In the first edition of our new monthly Conversations series – where we sit down with NI’s musicians to talk creativity, motivation, mental health and the realities of making music on your own terms – we catch up with the ever-original Alpha Chrome Yayo.

From high-octane Eurobeat and sultry slow-jams to ambient dreamscapes, horror scores, jazz fusion, and Sega-inspired synth odysseys, ACY (aka Peter McCaughan) has built a singular world that’s as fun as it is fiercely felt. In this wide-ranging conversation, he talks about making music full-time, the importance of cutting yourself some slack, staying excited by your own ideas and why listening to Adam Sandler in the car might just be the perfect way to spark inspiration.

Hi Peter. You’re easily one of the most prolific artists to ever come from our shores. I’ve always wanted to ask: beyond god-given, multi-instrumentalist talent, what’s your secret to motivation, inspiration and making it all happen?

Aw, thanks so much! That’s extremely kind, and a hard one to answer succinctly. But you and anyone reading this needs an honest answer that’s deeper than, “eh, dunno”.

So, truly, honestly? Not stopping. I don’t mean working to burnout, I’ve been there and it benefits nobody. But in the wider sense I mean simply keeping going. Hone your craft, try bold new ideas, learn from mistakes, listen lots, play even more and KEEP ON KEEPING ON. If you’ve found something you love doing, do everything in your power to keep doing that thing forever.

That and for goodness sake get excited about it. This doesn’t mean you need to (or should) be brimming with plastic positivity. Just be aware of how cool the things you create are, and do your best to convey that, whether that’s in terms of marketing or within the work itself.

You’re very much an artist who marches to the beat of his own drum, dreaming up these genre-spanning creations with a deep love and curiosity that’s genuinely infectious. Do you think having fun is ultimately the square root of what it’s all about?

If it’s not the square root it’s at least a very, very large part of the equation. Look at me delivering maths-based platitudes like a motivational Carol Vorderman.

Seriously though, it’s important to enjoy the process and, yes, to find the fun in it. That’s easier when I’m making a goofy album about hifalutin golf clubs or Japanese trains than when I’m doing more introspective or horror leaning stuff, or wrestling with intricate sound design.

But there’s still lots to *enjoy* there. Enjoyment can come through laughter, learning, catharsis, virtuosity, inspiring real world change, partying… and anything in between.

You’re putting a lot into it, so make sure you get a lot out of it too.

As we all know, it can be really tricky for independent acts – especially solo ones who oversee everything from songwriting to artwork to publishing and beyond – to make ends meet with music alone. From the outside looking in, it seems like you’ve carved out something really self-sustaining and uncompromising. What would your top tips be for other NI artists trying to make things happen on their own terms?

Thank you! Yeah, ACY is my full-time gig now, which is wild, and amazing. I’m mostly working on game and movie soundtracks, but I’m never going to stop making my own records. Like most people who make music, I just… need to.

Uncompromising is a word that I love to bits. I mean, there are lots of times where compromise is important, but not when it comes to being able to create the art that you need to create, and to do the work that you need to do.

I said before that I think it’s important to find the thing you love doing the most, and doing everything in your power to keep doing that forever. That doesn’t necessarily mean making it your full-time job – in fact, that might be the total opposite of what you need. “Hobby” isn’t a dirty word, it’s a vital one. I have loads of hobbies (even ones I suck at) and they’re of the utmost importance to me.

So I guess my advice is to work out what it is you want from your music, hone in on that, and go for it with all your might. There’ll be roadblocks and setbacks for sure, but approach them with a clear vision and a healthy spirit of defiance. Am I allowed to say ‘take no shit’? If so, TAKE NO SHIT. 

You strike me as someone who prioritises wellbeing – making space for peace and quiet amidst deadlines, releases and busy spells. Is that the case? And what helps you when burnout starts to loom?

Here, I try my best. That’s all any of us can do. Boxing off that time and space for yourself is so important, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to lose sight of. Which, admittedly I do, all the time.

Like, right now I’m in the middle of a full-on week. Not to get too into the nitty gritty, but I’m working on a couple of games with looming deadlines, I’m keeping up with my own music and everything that goes alongside it, my dog is having surgery literally as I type this, my son is teething…

You get the picture. It’s a lot and I’m a little fried. And obviously I’m not special or unique in this regard, EVERYBODY has a lot of stuff going on, all the time. Life is relentless.

But, like we were talking about earlier, you gotta make room for enjoyment, within the work and outside of it. It’s easy to latch onto memeable soundbites, but I put great stock into what Special Agent Dale Cooper recommends in Twin Peaks. Give yourself a little present, every day.

Like yesterday I took myself out for ice cream and listened to an Adam Sandler CD. Yes, I am a big Adam Sandler defender (for the most part).

And while I was out doing that, I had a bunch of ideas that I’m putting into practice now. It doesn’t have to be a monetary treat either, just do something that you love, hell even just THINK about something you love, for a little bit, every day.

Our brains are fiddly things that often feel adversarial. But when they’re afforded a bit of room to breathe, they can do magical things.

A lot of your releases have this beautiful undercurrent of self-kindness – cutting oneself some slack, letting things be. Tell us more about why that feels important to express in your music.

Honestly, this is one of the most important things in the world to me, and I’m beyond touched that you can feel that through my music! I try very hard to imbue it with those exact attitudes.

I guess to me it’s important because, very often, the world instills the direct opposite of those attitudes. Working really hard for something you believe in is wonderful, but there are loads of toxic “grindset” attitudes out there. Very often they’ll come from people who benefit from you busting a gut while you get nothing and they reap the rewards.

And sometimes these situations are unavoidable, especially if you’re juggling a passion project with a 9-5, or health problems, or any number of insidious issues.

If my music manages to help someone give themselves a bit of a break or offer a little solace, nothing makes me prouder.

And what advice would you give to other artists here in NI who might be struggling right now – creatively, mentally or emotionally? Are there any practices, mindsets, or supports that have helped you stay grounded?

It’s a tough one to answer because obviously everybody is utterly unique, as is everybody’s individual situation. Much like there being no one-shot snake-oil trick to musical success, there’s no neat, succinct answer to emotional clarity and mental wellbeing.

But I think remembering that uniqueness can be helpful in and of itself. You are you and I am me and we are all together, etc. I’m not going to get too deep into cosmic oneness, but what I do think is great is finding ways to celebrate what makes you and your art special.

And equally, maintain that attitude when enjoying other people’s art and their company. It’s no secret that I’m a massive weeb (colloquial term for somebody interested in Japanese culture), and there’s a saying that I really like, “ichi-go, ichi-e”.

It roughly means, “for this time only”. Life is made up of a series of unrepeatable, unique moments. It’s very grounding to remember that, and to try and find the joy in each time and place.

Congrats on the release of Dream Chaser. It’s another masterful, genre-flipping effort that could only have come from you (‘Watashi no Yume’ being a favourite). For readers who might not be familiar with your music yet, how would you sum it up, and what was your favourite part of making this particular record?

Damn, that “could only have come from you” hits so hard, that’s my very favourite compliment to receive. Thank you!

Dream Chaser is a super fun album, but it’s a really important one to me. Ostensibly it’s inspired by PS1 racing games and anime like Initial D, and it’s full of hi-octane Eurobeat, sultry slow-jams and arcade bangers.

But what really glues it all together is a central theme of chasing your dreams, never giving in, shooting for the successes you deserve. All the good stuff we were talking about earlier.

My favourite part? Well, I started making this album as soon as I decided to make ACY my full time job. I was balancing it alongside other work that wasn’t doing me any favours, in terms of my mental and physical health.

I knew it was a big leap into uncertain territory, and making Dream Chaser gave me the push to realise, yes, this is something I can do, something I can succeed at. I can live my dream.

I finished the album after I quit my day job and I had a listening party that just felt like this huge celebration of living life to the max, whatever that means to you.

It also helped talking to my family and friends during this time, feeling the full weight of their support behind me. I would say they’re the wind beneath my wings, but maybe it’s more appropriate to call them the NOS in my engine.

Sorry in advance for this one but looking back over your full discography to date, if you had to pick just three tracks that really distil the ACY M.O., what would they be and why?

Ho-hooo that IS a tough one! Houl’ on till I open up my Bandcamp here and have a look. There are a LOT of tracks on there (not to mention nearly 4000 incomplete projects on my hard drive).

Okay, first of all let’s go with one you mentioned, Watashi no Yume off Dream Chaser. It roughly means “my dream”. I wrote it for my wife (aww), but it really lays out in no uncertain terms how you can win at life if you let people in, believe in them and, most importantly, believe in yourself. Plus it’s got absolutely ripping sax and guitar solos.

Next, And That My Friends (Is What I Call Golf), from 19th Hole. The whole album is this horny, liminal trip through the decadence of a country club, by way of Sega Mega Drive golf games. It still makes me laugh my ass off every time I hear it, and it’s probably the first album where I started REALLY doing exactly whatever I want.

Finally… aw, I feel like I should go with something markedly different, like one of the chill tracks off one of my more ambient albums like Open House or Private Garden.

But screw it, I got here by doing what I think is best, so let’s have another one off Dream Chaser. It’s called Forget the Brakes and it absolutely embodies that spirit of defiance, of never giving up, no matter who or what gets in your way. It’s my favourite song I’ve ever written, and the most important one. Play it loud.

Lastly, let’s talk about Promise Mascot Agency, a game you’re lead composer on that’s out next week. It’s been getting serious buzz from the gaming press, and there’s clearly a lot of anticipation around it. How has that experience been for you (presumably a bit of a dream come true?). And what can players expect when it finally drops?

Listen, when I was approached about working on Promise Mascot Agency I couldn’t believe my ears. A game where you play an exiled Yakuza member, driving round a cursed rural Japanese town in a kei truck, stamping down stupid old men and their attitudes with cute sentient mascot friends?

It felt like it was made just for me, and the real magic is that I think LOTS of people will feel like that. It’s by Kaizen Game Works, who did Paradise Killer, which I was a mega fan of.

PMA is so much fun, incredibly heartfelt, and embodies so many of the ideas I’ve been talking about this whole time. It also stars Takaya Kuroda, who plays Kiryu in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series – my favourite games ever made.

I’ve rammed it full of showa-inspired jazz fusion, traditional Japanese instruments, death metal and PURE VIBES. There’s also kickass music by industry veteran Ryo Koike, and I did a vocal main theme with one of my favourite singers, NOZ, which was a tremendous experience.

I think the whole game is life-changingly awesome, and I hope people enjoy their time with it (and the music) as much as I have.

And hey, if you’ve got a cool project that needs invigorating sounds, give me a shout!

Follow Alpha Chrome Yayo on Instagram and Bandcamp!