Please tell our readers who you are and what you do?
My name is Spiros Maus and I am a music producer and a songwriter. Based in London, I write and/or produce songs for artists, as well as music for short films, the theatre and video games. But my definite lovechild in music is Armada Named Sound, and this is what I am going to introduce you to, straight away!
How would you describe your style and genre?
I'll go for "electronic music". The purpose of Armada Named Sound is to embrace everything electronic, from Kraftwerk to Daft Punk, from trip hop to trance, from … well, you get the picture! The keyword here is: diversity. Every song should be different, there are even different singers performing the songs on my releases. What eventually makes the outcome homogenous, is the production, the overall sound which is inspired by film music and the wall of sound technique.
Who are your biggest idols ever? Dead or alive, musician or non-musician.
Musician or non-musician adds a nice twist to this. Can I say Batman? No seriously, the guy is an example when it comes to willpower and determination. And after this nerdy outbreak I will go for Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, the past few years of my life I have been studying these gentlemen a lot, and the influence is all over the place in my music.
But in a more general approach I would like to name Devin Townsend, King Crimson, Philip Glass as well as big guns like Stravinsky.
What was the biggest mistake you made when you started making music and what would be the number one tip you could give to a newcomer musician?
I guess the biggest mistake is always not realising how hard you have to work for your music, spend all your time doing it. And then, the fact that it actually takes much more time than you think. So you have to relax I guess, and even though it is an obsessive state to be in, one must find other stuff to do in life while waiting for things to move on. From my perspective, everything else comes after this.
How do you get gigs? Can you share any tips?
To be honest I am trying to make gigs come to me. Otherwise it can be quite frustrating. It depends on what everybody is actually doing though. I guess if you are what we so naively call "singer songwriter", you could go for every open mic in the galaxy, but what I do is impossible to grow or evolve like that. I don't know if this is a tip, and I don't really believe that there is something (other than hard work) which could work for everyone like a recipe. But it is certain that if you manage to get great visuals and oversell yourself a little bit, people will come to you. Everything is about image, let that open some doors for you and then show everyone how good you actually are on stage.
What has been your biggest challenge right now? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
My biggest challenge? I guess people who have no idea about what they are doing, and unfortunately they live among us and look like us. It is scary, really. Overcome? These people are unbeatable and will drive you insane. Dodge and ignore.
How do you promote yourself? Do you have any specific promotion tips for other musicians?
I do my best with (anti)social media and all that jazz. But I think I should get someone professional to do it and focus on the music. As for promotion tips, the moment you realise that you got to spend lots of money on your music, and that there is no such thing as free promo etc, life will be a lot more pleasant.
We meet again in one year. What has happened?
I guess if nothing has changed you can start making fun of me?
On a more serious approach, more releases, more gigs, and more people being aware of what is Armada Named Sound.
http://www.facebook.com/mausspiros
http://www.soundcloud.com/armadanamedsound
http://www.facebook.com/mausspiros
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http://www.spirosmaus.com