Sixis
by Mister Mime
September 28th 2020
Ben Wyss aka Sixis has produced an intensely dark techno-emotional masterpiece with “Empty Eye Dawn”, a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk sonic sci-fi spectacle. This electrosentient neurobass orchestra beckons the age when AI overtakes human intelligence, exploring the darker, inscrutable realities that emerge from beneath the surface and the crucial connection between man and machine.
MM: Why is the album called ‘Empty Eye Dawn’? Are there any stories behind any of the tracks which inspired these dark sounds?
Sixis: The name is a description of the feeling that I get from the music. It is really dark but also opens up with a new beauty. Maybe it is a light that you cannot see. Each track tells a story but it's abstract and more about the thoughts and emotions you get from listening than anything specific.
MM: Can you tell us about the artwork?
Sixis: The artwork is by Aspen Excel. I love his work and thought this piece went well with the album's aesthetic. It is abstract, open ended, and full of texture, which is also how I view the album.
MM: Let’s talk about your sound: It’s what I would call 'electrosentient bass-music’ or 'music for when the machines comes to life’. The production quality is absolutely crisp and top notch! Can you share a bit about your production process and what instruments you used for creating this album, ITB and external?
Sixis: Thanks! For this album I tried to focus more on the feeling and flow of the music than my previous work. It is really technical but also deeply emotional. I spend a lot of time doing sound design (drums/bass/fx) and coming up with chords and melodies before writing a track. Once I have plenty of material that I'm really excited about I start composing. Often the sounds themselves dictate how I end up arranging the music. I used Massive X, Repro and Reaktor a lot as well as my Virus TI and eurorack modular as source material. Sounds are often processed with filters, distortion, granular and spectral effects.
MM: You helped in the making of the plugin Portal by Output. Can you tell us a little about your role in it?
Sixis: Portal started out as a plugin that my friend Jake / Mumukshu was making. He asked me to help with it and we came up with a lot of the advanced page features together, all of which he programmed. We ended up passing the project off to Output and they had me design a ton of presets for it once it was ready. It was a really rewarding process and I'm working on some similar projects now. I went to school for music technology and I've always been really interested in the tools themselves.
MM: You have been churning out high-grade music ever since you started out. Do you have any advice for new, up & coming producers?
Sixis: There's no rush. Find the sounds that you feel connected to and create something new out of them.
