Mike, congratulations on the release of the Tyraze Forgotten Technologies EP! How much time did it take for you to complete the EP in full and what is the story behind “Forgotten Technologies?”

Hey Sean, thank you! The EP took about 4 months to finish. I kind of got lucky in that I produced these songs consecutively one after the other and was really happy with each one. You know, a lot of the time only a fraction of the songs make the cut for release but I’m finding lately I’m happier with more and more of my WIP’s. The main story I wanted to convey for the listener is to think about the possibility and probability of the advanced technology that ancient civilizations were in possession of.  With the song “Forgotten Technologies,” I tried to make it feel like you were walking through the inside of an ancient lab  or a pyramid that has all these people or humanoids working with technology that we can’t understand, like moving tablets and equipment without touching them and that kind of stuff. 

Do you have a favorite song on the EP and why?

So I think my favorite story wise is “Forgotten Technologies,” the title track. But whenever I listen back to “Juiced Out” I just smile or laugh at how ridiculous the vocal sample is. It was the first time I tried anything like that and I kind of wanted a one off song where it wasn’t connected to the theme of the EP and wasn’t so serious. The sample is of the streamer xQc going on a rant about peoples streaming setups and the amount of excess crap they have. I had to switch around the original dialogue a bit to make it fit the buildup but I think it works anyway.

What were the most groundbreaking concepts that you learned while making your EP?

Nothing that’s really technical like some crazy sound design technique but more so general concepts like don’t be afraid to break rules that you may have heard how something should be. Connect the elements/ certain frequency bands of different sounds to provide more continuity and cohesion to your mix, don’t be afraid of red, but most of all train your ears and use references. 

What are some of your favorite approaches for quickly getting a great idea down in the DAW? 

A lot of the times I would get ideas I would be away from my computer and I would just hum or whistle what’s in my head into my phone so I can replay it later when I got home. If you are home and get a great idea the best thing is to just go and get whatever you can down. If you’re more concerned with the specific notes you can use default presets on synths first and worry about sound design later.

How do you approach Collabs? Do you have any best practices to share?

Unfortunately I do not. I haven’t released much content and wanted to have a solo debut EP release before I start releasing more regularly and collabing with anyone. Just something to show and to have my foot in the door. That being said, it’s something I’m definitely looking forward to. I think it’s one of the coolest things to have two or three or four  different artists with their own catalog  combine to make something better than they could alone.

Do you have a favorite Weekly Download?  What are your top 3 favorite Weekly Downloads?

My top weekly downloads are no. 18, Sitting on top of the mix, 179-181 Neuro bass resampling and most recently no. 234 The Art of Djing. I’ve focused mostly on producing so the djing weekly downloads are great for me now as I’m starting to organize and prep tracks and playlists in my rekordbox. The sitting on top of the mix weekly download was one Dylan pointed out to me to watch early on and definitely was one of the big moments I can remember in making a big impact on my production.

Tell us about your new Product available in the Producer DJ marketplace. 

My sample pack “Tyraze Technology” includes all of the basses, one shots, synths, pads, fx and any weird sounds used in the making of my EP. 

Who are you listening to for inspiration these days?

Pretty recently I found out about Ace Aura and that whole color bass genre. That dude is making some refreshing and unique stuff and it’s something I’m looking to dip my toes into. 

What are your top 5 favorite VST’s at the moment?

1. Serum
2. Omnisphere
3. Vital
4. Operator
5. Only use 1-4  🙂

What can we expect from Tyraze in 2021?

Steady releases and exploring different moods/genres. This EP is pretty heavy but I’m going to be venturing to different stuff for sure. Hopefully a collab or two would be cool also.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? 

Just a huge thanks to Dylan and the Producer Dojo team. I came into the Dojo with no prior musical knowledge, other than trying to aimlessly teach myself in a DAW. With the hours of content provided plus hard work and dedication ( I know it’s cliche, but it’s true) I was able to get to this point and I don’t think I could have done it myself. And thank you to anyone who listens to and supports my music! 🙂

Stream/Download the Tyraze Forgotten Technologies EP here.

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Grab the New Tyraze Technology Sample Pack here.