»About«

Gratitude.

First of all I’m grateful for having been able to do what I have done so far musicwise. Things like that never happen for granted. Many people have musical wishes that never come true at all. In my case, I don’t know if it’s thanks to good luck, tenacity or karma or what. However, it makes me quite humble. I have to thank my family and friends for their constant support, for enough time and room given. It has enabled me to focus on my art, express myself, and be who I really am.

Meaning.

To me, especially as a producer, music represents inner thoughts, visions. Creating something new. Art. Neverending exploration. Learning, sharing. Leaving a sonic footprint. Maybe even paving the way to others. It is the greatest form of self-expression, at least to me. Music can both describe and raise (strong) emotions, feelings, fears and hopes. Music can tell a story, with or without words. It can carry so much energy in an abstract form which we can almost see and feel, yet it remains invisible and intangible… you know it exists, it affects you… it makes you listen and focus, it makes you sing along, it makes you move and dance, it stimulates both your mind and body... basically it is energy that empowers us all. There can be music for every need, every state of mind, every situation.

It sometimes even feels like that all the music – all the vibrations and freqencies – already exist on some level of reality and when you somehow get in touch with those levels, the music appears into existence on this level of ours. It becomes audible and gets a meaning in this world when you place those pieces in a certain order. Like painting an artwork but in a musical sense. It even feels like it always has a message built within, whatever that is. Almost as if it was some kind of communication between different realities, carried in small packages of information, pieces of a code, in frequencies and in the combination of them.

Anyway, making music as an artist is my true passion, calling, a life purpose.

Techniques.

I create music based on my mood and my feelings. I usually don’t just sit down and choose to make certain type of music, so there are and will be tracks that differ from each other quite a lot. Sometimes I imagine something and try to express those mental images through music. No matter what, the process varies. Sometimes a melody appears playing inside my head and I start to hum or lilt it aloud and rush to my studio as soon as possible. Sometimes melodies appear for example when I’m waking up in the morning or driving my car or watching the clouds, observing the nature, seeing the northern lights... Sometimes I sit down and start jamming with interesting sounds or start testing this and that only having an initial idea or inspiration – or just for total fun and my own amusement. (Well, I always enjoy and have fun when making music.) Playing chords, adding stuff over a drum beat, browsing through my sound catalogue, tweaking parameters, adding effects, going with the flow that occurs naturally during the session and building up the song... Having a great time creating unique art that satisfies my needs and feeds my passion for doing it all again and again, day after day, song after song. Often experimenting what happens if I combine this and that, add some extra etc.

Twists.

In my music you can often hear sounds that are somewhat atypical for the style or sounds that could be replaced by ”better” ones. Or mixes that often would have been executed differently. That’s just me… I want to give room to some less-heard sounds and try to fit them in, sometimes more gently, sometimes making them draw more attention. And after all, it is not my goal to sound the same as someone else nor to replicate what someone else is doing. That’s their path and I’m on mine. I am keen to find unexpected combinations, to experiment with sounds from various sources. It is more than common in my works to mix together sounds and effects from different eras, as well as machines, old and new. Not to forget being open to blending in different styles within a track every now and then. It gives me an extra vibe if I come up with an idea that can be fitted into a track that would be fine without it too. Sure, music always has certain structure and it is basically math, but most important thing is that I am satisfied with the result myself. And then I let others hear it too by publishing it. The way I sometimes describe it; tracks are what they are – I don’t choose the shape, I just help them to come into existence.

Respect.

I pay special respect to the many pioneers of (electronic) music and overall to everyone who has contributed in this field. After all, we have these modern possibilities thanks to those, who had the vision and energy to do what they did. In a sense, we are the sum of those choices made in the past not just by ourselves, but by others too. Even though I don’t try to copy anyone, it can’t be overlooked how much we have to thank those who have opened the doors into this point where we stand now. Making the music we do nowadays even on our home laptop computers, was still a faraway dream for not so many decades ago.

As mentioned, I like to mix together sounds from different sources (eras, machines…) Listener may very well notice I have a soft spot in my heart for vintage and classic synth sounds (and machines). I use them alot and often make songs that may sound more like the 1980s than this day. I love those sounds and that era. Using them while producing new music helps to keep them alive and pays them respect. I think it is respectful towards (vintage) sounds and the music itself to not categorically ditch something just because it doesn’t meet the modern ”requirements”. Not everything has to sound what ever happens to be ”contemporary” at the time.

Princibles.

I’m very open-minded musicwise (too). I allow myself to create (or to be a medium for) any kind music. Obviously, electronic music is ”my cup of tea”, but under that very broad umbrella, I tend to create music that varies a lot. So there are and will be tracks that sound totally different if compared to each other and represent different styles. In many cases I don’t know in which style the track will finish when I start creating it. I release everything under one artist name as I think all the music I create is interconnected and belongs together. The way I see it, all my tracks are from the same creative source and somehow consist of the same energy, thus it feels better to keep them together. And after all, I’m an artist – they are all my works, equal to each other, despite sometimes being so different.

So, no strong, restrictive princibles, maybe except for always making my own choices even though they woudn’t line up with current trends and sounds that are more widely used or more popular. Of course I’m glad to have met positive feedback and coming across to nice people telling me they like this or that song, that track was ”wow!” and so on, but I won’t let myself fall into a loop in which I would be making music just to please some external opinions. I create the art that I create, and it is great extra if you like it.

Influences.

Despite all inevitable influences I try to keep my own sound, style and structure in music – to do what feels natural to me and build the tracks just the way I want to. I approach my music rather as independent art than something what commercialism would be able to shape into a certain mould. My purpose is to make tracks the way I want to, express myself through music, without thinking too much what others think it should sound like (or at least I try to avoid those thoughts leading me in a direction I don’t want to go). But absolutely, as I have listened to music all my life, it must have influenced me in a way that certainly reflects in the music I make. Starting with the fact that I am fascinated to create specifically electronic music instead of something else.

Software.

FL Studio (all plugins edition) is my DAW of choice with many additional FLEX packs and other stuff. I also use many UVI products with UVI Workstation that runs inside FL Studio (Synth Anthology 3, PX WaveFrame, Program24, Emulation II+, PX Sunbox and 8-Bit Synth to name the most used) as well as Arturia Analog Lab 4/V.

Biography.

My real name is Antti Lamppu. I was born in 1981 and I live in Kouvola, Southern Finland. Since my childhood, I have always been interested in music and sounds and playing with keyboards and such. My artist name Ayoaine derives from Finnish word ”ajoaine” which means ”propellant” (as per the stuff found in the ”fueltanks” of spacecrafts...) in English and reflects my enthusiasm towards space, space exploration, astronomy and science in general. Also, ”propellant” translates into Finnish word ”propellantti” which obviously includes my first name in the end of the word :)

Future.

I aim to be able to make music even more actively than so far. It is an endless path and I like it. No, I love it! I’m sure there is so much more to learn and realise and so much more to innovate, create and enjoy. It will be a fantastic journey as far as I can see, maybe even more so than it has been so far. At this point I have over 1000 (one thousand) more or less unfinished compositions, projects and ideas just waiting to have the right moment and possibility to spend even more time on them and finally finish them. And new ones keep on building. I have to say that I’m grateful for having this chance to create music.