Interview of Milan Kolarovic (Acumen).
Given to Legend Diskmagazine`s issue #3,
Hugi Diskmagazine`s issue #21 and NoName
Magazine on the 1st of October, 2000.

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Q: Hello Acumen, tell us something about you.

A: Hi there all Legend, Hugi and NoName magazine`s readers. My real name is 'Milan Kolarovic', but in the demo-scene I`m better known as my alias name 'Acumen'. I`m a finnish composer, living right outside a small city called Orivesi, in a small place called Hirsilä. Although I have a foreign name, I was born in Finland where I have lived my whole life. My father was born in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, from where he moved to Finland in the late 1950`s. So in other words I`m half slavic and half finnish as my mother is a native finnish (savolainen). I was born on the 9th of October, 1980, so my 20th birthday is right around the corner. More information of me can be found at my homepage http://www.kolumbus.fi/acumen

Q: When did you start composing and when did you enter to demo-scene?

A: I started composing in the end of 1994 with Scream Tracker3, and later on started to use Impulse Tracker 2 (in the end of 1997). I already had some experiments with tracker music on my Amiga 600 with a program called Pro Tracker, but "officially" it all started when I got my first PC. My very first computer was a Commodore 128D. I released my first song called 'Affection' over the internet in 1998, so I guess I officially entered the scene then. No previous songs to that can be found anywhere, not even I have them since I had a mysterious harddrive failure and I lost all my music and samples previous to that. Years of sentimental work and memories had been erased permanently. That was extremely hard to go through mentally, but I think in the end 'Warder' pointed out the true value by saying to me right after the accident: "Brain is the most important tool of a composer, and that you haven`t lost". Ever since that I have kept backups of my work on a separate harddrive and CD-R discs. Although I agree with Warder`s phrase, I wouldn`t want to go through that ever again.

Q: Are you in any group now?

A: No, I`m not in any group right now and never have been. Allthough I`ve been asked to join groups various times, I haven`t seen or felt reasons why I should join one. I feel that I`m on a one man mission to explore the musical world and to represent my own ideas, thoughts and emotions for others to dive into and experience, and hopefully also to enjoy. However, I`ve always been open for projects concerning music, co-operative work, demos, animations, games, and so forth. Infact there are many co-operative projects been done and planned as we speak, it just so happens that I have never released nor completed one before.

Q: What style of music do you prefere?

A: There are no particular styles I prefere over another, but if I had to name one, it would definetly be 'New Age' music, and all sorts of intelligent electronic or instrumental music styles. I like all kinds of music which has a certain mood inside, a part of the creator`s heart with`in, passion beyond expression, something that makes you just wanna close your eyes and drift away with the music. The only music style I really don`t like is 'death metal', and all other pure metal music. Also I can`t stand the typical recycled pop or dance music like 'Britney Spears', and other similar so called "artists". I love intelligent music, music that is unique and well done, music that cannot be described cause it has to be felt and experienced. Good music has to be a total emotional, satisfactional, and overwhelming experience.

Q: How would you describe your music style?

A: It`s a mixture of 'New Age' and 'Electronic Instrumental' styles, with some orchestral and classical influences. Most of all I`d like to believe my music is very emotional and intense, that it reflects my soul, body and mind with every single note I write. It`s very hard to describe my style in closer details, since I feel that I`m writing music in various different styles and moods. Even a single song can hold influences of many particular styles. It`s better to listen to the music itself, and having no thoughts over the style, but more on the music itself, and hear out what it has to offer.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: The word "inspiration" is more like a clishé for me. It has lost the genuine meaning ages ago, since I very rarely see that I`m having an inspiration. Mainly it`s just sitting in front of the monitor with your headphones on top of your head and just trying out different things, though sometimes this leads in to somekind of "mental drive" which could be referred as "getting an inspiration. In my case I`d much more rather call it "strenght", and ask myself where do I find the strenght to seek out new ideas, and to compose. My answer would be: "from normal everyday life". I seek for issues, news and events that I feel important to fight for and to let people know about, personal or things that affect all of us. I find it very hard to come up with the right motivation these days, to find a reason why to write new music, to find a reason for existence even in general, to find an answer to my question: "why?". For most time of the year I have a depression, and maybe that`s one of the main reason`s why my music often comes out so melancholic. From this mixture of emotions I eventually again and again come up with the right mood to compose new music, as music resembles a diary where I write my thoughts. I guess you could say I`m not a very private person since I let all the people in the world "read" my diary. ; )

Q: How much time do you spend on other scene activities?

A: Activities? Basicly I just do music, and some other projects I`m asked to do music for. I`d like to do more, but to tell you the truth I`m having it hard to find the energy to do the little things that I`m doing right now, so I don`t want to overload myself with things and give promises that I couldn`t keep. I`m in that stage of life that I`ve moved onward from just doing music for a hobby and gone forward into desiring and wanting to find a commercial use for it aswell. I`ve always done music for myself, always (!), but I`m also hoping that some day it would give me a real career.

Q: Your song used in Legend#2 was really great! How much time do you need to make song like 'Serenity of Silence' ?

A: Thank you for the comment. 'Serenity of Silence' was probably one of the most "quickest" tune to finish in a long long time. I used few weeks to get it all together, maybe using about 100 hours of time in total. Usually songs require much longer period of time to finish, but with 'SOS' I made a knowing decision to release one more song before my work for the the 'Assembly`2000' would seriously begin. Usually songs require about a month or two to finish, taking more than 200 hours of time in total. A good example of a time consuming tune is 'Out of The Blue'. Nowdays I find it more difficult to come up with the right mood for composing than finding enough time for it, and as if this wouldn`t be enough, I get very easily frustrated with myself. So in the end, it`s a very complicated and difficult process, and only a very small percentage (%) of my songs ever see daylight (get released).

Q: What software and hardware do you use?

A: Well, I still mainly use 'Impulse Tracker 2' to orchestrate and put it all together. I also have a Korg N364 workstation synthesizer that I mainly use as a resource for my own samples and instruments, and occationally I compose and come up with song ideas with it. For example 'Adagio for Freedom' was composed totally by it, and I did almost all the samples myself on the Korg N364 for that song, but it`s still totally done (put together) in Impulse Tracker 2. I also have a hometheatre system which I use for listening music and watching movies. I mainly use headphones for composing (Fostex T-5), and my loudspeakers (Dali`s 'Red Series' 450 and 350 speakers) for listening to the final result and when doing the final mixing on my songs. I also have a microphone (AKG D50 S) which I think I last used with 'Guinea Pig' in 1998, so I really haven`t done any serious recording with it, atleast not yet.

Q: Do you use MIDI? Do you like it more than tracking?

A: Nope, I don`t use MIDI, although I`ve tried a number of different MIDI programs (since I have 100% MIDI connectable synthesizer), but none of those which I have tried have served my purposes. I want to have the ability to try out and experiment things in a blink of an eye, and so far I haven`t felt I could do that in a MIDI enviroment, atleast not with the programs I`ve tried so far. I`m hoping that Impulse Tracker 3 eventually when it`s finished and released will offer me a whole better enviroment to "connect" these two existing worlds together (trackers and MIDI). I`m also afraid of failing in learning anything new if I try, so I`m the sort of guy who sticks to the old and safe rather than takes his chances and tries out something totally new. In another words, I`m a slave of my old habbits.

Q: What is the hardest thing in making a tracked module?

A: This is an easy question to answer: "To be satisfied with it". I often describe myself as a "perfect perfectionist", but I have to admit it`s the perfect dicease. It`s really hard to get a song sound the way I want, it`s beyond despair sometimes. Luckily I`ve learned to live with it, and to control it, but every now and then I end up overproducing a song simply by using too much time and effort to enhance it.

Q: Tell msx beginners what they should do to become good?

A: Practise makes perfect, eh? There are no easy ways in coming good, and it most certainly won`t happen over one night. If you want to see instant results, you`ve chosen the wrong hobby. You have to explore different songs made by "veterans", explore their techniques, and how they have build their layer of sounds and structure. Most of all, you must never give up if you happen to fail or fall down, just get back on your feet and learn from your mistakes. The same rule stands for all situations of life in general, don`t you think.

Q: What's your biggest success in the scene?

A: I don`t consider myself being really successful in the scene ever. The best part is when I get comments and thoughts on my songs from the listeners (good or bad comments!). I never really have gone after success or being famous, and I hope it will never change to that either. Still I`d like to measure the quality of my music in some other way than just by self observing, so this is where your comments and email`s true value shows!

Q: What do you think about ripping samples?

A: I have nothing against it as long as people remember to credit the sample sources in their own songs, although nowdays it`s very easy to obtain original samples with the infinite recources on the web. If you`re seeking for good sample resources on the web, check out my homepage`s links. I`ve listed the best websites I`ve come across there. They are well worth checking out, I quarantee!

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