What synthesizers did you use on ‘A Connection To The Wonder’?

My gear used during the production of ‘A Connection To The Wonder’ was as follows:
Sequential / Oberheim OB6
Sequential / Oberheim OB6 Desktop Module
Studiologic SL88 controller
Yorick Tech Low-Frequency Expander
KORG Triton
Korg Triton Extreme + Moss (Z1) Board Synth
Access Virus TI
BOSS DD-20 Digital Delay
Lexicon Pro PCM-80 reverb
Eventide Audio Eclipse
Soundcraft Mixers MFXi mixer
ACID Pro 10 DAW
Steinberg Wavelab audio editor
JBL lsr305 studio monitors
Dali Suite 2.8 floor standing speakers

What is your current favourite hardware and/or software synth and why?

“Currently my two Sequential OB6s are the basis of my sound, along with the Eventide and Lexicon processors.”

Tell us a little about your production technique used on ‘A Connection To The Wonder’

“I have several ways of working but can all be summed up by the following: I use the sequencer of my Korg Triton Extreme to MIDI record everything I play, improvised or not. This sequencer records all the synths in the studio, and everything is played back there and played live through my Soundcraft console to be sent as a stereo track through the main outs to my DAW.”
“Normally my tracks come out of the outputs of my mixer already finished. I sometimes add some extra audio tracks in my DAW, ACID PRO 10. This isn’t always the case; it depends on the piece I’m working on.”
“I usually work on each piece of the album for several weeks, living with it, listening to it, even sleeping with that piece, and little by little I am finding the path that the music naturally suggests for me to add or change what is appropriate at each moment. This is my favorite moment in the making of my albums, listening to the piece for a long time and seeing where it takes me.”
“Once I have all the pieces of the album created, I work on the creation of the album itself within ACID PRO 10.”
“Normally I present several many pieces within the audio sequencer, I choose which ones are the most appropriate for the album and their order within the same.”
“Once I have finished this phase, I proceed to the mastering of each piece of the album. Sometimes I send the album to another mastering engineer for mastering, but most of the time, the mastering is so delicate for me that it becomes one more phase in the production of the album that I want to control and do it for myself.”

Tell us a bit about ‘A Connection To The Wonder’

“I will refer here to the two works you ask me about, the album ‘A Connection to the Wonder’ and the piece I created for Gemstones II, ‘Merging Into the Night’.”
“For ‘Merging Into the Night’ a chord progression was created on my two OB6’s. I usually play them at the same time through a Studiologic 88-key controller. I got this controller two years ago so I could access all my synths at the same time. With it I can create splits and divided zones throughout the 88 keys that allow me great sound creativity. The OB6 can be connected in a poly chain to get the 12 voices, but this forces me to sound the same patch in both. Playing them through my external 88-key controller in split mode I can play them both at the same time but each with a different sound, which can create intricate sonic labyrinths that carefully processed in my Eventide Eclipse and Lexicon PCM80 become magical soundscapes.”
“The techniques used throughout the album ‘A Connection to the Wonder’ do not differ in the basics from what was previously exposed. I’ve been working on those three tracks that make up the album for the last two years. Although, not only in these tracks, since I usually work on several projects at the same time.”
“My studio setup allows me to switch from one track to another with ease.”
“The first track is made up of two parts, the first created with the two OB6s and the 88-key controller playing live, plus various internal layers of the Korg Triton and the Virus Ti. There are also some faint brushstrokes coming from the Korg Triton Extreme’s internal Korg Z1 Synthesizer Moss Board.”
“A lot of my signature sounds come from the Korg Z1, which was then passed to the internal board in the Korg Triton Extreme, the Moss Board. All this then passed through the Lexicon PCM80 and Eventide Eclipse processors.”
“In the second part of the first track I used the two OB6s with two slow arpeggios, developing slowly and accompanied by the Virus Ti pads and Korg Tritons.”
“The second track ‘This Space is Being Created’ is based on a drone patch on my Access Virus Ti. Contrary to what many people believe, this is not a synth just for Techno, it also has a great palette for ambient music thanks to its powerful modulation matrix. All this sound in the background is generated in the two OB6 creating a sound mattress.”
“The last track follows the same classic setup I mentioned earlier, the two OB6s played through the SL88 key controller. One of the two OB6s uses a distinctive filter sweep patch that permeates the entire sound and gives the piece its character.”
“Little by little some more layers of the Tritons and Virus Ti are added very slowly, creating a fabric that changes almost imperceptibly. Little by little I am altering the levels of each track until I reach the end where only the two OB6s sound alone again for closing the track in a final fade out.”

Find out more about Max Corabcho

Website: https://maxcorbacho.com/
Bandcamp: https://maxcorbacho.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/maxcorbacho
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-xvSQ3xP8Z1OepLZzqo2A

Features planned for 2022 and beyond include Lisa Bella Donna, Rodrigo Passannanti, A Flock Of Seagulls, Time Traveler, Darrell Fitton (Bola), Craig Padilla and Marvin Allen, part 4 of the Michel Geiss feature series, Joe Grandberg ‘Voice of the Cylon Pt.2 and much more…
Stay safe folks, like this page, follow and watch this space 😉

MAX CORBACHO: Bonded with Mystery
(AUDIO INTERVIEW + MUSIC MIX)

After many interviews with some of the best ambient artists from around the world, now is the moment for a conversation with our first guest coming from Spain. Max Corbacho needs no introduction to the audience of `Journeys to the Infinite`. His music played on our show since the late 90s when the debut album `Vestiges` was launched. Max’s sonic mythology encompasses primordial and futuristic themes rooted in the territories first explored by Steve Roach, Michael Stearns, and Robert Rich. Although his style shares lots of similarities with the work of these American pioneers, it organically grew into more personal directions, integrating the influences and evolving toward a wider abstractisation. But better to listen to the artist himself speaking about his musical journey.

This is Max Corbacho’s first audio interview in English. Both of us, Max and I, are native speakers of Romance languages (Spanish, Romanian), and we are aware that our pronunciation and fluency in English are limited. To avoid any unclarity, I inserted at the end of this article a transcript of our talk.

audio interview (25 min.) + music mix (73 min.): https://www.spreaker.com/user/mariuschristianburcea/journeys-to-the-infinite-max-corbacho?utm_medium=widget&utm_source=user%3A12087787&utm_term=episode_title

Part of the interview transcribed:

– Welcome to the show, Max!

Hi Marius, It is great to be here and answer your questions.

– You are composing ambient-electronic albums for more than two decades, and this became your

full-time job for the last 10 years. Looking back, how do you see your career now compared with your initial intentions, when your musical journey started?

Well, actually my musical career began more years ago than I have been dedicated to this musical genre. It started when I was a teenager, 14 or 15 years old, as a guitar player in a rock band. For a time that was my idea of a musical career. Different changes in my life made my interest gradually drift into electronic instruments and become interested in the electronic genre. Really my first intention when entering the electronic genre was that of sound creation. Sculpting a sound from nothing that did not exist before was something that deeply attracted me, the possibility of exploring sound worlds unexplored until then. That was the possibility that I discovered in synthesizers, samplers, and other gear. One step further was the discovery of sequencers. I bought an Atari 1040 ST computer and an early version of the software sequencer Cubase. It was a discovery for me, it was like having a full band or an orchestra, playing multiple instruments, in the comfort of my home studio. That first passion for sound exploration was my first goal. Over time, this whole idea

was what filled all the moments that my day job left me free. It was like this for many years, and in them, I was creating my first albums. Today I have the possibility to dedicate myself to it full time, and in addition to my passion, it has also become my job.

– Are you aware of your first sonic memories? Did you got exposed to music in your childhood?

Yes, of course, music is an important part of almost all families here in Spain, in mine too, but always at a very basic level and reduced to the more commercial side of music. You know, flamenco, disco, etc. All that you could hear on the radio and mainstream TV. In the early 80’s I was a teenager and it was at that time that by chance both my friends and I started listening to radio stations broadcasting music that was totally different, something that was not like what you would normally listen to. I remember the first time I heard The Wall by Pink Floyd or Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, they were moments of profound revelation, which marked me deeply. It was something very different from the popular Spanish music that was usually heard, or from disco music. This was very deep and powerful. It was shocking to hear songs that lasted half an hour, even longer, full of different sections, atmospheres, harmonies that sounded totally new to me, something that was a radical change from what I had heard before.

– How and when did your interest in electronic music begin?

I started listening to electronic music in the mid-90s. It was a time when, also by pure chance, I listened to radio programs here in Spain dedicated to the nascent New Age music. In the beginning, people like Richard Burmer, Enya, Karl Jenkins, Kitaro were broadcast a lot here in Spain. Really, unlike many people of my generation, I entered electronic music through the New Age. It was around this time that, at a dinner at the house of some friends, I discovered a CD with a beautiful photograph of the American Southwest on the cover. My friend told me that it was very soft music, almost without melody and interest. I think he didn’t like that CD very much. Intrigued, I decided to put it on the CD player. Instantly I recognized in that music what I had been looking for for a long time.

It was the Desert Solitaire album by Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny, and Michael Stearns. I was captivated by that. That’s where my real interest in electronic music began.

– What composers and artists you enjoy listening to, from all the genres?

My tastes are basically the Rock music of the 70s, a lot of classical music, and the ambient of Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana, Robert Rich, and Michael Stearns. In Rock music I am a lifelong fan of the great prog-rock bands of the 70s: My beloved Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Emerson Lake and Palmer, etc. When I listen to music on my stereo I almost always listen to these artists. Also a lot of Hard Rock from the 70s and some Heavy Metal from the 80s. In classical music, I like everything, from old music, especially Bach who is my favorite composer, to the French organists of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, like Widor, Louis Vierne, and Messiaen. It’s basically the music that I listen to normally when I’m not in the studio.

– Stylistically, your music is very much connected to the California School of Electronic Music. What aspects of this American music tradition impacted you the most?

Yes, it is certainly the genre that I feel connected to. There are many ambient currents here in Europe but I don’t feel a connection to them. What attracted me to the Californian school of electronic music from the beginning and I cannot find in the European one is the depth, the connection with the mysteries of existence, the mind, nature, the mystical side, the transcendence, the connection also with the eastern philosophical traditions, and in essence, the mystery. I have to feel that mystery in music. Both when listening to it and when creating music. It is the engine that moves everything for me. And that is what attracted me to this musical genre and that is what I try to convey in my works.

– Your first albums, especially Vestiges and Moontribe, have a tribal-ambient approach similar to Steve Roach’s style. Gradually, you ceased to use primal rhythms in favor of deep ambient excursions and drones. Is there any reason for abandoning the tribal elements?

Yes, after Moontribe I started dedicating myself almost exclusively to creating atmospheric soundscapes. It was a gradual thing that happened naturally, without any premeditation on my part. The truth is that I felt at some point that what filled me the most was the creation of those long atmospheric oceans of sound, and I can’t say why. There is really no reason for it, only that slowly my interest was focusing on the infinite depth of these compositions, without any apparent form, only the sound, the long chords, almost without apparent synchrony, like sound currents slowly evolving to infinite.

– This year you ended the trilogy Nocturnes. It’s your first and only trilogy. Tell us about the theme and concept of these albums.

Well, all my life I have been a lover of the great natural spaces, and I have dedicated myself to escaping to them whenever I have been able. Here in Spain we, fortunately, enjoy many places where you can still feel the mystery of nature, be there alone and be overwhelmed by its beauty and magnificence. Many of those stays have been at night. I have been an amateur photographer for a long time and started taking night photos of some of those places. The result inspired me to create an album based on those photographs. As I had several of them and I found a subtle connection with some of the tracks I was producing at the time, the idea of creating an album trilogy based on it came up. Really all my music is inspired by these places and by what they transmit, the powerful and deep connection we have with them and with our mother earth. Some of the tracks that make up the trilogy had already been created for years, but that connection was already there, and the fit was perfect.

– You started to re-release some of your albums. Did you bring any changes to these new editions?

Normally I do not make any modifications to the audio if I am satisfied with the original. That was the case for example with Ars Lucis. The original files have a sound that I still like today, and I know that you can always tweak it, and take advantage of it to sell a Remaster, which is a commercial strategy that works very well, but I didn’t think it was necessary to do so. As I say, I am satisfied with the original version and that is the one that can be heard on the reissue. In future reissues, I will evaluate whether or not it is necessary to remaster the sound and that will be the reason to do it or not.

– Except for Bruno Sanfilippo, with whom you recorded the albums Indalo and Bioma, it seems that you prefer working alone rather than collaborating? Do you have any new collaborations in the plan?

It is difficult to explain. I get many offers often to collaborate and appreciate each and every one of them. But the truth is that I have a need to release all the music that I have in my mind, something that occupies me all the time. I have collaborated in the past and it is an experience that I love but I feel that now I owe myself to creating alone to continue exploring and showing everything that is still there waiting for its moment. Every day I love to go into the studio and continue sculpting, excavating so many sounds and so much music that it lies waiting for its moment to be brought to light. There is also the question of my way of releasing. I am an independent artist and I myself have to take on multiple tasks when publishing my music. That takes me a long time, but it is something that I assume and that is the price I pay for my independence and not depending on anyone. In summary, at this moment I prefer to continue with my solo sound exploration but it does not mean that it is final, at some point I will begin to collaborate with other artists after this stage,

for sure.

– Most of your album covers are created by yourself. How do you make use of your skills in Graphic Design and Photography and What’s the process of creating and choosing the artwork for a new release?

Since I was a child I have liked painting and photography. I started photographing at a very young age, and when I started my music career, it was natural to include some of my photos on the covers of my albums. Since the first of them, Vestiges from 1998, the rock formation that can be seen belongs to one of my photographs. Then, with the advent of personal computers, I also got into image and photo manipulation, something that I have always been passionate about. Some of the results of those sessions have been the covers of some of my albums. Lately, I have also had external help, for example from my good friend Michael Pletz, and with him, we have chosen some images of his creation or of other artists. Normally that process begins when everything else, recording, mixing and mastering has finished. It is a part that I really like, the union of image and music is something magical and I try to pay maximum attention and dedication to this stage.

– We can’t talk about electronic music without technology. You seem loyal to hardware synthesizers. Are you not satisfied with today’s virtual instruments?

Yes, virtual instruments today are incredible, there are many and of all possible types. It is exciting. However, from the beginning, I got used to hardware instruments and the interaction with them, so subtle, tactile, direct, is difficult to replace in the virtual world. Also, I love the sound of hardware instruments. Of course, they cannot compete in sound cleaning with virtual ones for example. There are cables that may fail, there is background noise, etc. But I still prefer the hardware studio experience, the sound is very deep, the nuances, something that cannot be expressed in words, that silky quality to the sound that I love and, the feeling that these instruments are something alive. In the past, I have tried to work with virtual instruments but have not gotten deep interaction with them. I use the computer but always in the final stage of the album creation and the last stage of production, in the mastering. Normally my tracks already arrive at the computer in their final state, since I sequence the whole song in the sequencer and hardware synthesizers through my mixing console. Later in the audio sequencer on the computer, I give a few touches to the tracks sometimes, very few times, and I create the final structure of the album by adding the different songs already recorded.

– I know that you are interested in yoga and meditation for many years. How this spiritual practice influence your music?

Since I started creating music I realized that when I am in that moment of creation, in the studio, something happens at a very deep level in my mind, in my body. It is a flow with the present, a feeling of deep well-being and mental focus. These experiences led me to become interested in these ancient practices since there is an obvious connection. Also at the same time, I have sought answers to the problems, chaos, and general deterioration that we can observe in societies around the world. That led me to the vision that Eastern currents of thought have of all this, and above all the idea that to change the world we must first change ourselves. These practices help us to do this, and above all to maintain a more serene vision in the face of the events that unfold around us. Whenever I can, I use them to return to that flow with life, with the present moment. I try at least once a day to be with myself for a while, in silence, attending to this flow with the present moment. This experience is intimately connected with musical creation, with any type of artistic creation in fact.

– Can you comment about your plans for the immediate future?

I am preparing the second part of my album Lost Links, but in double format, with a disc with new rare, unreleased, and lost tracks, and also with a second disc containing the tracks from the first volume, which never really had a physical release. Only a few CDs were made by the Relaxed Machinery label on a very limited basis. On the album with the new tracks, there are songs that many followers have asked me to rescue and this is one of the reasons for this release. Also, I am working on two new albums in parallel, one is already finished and awaiting the next stages of mastering and graphic design, and another that is slowly developing in the studio. At the same time, I am working on more new tracks in a continuous creation state that will serve to form the songs for

future new albums.

– Your music has always been well received on the `Journeys to the Infinite` show. Thank you Max for this interview!

Thanks to you Marius for including me in your interviews and for your continuous support of the artists of our musical genre. Greetings to all, thank you!

June 08, 2017

Max Corbacho has been consistently releasing high-level ambient music for almost two decades now.

Being a multi-talented artist and musician (he also enjoys graphic design and photography), I was curious about his music as well as the magnificent covers that he uses for his albums.

As ambient music changes with the popularization of ASMR, I thought now would be the perfect time to get his perspective on these new developments and his cultural influences.

Prox: I’m a big fan of your cover art selection. How does the selection process usually work? Is there one particular artist that you enjoy working with for the covers?

Max: Most of my covers are pictures from me. Since I was very young, I have been fond of graphic design and photography. With the arrival of digital processing, an incredible world opened up. From that moment on I have spent many hours modifying basic images from my photographs often adding layers, filters, modifying colors, etc. It’s something that I’m passionate about.

So, for my second album, back in the year 2000, I began to create images and that was the first album to carry one of my creations. Even for the first, Vestiges (back in 1998), the rock that can be seen on the cover was taken from one of my photos with the background and labyrinth carved into the rock added later. There are some albums anyway, in which I am not the creator of the image.

For Nocturnal Emanations the image was found on the internet and retouched a little. In Ars Lucis I obtained the permission from a wonderful photographer named Michel Schweighoffer to use two of his photographs of the basilica of Saint Denis in France. For Splendid Labyrinths and Future Terrain I contacted designer Michael Rodriguez Pletz and the result was masterful.

For the rest of the albums the images were created by me, and then a designer is in charge of the layout. Each project is different, and basically, the decision is made based on what I look for at that moment. Sometimes the idea is so difficult to translate (for example, the mandala that is built of labyrinths for Splendid Labyrinths) that I can not do it. It is in those cases when I pass the work to the designer. But for me it is very beautiful to create images and then use them as album covers. The fan who buys that album is acquiring a more complete experience, since there is something more created by the artist, apart from the music.

Prox: Why did you choose ambient above so many other genres as your primary sound? How does producing this music bring you closer to your inner-self?

Max: I did not discover this musical genre until very late. Here in Spain (at least in the 80’s), when there was still no internet, it was more difficult to be aware of the new music. It was in the mid 90’s when I became interested in Ambient music.

I came from the world of Rock, I started playing in local bands as a guitar player. After a spell where I moved away from music, I came back again but this time I was already interested in synthesizers and sequencers. I marveled at the possibility of recording music in my own house, without having to rely on anyone else or go to a recording studio. It was a revelation. I, alone in the comfort of my home study, drinking tea or coffee and composing in the most absolute tranquility.

Little by little, in that stillness one discovers things inside of themselves and understands that the music that comes up is something revealing about who you are and what you do here in this world. I believe that at that moment a very profound internal change began. I do not know if that has to do with the musical genre or not. Maybe it would have come to that same self discovery if I had continued as a guitar player in rock bands. Surely the important thing is authenticity, being true to oneself and carrying to the final consequences that make you feel deep and makes you throb in life.

Prox: How does the culture and spiritual practices of Spain contribute to your music? Has Eastern thought had any impact on your productions?

Max: I am not particularly interested in any religion, I consider myself a Pantheist. What I did experience gradually is an approach to Eastern philosophies, and especially in the practice of staying in the now. I understand that for example Taoism or Buddhism, in its purest form, are not religions since there is no god or figure to pray to. It is more about living patterns, ancestral wisdom that can help us a lot in life, a wise and true philosophy that arises from self experimentation, not from blind faith.

Greek stoicism is also a great source of wisdom that can bring us much well-being. Of course, all this interest influenced my music, as it does in all facets of my life. I think it helped me a lot to understand and to be more faithful to myself. And of course, the musical creation itself, is a kind of deep meditation, a practice that installs you in the eternal present. When I became interested in all this I was surprised by the fact that many of these states of deep meditation or inner focus had already experienced them at the time of the creation of music. I was amazed to find that deep connection between those two practices.

Prox: A lot has changed in the ambient scene in recent years. Especially with the explosion of ASMR. How does one have a successful career in this genre and what are some expectations and realities of the financial side of things?

Max: Here I can only speak from my personal experience. It all depends on the goals of the artist. As you say in the question, we are going through a time of very profound changes at all levels. For the artist, the main problem is the banalization of musical creation, that is, the belief by the vast majority that music and art should be free. We continually attend heated debates about whether music should be free or not, whether it should be a common good for all the people. I agree with that, after all, what an artist wants is for his art to reach the people, to share with the largest possible audience as that message comes from the depths of his soul. The sad reality is that, while in the forums it is being debated, the artist increasingly receives less and less money for his creation, and like everyone else, the artist must eat, pay his bills and tend to his family.

Sometimes I hear the argument that one should forget to make money with music and make it as a hobby. Experience has shown me that only consistency, continuous practice of your craft, and complete dedication can foster creation at the highest level. For example, does anyone imagine that a doctor, a firefighter, should do his work for free in his spare time as a hobby? I think we will all agree that the quality of their work would not be optimal. In the case of music it is exactly the same.

Music creation requires maximum dedication. The result of that will be that in a few years there will be no professional musicians. The saddest thing of all is that perhaps people do not care, after all, the music that people hear is dictated by televisions, and here quality is not the goal, only commerciality. In the middle of all this scenario, if we talk about the future and the financial side of things, and what an independent musician can do, the main thing is to apply a basic rule: Follow your path as far as you can, regardless of everything around you or everything else that others tell you that you can or can not do. «Wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking», said the writer Antonio Machado. That is my position. Obviously, I am absolutely aware of the difficulty of being an independent artist today.

Perhaps the question is how all this translates into the reality of each day, how an independent artist can make his way. I believe that we must take advantage of the opportunities offered by communication, the internet, and so on. And to make music at the highest level and rely on that handful of faithful followers, regularly deliver a good piece of music and enjoy the exchange of positive energy that occurs in that transaction. Work like a little ant each day, humbly accept any criticism, setback, or problem, and grow and learn from the mistakes made. It is a long way but the good things happens as you travel the path.

Prox: Tell us something about yourself that we may not know that influences your work.

Max: Well, I do not know if everything that influences me is known or not. Be it known or not, there are many things that produce in me the spark that moves my musical creation. For example, as it can not be otherwise, the contemplation of nature, whether on short walks or on long trips. I have always liked to experience nature in the simplest way, that is for example, sleeping in the open anywhere as far away from cities as possible. Such experiences leave an indelible mark on me. My new album series, the NOCTURNES trilogy, is inspired by those nights photographing and sleeping in the open.

Prox: Who are some of your favorite artists, business people, creatives or intellectuals?

Max: I am also passionate about reading, especially science fiction and historical novel. The poetry of the great Federico García Lorca has also been an inexhaustible source of inspiration, as well as all the other artists of the surrealist movement. The magical realism of 20th century Hispanic American artists, especially Garcia Marquez and my new favorite, the novel Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, a marvel, mysterious, evocative, surreal, a jewel.

Art in general and painting in particular are also my passions, especially the Flemish painting of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In music, specifically ambient, what has influenced me the most is the work of Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana, and Michael Stearns, as well as Robert Rich. Something that people do not know is that I listen to very little ambient music. What I listen to most is 70’s music, especially my favorites, Genesis, which is the band of my life. From them I extract many musical teachings, they are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for me. I think they are the summit of Rock music. And I’m also very interested in classical music, in all its ages. Especially the music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and most notably the organists of the French school of that time, Widor, Guillmant, and Louis Vierne.

Also, I am very interested in art installations from the contemporary period, although I confess that I do not have much time to go to exhibitions. It is a world in which you realize that artistic creation is infinite, there is always something new that surprises you.

Apart from everything said before, there are people who are a kind of light in my life, whom I admire, people like Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hanh, and in general all people involved in the movement and activism in favor of peace, ecology, Climate change, fight for equality and help the most disadvantaged, etc.

Prox: Favorite Hobbies?

Max: I think photography and music are my hobbies, an independent musician has very little time to develop more. Photography at a very amateur level, but i’ve been interested in it for many years. In fact, I think I bought my first camera at the age of seventeen. Listening to music is my usual hobby, especially going to buy records, be it vinyl or CD. I’m from the old-school, I prefer the experience of buying and enjoying a physical product, having it in my hands while I listen to the music, read the inner notes, enjoy the artwork and the packaging. It’s an experience that no streaming or digital download can match. I think if you really love an artist there is no better way to enjoy it. And of course, the sound is much better, this is the most important.

Prox: Tips for aspiring artists?

Max: I think that as I said earlier, working as a little ant is the best strategy possible. Insistence, self-confidence and perseverance. Apart from this, something that I always answer when my musician followers ask me, is that they should not fall into the obsession to acquire equipment. I know a lot of people who have five times as many synthesizers as I do in their studio, and the problem with that is that they can not go deeper into editing. Normally the synthesizers have a factory preset configuration with a very standard sound. If you do not edit and program your sounds, you’ll sound like a TV commercial. It is much better to base your studio on a small number of equipment and to be able to deepen into programming. That way you can achieve unique results, much more real and authentic ones at that. This ties in with the strategy of perseverance.

Prox: Information on upcoming projects and releases?

Max: Well, I just published my new album Nocturnes, which is the first episode of a trilogy. The second part is almost finished, I just have to create a few more minutes of music and it will be finished. Also, some of the tracks of the third installment are already recorded. But before all this, there is a new album completely finished that I hope that now in June enters the process of mastering and graphic design. It’s a new album in my classic atmospheric line, just like The Ocean Inside or Splendid Labyrinths. I hope to release it in September if possible. Along with all this, I continue working every day and there are many more tracks already recorded that will be part of new albums in the short and medium term.

Prox: Final Thoughts?

Max: I just want to deeply thank all my fans for their support. When I receive a message from one of them in which he tells me that he has enjoyed my new album, that is the best reward. Greetings to all.

Do not miss out on updates on Max’s upcoming trilogy by following his work on Bandcamp, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or his Website.

How are you? Who is Max Corbacho? How did you become an ambient artist?

Max Corbacho is simply a human being. The question of who I am is the fundamental question of our life. We are here to remember who we are. So, I’m on it! My relationship with ambient music, began when I heard the great pioneers in the genre such as Steve Roach, Robert Rich and Vidna Obmana., among others.

 How is music important in your life?

Music is a form of expression closer to me. In fact any artistic expression, it is. However, the music contains the essence of all and above all, has the ability to introduce us to the great and ineffable mystery of our existence as any other.

Your music induces very spiritual experiences. What emotions do you want to share with your music?

I would like to convey the feeling that everything is within us. The entire universe is hidden deep in there. Often we spend our lives complaining about everything that happens in the world but nobody want to change anything in ourselves. Is the approach we have followed since man is man. Changing everything around us. But we continue like 40,000 years ago. We have gone through thousands of revolutions, wars and conflicts. But we continue like 40,000 years ago. Change, first, ourselves. It is the key. If you change, the world changes. There is only one revolution possible, the Individual Revolution. The world is a reflection of ourselves.

I hope in the emergence of a new global consciousness from the belief that all, are one. Everything is connected.

 Where do you get inspiration? Which artists did influence your music?

The inspiration is so volatile that it is difficult to answer this question. Sometimes you must, stay one night in the desert to find it, climb a mountain, and others, comes as you wash the dishes. The question is, why come to us when we are in the desert one night? Well, because at that time, we are ourselves, with nothing, free from the tyranny of our thoughts (which, coincidentally, always refer to past or future, ever, to present). It is in the absence of such a tyranny that we are ourselves. And we are free to create. We must remain at the present moment, minute by minute. The inspiration will be with us. Climbing a mountain or doing the dishes.

There are many artists that influence my music. But fundamentally, on the classical side, Bach, Debussy, Stravinsky and all symphonists of the 20th century.

In the field of jazz, of course Miles Davis, and all masters of the genre.

In electronic music, the great German pioneers, Klaus Shulze, Tangerine Dream, and in the ambient – space music, Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Vidna Obmana and Michael Stearns.

 Let´s take a look on your music. You´ve released 9 albums. Which one do you like most? Which one is most important for you and why?

Well, to be honest, I think the work that has made me reach a large number of fans, is «The Talisman». I think not because it is better or worse than others but because, somehow, was an album that all my listeners were waiting, and hit an incredible way with the public.

Recently, your new album Ars Lucis was released. Together with it, your two older albums The Resonant Memory Of Earth and BreathStream were rereleased on CD. Can you tell us shortly about each one of your re-release?

Yes, BreathStream first was released as a digital download-only delivery, at full CD quality through Musiczeit. But during one year, I received many emails from listeners who, I confess, like me, love the physical format, and complaining about the inability to achieve BreathStream on CD. That claim made me decide to edit them in CD format.

 And on «The Resonant Memory of Earth», is one of my old works in Space for Music and out of stock. He continued to have high demand, so, too, have made a reissue on our label, ad21music. This time, remastered in 24 bit and with some changes to the artwork.

What is your relationship to eastern spiritual techniques like yoga or meditation in it´s many variants?

Yes, for years I practice yoga and meditation. Thousands of years ago that this knowledge is there, as the only way to free ourselves from our ego, and get to be ourselves. I am an avid reader of Eastern philosophies, but do not stay in the simple reading, because they are only the finger pointing to the moon, not the moon. To make this wisdom, penetrate within, we must practice.

Which synthetizers do you prefer? Do you like pure analog sound, or do you use also digital and software tools and instruments?

I confess that I never had an analog synthesizer. But yes, I have one of that called Analog Modeling, for example, my Korg Z1. I’ve never been an analog purist, I do not like fundamentalism. Surely if ever falls into my hands on a Yamaha CS80 will not say No! I love them! but has not given the opportunity and, frankly, I know friends who have sold them because they are not easy to maintain. My current setup consists of:

• – Korg Triton Extreme
• – Korg Triton (Classic)
• – Korg Z1 expanded
• – Novation Supernova
• – Soundcraft Mixer
• – Lexicon PCM 80 reverb

 And an assortment of software sequencers and plug-ins. Most of my music is based on my hardware synths. Although I’ve tried, I could not get comfortable with software synthesizers. I’m an old man!

 What are your future plans?

Always continue creating music. It is my vehicle of life. I hope to have this opportunity for very long time. Currently collects new techniques in composition, harmony, and at the level of editing sounds on synthesizers, samplers, etc. Always investigate before starting a new project. I like to offer new things, but always in my style.

Hubo una época en que todo era silencio. Hay una parte del mundo donde casi todo es oscuridad. Hubo una época del tiempo en el cual la música era como la sangre: necesaria para la vida. Hay un hombre que se inspira en esto y en mucho más para crear.. .la música… su música: Max Corbacho.

Naciste en Badajoz aunque desde hace años vives en Cataluña. ¿Influye el lugar de nacimiento sobre la música sea el estilo que sea?

Creo que sí, de hecho, aún antes de nacer, en el vientre materno, ya estás recibiendo influencias del exterior. Imagínate entonces la importancia del entorno durante los primeros años de vida. En esa etapa de la vida estamos absorbiendo todo tipo de estímulos, los cuales formarán parte de nosotros el resto de la vida. No digo que sea el aspecto más importante que define nuestra personalidad pero sí uno de los principales. En mi caso concreto, siempre digo que la quietud de las noches en Extremadura, el silencio de los grandes espacios, la infinita variedad de formas en las que se manifiesta la naturaleza, me influyeron decisivamente.

¿Qué te llevó a dedicarte a la música y a no a otra cosa?

Siempre estuve vinculado a todo tipo de actividades artísticas, desde niño. Quizás la música es la más misteriosa de todas las artes, la más abstracta , inefable, y quizás eso fue lo que me impulsó a dedicarme a esto.

En 1.998 publicaste tu disco Vestiges, con un claro sabor a Steve Roach. De hecho, hay que considerarte como el alumno aventajado del estadounidense en España. Ambientes electrónicos se mezclan con percusiones subterráneas. ¿Por qué decidiste empezar así tu discografía?

Había descubierto la música de Roach muy poco tiempo atrás, y fue tal la fascinación que, mi estilo, por aquel entonces influenciado por artistas como Tangerine Dream, Richard Burmer, Neuronium, etc. giró de golpe hacia el ambient space.

¿Cómo fue el alumbramiento de Vestiges?

Por aquel entonces sólo disponía de un sintetizador Korg X5D, un Wavestation y un sampler Akai S2000. Eran los tiempos de los primeros home estudios, un concepto nacido gracias a la aparición de los PCs y las tarjetas de sonido. Con ese equipo y un secuenciador Cubase comencé a componer y grabar Vestiges. Estuve alrededor de un año metido en el estudio creando sonidos, editando en los sintetizadores, samplers, etc.

Una vez grabado, contacté con Freerecords, un sello que en realidad no era tal. Ellos simplemente gestionaban la edición del CD pero el dinero de todo ello lo pagaba el artista. Una vez editado lo envié a los pocos lugares que conocía. Internet por aquel entonces no era lo que hoy es, y la promoción fue prácticamente nula. fue al cabo de un año que, casualmente, Cliff Tuel, webmaster de Steve Roach, escuchó los clips en mi página web, le gustaron mucho y extendió el rumor entre la audiencia. A partir de entonces mi música comenzó a conocerse en USA principalmente.

Después de varios años ¿Cómo ves actualmente la música de Steve Roach?

Tan fascinante como el primer día, para mi oído. He escuchado alguna voz crítica comparando los antiguos trabajos con sus últimas producciones. Creo que su evolución es un caso aparte en la historia de la música electrónica. Nadie como él ha seguido innovando en cada trabajo y explorando en los límites desconocidos de la música de vanguardia.

¿El silencio es música?

El silencio lo contiene todo. Obviamente es la semilla de la que nace la música y cualquier manifestación, si entendemos el silencio como Vacío. Contiene toda posibilidad de ser.

Dos años después vio la luz Far Beyond The Inmobile Point. Este disco no contiene ningún tipo de ritmo. ¿Por qué este cambio? ¿Buscabas un acercamiento a tu ser más profundo?

Siempre me ha gustado ir contracorriente. Hubiera sido muy fácil hacer una segunda parte de Vestiges, de hecho estuve a punto de hacerlo. Pero quise dar un giro y dedicar mi disco a la otra cara de la música espacial-ambiental: los largos sonidos atmosféricos, envolventes, oceánicos. En Vestiges experimenté con ese concepto pero mezclado con percusiones tribales. En Far Beyond quise acercarme más a ese concepto. Entendía que en un solo disco, Vestiges, no había tiempo material para plasmar toda mi concepción de la música electrónica, por eso en Far Beyond quise acabar de exponer lo que no había cabido en el primer disco.

¿Se puede considerar la música como una droga?

No como una auténtica droga, pero sí como un psicotrópico, capaz de alterar nuestra mente. Creo que puede ser un vehículo hacia estados alterados de conciencia, un inductor, sí, pero no una droga propiamente dicha.

En el año 2.002 llega el disco The Resonant Memory Of Earth. En este disco podemos encontrar una mezcla de sonidos ya desarrollados en los dos anteriores. ¿Este álbum representa una consolidación de tu estilo?

En cierto modo sí. Intenté sintetizar en él todos los hallazgos sonoros de los dos primeros trabajos, y dar un paso más hacia adelante. En aquella época había ya adquirido lo que es la base de mi actual equipo, y creo que es el disco que más conecta con mi actual sonido. Además, intenté en él plasmar mi experiencia con sonidos naturales, grabaciones de campo, etc. fue también mi conexión con el sello norteamericano Space For Music, donde fue editado el trabajo, junto con el siguiente Nocturnal Emanations. Recuerdo esa época como un momento muy fructífero y creativo. Para mucha gente que escucha mi música es el mayor de mis trabajos. La verdad es que es un disco que me ha dado mucho.

Además en el disco podemos encontrar unas claras estructuras acústicas. ¿Musicalizar la Tierra es utilizar formas acústicas?

Por supuesto, yo solo he arañado éste concepto, pero hay quién a ido mucho más lejos en ésta búsqueda. Para mí, la música nace del silencio, tal y como hemos comentado anteriormente. Pero el silencio rara vez es absoluto, si nos tomamos un momento para detener nuestra mente y simplemente escuchamos, veremos cuán lleno de sonidos está el silencio, entonces podemos oír la estructura sonora de la tierra.

Hace unos meses un oyente de mi música me escribió. Me comentaba que al final, precisamente de The Resonant Memory of Earth, durante el fade out final, la música se había ido fundiendo con el sonido de su calefacción. Me comentaba que el efecto era fantástico. le dejó en un estado de absoluta quietud.

Tal como está la cosa ¿Cómo ves el futuro de nuestro planeta?

Confío en que un cambio en la conciencia global dé un giro al mundo. Soy optimista y creo que ya hay una manifestación de ese cambio en algunos sectores de la sociedad. Creo en el cambio individual y profundo de la persona. Es la única revolución posible.

Después llega Nocturnal Emanations. ¿Espiritualidad musical?

Tarde o temprano a todos nos alcanzan las grandes preguntas. A mi me llegaron entonces, y qué mejor vehículo para expresar esa búsqueda que la música. La creatividad de cualquier tipo, y por supuesto la musical, es una auténtica práctica de meditación que poco a poco va expandiendo tu conciencia. No en vano, músicos, actores, artistas plásticos, son la avanzada crítica hacia el sistema y el sector tradicionalmente más orientado hacia un cambio de paradigma. Nocturnal Emanations es mi trabajo más dark ambient, y cuadraba perfectamente con la lectura de la obra de Sri Aurobindo, uno de los grandes místicos indios. De hecho en el interior del díptico de Nocturnal Emanations se puede leer un verso de dicho autor, el cuál leí por primera vez mientras mezclaba el primer tema del disco «A Spark of Deity». La fusión de éste poema con la música me cautivaron al instante.

¿Qué es para tu música la noche?

Supongo que me haces ésta pregunta porque tú ya has oído esa conexión, la has experimentado. Existen varias experiencias que automáticamente nos conectan con algo que no entendemos a nivel racional pero que nos proporcionan un bienestar instantáneo a nivel espiritual, interno. Contemplar el mar, el inmenso y vacío desierto, un bosque húmedo y brumoso, y por supuesto, el firmamento en una noche despejada. Nuestra conciencia se alimenta de éstas sensaciones, apelan a un nivel interno más allá de las palabras y los pensamientos. En ese nivel se conecta mi música con la noche.

Con Indalo llegamos a tu amistad musical (y también humana) con Bruno Sanfilippo. ¿Cómo nació vuestra sociedad?

Bruno llegó a Barcelona de Buenos Aires y contactó con Freerecords para distribuir su música aquí. Ellos le dieron mis datos para que contactara conmigo. En España no había entonces nadie más que editara en nuestro estilo, así que fue muy fácil conectar a nivel profesional y, dada su calidad humana, también a nivel personal. La idea de unir fuerzas para promocional nuestra música fue un paso lógico en nuestra relación. Hemos estado complementando nuestra visión de la música electrónica desde entonces.

Indalo es el resultado de la unión de dos mentes musicales casi iguales. ¿Cómo fue el trabajo compositivo de esta obra de arte musical?

Bueno, es sabido que hicimos un viaje juntos por el sur de España, y disfrutamos mucho de los paisajes desérticos de Almería, y del parque natural de Cabo de Gata . Por aquel entonces yo llevaba mi grabadora de sonidos siempre conmigo, a la caza de cualquier sonido interesante. Imagínate a dos locos de la música electrónica juntos en un viaje y con una grabadora estéreo de alta calidad. No parábamos de colocar los micros en cualquier sitio y a cualquier hora. Una vez ya en Barcelona, decidimos aprovechar esos sonidos y crear un disco basado en esos lugares.

El proceso de creación se basó principalmente en la creación de pistas cada uno en su estudio por separado y luego, en uno de los dos estudios se hacían mezclas improvisadas. Algunas cuajaron y otras no, otras se retocaron un poco, se añadieron más pistas, y se llegó así al producto final. Es un trabajo de experimentación principalmente. Siempre nos han dicho que la mezcla final es muy rica y en cada escucha puedes descubrir nuevos detalles.

Una vez terminado, sabíamos que no iba a ser un trabajo fácil para los oyentes. Es muy árido, oscuro y luminosos a la vez, y tiene una profundidad sonora impresionante.

Moontribe son algo más que la recopilación de temas no antes publicados. Cuéntanos.

Estuve trabajando en unas pistas para colaborar con un par de artistas. Trabajé duro en el estudio pero finalmente, el proyecto no cristalizó y guardé en el cajón los tracks. Al cabo de unos meses, ya componiendo el nuevo disco, escuché éstas pistas y ví claramente que debía aprovecharlas. Me puse a completarlas, añadía algunas capas y compuse dos temas nuevos para tener un CD entero. Así nació Moontribe. Luego mucha gente me dijo que menos mal que no tire esas pistas a la basura.

¿Qué lleva a un músico a guardar temas en el cajón?

Cuando compones un tema, lo tocas mil veces, lo escuchas otras tantas, y luego intentas mezclarlo para que suene equilibrado, así que lo vuelves a oír otras mil veces. Para entonces, estás tan metido entre los árboles que no puedes ver el bosque. Muchos de los temas que a priori te habían parecido increíbles comienzan a sonarte verdaderamente mal, sin fuerza, ya no te causan ninguna impresión y decides borrarlos de tu disco duro.

Eso es lo que pasa cuando comienzas en tu carrera. Pero un día escuchas un tema que no habías borrado por descuido al cabo de un año más o menos, uno de esos temas que al final habías descartado. Y voilá! Te suena perfecto, fresco, desconocido, misterioso, como si fuera de otro artista. Es una lección que aprendí hace tiempo y ahora es raro que borre un tema, aunque me parezca muy malo. Tengo el disco duro atestado de éstos temas, así como en el secuenciador, esperando su momento. Normalmente los dejo reposar un año, dos, incluso más. Y algún día, tranquilamente, los oigo de nuevo. Si salta la chispa, los rescato, si necesitan un retoque lo hago, o simplemente masterizo y ya está. Todos mis nuevos trabajos están llenos de esos tracks que en un principio no entraron en ningún proyecto.

Y llegamos a tu última creación: The Talisman. ¿Qué te lleva a crear estos temas tan profundos dentro del espacio que te rodea?

Creo que es un paso más en mi evolución artística y personal. En lo artístico, estuve experimentando y profundizando en mis conocimientos de armonía musical. Encontré nuevas formas de composición y experimentación sonora, profundicé en algunas técnicas de producción como el looping, los largos ecos y reverberaciones, etc. A nivel personal he continuado con mi particular revolución interior. Además coincidió con un período en el que tuve mucho tiempo para dedicarlo de lleno al estudio. Todo ello es el caldo de cultivo en donde «The Talisman» fue creado. He de decir que éste trabajo me ha abierto muchas puertas, y me ha dado a conocer más que ninguno de los anteriores. Estoy verdaderamente contento con el resultado.

¿Un deseo?

En lo artístico, continuar componiendo y conectando con la audiencia igual que hasta ahora. Y ya en general, realmente, y teniendo en cuenta los tiempos convulsos que vivimos ahora mismo, mi deseo es que cada cual inicie un cambio que nos lleve entre todos a solucionar los problemas de éste fascinante mundo en el que vivimos.

¿El futuro de Max Corbacho músico?

Acabo de publicar «BreathStream», un nuevo trabajo más o menos en la línea de «The Talisman» pero más pausado si cabe, más introspectivo. He utilizado prácticamente la misma instrumentación, con alguna incorporación nueva como un sintetizador, Novation Supernova y poco más. La creación a seguido el mismo proceso que los anteriores, es decir, mucho trabajo de edición de sonidos en los sintetizadores y la siguiente composición en base a ellos, mucho looping y largas reverá. También he rescatado alguna de esas piezas en reposo de las que antes hablábamos, como la que cierra el álbum, «Pure Being». El resultado es un trabajo reposado, que evoca una larga y quieta respiración, de ahí el título. Espero que os guste. Un saludo a todos.

Ambient Soundscapes from Spain: an interview with Max Corbacho

Max, what were your first steps in music…. how did you get involved in electronic music?

During a long time, my first favorite groups were the big dinosaurs of the symphonic rock, Pink Floyd, Yes, Kansas, Genesis… and kindred bands. Besides, I felt a growing need to do this music myself. I bought my first instrument in those days, a Spanish guitar, which was followed by an acoustic guitar and then an electric one. For some years I played the electric guitar in several rock bands. Little by little, my love for the guitar began to calm down as my interest moved to other types of music, especially the ancient music, baroque in particular. I also began to listen to the classic artists of EM such as Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and some Americans like Richard Burmer. One night as I was visiting the house of a couple of friends, I found a cd with a beautiful photography of the American desert among their discs. I’d always liked those places, I usually visit them in Spain. I played the disc and in seconds I felt like «this is what I’ve always looked for and I’ve just found it». That was the first time I heard the music Steve Roach, Michael Stearns and Kevin Braheny and the cd «Desert Solitaire». To me it was my start in the electronic music…

How would you describe your music? Some called you «the Spanish Steve Roach» after they heard you first album….

I think that my music rises out of a desire to recreate what happens in nature, the endless source of visual and sonic richness. I try to figure out the mystery that makes us admire the beauty of natural surroundings, its simplicity, mystery of repetition etc.

I try «to amplify» the sounds, the textures of natural environments in the space and in the imagination, to discover zones that though they exist, they are not evident at first.

Thus, I don’t try to imitate real sound landscapes, my intention is rather to produce events, textures and phrases that are analogous in the richness of possibilities and variety of shades. I also intend to transmit that organic richness, the same emotion, reverence and passion that I feel for life, the world, the people…

Yes, some people call me the Spanish Steve Roach, but I honestly believe that Roach’s quality is so big and unique, of such impact in the music of our days, that any comparison is useless. His influence is evident in my music and in that of thousands of artists in the whole world. I hope to continue learning from him for many more years.

Can you tell us something about each of you albums, how they were made, what concepts you had in mind…

I made my debut «Vestiges», with few resources but a lot of patience. As a declaration of principles, I formed my musical direction with it: atmospheric environmental sounds with driving electronic percussion.

It was privately produced and stayed unnoticed for more than a year, until Cliff Tuell (Steve Roach’s webmaster) accidentally entered my web site and listened to the audio clips. From there on, and due to the positive comments of fans in the US I began selling my cds. My second album, «Far Beyond The Immobile Point», was an attempt to find another occult face of my music. It would have been easier to do compose another «Vestiges», which would have sold even better for sure, but I decided the new album should be something completely different. «Far Beyond … » was inspired by the first chapter of Umberto Eco’s novel «Foucault’s Pendulum». Eco’s poetical vision of the universe presented in his work inspired me to do a much more introspective and contemplative work. The music breaths far more abstraction and the lack of rhythm and percussion reinforced my vision of remoteness in the universe.

With «The Resonant Memory of Earth», I returned to the basics of «Vestiges». My passion for natural, desolate and remote places always inspired me. With a succession of quiet sounds and harmonies I recreated my feelings on these environments. It was a very emotive work for me, it coincided with a journey to the Sahara desert in Morocco where I explored the corners of my mind in search of answers.

«Nocturnal Emanations» was a new exploration of dark and desolate territories. Here, the magic mutation of the natural forms inspired my synthesizer grooves and sequences It was a new form of composition that I had never tried and that I’m still exploring. I began to generate a series of sounds obtained from field recordings, samples, etc. From then on, I started to morph all the sounds that, as seeds, were growing and transforming into something totally different, though preserving the characteristics of the initial seed. The grooves were treated in the same way.

«Indalo» was the first work with my friend Bruno Sanfilippo. He had just come from Argentina and that was the moment we met. We traveled together to Almeria, the desert south of Spain. The place astonished us and we decided to do something to reflect its nude beauty. I believe this disc is probably the darkest of my career, but it has a supernatural beauty.

And finally there’s my last work «Moontribe», a collection of both new and past pieces. Perhaps it’s here where I have developed more deeply my passion for morphing groovescapes and the surrounding atmospheres. It has coincided with the arrival of new equipment into, and it can be considered as a disc of transition, probably of what is forthcoming.

In this work I basically present a few compositions that were intended for collaborations. These collaborations were not produced due to different reasons, but one day, revising my tracks, I decided to use them in my new project. Fortunately everything began to take form and I completed it with adding three new pieces. I am very satisfied with the final result, especially its variety and richness.

Do you set yourself certain goals when composing new music or putting together an album?

Yes, I always try to improve and explore new ways in every new work. The artistic creation is a mental state that makes us feel life in all its intensity, but to come to this mental state everything must flow calmly. I practically try to revive all my experiences lived up to the moment, the ideas then flow and the mystery of the creation takes place.

How did you meet Bruno Sanfilippo?

When Bruno arrived at Spain, he contacted a record company in Barcelona to distribute his music in Spain. There he heard about me as it was the label where I had edited «Vestiges». We met each other and we decided to join our efforts in the diffusion of our respective careers. A great friendship was born out of this professional relationship.

What made you both decide to start your own record company ad21 music? How’s the company doing so far?

Releasing not dance-oriented electronic music is really complex nowadays. The distribution channels are rather complicated and sometimes you lose the control on what you do because there are few economic resources. The big record companies do not have this problem (though they have others), they count with a great structure and they work as refined companies where everything, even the smallest detail, is under control. This is not what generally happens in the small record companies, where the artist is inevitable damaged in the end. Today, private release seems to be one of the few alternatives that’s left for us. Furthermore, the internet and the piracy have changed the concept of releasing and selling music. We are in a deep moment of change and a classic conception of a record company does not work in these days. However, Bruno and I decide to start this venture; it is not easy due to the infinite details one must bear in mind. We’ve edited «Indalo», Bruno´s «Ad Libitum» and my own album «Moontribe» under our record label «ad21music». In all it was quiet exhausting since the three cds appeared at the same time. But, looking back on it, it’s an experience that was worth the effort. We will try to continue releasing our music through our label, but we will also consider releasing music of other musicians. The contact is always interesting and besides, every company record has its particular network that provides a general idea of the market.

What contacts do you have with other e-musicians? Is there anyone you’d like to work together sometime?

I usually contact many artists to exchange opinions and trade our cds. I remember one of the first was Jeff Pearce; I had edited «Vestiges» and he kindly commented the curious coincidence that the name of one of his disks was also «Vestiges». We exchanged our same titled cds and I discovered a great artist. Until then, I had never heard about him or his music. There were many other artists after him. We have even started a collaboration with Amir Baghiri; it’s on hold for the moment but it will probably come out some day.

I also have close contacts with musicians of the Barcelona scene, such as Dom F. Scab, John Lakveet, Odracir Lavid, Sergio Koval, etc. No doubt I’d like to work with many other artists, especially with the followers of the «Californian» school that I feel stylistically closer to.

Max, what’s your opinion about today’s electronic ambient music, how do you think it will develop?

There are two questions to analyze here: the artistic and the commercial one. Artistically, we are living a great moment, there are loads of artists doing big works and this is a good thing. The genre is evolving towards new forms and new ideas are born every day. Certainly, the technology encourages this bloom.

The other issue, the commercial one, seems to move in the opposite direction. The enormous amount of new music, ambient, space, electronic, etc. and the almost total oblivion of big means of diffusion of this genre make it very difficult to survive to it. I visualize this as two big waves, two big cycles evolving very slowly and, in any moment, maybe will coincide in a point, since everything is a cycle. I believe we must be ready for the moment we might benefit from the cycle.

What musical plans do you have in mind for the near future?

Right now I’m working on two new works. One continues the Techno-Tribal wave of «Moontribe», with new grooves and soundworlds.

The second one is a project that is called «The Talisman». I have been working on it for two years and it will probably take its definitive form somewhere this year. There will be no percussion on this disc and it will be my more atmospheric work until now. Part of this material was heard at my recent concert in Barcelona with Bruno Sanfilippo. For that occasion the pieces were accompanied by grooves, but in their final version they will be purely atmospheric.

You just mentioned the recent concert with Bruno Sanfilippo last February. Was this your first live-concert, how did things work out? Did you make any recordings of it?

Actually I had performed live before and I knew the pressure and the nerves before a performance. This was my first performance as an electronic musician and I’m quite satisfied with the outcome. Part of the success was due to having shared the work with my friend Bruno Sanfilippo.

In addition to this, we have relied on the collaboration of an excellent team of technical personnel, especially our visual effects technician did a great job.

All the pieces played at the concert were performed for the first time. Some of them are destined for new projects, others will be processed again to create new forms. Bruno and I first recreated the essence of «Indalo», our collaborative cd. Then each one has done a solo part with new tracks. We are planning to publish sound clips, video clips and photos of this event on our own web pages.

Website: www.maxcorbacho.com

– How did this collaboration between two musicians that on paper develop, if not antagonistic, at least different styles arise?

Max: Our first personal encounter was through Free Records, label where I edited my first CD Vestiges. When Bruno arrived to Spain they told him there was this crazy man who also made ‘special’ music for their label. We met and, personally, when I heard Bruno’s music and we talked about our passion for it, I knew we were soul mates. In the summer 2002 we made a trip to the south of Spain, to the supernatural and silent Natural Park of Cabo de Gata, in Almeria to be precise.

Bruno: We loved the place with its weird landscapes and all. We took pictures and audio samples of bugs and other curious things. Being marvelled with this place, we decided to create music that reflected how this place made us feel. The result was Indalo. It was an interesting fusion where we both moved away a little from our usual style, and that turned out to be a good thing, even nourishing!

– Listening to the song you include in MDEA vol. 8, under which lines did you decide to work together? Was there any previous planning or it came up improvising?

Max: There had been some improvising sessions and also an exchange of tracks that later on were treated and processed by each in his studio.

Bruno: Yes, both things have happened. I had never worked in this way. You brainstorm the ideas, like ‘splashing a canvas’, until, little by little, the work begins to shape up. When various ideas are presented we choose our next step. The truth is that you have a good time doing it and we enjoy the outcome. We like to think Indalo has elements from both of us

– Each of you are about t release new albums, in both of them you can clearly see an evolution in the sounds. Bruno’s music in Visualia is more and more luminous and environmental (except for the intro in part 5 that connects mysteriously and anthropologically with the Mexican Jorge Reyes or the American Steve Roach for example), while Max’s, in Nocturnal Emanations, deepens more in the cave like and earthly sounds. Lets just say that while Bruno is looking at the sky Max is looking at the depths of the planet and the thickest cosmos. I’d like you to comment, separately, on the motivations and changes in these new works, and insist on the fact of how you joined your strength in the same direction.

Max: I believe that these two works, Visualia and Nocturnal Emanations, are closer than between Bruno’s Suite Patagonia and my The Resonant Memory of Earth. Anyway, notice how in these two we talk about nature as the argumental base of the albums. In the new records, the approach is given by the use of the atmospheres and textures, we both bet closer to the ‘ambient’ concept. It is true that Bruno’s music has a ‘sacred’ component that invites us to look up to the sky –your appreciation seems accurate to me. And my music also tends to be cave like and earthly landscapes. But you should never forget there’s no earth without sky.

Bruno: I agree with Max. Besides, the album Indalo is our musical version of the volcanic atmosphere of Cape Gata and its strange beauty. It is also true that the colour of the sound changed but it is quite possible that every musician composes a work in relation to what he is living at that moment. It also lies in the huge ocean of its own memory. It seems to me that there’s nothing static, even less in our restless minds. As you can see, Max’s sound has evolved too. But anyway, there are artists who like to linger on known places.

– Bruno, Visualia is a very different to Suite Patagonia. The expansive character, almost movie-like, and the musical production of Suite Patagonia turns into a much more introspective record in Visualia, it’s less melodious and much more armonic with a minimalist character.

Bruno: It is pretty clear, basically, Suite Patagonia is more symphonic and poetical. On the other hand, in Viusalia I see the slow swirling ambience, it has other kind of depth. Let me see… I would say it’s an introspective CD, in a way I try to make the music awake those images that are hidden in our memory as if they were unconscious whispers. At least that’s from where I wrote it. But I still don’t know how people is going to react, it’s too new. The work may invite us to move to a timeless inner dimension, promoting the imagination and fantasy, I hope.

– There are great creations in Visualia, Visualia III for example. We are facing a visual, touchable and descriptive music. How do you develop that capacity to describe images, which are different for each listener, with music?

Bruno: Honestly, I’m really happy that you liked the album. Well, at least Visualia III looks like it. Thanks!

Each composition in the album is represented by an image by Janet Parke, an US artist that makes some drawings with very inspiring fractals. We sensed with Janet a very strong aesthetic bond between our works. But as you said, each listener makes his own visual trip. I don’t know how it happens. Of course, every artist is interested in the effect of their work, that his art provokes a certain emotional effect. Visualia contains interwoven pieces of a continual but almost imperceptible transformation. They appear, in different planes, countless sounds of organic texture that may create reminiscences of the earth and its inhabitants. I believe Visualia isn’t hard on the ears but I don’t believe it’s for listening it in the kitchen while you are making macaroons either.

-Max, you’ve always been labelled as the follower of advanced student of Steve Roach. Anyway, throughout your recordings you can clearly see your personal contributions to that sound that evolved form the American space to what it is today. From my point of view, your music is more lyric and organic than the one from the American master. They are very personal and hard to explain details but how would you explain your musical evolution from the arrogant Vestiges up to today?

Max: First of all, I’d like to thank the great American masters like Rich, Roach, etc because they showed to a whole new generation the way to the unexpected moment.

As regards my evolution, you can analyse it basically through two aspects. First, my personal, psychic growing as an individual evolution, and continual discovery of the surrounding world (trips, personal experiences, etc). I think this conditions me extraordinarily, and the growth and enrichment is translated into the music. Secondly, as son of the time I had to live in, technology pushes me to experiment and search for new roads and new frontiers to explore every day. I often have the feeling – I talk about this in Nocturnal Emanations script – that my music shifts as a live organism and, at this point, this evolution points to a greater abstraction, as if the elements of which it was made of at the beginning , as in Vestiges, were dissolving little by little, mixing and flowing really slowly, creating new structures and textures in an eternal mutation.

– Max, where would you say your music stands in a physical plane? In the cosmos, the depths of the earth, half way?

Max: In «Far Beyond the Immobile Point» I tried to recreate the poetical universe in which Umberto Eco situated his pendulum, in the remotest place of cosmos. Up to now that was my only incursion to ‘the space’. Now I stay half way. I’m interested in the earth as the scenery of my music. I have the constant need of escaping from the city and feel that surface. I prefer lonely places where the man doesn’t disturb the silence. Perhaps this is an echo from my early years which took place in a lonely farmhouse in Badajoz province. A place where time goes by slowly, where the view gets lost in the horizon and the word ‘space’ makes sense.

– You both are musicians that have always shown interest in the ethnic and tribal things. Bruno made that pretty clear in the master piece Suite Patagonia. And Max has always incorporated in his sounds chamanic percussion. Up to what point do you feel incorporated to the ethnical musical world?

Max: I’ve always felt an absolute fascination for the ancestral cultures and, of course, by its music. In Vestiges, as a declaration of principles, the first piece, Desolada, already presents those powerful ethnical percussion. I’m still investigating into that kind of music so as to enrich myself with all that wisdom and magic in involves. Now, I’m fascinated with the Bereber music. Recently, I was able to hear it live on a trip to Morocco. I was so impressed by it that I now have a fusion project with some of its elements. Due to the evolving process of evolution I was talking about earlier, that is the dissolution of the basic element that make up my music, also the percussion are more abstract every time. For example, the ones in Nocturnal Emanations are basically tribal grooves that have been conveniently treated so as to acquire a synthetic quality but keeping the root and ethnical character.

Bruno: I’m attracted by the idea of composing incorporating sounds of different cultures. I believe that the purity of its fragrance contributes with a strong emotional content. I also believe that part of its ‘visual’ things in my music has to do with that evoking to the sonorous origin of the man. I also use the timbric of the synthesiser trying to create an ocean of latent images. I’m convinced that the ‘sonoric psico-ambients’, so to name them, will be more developed in the future music.

– Is there something you would like to say apart from all the things I would have liked to ask but I didn’t have time to?

Max & Bruno: We just wanted to thank your interest in our music. Your questions have been interesting and pleasant to answer. I hope we can enjoy, for a long time, your prestigious magazine and its CDs.

Max Corbacho started a solo career in the Ambient scene of the nineties. His amazing music soon attracted a remarkable attention. His albums are full of daring ideas.

 How and when did your interest in music and your vocation as a composer begin?

«I began to get interested in music since I was very young, but it was listening to old records by bands from the 1970’s when I felt the need to create. On the whole, all the artists in that era fascinated me, from the legendary Pink Floyd to the most metallic Led Zeppelyn of their first years. I started in Rock bands as a guitarist… till in the early 1990’s I abandoned everything so as to create electronic music.»

Which is the process you usually follow to create a musical piece?

«I don’t have a definite «method», yet I certainly have experienced an evolution. Nowadays I use the sequencer less than I used to, I intend my themes to become freer with respect to their rhythm and tempo. Right now I divide my time into creating acoustic loops from outdoor recordings and in the studio, and the creation of rhythmic computer-generated grooves, and I then coverall that with layers of synthesizers and it receives the final treatment.»

Do you consider yourself to be linked to a given musical label in particular? Do you feel or have you ever felt influenced by other musicians in your artistic task?

«Certainly, yet I rather feel I am related to a current, rather than to a given label. Obviously, the influence of such musicians as Vidna Obmana, Robert Rich or Steve Roach is undeniable in my work, and therefore I feel quite close to all the American ambient space scenery,as well as its European representation with such people as Alio Die, Mattias Grassow, Amir Baghiri, Temps Perdu, etc.»

Which are your sources for inspiration when composing?

«Basically my travels, outings and excursions to places where I feel myself far from civilization: I was born and spent the early years of my childhood in a small «cortijo», a typical country household, in the province of Badajoz, and later I spent every summer there during the following years. Somehow my subconscious always wants to return to that place, and I continuously look for places far away from noise to spend my free time, to photograph them and somehow capture threir atmosphere.»

Can you comment on what role Umberto Eco’s literature played in your album «Far Beyond The Immobile Point»? What did you want to express in this album?

«It was the first chapter what wholly captivated me. The poetic vision of the universe Eco describes,

and the vision of the pendulum the main character has, as he imagines how strings hold it stretching into infinity, up to a remote place the imagines as the «immobile point», the place where it is anchored, and around which the entire universe revolves, inspired me profoundly.»

What led you to compose «The Resonant Memory of Earth»? Did you propose to create a work related to Earth from the beginning?

«Yes, in «The Resonant…..» I finish some paths I started in «Vestiges», and plan it as an analysis of my feelings, my sensations at the moment of finding myself in some lost place in the midsrt of nature. Actually, it is a question I meditate on, wondering why many people like myself pick this call, poetically referred to as «the resonating memory of Earth·, whereas others never have this need in all of their lives. I also need to contribute somehow to making many people aware as they do not realise the harm they do to the natural environment.»

Tell us about your relationship with Bruno Sanfilippo. Are you planning to release an album together? What do you think of his musical style?

«Bruno and I are preparing a CD together, that’s right. We have connected very well at a personal level, and we have just had a vacation together with our respective wives in the south of Spain. We have the project of giving concerts jointly in the near future and it even is possible that we create our own label. With respect to his musical style, I believe there are several surprises in store for his fans, and some of the traits that were suggested in «Suite Patagonia», such as the taste for ambiences and atmospheric music, are going to get a thoroughly important role in his future works.»

Can you comment something about the projects you are working on and your plans for the immediate future?

«Yes, basically, I am currently working on two new projects , one being on a «techno-tribal» wave, based on rhythms generated via computer, and another maybe somewhat darker, without percussion and in a way following in the wake of «Far Beyond The Immobile Point». Also, there is my collaboration with Bruno Sanfilippo, as well as another two projects, one with Amir Baghiri and the other with Ran Kirlian, a young musician from Valencia who appears to be very promising indeed, having several surprises in store, in the near future.»

  Reviewed by Sergio Vilar for Nucleus Magazine

In this opportunity, Nucleus, had the immense pleasure to talk with the Spanish musician Max Corbacho, one of the most interesting and innovative European artists signed up inside the Ambient / Space Rock. Let us know in this I dialogue the ideas, works and projects to a creator’s future whose work deserves to be discovered without more delay.

To begin Max you could give us an express summary of your career for people that doesn’t know you?

Of agreement. I began as so many other youths being interested in the big groups of the 70, and little by little I decided, together with some friends, to mount a band of Rock. My first instrument was the guitar, Spanish and electric. Later, quite later, by the middle of the 90, I began to be interested in the electronic music, especially for the North American scene. I bought a synthesizer and I was fascinated by their power. Starting from then one can say that my current musical stage begins.

Well, do let us speak of your influences who have been directly you the more ones in the musical plane?

In my new electronic stage, my biggest influences are Vidna Obmana, Steve Roach and Robert Rich. Previously they have influenced me mainly the big groups of the 70, mainly the Pink Floyd of the first stage… their videotape «Live at Pompeii» caused me a deep impression. I am also a great admirer of the old music, mainly centuries XVl, XVll and XVlll.

And what is inspired to the moment to compose?

The remote and lonely places, the night, and in general the big spaces. I believe that it could never compose an urban topic. The relationship that exists between my music and the natural means is indivisible. Continually I carry out exits and intent to get rich with the received sensations. I also use the natural means as an it orchestrates more, recording natural sounds and then processing them.

Starting from that elements go developing your music?

I try to look for new roads continually. Now I am experiencing with a form of totally free composition, sometimes aleatory, joining and mixing previously created and manipulated elements.

Which the concepts that contain your disks are?

Well, maybe «Vestiges» and «The Resonant Memory of Earth» shares the same concept. A North American reporter said once my music transported to a place that we all take inside, eternally swept by the wind. I keep that sensation. In «Far Beyond The Immobile Point», the concept was taken out of the first chapter of Umberto Echo’s novel, «The Pendulum of Foucault» whose imagination prolonged the rope that sustains the pendulum until the confines of the universe, in a place that he calls ·»the immobile point».

Since you made reference to your new disk, How sees «The Resonant Memory Of Earth» now, to little of having been published?

Musically, now, after some months, I reconcile with this work again.

When you finish a project you have listened to it thousands of times, and in this point loses the reference a little. I listened to it recently in my friend’s house Bruno Sanfilippo again it, and I feel satisfied of the carried out work. With this disk has wanted to finish some roads undertaken in «Vestiges».

Do I suppose that the visual aspect should play an important part to the moment to present your music on a scenario, not?

At the moment I have not begun with the concerts. It is a pending subject that for luck Bruno Sanfilippo and I are working, and we plan to share it to lean on mutually. Of course the visual aspect wants him to be primordial part of the show. We have several ideas that I wait we can materialize. The generation of images in real time, generated by software starting from the music, is one of my ideas. At the moment, we are collecting images of places visited to manipulate them and that they serve us as base.

Ambient, electronic, experimental… could you give us a definition of your music?

It is always difficult to label a work, sometimes in oneself disk different styles cohabit. but we all know that at the moment to define the style is fundamental in the current market. Basically, «Vestiges» and «The Resonant Memory of Earth» could be framed inside the panorama of the Space music, while «Far Beyond The Immobile Point» goes into in the field of the Ambient.

Going to another topic, How do you see to the current musical scene?

I believe that we attend an explosion of the electronic music of vanguard. They have never had so many unknown artists presenting disks continually. The musical computer science has revolutionized the artistic creation. I only wait that everything this offer belongs together with a great demand, that which I believe that to the long one he will come given by the incorporation of new markets, especially China and the countries of the East.

Previously, when we talked about your musical influences, you made reference to several really innovative creators inside the style. What do you say about the work of artists like Roedelius, Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana or Bruno Sanfilippo? What aspects do they approach you to them?

They are big creators, I believe that right now they move the market. It is so much their force that they go drawing the road continually, at least in the world of the ambient-space.

Bruno Sanfilippo it begins now a new stage, after its establishment in Barcelona. I admire their previous works a lot, in particular I admire their meticulousness, he is extremely a musician retailer. I believe that it will surprise their followers with an evolution of their music. We have a very narrow relationship at personal level, that which will help us a lot in our respective careers.

In that projects are working at the moment?

Well, in several at the same time. I prepare a CD with heaps of electro-tribal percussions, taking advantage of new technologies, that which I want that it serves as base in the future concerts. I also have several CD´s in completely environmental mind, without percussions. And now Bruno Sanfilippo and I will begin to exchange material for a future CD group.

Well Max, we would thank you some words for our I publish by way of closing.

Because to thank to all their interest, I wait that in little time it can present them new works and desire that the audition of my music contributes to the personal growth, and to the diffusion of aspects like the tolerance, the solidarity and the protection of the natural environment. A great greeting to all from Spain.