electro house, to much more cinematic approaches - in the sole three tracks out of 'Self' EP. Is it in your plans to release a full-length project either in a soundtrack or album?

This is a question I ask myself quite frequently, honestly. I've been producing as Miro for almost five years now, and for the first four years, I would plan out my releases relentlessly. Only as of recently have I begun to relax a little more with Miro and it has been a massive help to my own approach to writing music. It's sort of a marketing cornerstone to be consistent in your branding, but, I feel like with music - composers tastes change all the time - and that's something I've had a long time coming to accept. So, as you mentioned, 'Self' was my nod to the techno and house scene, whereas 'Threadneedle' is a classical solo piano book I wrote! I'm fully aware that there is little continuity in those formats of releasing EP's, but I just feel there's a certain happiness for me which comes from embracing different spheres of music.

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A post shared by monty (miro) (@iammiro_) on Aug 31, 2019 at 6:03am PDT

Your project comes across as a pretty unique case of a musical act. You radiate passion for music of all kinds, coming as far as releasing a piano booklet, pursuing a major in Music at the Newcastle University, and taking part in a niche and passionate project - the New Dawn Collective. What are your plans to expand the reach of your music and growing your brand in the upcoming future?
As long as I personally have a DAW, and a MIDI piano, I'm going to be at my happiest. My plans to expand at the moment aren't anything grandiose - my main focus is making sure that once I graduate I can settle into a career that will keep me happy, and I'm keeping my music as a side project at the moment. There's a saying that goes, 'Do what you love and you won't have to work a day in your life', and I don't agree with that. I feel like there should be a separation between work and play, and music is my play time, I never want to sully that. In the event that Miro or Xeuphoria managed to take me to a place where I can just write and perform my music as a proper career - I'd take that option.

What's your opinion on the current state of the electronic music industry? Who would you recommend to check out among both the more established artists and the newcomers that could best align with your music?

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A post shared by monty (miro) (@iammiro_) on Oct 22, 2018 at 8:44am PDT

My opinion at the moment is that electronic music can be exciting, and lots of artists are at the moment; Jon Hopkins, KOAN Sound, and Virtual Self have all released albums and EP's in the last year which are testament to the originality and excitement with this era in electronic music. Though, I feel that most producers may focus on recreating sounds rather than actually creating something unique. My first suggestion would be to start thinking carefully about rhythm. Why not write a song in 9/8 and see where it goes? Why not use some chromatic harmony? Something that's just a bit different from your typical 4/4, major key, four chord track. And to newcomers, pick a real instrument and learn it if you haven't already. When it comes to writing music, the studio is of course a vital tool - and you don't necessarily need to play an instrument to write music - but it helps so much.

You've been known to play piano at people's weddings so... Will you play at mine?
I've only done one wedding so far. The client gave me a list of pieces to learn and I just had to do the task of sitting down and learning some new repertoire but it was a fun experience! And of course I'll play at your wedding!

Thank you so much to Monty Hancock for taking the time to answer our questions! Please go and check out his social media pages to get all of the latest updates and music. Thank you as well to Alex for writing these fantastic questions! You can read more of his work by clicking the links in his writing credits below.

MIRO