MmcM – The Blossoming Years

Each month we shine the spotlight on one SoundGym member by reviewing one of their tracks for our Music Spot feature. This month we do something a little different as we review an entire album from SoundGym member @Sergey Kosov, otherwise known as MmcM.

The title of the album, The Blossoming Years, refers to the time between 1999 and 2001 when Kosov was finding his feet as a producer. In 2015, he decided to look back on this early part of his career, and put together a 24 track compilation that features 20 of his original works from that time, and four remixes.

In true chip-tune style, all of this music was composed on a ZX-Spectrum personal computer with a Yamaha YM2149F sound chip on ProTracker 3 software. There is even an 'executable' version of the album that has been created for the 'ultimate listening experience on a 48K ZX Spectrum'. If you don't happen to have an old Spectrum lying around, you can stream the album in its entirety on YouTube or Bandcamp.

The album makes for fascinating listening. Kosov wrings a whole lot of emotion from a very limited sound palette, in particular through very sensitive use of portamento. His ear for melancholic melody is obvious on tracks like 'Dance With Me Death' and 'Suggestive', while tracks such as 'Mentbi' go to a much darker space.

The rhythms are varied, ranging from tracks that could have been lifted straight from '80s computer games, through to music that could only have been created in a post-breaks and hardcore world. 

You can hear more of MmcM's music on his YouTube, Soundcloud and BandCamp pages.