Deep space meditations.
A couple of months into studio isolation and Melbourne’s Citizen Maze presents us with a new live set and our deepest trip yet! Hitting the radars in 2018 with a debut EP of four incredible mind melters for local label Analogue Attic, Citizen Maze (aka Adam McCoy) has an innate sense for the natural spaces we inhabit, intertwining serene soundscapes, organic drum sounds and synthesised atmospheres designed for deep sonic introspection. Ready your mind for a trance inducing bliss-out, live sounds from the suburbs of Melbourne and beyond!
Hey Adam, how’s things? What have you been doing with your spare time during the lockdown?
Hey Myles! Things are going surprisingly well during lockdown. I’ve had a big decrease in the amount of work hours and had heaps of spare time to focus on music. My routine consists of music, coffee, music, exercise, music, wine and more music! I think this no FOMO thing is really helping me stay centred on my musical journey. It is almost like my mind goes on a little holiday whilst in the production process – especially since my work is heavily inspired by field recordings I have taken whilst traveling.
I first became familiar with your music through the incredible Serenity In The Woods release on Melbourne label Analogue Attic back in 2018, and then catching you play at some of the label’s typically lush outdoor showcases. Tell us how you connected with the guys at Analogue Attic, and why you felt like it was such a good fit for your music?
I first connected with the guys at Analogue Attic when I sent Alex my first track under the Citizen Maze alias. I was really inspired by the music on Analogue Attic as it felt a lot more organic and unique than the majority of the electronic music I was listening to at the time. I also really liked the idea of using field recordings and shaping the music around specific environments and natural locations. This felt like such a good fit for my music as I’d always be the one to walk off for hours into nature and let my musical mind drift away.
I remember Alex got back to me pretty quickly saying he loved the track I sent him and he wanted me to send him more. The next few months I continued to work on an EP and Alex and Sean were very happy to release it under Analogue Attic.
Since that release I know you’ve been working hard on the live set and creating a bunch of new music.. tell us a bit about your creative process, and what kind of sounds / feelings / surroundings have been inspiring you of late?
My creative process varies a lot. Sometimes I start with the drums, sometimes I start with the chords, other times I start with field recordings. It feels like my mind goes into autopilot mode when I’m creating music. Tracks seem to be made very mechanically; but at the same time I know what I want to create and I try to find the fine line between production quality and musicality. I’m slowly becoming more intricate within my production and I see my tracks evolving as I start to focus on the smaller details a lot more.
As of late… I’m still really inspired by natural sounds, but would also love to experiment with urban soundscapes. I’d like to start working on material that can be used in a dancy context whilst also maintaining the ambient/melodic nature of my music. I’d also love to delve into the world of dnb and IDM a bit more.
What can you tell us about this special live set you’ve recorded, and what kind of listening environments do you think it might be suited to? Is there any forthcoming music in there we should know about?
This live set is very similar to the live set I performed at Hopkins Creek last year. As I’ve had time to sit on it a bit with no specific deadline (the first time I haven’t had to rush a live set!), it has evolved to the standard I’d like it to be. You can find sections that I had built in the past 2 years as well as sections that have been recently designed during the quarantine period. Lots of my own field recordings from recent travels have been used – If you listen closely you can hear some silly banter from hostel visits and some really unique sounding wildlife! I also sampled some conversations from feature length/short films I have seen recently.
It really suits a relaxed environment but also has its dancier moments. Big thanks to Hamish Mackay for the guitar and 30/70’s Josh Kelly for the saxophone.
What are you most looking forward to doing after the quarantine is over?
I’m looking forward to the end of quarantine as much as I’m enjoying quarantine at the moment. I feel like this is the perfect time to build up my production portfolio to the point where I’d have a lot to offer when the days of events and partying return. I’m really looking forward to running park events again and am hopefully going to finish off a new fast paced live set to showcase at the next park rave I host.
