Modern Classical Music Magazine is delighted to present an in-depth look at the EP “Close To“, a delicate and slow motion in the ambient domain, written and composed by the artists Marko Zoric and Michael Schacht (in art Metric System 1981), and published through the Label Siril Records.

1. What were the main musical and non-musical inspirations that influenced the creation of “Close To“?

Marko: I think for me, this was an approach towards vastness. When you make ambient music, that word clings close to me.  So with the material I had at my disposal to work with, that came to mind. The inspiration was also the previous work of Michael, that I had listened to a lot.  

Michael: Indeed, among us musicians, we are listening to each other a lot. We are not only making ambient, we’re very bound to it.

2. How would you describe the atmosphere and emotions you wanted to convey through the tracks of this EP?

Marko: Again, it’s the vastness. The longing for something. It is so close that you can almost touch it, but yet so far away. Just like phosphenes when you close your eyes. It was Michael who came up with the suggestions for the titles and I think they were spot on. 

Michael: For my personal work the atmosphere and the emotions it carries is the essential key element far ahead of the intellectual aspects of the creation.

3. Can you share some details about the creative process and production techniques used in making “Close To“?

Marko: Michael sent me a couple of sounds/drones and from there I did my best to carve them to a sound that would fit with my ideas. So basically it was some work with the help of LFOs taming the frequencies at the right spots. All that with the Novation PEAK driving it forward, slowly opening up that beautiful sound it has during the tracks. We also experimented with Close To by adding a piano and decided to release two versions of it. The latter being called So Close with an ocean sound finalizing the soothing journey.  

Michael: It was a good decision to choose this way and it is very easy to trust Marko for his ideas – so thrilling to hear the final work the first time after opening the zip file.

4. How have your previous musical experiences contributed to shaping the sound of this EP?

Marko: I’ve always had this melancholic and cinematic feel to my creations. Something I think fits well with ambient music.

Michael: The projects with my Marko offer me great possibilities to follow my personal longing for a different kind of music, that often has no place in the modern music industry.

5. What challenges did you face during the production of “Close To,” and how did you overcome them?

Marko: Probably shaping the sounds to fit well together as it is with all creations. I think I was in a good spot creatively at the time. So that helped.

Michael: For me, it was quite easy, as Marko had to work with my basic ideas. But ok, I didn’t want to disappoint my partner and that sets a bit of pressure. But failing belongs to the process and wouldn’t be a catastrophe.

6. Were there any particular instruments or technologies that you experimented with for the first time in this project, and how did they enrich the final result?

Marko: Yes, it was the Novation PEAK that came to my possession not long before. When Michael sent his work I already was in a creative stage sparked by this lovely synthesizer. So I thought that would be the machine I would shape everything else around. Also, I think this is the first time I have worked on hardware instruments. I normally use VSTs and process them through various hardware effect chains. This time it was purely the instrument in focus. 

Michael: A lot of my music results from free sessions with my modular system. I love all the happy accidents and the non-linear way of producing. You never know where the journey will end. But it is also not easy to keep track, despite all the nice temptive options, preventing to not ending up with empty hands.
The further developments often lead me to my computer, with a more typical production process.

With immense pleasure, we invite our readers to discover “Close To” and the music composed by Marko Zoric and Metric System 1981