In the slipstream of the recent 'Oumuamua' release MLO's Jon Tye was kind enough to contribute a mix and we had a nice chat with him along the way too. Interview (excerpt) down below.

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MFM: Hi Jon. You live in South England close to the coast and the national park now but come from a more city environment. What made you swap city life for the rural country side?

JT: I live in Cornwall in the South West but spent 25 years in London prior to moving here. I find the countryside and the beach much more conducive for making music and it’s been a great place to bring up children.

MFM: Can you tell a bit about how you and Peter Smith (other half of MLO) got to start the project? 

JT: Pete and I were in rival punk bands in Exeter, Devon in the 70’s. When Pete’s band split up we decided to form a new group called Missing Chemicals, we were very into bands like Talking Heads and Pere Ubu. It was a good time to be in a band, so much great music being released, amazing gigs, places to play, lots of energy.

MFM: At what point did techno start to make an impression on you, and can you describe what impact it had when first hearing it?

JT: It was hearing underground radio stations in London that got me hooked, I remember hearing Fingers Inc and Larry Heard and then Adonis, Rhythm is Rhythm. It blew my mind, the early days of acid and techno were wild, a real revolution.

MFM: Most tracks from the recent 'Oumuamua' compilation are unreleased pieces of music that were recorded between '92-'95. Had you forgotten about them over time or...?

JT: We fell out with Rising High over non payment of royalties and R&S as we couldn’t agree on a deal, I then started the Lo Recordings label and Pete went to America and yes I guess we just forgot about all the tapes we recorded. It was a really pleasant shock to rediscover the music we’d made and to find it sounding so fresh. 

MFM: How do you feel listening to them now in relation to back when you wrote and recorded them? Does the music still bring up the same energy and thoughts you had back then?

JT: It feels better now. We weren’t in great shape when we recorded a lot of that material, there was a lot of tension with Rising High and people were moving away from ambient music. I’m amazed it sounds so serene!

MFM: How do you feel of your music being (re)appreciated by a whole newer and younger generation?  

JT: It’s fantastic, this a great time to be making music. Everything is so much more fluid these days. 

MFM: Does it motivate you to work on new music? 

JT: I’m working on music constantly, there’s a new Ocean Moon release on Golden Ratio Frequencies called ‘Music for Vibraphone & Tape’ and a new Seahawks album later this year on the Cascine label called ‘Infinite Echo’. I’ve also been working on new music with Cate Brooks (The Advisory Circle/Cafe Kaput), some of which features in the mix.

MFM: How did you approach making the selection and mix?

JT: I wanted it to be a companion to the MLO compilation and I wanted to combine music made recently with music made nearly 30 years ago. The mix is made of unreleased or alternative versions of MLO material and recent tracks I’ve made with Cate Brooks (we don’t have a name for the project yet). All the tracks seem to flow together really well despite the fact they were made nearly 30 years apart! A circular trip.

MFM: Are you still catching up on what happens in music land these days? What appeals to you nowadays? 

JT: Running the Lo label and also a library imprint called Lo Editions means I’m constantly listening to new music. Also various friends run labels so I’m always hearing new tracks. The Zenmenn album was a huge favourite, as was Eddie Chacon’s album. Mary Lattimore , Holly Herndon, Abul Mogard, Eris Drew...so much good music out there.

MFM Mix 039: MLO

NO DEMOS, thanks...

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Amsterdam based record label releasing visionary electronic music from both past and present.

Sublabel: @secondcircle

MFM Mix 039: MLO

Music From Memory