Keor 'Hive Mind Reboot and Keor 3' Interview

Updated: Dec 26, 2019

An interview with Victor Miranda Martin (Keor) regarding ‘Hive Mind Rebooted’ which will be released on September 1st 2019, and ‘Keor 3’, release date to be announced.

Keor is a musical project by Victor Miranda Martin, in Montpellier, France. 'Hive Mind' was Keor's first release, and the bulk of it was recorded in two days in a friend's basement. Victor was very young when he first created 'Hive Mind', with some material being back from when he was 16, and the rest going up to when he was 18. Petrichor was the second release, and now Victor is revisiting Hive Mind, to do it more justice. There is also an album 3 in the works, but details have yet to be announced.

Firstly, for those who don’t know: how did you first get into music (both listening and playing)?

Like most of us, I think, I’ve gotten into music as a part of finding an identity as a teenager. I lived in a rural village of southern France and my hobbies were playing ball, and venturing in the woods haha ! Many of my pals in junior high were in rock bands, my dad played the guitar and wrote songs… One day I decided to give it a try, thought it’d get me some attention from the girls ! I put on some AC/DC and grew my hair long and that was the beginning of it.

Why did you decide you wanted to revisit Hive Mind?

Hive Mind is imperfect in many ways. It is the work of a teenager who didn’t know much of anything. Yet making this album was a founding act for me, one who set the course for the journey I’m still on and will be for a while. The themes I touched on in this album, tho roughly formulated, are still central to who I am and seek to be. The music is dear to my heart and I didn’t want it to be forgotten. So I gave it a little beauty check, and I’ll put it out there with Petrichor. Give it a listen, it has some good songs :)

What were your main influences behind Hive Mind originally, and what were they when you revisited it?

Easy. There’s this video game soundtrack for “Rayman 2” which shook me as a kid, very transparent in Hive Mind. Also Russell Brower’s music for World of Warcraft was big on me. Add to that the obvious rock influence of Opeth, Black Sabbath and some classical guitar… You get Hive Mind. For the remix, I didn’t add anything other that my newer “mixing expertise”. In fact I really had to get in the shoes of 17 year old me to do it right. T’was exhausting.

What was your remastering process like, how did you approach it?

Barbarically. I mean, there wasn’t a great deal of finesse in the recording of Hive Mind. It was done in a basement, with minimal equipment and a crashing computer. All in two days, without a break… I had to carry this energy through the mixing and mastering process, there was no point in doing otherwise. It sounds rough, but I like it.

Was there any point when you went back over Hive Mind that you thought you wanted to change something massively, or was it important that you kept true to the core and heart of the original?

Yes. I have tried that, but interestingly… It kept not working and naturally coming back to its primary form, almost as if it clung to its identity. I wrestled with it for a while, but when I realised that fact, I surrendered. The remixed version is identical to the original release. Just with a fresher and clearer sound.

What has been the hardest part of remastering the original, and what has been the most enjoyable?

The hardest part is how long it took. As much as I cherish this album, it doesn’t represent me anymore so the whole remix was a long and feisty side project. Really exhausting.

The cool part was, I’m currently an intern in a big recording studio in downtown Paris. So all that music that mini 17 year old me wrote on his shitty laptop back in highschool, I was now checking on a big SSL console with the best room and the best speakers… Makes you appreciate how things move on.

On your Bandcamp page, you wrote about the concept/narrative behind the original Hive Mind at some length. Did this story change in your mind as you were remastering the album?

Funny you mention this. Thanks for reading it by the way. I had no clue what I wanted to talk about about at the time. I was just writing line to line what felt “spot on” for me. Back then it just felt like some cool fantasy. Now I realise that story was about becoming an adult, leaving the house… And thus about transformation as a whole.

Hive Mind definitely sounds more gritty and ‘engineered’ than Petrichor - was this quality something you wanted to accentuate when remastering it?

Yes ! I didn’t like the sound of modern metal guitars at the time, nor the sound of big production pop or anything too polished. So it does sound grindy, and I did accentuate that in the remix. It sounds furious, I think !

What’s your favourite song on the original Hive Mind, and on the remaster?

My favourite songs are Raven’s Eye with its crazy enraged ethnic percussions on metal guitars, Destruct which I think rocks pretty hard with a twisted dark vibe and Egregore with the ambient section.

Has revisiting Hive Mind influenced the writing and direction for Keor 3?

Not at all. The direction for Keor 3 is all set.

Over the remastering period, was it hard balancing and separating Keor 3 and Hive Mind? Did the creative lines ever blur?

I put Keor 3 on hold this summer. The bulk of the writing was done in spring, with a few additions this summer. I’ll start laying out demos when I’m back in my home studio this fall.

Is there anything you can reveal about Keor 3, how far along are you?

I’ve got the tracklist down, with most of the musical elements layed out for each song.

I’ve gotten clear inspiration for the soundscapes I wanna create and the general flow of the album. If I get this right it’s gonna be pretty fucking avant-garde. I’ve set a huge challenge ahead of me and I’ll be honest, I’m a bit scared talking about what I have in mind for the future of Keor and my musical career and a whole.

You’ve mentioned drawing and sketches are a way you help to create the songs on Keor 3 - could you expand on their function and purpose in relation to the album?

Yes, great question I’m excited about this ! The inspiration I’ve gotten for Keor 3 has come in BURSTS so far. It wasn’t like a faint idea of a guitar riff in the distance which I slowly figured out then tape recorded. These are full blown soundscapes coming at once. When they appear I just draw from them as much as I can.

Some elements are easily identifiable (like a flute, guitar or vocal line) others much less and others… both combined ! Some ideas I’ve gotten are also experimental mixing protocols. So I’ve been taping what I can, writing down what I can and drawing the rest.

When I start laying demos, I’ll try to recreate those sounds from the notes I’ve left behind. See if I can pop myself into a similar state.

Other than the drawings, has your creative process changed much with Keor 3 after Petrichor and Hive Mind?

It’s becoming more vivid. Other than that, all I’ve been basically doing is defining myself through keor. I just lay out what feels truest and most honest to my place in life, than take a step back a see “oh yeah, that’s where I’m at”.

Whenever I’ve tried to trick myself into doing otherwise it’s gone to shit, hahaha !

We’ve spoken before, and you’ve said that the natural/nature-inspired sound is just a part of who you are musically, but is there any other avenue of music or any other sound or style that you would like to experiment with? And would this come in the form of Keor, or a different musical project?

I’m getting into pop, electronic music and hip hop a lot this year. I love how big the vocals sound, I like electronic drums and the sound of big sub-basses. I’m also listening to brazilian folk and I’ve listened to a ton of indian classical. Keor3 is going to incorporate some of that, tho it’s still faint in the bulk of my influences.

I think the nature of Keor is in extensive musical development, songs which take you on a long ride. If I ever get the inspiration to explore short and catchy formats, I’ll have to call it an other name.

If Keor was a number, what would it be and why?

7, come on you can figure it out <3

If there’s anything else you’d like to say about either album, please do:

Thanks for this interview, and thanks for everybody who’s taking interest in what I’m doing. Without the love and praise I’ve gotten for Petrichor, I’d be nowhere near ready to go forward in this adventure. Enjoy Hive Mind, I’ve remixed it for you. This one is no life changer, but I hope it serves as nice appetizer for what’s to come… Cheers to all the community ! We stick together <3

Thanks Victor for taking the time to do this interview, and thanks for reading.

- James Carstairs