62 - Lykanthroes

Author

Giannis Kampiotis
March 24, 2023

Hello music people πŸ‘‹

Today in the spotlight, Lykanthroes

Coming from the United States, for Lykanthroes music has been an integral part. The very first influence was Metallica which later evolved to love for drums. That love further evolved to bass, guitar, and synthesizers, along with audio production and engineering 🎢

Read Time: 13 minutes πŸ“°

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Interview

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

Born, raised, and residing within the United States, music has been a part of my life and myself since before birth.

Due to knots in my umbilical cord, that couldn't be seen in ultrasounds, it was noticed I was not moving as much as a typical fetus, so on the doctor's suggestion my father sought out music with heavy bass frequencies to see if it might make me more active. The album that yielded the best results was Metallica's legendary Black Album - that I still love to this very day - and as an infant it would be Metallica that would always lull me back into calm over any other music. With this I discovered playing drums at age four, obsessively watching Metallica videos to learn.

However, alongside my love of music I also had a love of sound itself, very often obsessing over artifacts in recordings or sounds in films or video games. As I grew older and further and further widened my exposure to heavy music of all varieties I progressively taught myself to play bass, guitar, and synthesizers, along with audio production and engineering.

Venturing into heavy electronics has bridged the gap between my love of sound design and heavy music, and with the culmination of learning various instruments and disciplines it has enabled me to create the music I have always sought to create independently.

While it has certainly taken time for all things to come together, to do music professionally in the future as my sole vocation is where all my efforts are focused.

Which piece of equipment in your studio is essential to your production process?

The thing I cannot live without, that has absolutely revolutionized and refined my approach and process is the Roland SP-404 MKII.

Every roadblock I had previously experienced fell away with it and as I've discovered I work most efficiently and most passionately in a hardware setting without reliance on a DAW. Not only that, but for sound design and field recording, its portability and incredible effects allow the goals to be reached then and there. For heavy electronics it is absolutely essential and simply an inspiring unit to use.

What is the least expensive piece of gear that gave you the most results?

That would be the Texture Microphone built by Abrasive Industries (Brandon Artus on Instagram) who create incredible contact mics, shaker boxes, and synthesizers that are perfect for the heavy electronic and concrete music stylings I love to work in.

The Texture Microphone is a contact mic housed in a food tin and its covering is very reactive to any surface it interacts with. Shaped with effects you can get many intense sounds, including a kick drum, as well it can even be used as a lofi microphone.

Walk us through your process for creating and producing music.

It very often begins with me considering a rough sound I would like to pursue as well as the atmosphere I wish for it to convey. This helps me to determine what may be the best source to use, for example a dark ambient soundscape that is very claustrophobic may be best started with Abrasive Industries' Electric Flail which is a contact mic box with a heavy chain attached, or something of a more violent disposition may best begin with feedback loops on a mixer.

My all time favorite pedal, the Boss Bass Overdrive, is ever present as it gives so much power to all that runs through it. For me it is perfect due to a strange sensitivity to high frequencies, which with the Bass Overdrive even with the high frequencies pushed to maximum on it, it remains musical to my ears.

All these sources are then processed through and recorded into the SP-404 MKII which the majority of the time has a master bus effects chain of a Warm Saturator and Isolator, and as situations demand I may manipulate the speed and pitch of the recordings, then the outputs reach the preamps on my Solid State Logic 2+ interface - almost always pushed into red - that gives the low end push and physicality I am always seeking to convey.

All things are dependent on isolated circumstances, however, I usually will begin to feel something substantial take shape as I work over time versus beginning with the intention to have a finished track outright.

I've learned that very often it is the discipline of continuously doing the work that yields results versus setting out to purely obtain a result.

What is a production technique that you always come back to?

Running external sources through the Boss Bass Overdrive into the SP-404 MKII is a constant, along with then further shaping the source with effects and the master chain within the unit.

While I am always seeking to explore and experiment, the SP-404 MKII's workflow paired with the Bass Overdrive is always at the heart of my work as they allow my full intentions to be best articulated.

How would you explain your style?

I would describe myself as a "Heavy Electronics" artist as my work is very much centered around a combination of power electronics and concrete music, with many other elements in the style of harsh and rhythmic noise and dark ambient.

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

My greatest struggle I believe is patience with myself artistically.

Many times I am seeking after something versus allowing myself to simply enjoy the experience of creating. In these times my intentions will fall through very often because I am trying to force it. So often the work I am most pleased with and can stand by comes from simply doing the work as a discipline just as someone committed to an exercise will progress more and more with time. Attempting to run a marathon without proper conditioning and training will most assuredly result in disappointment at best and injury at worst.

Enjoying the process itself I feel is at the heart of all this, no matter the genre you're working in or the instruments you use, because when the love of the work itself is at the center, there is no moment wasted and over fixation on your aspirations will not be present to diminish your experience.

Has building a hardware setup changed your perspective on music or life in general?

It has most certainly shown me that I thrive musically in relative simplicity.

Rather than having a vast expanse of equipment to pull from I much prefer having the select pieces of equipment that I understand thoroughly. This is also where the SP-404 MKII has been of such an immense blessing as its incredible effects allow any idea to be articulated and its ability to manipulate long samples has allowed a fully "outside the box" approach to be possible.

A more "primitive" approach to my work with the use of contact mics - of which Abrasive Industries' instruments are simply without comparison - and noise synths has also allowed me to focus far more on the work itself versus a compulsive need to fixate on details that ultimately don't have a hand in realizing my intentions in such as a DAW or virtual instruments.

One tip on how to spark creativity?

I would say do your best to "get out of your own way" and simply commit to the work.

Especially when you have a goal of succeeding professionally it becomes too easy to overthink or over analyze certain elements of your process. For myself, the work I have found myself most pleased with, and very often what seems to connect to others the most, is the work that I did not force - I created it because I felt it and I loved the process of creating it.

A work ethic is absolutely essential but it is also so important to be patient with yourself and the process. I suppose it comes simply down to, show up, do the work, love the work, and let your instincts guide the direction.

A book, movie, article, or album that has inspired you?

Controlled Bleeding's "Knees and Bones" was an absolutely life changing album. All elements of Heavy Electronics that resonate with me are present in that album.

Ξ‘nything else you'd like to say?

Pursuing to be an artist professionally is very much a path that will very often demand giving into faith over fear from you. There's going to be moments in all aspects that will test you and your mental endurance, however, it's best to simply acknowledge these moments as doing what they really are, and that is honing your discipline and conviction in your work. Faith in your work will be rewarded, all it asks for is patience and for you to keep moving forward.

Where can people find more of your music and connect with you online?

In Case You Missed It

For jams, knob-twists and pad hitting videos go to G.A.S. Instagram

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