Twilight Music Sculpture

Twilight Music Sculpture – Crafting Melodic Journey’s That Take You Away!
With a Big Presence and Energy to spare, Sean – (Twilight Music Sculpture) will help you escape! As a kid who played trumpet (well, 15 years of it) to being a lead singer in a punk band, Sean resonates with music that lives on the sidelines of popular. Finding (and creating) tracks with a unique, deep electronic sound has always been a fav pastime (colliding different genres to bring something new).
Sean hit the underground DJ scene downtown Toronto (at places like Central, Airship 37), taking any gigs he could get. Slowly Twilight Music Sculpture was born… DJs usually want the peak hour time slots but Sean was preferring the early evening sets where he could create the perfect ambience. Crafting the story from the start and building the evening up. “I’m helping the early starter DJ get a little more respect, it’s actually a good challenge to get the party started” Says Twilight. - Disruptors

Canadian artist Twilight Music Sculpture has been crafting a blend of deep, melodic and organic house from his Toronto studio, while also taking the city's dancefloor's on a journey. A 2021 debut via his Twilight Music imprint set the course for what has been a three-year creative swell of superlative releases. While keeping the majority of his output exclusive to his own imprint, he has also recorded projects for Amber Long's Modern Architect and most recently, Pedro Mercado's long-running Chrom Recordings, a single which got 2024 off to an impressive start. Now, continuing on an upwards trajectory, Twilight Music Sculpture adds Musique de Lune Noire to his resume with a two-track showcase entitled 'Morning Always Comes'.

Progressive Astronaut caught up with Twilight Music Sculpture to learn more about the release of 'Morning Always Comes', his background, nightlife in Toronto, DJing, and more. Enjoy.

Hi Twilight, thanks for talking to us today. How has your start to the year been so far and please tell us something interesting about your day today?

The start to the year has been great. Highlights would be spending a lot of quality time in the studio and playing in Ottawa again (Canada's Capital City). Today you catch me in the final stages of organizing my first event. I'm officially hosting an show in the downtown Toronto (melodic techno, progressive house and a deep organic vibe).

What's a piece of music (not your own) from 2023 that had the biggest impact on you, and what makes it outstanding for you?

Always a tough question for me... so many great artists out there! You said "biggest impact" on me so I'm going to go with MEUTE - Aurora. They are a Techno Marching Band. This is extremely unique! I love how they use just drums and brass to create these amazing techno tracks. I played trumpet for almost 15 years so I'm sure that's part of the lure. This track has a nice chill feel to it. The melody and feel is sweet!

Take us through a typical day when you're not traveling, what does a day in your life look like?

I'm lucky that I do get a lot of time in the studio. I also have a passion for health and fitness. Before I turned my full focus to music I use to heal and condition athletes. I still help a couple core clients during the week with online sessions in the morning. Other then that you'll find me preparing and recording my sets with for radio shows. I have the honour of being a resident DJ for 2 radio shows (Beach Radio, UK; KXLU 88.9 FM, Los Angeles; and MaxxiMixx out of Madrid and Tel Aviv) along with guest mixes every couple months.

What was the music genre you discovered first before you turned to electronic music, and what made you continue with the latter?

I'm at the later end of Gen X so I grew up with a love for both electronic music (New Order, Depeche Mode, 808 State, etc...) and Indie Rock / Alternative (The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, etc...). Although Pink Floyd is in my top 5 list. I continued with electronic music for many reasons. It moves you like no other music can, the sense of Euphoria when a fav track comes on, the vast amount of instruments and options to create with are endless (especially when compared to just playing trumpet, LOL ).

Talk to us about growing up in Canada and more specifically Toronto, how did this impact your journey into electronic music? And who were some Canadian artists or clubs which had a big influence on you?

Funny enough, I didn't grow up in Toronto. I'm a northern boy and grew up in Sudbury (think cold with lots of snow, ha, ha...). Then I moved to Banff, Alberta after university and became a ski bum for 5 years. From there I made my way to Japan for a couple years. Then finally ended up in Toronto. So, you can say I got influenced by my adventures I guess.

I always loved going out (where ever I was). A Canadian artist that influenced me was Deadmau5. I loved how he came in with this new, super melodic sound. Furthermore, that he recorded all his own samples from scratch (didn't just use 808s for every track - LOL ).

Toronto's The Guvernment Night Club is (was) one of the best clubs I partied at. I think it actually placed 8th in the DJ Mags Top 100 Clubs annual list one year. I'd hit it almost every weekend. It had two huge room (both like 3000+ capacity each) and over 7 smaller rooms (all with different vibes) Total capacity was well over 10,000. It wasn't uncommon to have the like of Tiesto, David Guetta, Deep Dish and Above and Beyond all there on the same night (you could just jump around rooms like an indoor festival).

What are some of your best memories from first going to clubs in Toronto?

I remember how the music just took me away... Amazing! My best memories were of huge audio systems and the deep beats moving me. The most fun nights I'd be dancing on the speakers with the club chicks.

Were there specific nights or sets that really made you feel you wanted to pursue electronic music?

Probably the biggest highlight was at the Guvernment hanging with Paul Oakenfold backstage in the booth with him. That guy is an Icon!

Toronto is a city that globally is probably best known for a tech house or techno scene, but there is actually a pretty strong organic/ deep and progressive house presence in recent years. What venues, event companies and local DJs are helping push this sound in the city and what are some of your favourite places to perform and why?

That's an interesting question... I think we still need to play techno (or tech house) here to get the bigger gigs. I love playing a deep and organic vibe but, you can only get away with it to start the evening or at day parties it seems. Unless there is a hidden community somewhere I don't know about - Look me up boys, I'm ready to join - LOL

I'd say Puzzles Entertainment Inc. are really helping make some amazing changes. Offering the deeper, organic and melodic side to the Toronto scene.

One of my Fav venues to play at is Cabana - a cool Miami style outdoor club on the Toronto waterfront. Sadly a couple of the places I use to love playing at
had to close up when Covid hit (Man, was Covid ever tough on the clubbing scene).

You have a new EP 'Morning Always Comes' out this week on Musique de Lune Noire, please tell us about the release and how it showcases your current sound?

Ya, super excited to be joining the Fam over there! The release is very uplifting and positive (2 feel good tracks). I wouldn't say it showcases "my sound" I'm constantly trying new things. I write how I feel most of the time. I know a lot of producers that are very deliberate what they produce. I just let the music flow through me (on the keys and drum machine).

The majority of your music has come out through your Early Twilight imprint, how did the relationship with Musique de Lune Noire begin and what makes the label a good home for your music?

I actually met Jordan the founder of Musique De Lune at ADE last year. I was in playing for Tanzgemeinschaft and Chrom Recordings. Stayed a couple extra days and met him at the Modern Agenda party. I know the person that organized the event (Amber Long) and she introduced me to him. We clicked right away with the same kind of whacky, fun sense of humour. We stayed connected and he asked if I might have anything that might fit label and to send it over. The first track got the thumbs up and I got to work on the second one for the EP. It's a label that cares, I get a good vibe from them.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily in your recent productions and more specifically on your 'Morning Always Comes' EP?

I'm a hardware enthusiast... Been collecting analog synths for over a decade now. I have a Prophet 6, MS - 1 (SH -101 clone by Behringer), Moog - Sub 37, Roland - TR 8S, Elektron - Analog Rytm, Nord 4 HP, Access - Virus T2, Roland - JD-XI, Korg - MicroKorg, Roland - VP-03, Tascam Model 12, I could go on but, LOL whatever. Let's say I have enough tools to have a nice Jam. Morning Always Comes was first inspired by chord progression I came up with on the Prophet 6 and I dusted off the MicroKorg (my first synth) for the 2nd track.

Where does your inspiration come from and was there anything in particular that inspired the tracks on your 'Morning Always Comes' EP?

I'm pretty lucky. The creative sparks seems to come pretty easy for me. I seldom have writers block. I can play piano so I usually start a track by putting together some kind of basic beat and then start figuring out some chords progressions or melodies that move me (and the way I'm feeling at the moment).

Let's talk about DJing a bit, tell us about your approach to DJing and what can people expect when they go to see you perform at a club?

I'd say that melody is the fav part of a song for me. So, expect me to combine a lot of melodies together and mix my whole set harmonically. I like to create a story when I do my sets (ex. bring people on a journey). Creating a story with my sets is probably the biggest priority for me (and preparing before hand really helps that).

How much prep do you put into the tracks you choose to play? Or are your sets totally spontaneous?

I think preparing for a set has benefits. I never lay out exactly what I going to play but, I put together a playlist for the vibe I'm after. I've seen DJs that don't prepare, are stuck searching through their library head down, looking for the next track. I think it's important to engage with the audience. With this in mind I usually only take double the tracks I will need for my gig. For example, if it's a 2 hour set you might play 24-34 tracks so, I'll bring say 68 tracks. This method gets you to really focus on track selection before the gig. So no matter what song you play the crowd and you will be happy with it. I can of course freestyle my sets and tend to do it half the time for the radio shows I'm a resident on. I have to get a couple mixes out each week so you get pretty good at freestyling, ha, ha... I actually memorized what keys harmonically match each other years back, so it helps the freestying a lot (it's funny, I never got into that newer idea of numbering the keys for mixing).

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

Fun question.... OK - ( I could have done this 12 more times and the line-up would change every time ) - How could I not include myself in this line-up, it's like a Dream - LOL

Twilight Music Sculpture

Tim Green

Tale of Us

Paul Oakenfold

Massano

If you are not Djing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

I'm a huge skier. You'd find me on a Mountain somewhere. I've even flown down to the Chile to go Heliskiing during my summer in August - LOL

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you'd be doing with your life?

Healing and Conditioning Athletes.

Current top five tracks?

• Escape
• Arcadia (Twilight Music Sculpture Remix)
• Amani
• Voices
• Be Free
I grabbed the list off Spotify

What are some of your favourite TV series? Both past and present.

Funny, I don't get a lot of time in front of the TV these days... but, i have a few.

• Seinfeld
• The Office (US One)
• The Mandalorian
• Brooklyn Nine Nine

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

Probably family and friends and Beers.

What does 2024 hood for you in terms of releases and gigs? Anything’s you can share with us?

I've been really focused on creating tracks and have a number of releases coming out - Even had a Favourite Big label reach out and ask for some tracks (stressful but, good).

I'm playing my first event (that I fully organized) tomorrow so that's fun and a lot of work. I have a DJ coming from out of town closing the show. Wish me luck! I'll be playng in Dresden, Germany March 23rd. And I have a gig confirmed already for ADE this year. There are some other Toronto shows but, they're still in the works.

'Morning Always Comes' is available now via Musique de Lune Noire: https://tinyurl.com/26zyknd4 - Progressive Astronaut