Featured Artists, Songs and Posts

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Nagamag:
What are the genres that describe better your music style?

Mythos:
Mythos is electro-acoustic music featuring beats, synth, acoustic guitar, piano and vocalese. Mythos was signed with new age label Higher Octave Music during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?

Mythos:
For 25 years, Mythos has been creating timeless, ethereal music fusing electronic beats with vocalese, piano, acoustic guitar, synths and sounds from around the world. 2021 marks the 25th Anniversary for the duo of Bob D’Eith (producer and piano) and Paul Schmidt (acoustic guitar) with special guest performances from Jennifer Scott (vocals), Jasmin Parkin (vocals), Rene Worst (bass), Pepe Danza, (percussion), Niko Quintal (percussion) and many others.
Bob’s father spent many years trying to convince him to work with his brother’s talented friend Paul. When Bob was trying to create music for film and television, he teamed up with Paul to co-write together. As Bob and Paul started producing music and working with Vancouver session players Jennifer Scott and Rene Worst, it became apparent that they had created something special. Mythos was born. In 1996, Mythos released the “Introspection” EP independently. The first single “November Dance” (in instrumental dance track with no lyrics) was released and much to the surprise of the artists became a commercial radio hit and retail success. “Introspection” went on to win a WCMA Award and was nominated for a JUNO Award. “Introspection” was picked up by a Bay area label entitled XDOT25 and released internationally.

The second release “Iridescence” was released briefly in Canada, however Max Amadi from XDOT25 pitched Mythos to the Malibu based label Higher Octave (Virgin/EMI0). Max’s suggestion of the pairing of Mythos with the brilliant fine artist Gil Bruvel led Higher Octave to release the 16 track self-titled “Mythos” (1998) that went on to be released in 33 countries and sell in the high five figures. Hot on the heels of the success of “Mythos”, Higher Octave released “Reality of a Dreamer” (2000) and “Eternity” (2002). Mythos spent years in the Billboard charts and was added to many essential compilations in the time. Mythos was also used for “Victoria’s Secret” Cannes runway production during this time. Mythos won a second WCMA award during this period.

Once Higher Octave merged with their parent label, Mythos moved over to Alula Records/Allegro (Oregon) releasing “Purity” (2006) for the world less Canada that was retained by Adagio Music/Pacific Music/Warner. For a few years, Paul went to Korea to teach English and Bob developed his career building Music BC (a non-profit music industry association) and his entertainment law practice. In 2012, Bob and Paul re-united for the album “Journey” released through Adagio Music/IODA (2013). In 2014, Adagio Music released a “best of” series of Mythos tracks including a special Vinyl release. A new Album “Journey” (2018) was released on Adagio/The Orchard.

2021 is Mythos’ 25th Anniversary and this year we are pleased to release “XXV” a 14-track album including 5 new tracks and 9 fully remastered classics. The lead-off single “Legacy” featuring Cam Blake (Bob’s son and Indie Rock artist in his own right), uses progressive rock and electronic elements and was produced with returning performances by Jennifer Scott and Rene Worst. “Fly Away” is going to please many Mythos fans, getting back to Mythos’ musical roots. “Bonum et Malum” explores the dichotomy between good and evil, sadness and joy. “Progression” is a piece that evolves through the addition of ever complex melodies, all woven together into a tapestry of sound. “Recuerdos de la Alahambra” originally composed by Francisco Tárrega and arranged for guitar and strings by Mythos, features a beautiful classical guitar performance by Paul Schmidt. The balance of the tracks (November Dance, Brazil, Planinata, Alchemy, Ascent, Icarus, Surrender, Eros and Spiritus) are a selection of Mythos’ most enduring tracks from previous albums fully remastered for the digital environment.

Mythos continues to have a large following around the world with over 2 Million streams a year from over 90 countries.

Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?

Mythos:
From Bob. In pre-school my teacher recognized my rhythm while playing toy drums. I was very fortunate to have had amazing mentors when I was young who inspired my love of music. This has lasted my entire life.

Nagamag:
What is special this year?

Mythos:
2021 is the 25th Anniversary for Mythos. Bob D'Eith and Paul Schmidt have been partners in this amazing project for all this time, creating timeless, ethereal music that defies genre.

Nagamag:
Why do you think that the project has lasted so long?

Mythos:
From Bob, for me it is a question of balance. If I am not creating, I don't feel alive. Mythos has given both Paul and me a great outlet for our expressions over the years. I really cherish that.

Nagamag:
Most artists have a favorite song from a different music genre than the one they are producing music for... Which is yours?

Mythos:
Miles Davis "So What"

Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which track from a similar artist you admire?

Mythos:
Enigma "Return to Innocence"

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Nagamag:
What are the genres that describe better your music style?

Matan Arkin:
A mix of Folk and Electronic

Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?

Matan Arkin:
Drummer,dj,pianist

Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?

Matan Arkin:
Bach, Minuet

Nagamag:
Most artists have a favorite song from a different music genre than the one they are producing music for... Which is yours?

Matan Arkin:
Dino Valenti "Children of the Sun"

Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which track from a similar artist you admire?

Matan Arkin:
Thom Yorke "The Eraser"

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Nagamag:
What are the genres that describe better your music style?

Sacha Hoedemaker:
Cinematic Piano.
Often, his music is compared to film scores. Soundtracks.
Atmospheric Piano.
There is always a story in his music. A universal story.

Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?

Sacha Hoedemaker:
Sacha started playing piano at the age of 8. After two years of piano lessons, he quit. Thinking; this is not for me.
Then he was cast as a musical accompanist at the age of 14 in a school musical. He fell in love with musicals and wanted to learn everything there was about musical theory. How were songs built up and what were recurring patterns, etc. He quickly realized that he had a good ear and started exploring different genres. After a couple years he was playing professionally for semi-pro singers as well as in theaters and restaurants as a background pianist. Always listening to how his music had an effect on the room.
This skill then became useful when he tried improvisational theater. He scored scenes with the same ears as listening to a busy restaurant. What is needed in order for the 'audience' to have a good time. Connecting music with emotions and stories. That's what makes him a highly sought after musical director.
Sacha is now a musical improviser. Envisioning a story and letting go of all that is distracting, through meditation and mindfulness. Using all his gathered knowledge about music in the last decade, and focusing it on his craft by creating a listening experience. On a daily basis, he plays for Europe's biggest improvisation theater called Boom Chicago. He graduated from the Abbey Road Institute in Amsterdam in 2020 and currently is running a growing home-studio called The Music Maker. At the start of 2020, he was looking for more creative outlets and he joined several collaborative projects, one of them resulted in an Emmy win. (#CreateTogether) He is the pianist for Dr. Peacock (in Concert).
He started releasing music during the pandemic, in August 2020, and has been growing his presence on the classical piano market ever since.

Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?

Sacha Hoedemaker:
Yes, after I had discovered that I could play anything.. I took on the challenge of learning Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. It took me a full week, but I managed to do it. I couldn't contain myself and kept playing new songs every day. From Classical to Pop and from Jazz to Gabber. Seeking to challenge myself, was a driving factor for me to keep coming up with, and taking on creative projects.

Nagamag:
What is your goal in terms of music?

Sacha Hoedemaker:
It has been a dream of mine to score a full feature film, as a composer.
Starting small, my initial goal is to create several cues, or score a short film. Help conveying a story in any way that I can. Too many stories are silenced, I see it as a my calling, to help tell some of those.

Nagamag:
Most artists have a favorite song from a different music genre than the one they are producing music for... Which is yours?

Sacha Hoedemaker:
Vulfpeck "1612"

Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which track from a similar artist you admire?

Sacha Hoedemaker:
Elliot Jacques "Kaleidoscope"

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Nagamag:
What are the genres that describe better your music style?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
I write original music for film and video games. I play piano and keyboards and in the years I have gathered quite a collection of synthesizers, guitar amps and FX pedals. This definitely drives my music towards those instruments as I like to mix elements of electronic music (ambient, downtempo, glitch etc.) with more traditional orchestral instruments (strings, brass, percussion) and ethnic sounds from Africa and the Middle East. I try and mangle these original acoustic sounds from world music to be 'assimilated' by the machines, while still retaining their contrasting features. I try to maintain a delicate and constant fight between an industrial, cyberpunk and somehow dystopian sound palette and a more organic, classical setup with roaring strings and epic orchestral elements. I guess a lot of my work with techno artists and the club scene plays a role in what I imagine would be the sound of the streets and the underground in a distant future.

Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
I've worked as a pianist/keyboardist for artists, bands and recording studios, mostly as a session musician. I've had my good share of live gigs in rock, acid jazz and fusion setups in which I would bring my keybards, guitar amps and guitar pedals and kinda force the stage to accept my sounds. I am not a fan of playing 'realistic instruments' live, and unfortunately you can achieve pretty good ones these days with keyboards.. but for me it's either acoustic piano, vintage keys or straight up synthesizers and mangled sounds. There's no in-between. In 2007 I opened my own recording studio, called 'Fuseroom' and I started producing records and keeping the facility open to music education programs. In the past years I went back to my role of composer and joined some game development companies (among which were some good friends of mine, from high school) to write original music for their video games. Getting back to writing music by myself was an adventure and somehow reconnected me with an artistic self that I had kept asleep for a while. It was a good time to get back at it and I was able to use this momentum to release a new solo record, called 'Future in the Past', highlighting some of the most iconic elements of my sound and songwriting, in the soundtrack genre.

Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
As a kid I was lucky to have friends who one day told me on the phone: "We're making a band. What do you want to play?". It was that simple. We wanted to move from air guitars and air drums using broomsticks and empty soda bottles to playing for real. I looked around, I had a small digital keyboard I had been playing since I was in primary school and decided that I wanted to play piano and go to a real teacher. I started both classical and modern piano together and never stopped taking lessons from the day. At around 18 I felt like I had to choose and was captivated by modern music. I've played in pop/rock bands, jazz ensembles, small freestyle and acid jazz bands etc. especially when I moved my beautiful (but small) town of Firenze (Italy) to continue studying in Los Angeles. I cannot remember how many people I've played with and whose projects I joined. From there on I kept on studying, moving cities, attending to more music academies in the US and in Europe. If there was one constant that never left me is that I do not partake in projects that I do not like. I just cannot do it. I've studied to be a professional musician and I am happy to provide others with my expertise but I have to hear some kind of pulse in the project. Exposure, fame, money, you name it.. they just do not cut it in the end as I cannot go to sleep and look at myself in the mirror if I am doing something I do not genuinely and directly enjoy. I guess that spontaneous phone call from my friends when we were kids really left a mark.

Nagamag:
Is there a cliché or recurring pattern in the way you come up with a new piece of music?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
With the passing of time (and things become more recurring or fixed, with deadlines, revisions, team discussion, production supervisors and so on) I noticed that I start working on a song only after I can hear it in my head 'enough', over the course of a couple days. It is kinda funny to say that but once I receive the initial brief for a new music project and the team or production sends me guidelines for the vibe they are looking for, I do not sit at the instrument and try to put down ideas. I just let things breathe for a couple days and I start thinking about a tune. It might happen at the worst time or before falling asleep. If the idea is good, in a couple days I can always recall the main theme and at least the B-section that answers it. That is usually the right time for me to sit down, turn my computer on and start writing music.

Nagamag:
If you only had to keep one musical instrument, what would it be?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
This would be very challenging. I certainly consider the acoustic piano as my foundation but I have so many instruments that I like for their specific sound palette, some of which have almost healing properties when played, in my opinion. I would have a very hard time parting from my Voyager, Polysix, Juno-6 and Hammond, as well. Please do not make choose! ;)

Nagamag:
Most artists have a favorite song from a different music genre than the one they are producing music for... Which is yours?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
Andy Summers Mysterious Barricades

Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which track from a similar artist you admire?

Alberto Rizzo Schettino:
Ola Strandh Tom Clancy's The Division (Original Soundtrack)