Milos’s passion for music began in 2000, with his first release in 2004. He graduated from SAE Los Angeles and has since released music on respected labels such as Tuning Spork Süd Electronic, Telegraph, Seta Label, Sushitech, and his own imprint, Leporelo. Currently, he operates The Losh Studio, a mixing and mastering studio in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Photo credit: Daniela Benkova
As the founder of the Leporelo brand and label, Milos has cultivated a community of talented artists and musicians. Over the years, it has hosted renowned acts including Akufen, Deadbeat, Sonja Moonear, and Subb-an. The imprint continues to serve as a platform for artistic expression and musical exploration.
With a career spanning two decades, Milos just released his highly anticipated debut album titled ‘No One Can Affect This’. The LP invites listeners to reconnect with the essence of electronic music, rediscovering the purity and creativity that defined its origins.
In an exclusive interview with EG, Milos expressed his excitement about the release and shared valuable insights into the creative process behind the album, as well as the personal experiences that shaped its creation.
EG: Hi Milos! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now?
Milos: Hi guys. Thanks for asking. I’m doing great. I’m in Bratislava, my hometown. I’ve been quite busy finishing an album, preparing the next releases for my label Leporelo, and working on some mixes and mastering in my studio, The Losh Studio.
EG: First of all, congratulations on the upcoming release of your debut LP, ‘No One Can Affect This’! You must be very excited to finally share this one. What has the initial reception been like?
Milos: The feedback has been great, so hopefully when people listen to my debut album, they will enjoy it a lot.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find on ‘No One Can Affect This’? Is there a concept interconnecting these tracks?
Milos: Well, there is no concept when we are talking about tracks and music, but the more I listen to the album, I have a feeling that those tracks fit together really nicely. The name is important in this case and it represents everything that has happened in the last few years in my personal life or globally.
‘No One Can Affect This’ basically represents things and events that happened to me or to the world around me (I had cancer, COVID, etc.) and you realize that when they are gone, you cannot or could not really affect them in any way. Musically, I just made tracks that I feel are original, with no generic sound, and I tried to put in there what I love and have been inspired by over the years. I love how electronic dance music used to be arranged, how the tracks evolved, and how simple and pure tracks used to be. I think people lost interest in how electronic (dance) music was originally created, and a lot of people make music with no soul in it, with no real interest, and the result is that a lot of tracks sound the same, have very similar or the same ideas, lack originality, and there is always something changing in the track. I tried to be really myself, as I always have been.
“‘No One Can Affect This’ basically represents things and events that happened to me or to the world around me”
EG: ‘No One Can Affect This’ comes almost 20 years after the release of your debut EP. This must be really monumental for you. How and when did you conceive the idea for this album? What was it that made you realize the timing was right?
Milos: Ah, time flies… That is the biggest problem. I planned to release this album a bit sooner, but it never came to that. But suddenly, I realized I started to make quite a bit more music again, so I decided it was time to finally release an album. And yes, when you realize your first music was released almost 2 decades ago, it just confirms that time flies very, very fast.
EG: In your opinion, as a producer, label owner, and DJ, how has the scene changed in these past 20 years?
Milos: Well, I’m a bit sad when I see what has happened to the house & techno scene. It has become something that people are interested in for the wrong reasons; it used to be more honest. To become a DJ or producer to get fame or to get rich because, and that is a fact, the amount of money involved in this scene is enormous. But the most important thing is that music has lost its originality, with people copying each other, copying what is popular or what could work, and people who make music have forgotten its heritage and its message. Techno used to be an artistic statement of working-class people and was supposed to make people not think about life and work and forget their problems. It had its importance, its message. Now it’s just a circus with lots of lights, and DJs have become circus clowns who play what people expect them to play.
Originality is very rare, and producers try to sound like many others. I also teach music production in my studio in Bratislava, and that’s why I don’t like tutorials that show people how to make a certain genre of music, and there are always some reference tracks, and there you go, people try to copy it. And also, when people say techno or house, they mean something totally different, which is just mainstream music with a 4/4 rhythm and 125 bpm. But of course, there are still producers, DJs, and labels that approach it as something special.
EG: Speaking about Leporelo, where is the label at the moment? What can we expect in the coming months?
Milos: Just to finish my previous answer and include my label Leporelo, I’ve always tried to release music in which I find something interesting, original, or some weird moment. And regarding the near future of the label, just last month, one of the Leporelo co-founders, Fezoy, released his debut EP ‘Valentine,’ which is really exciting music with a lot of originality and great sound. Just last year, I found new talent here in Slovakia. His name is NoT, and I have already released three EPs from him – ‘Angels & Sailors,’ ‘Modular Late Night Jam,’ and ‘XTC Bubbles’ – with some great tracks. It is really worth checking out. He has also received support from Richie Hawtin. So, there are some upcoming releases planned with these two guys. Also, another talent from Slovakia – Bubble Fleischhacker has been sending me some demo tracks, and she is really original, which I really like so that looks promising. Last but not least, a guy from Japan called Lefthand Soundsystem approached me some time ago, saying that he would really like to release with Leporelo, and I really like the tracks he sent, so that one is also in the lineup for the upcoming label releases.
“You don’t see any overwhelming visuals in clubs like fabric or Berghain, and you can still enjoy the music a lot”
EG: By the way, what do you think about the current trend that has seen these larger-than-life visuals take center stage? Are they overwhelming the musical aspect instead of just “enhancing” the musical experience? Is this the future of music festivals? Does it push labels into thinking of visual aspects over the actual music?
Milos: Honestly? I don’t get it, but people seem to enjoy it and love it. That is another aspect that has made this scene like a circus in my opinion. Also, all these weird places people perform. I really like Moodyman’s idea of DJing, that a DJ should not be a rock star and should not be in the spotlight, but should be focused on choosing the best possible music for that moment. That’s why I’ve always preferred smaller and more intimate club venues with a great sound system to enjoy music. The horrifying thing is that a lot of music is pre-prepared or pre-recorded because of the visuals, and DJs are trying to say it’s basically a normal thing these days. You don’t see any overwhelming visuals in clubs like fabric or Berghain, and you can still enjoy the music a lot.
EG: Also, the incorporation of AI in electronic music seems to be on the rise, whether it is in the music, the album covers, and beyond. Do you have a particular stance on this?
Milos: Well, as my album title goes, ‘No One Can Affect This.’ AI will be a part of art for sure, and that is something no one can really affect. But we can influence the amount of AI involved. In music, since the online database of music is unlimited, music production will not be a problem for AI. The thing is, it will never be original, which brings us back to the main idea that I mentioned before. If you come to the stage where you want to produce your own music, you won’t be using AI because the reason you start to make music is because it makes you happy, fulfills you, and it’s something you enjoy. If you start to produce music for the wrong reasons, that will be a shortcut… So really, ‘No One Can Affect This’.
EG: What’s next for Milos? What new milestones are you looking forward to now?
Milos: Well, I enjoy making music, so I will continue to produce new tracks. I’m planning to make a live act performing tracks from my debut album. I enjoy my job as a mixing and mastering studio – The Losh Studio in Bratislava, so I will continue that as well. We’ll see what’s next, but after a little break from DJing, I’m planning to play in the clubs more, so we’ll see where this takes me.
EG: Thank you for your time, Milos! We’re excited to see what’s in store for you. Take care!
Milos: Thank you! I got really happy when I found out a magazine like EG has an interest in interviewing me and finding out more about my debut album, the inspiration behind it, and other stuff. I really appreciate it.
Milos ‘No One Can Affect This’ is out now via Leporelo. Stream and download here.
