Feature: Alexis Tyrel & Skylar Mills [Interview]

Hello Alexis and Skylar. Where abouts in the world will we find you today? How far apart in distance are you at the exact moment? How did you spend your morning and what’s your agenda for the rest of the week?

I (Skylar) am in Belgium in a a small village. It is really nice, the only thing I don't like is that there is not a lot of great takeout here but it's good for dieting.

We are 34 km apart and at the moment it is going to stay like this. That's a little hard I'm glad we have the phone and email FaceTime so we can communicate stay in touch

My agenda is open at the moment with the Corona virus we are in total lockdown in Belgium can't go outside just to go grocery shopping and to the pharmacy. So it's a bit of an adjustment for someone that's always from home. I get out of bed my morning starts at about 9.00 get up take a shower get something to drink gym for about an hour then I make some food family time. Listening to music off course

How did you first meet?

We first meet a long time a go, I think we dislike each other music at first but after many years of arguing we come together in our differences and try to make the best of our divert views.

How did your friendship eventually lead to collaborating on music together?

I would not call what we have a friendship, but collaborating in music brought us closer together. I think in music you can agree where in words you disagree so music is a better communication format than words to us.

A successful partnership is generally based around balance and compromise; how do you manage these things within your production dynamic?

Alexis is more in the lead of the computer stuff. I check the sound if it needs a little more or less and the production. I like it less fancy than Alexis. I think when you make music it's good when you have more people that will listen to it because if you work on a track for days you are not subjective anymore, you get tunnel vision so working together has a lot of advantages.

Do you have different roles in the production process? And if so, elaborate please.

I like to always be in the lead in life, and Alexis is a more background person so this works perfect. I think he is more creative and I am more bold so someone that is more straight in decision making.

You’ve recently come out of a creative burst with three collaborative EPs about to be released. Tell us about those and how they may differ stylistically.

I think with Skylar and me we share a intersection of certain parts of music where we agree and these 3 ep are the result of that. For me personally these tracks would be in a peaktime moment of my dj sets, with Skylar is would be more of a relax track in the middle of her set because she plays very differ music than me in general, a lot harder.

Which track of EPs took the shortest and longest to complete? And how quick is the creative process?

The longest to finish was definitely “Drexciyan Wave Storm” on Lessismore 043 - Lost City Of Aunora (Part 01). We did not measure the time but a very long time. That is way there are 3 version. But this sound leaded to a very quick with the track called “Dreatful Night”.

Who are the artists that most inspire you in electronic music right now?

I (Skylar) know that both our inspiration comes for old electronic music. Artists back in the day we're making things we never here'd before. Artist now make a lot of the same sound with there easy to use plugin in sounds. We do everything with old gear by hand, so we are old skool but hopefully with one eye on the future.

Is there any philosophy behind the music you’re creating together? How does it differ from your solo production and do you imagine how it will affect people?

Philosophy is a big word with is maybe difficult to fill but I think one could say it is the stereo male female vision but flipped around. My (Skylar) solo project are less emotional music wise or more dark.
You’ve been a part of the (electronic) music scene for quite a while.

If you could choose any period of your creative being, what would be the time or the moment in your lives you are most likely to return to and why?

I think the nice thing is because we have different ages when I think something is old and has been thewed over Skylar can tell me no this is cool, we should do something with this I never heard anything like this. Then I think, yeah because you are young. But it is nice to have a enthusiastic counterpart so I roll with it.

Currently, there is no shortage of Dutch talent in the scene. Was it difficult to start a musical career in the Netherlands at the time when you decided to go for it? Or has the culture always been supportive of up and coming artists?

Personally we do not like Dutch music. I think the best music come for less commercial places of the world. But I would say we are not 100% rooted in Holland, I (Alexis) live there Skylar lives in Belgium but maybe it is time to move to a more sunny part of the world because the culture is not that great in Holland.

Do you still find the time to do things you enjoy most – that are not related to music? What are some of your favorite past times?

Yes I (Skylar) have time to do other things then make music. I love cooking all kind of foods, I go to the gym every day. Going out to dinner just the normal stuff I enjoy the most in life family time is very important seeing the people that I love.

Will we see more collaborations in your future?

Sure Lessismore is like family.

'Lost City of Aunora Part 02' is out now on Lessismore, you can purchase the release here: https://bit.ly/2KCEXRX