06 - MYSQFLX

Giannis Kampiotis
September 09, 2022

Hello music people 👋

Today on the spotlight, MYSQFLX

Coming from a town that makes the Waldorf Synthesizers, MYSQFLX had his hands on synths since very young. With a day job and a family he tells us how he still manages to make music and visuals 🎶

Read Time: 3 minutes 📰

The Setup

Gear List

Synthesizers / Drum Machines / Samplers

Octatrack MKII
Digitone
Digitakt
UDO Super6 Desktop
Sequential OB-6 Desktop
Novation Bassstation2
Vermona Monolancet
Arturia Microfreak
Korg DW-8000
Casio VL-Tone

Pedals

Specular Tempus
Eventide Blackhole
TC Helicon Mic Mechanic 2
Electro Harmonix V256 Vocoder

Microphones

Sennheiser E945
Sure SM58

Interface

MOTU Ultralight MK4
MacBook Pro with Ableton 11 (for Recording)

Headphones

Beyer Dynamics DT770 pro

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

I am Markus from Cologne, Germany.

I grew up in a small village called Waldorf. So a certain affinity for synthesizers is already in the cradle ;). In fact, in my high school years I soldered and screwed there on the Waldorf Microwave to help out. This was the initial spark.

In the early 90s I experimented a lot with Atari ST1040, TR707, Roland MT32, Steinberg Twelve and my Korg DW8000. After a while the topic of synthesizers fell asleep and graphic design in digital environment took its place.

Since 2020 I have rediscovered my passion.

In the beginning I started with a reduced setup of Korg Volcas and some Synthesizers of the Roland Boutique series. One thing was clear to me as a premise, the setup should get along without DAW to promote creativity through reduction.

Working on the monitor was enough for me at my job as a UI/UX designer.

What's the one thing in your studio you can't live without?

This is definitely my Octatrack MK2.

Understanding this peculiar machine took some time and effort but now we understand each other quite well. But I guess there is always something new to discover. Like in a good relationship ;)

What's your process?

My workflows are very different and very dependent on my available time.

As a father of 3 children and due to my job, longer time segments are rare. Basic ideas and plans of a musical style often arise in my head. Sometimes I start with a chord progression, sometimes with an arpeggio or even a drumbeat with bassline. That is mostly in the Octatrack.

I often create fragments that I later revisit, develop further, or combine with others. If a fragment or sequence shows potential, it often ends up in my sketchbook (MYSQFLX) on Instagram. Short films then always emerge as well. That's kind of part of it for me and I love it. After that, I listen to and watch the fragments again and again, and often the first vocal ideas emerge from that, which then become complete songs.

How would you explain your style?

My style is strongly influenced by my musical socialization of the 80s until today. Since I believe that the musical sensation in adolescence is particularly deep into the soul, my music is strongly based on Synthpop of the 80s, Krautrock and Postpunk.

And I hope it also kisses the style of current electronic music.

Has this journey of building a hardware setup changed the way you think about music or life in general?

The exploration of different sound generators and sequencers is incredible fun.

Thanks to the many crazy guys who share their experiences on the net, I was able to find my current desired setup via a few detours and would now rather reduce than add new material. Or? ;)

Currently I would rather make music than research, sell and buy gear.