Mind Enterprises take us through their analogue dreamland studio

Mind Enterprises is the creative project of Andrea Tirone, a producer from Turin who grew up immersed in the synth-driven Italo disco of the 1980s. Tirone’s music blends groovy basslines, mesmerizing drum patterns, and cosmic keyboard melodies. His visuals add a humorous element, satirizing consumerism and the eccentricities of the 80s. Over the past year, Mind Enterprises has been active on the live music scene, performing at festivals such as Mallorca Live and Reeperbahn, and headlining shows in Germany, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

The talented, nu-disco genius has collaborated with vocalist Joe Killington on what could be a massive summer anthem in the form of “Up & Down”. It’s a track full of summer disco flavour and born out of the producers love for analogue synths and raw production. He took us through how the track was made below

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Screenshot of Logic File

Yamaha TX7

80´s Desktop module, equivalent of the famous DX7 FM Synth. Has a very distinctive character, I find it especially great with bells and chimes types of sounds 

I used the sound ´Chimeorgan´ mixed with the Sh101 to play the main melody on the track. This is the sound that inspired the mood of the song.

Is very hard to program a DX7 and on the TX is not even possible because it was intended as an expansion module for the actual synth. I usually run the TX7 through the program ¨DX Librarian¨ via MIDI. That´s a way to access thousands of pre-sets that you can load into the machine in groups of 24. I usually go through sounds until I find the one that inspires me and I try to build a song starting from there.

AKAI MPC 1000

Is basically a sampler and sequencer and can be linked via MIDI with all my synths and drum machines. For me it is much easier to orchestrate all instruments in the song using an Mpc rather than a DAW. I think it is a huge difference to produce with hands on real machines rather than sitting in front of a screen. I usually program and sequence the entire song with my MPC and just when I feel the parts are really working I transfer the project into LogicX for mixing.

Phonic Audio Mixer MX881

Is an old 8 track analog mixer that I found in a charity shop a long time ago, since then it’s been a fundamental part in my set-up. Has a very basic channel strip Eq with a distinctive flavour and a built in Analog Echo FX. Adds a bit of warmth and 3dimension to sounds and is essential to get the balance right before recording on the DAW. Again for me here is quite important to finish the sound before switching to computer mixing.

Roland SH 101

Legendary monophonic analog Synth from the 80´s. I use the SH 101 mainly for bass lines but works great also with lead sounds and Fxs. Is completely analog so no presets, each time you program a sound either you take note on a piece of paper of every single parameter (I never do it) or that sound is lost when you want to try something different. I think that’s actually a positive quality, you never get stuck with the same sounds. 

Quick Tip: I usually program the bass line in the SH101 built in sequencer. Then using the gate Cv port I send an audio Clock from the MPC, this way the bass line will be in sync with the beat. Sticking a piece of tape on the synth ´Transpose´ button will allow you then to change notes on the bass line while playing a melody on another synth. Is an interactive way to create melodies and chord structures, and is my favorite way to write songs.

The post How It Was Made: Mind Enterprises – Up And Down (Time Records + Italo Dance) appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.