Interview with Mystical Sun

Mystical Sun has delighted the world with lush melodic music for over a decade. One of the first artists to have success using the MP3 format, Mystical Sun has always been at the cutting edge of music and technology. Cyberset’s Justin Weiner recently talked with Richard of Mystical Sun about his new music.

Congratulations on the release of your latest album, “Deeperworlds.”

Thank you. Completing the album has been the fulfillment of a vision imagined years ago at the beginning of Mystical Sun.

What is that vision?

It is another form of music, for a different purpose than most commercial music. The purpose is for deep listening and the creation and evocation of sensations and abstract states of mind. An alternative to all the music about material world. There is a definite Mystical Sun aesthetic to the music, one that I have been developing and refining intentionally over the years. My goal is to offer listeners a music that will take them on a vacation, a travelogue.

What does that mean exactly?

The concept is to echo images of other worlds and times within your imagination. It is different than pure Ambient music, so I’ve entitled it Atmostronica, because the focus is on creating intentional atmospheres for the listener experience and be in.

The music is not about identifying with the personality of a band or artist. It is more open ended for the listener to participate in the soundscape.

How could someone participate in the experience of the music?

Focus is required hear the subtle aspects in the music, because of the way it is composed. You have to listen into the tones and harmonics of the sounds. It requires a different type of hearing perception to grasp. Melodies and hooks are not the focus here, the layers of sounds are the stars. After a time you will notice that there are micro-harmonic melodies and special features hidden in the overtones of the audio spectrum. At first glance you might hear a wall of sound, but if you pay very close attention, you will begin to notice the micro-changes.

What do you mean by micro-harmonic changes?

I am very serious about exploring micro-harmonic sound manipulation, so thousands of hours were spent designing the sounds at the lowest level of detail. This sound design process uses a custom system of software, that I developed for this purpose. It has given me great flexibility in molding the micro-harmonic properties of the sounds and therefore creating songs within sounds.

How does “Deeperworlds” fit into this?

“Deeperworlds” is a collection of songs that where created using the principles I’ve been elaborating on. On top of everything there is a meta conceptual theme, the songs are each unique worlds and express time, space, and boundary dissolution.

Time is represented by the way different tempos and beats are presented in the tracks. Space is alluded to by the ubiquitous atmospheric sounds and cinematic effects. Finally, all of the songs vary in style and this suggests distinct sonic spaces or “worlds”.

How long did “Deeperworlds” take to complete?

Every track on “Deeperworlds” is new or recently remixed. The tracks span a period of a decade and bring together many periods of creative output and influences. Some tracks were started early on and developed gradually over the entire time span, while others are very recent.

The final mix of “Deeperworlds” was completed in late summer 2006, during one all night session in the studio. Dawn added new vocals to “Innerworld” spontaneously as we were in final production of the album.

What is the cover of “Deeperworlds” about?

If you look closely at the diamonds you will see they are like little mirrors, each reflecting a different world. There are other layers and optical illusions in the artwork that you will notice if you stare at it for a long time.

How would you describe your music?

Cinematic sound worlds. Places where the listener travels to. Vehicles for dreaming. Abstract stories. Movie soundtracks. Micro-harmonic sound wave explorations.

Where do you find your sounds effects?

Generally I create most of my own sounds, but I sometimes use found sounds.

What is next for Mystical Sun?

“Deeperworlds” closes a chapter of Mystical Sun music, and opens another one. I am already producing several music projects in parallel.

Thanks for talking about your music, and the best of luck with all your future endeavors.