# Interview with yours truly is featured on NI's blog



## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

Mario Krušelj, a.k.a. EvilDragon talks creativity, KONTAKT scripting, and more | Native Instruments Blog


Was a fun interview to do, gotta say!







Pardon me for tooting my own horn


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## Mornats (Jul 4, 2018)

You don't look so evil in the blog post


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

I was never really evil, per se.


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## fiestared (Jul 4, 2018)

A guy who love cats and guitars is obligatery a good guy...


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## David Cuny (Jul 4, 2018)

Congratulations! 

Having read many of your helpful posts on various forums, it was nice to get a glimpse of the person behind the omniscient oracle.


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## Eckoes (Jul 4, 2018)

Great interview. Thanks for all your helpful posts in the various forums I visit.

I always assumed that was you in your avatar!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

David Cuny said:


> it was nice to get a glimpse of the person behind the omniscient oracle.



I'm far from omniscient, and my predictions are quite often inaccurate.


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## N.Caffrey (Jul 4, 2018)

I wasn't prepared for that! you look completely different from your profile pic


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

Man that seems to be the most common response to the interview, LOL.


Feel free to continue the interview here. Consider it a reddit AMA, perhaps.


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## N.Caffrey (Jul 4, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Man that seems to be the most common response to the interview, LOL.
> 
> 
> Feel free to continue the interview here. Consider it a reddit AMA, perhaps.


Interesting read! I'm not familiar with Reddit, but you mean I can ask you other things?


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## MarcelM (Jul 4, 2018)

what happend to your hair? seems your photo here is a bit older, huh? 

like both styles btw though... but lost most my hair already due to age


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## Nao Gam (Jul 4, 2018)

Congrats on the baby mate

If there's a way for us to send a couple bucks for all that free info you've laid out through the years that'd be cool


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## David Cuny (Jul 4, 2018)

N.Caffrey said:


> Interesting read! I'm not familiar with Reddit, but you mean I can ask you other things?


AMA = *"Ask Me Anything"*


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

Heroix said:


> what happend to your hair? seems your photo here is a bit older, huh?



I actually had really bad quality hair, so it had to go at some point otherwise I'd go completely bald.

Now I'm starting to go gray instead, slowly (it's more obvious on my beard when I let it grow a bit than on my hair, but still). Can't win 'em all, I guess!

(For reference, I'm 32 years old, born May 16, 1986.)



Nao Gam said:


> If there's a way for us to send a couple bucks for all that free info you've laid out through the years that'd be cool



Actually there is, but I kinda hate to advertise it. You can just use this link if you want: https://www.paypal.me/EvilDragon


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## N.Caffrey (Jul 4, 2018)

Ok. 1st question: Have you ever approached or been approached by Spitfire Audio to work on their libraries? Do you think it could happen in the future?


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

Nope and nope. Blake Robinson has been with them from the start, and it seems it's going to stay that way. I'm great friends with Blake, really cool guy.


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## N.Caffrey (Jul 4, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Nope and nope. Blake Robinson has been with them from the start, and it seems it's going to stay that way. I'm great friends with Blake, really cool guy.



I thought they had more than one developer given the number of libraries. Didn't know you worked on REV, it's an amazing library and in general Output is a really cool company. What do you think or their new product Arcade? I really like it, but it's not as optimised as Kontakt I think, as with 6-7 of them open my computer struggles.


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

N.Caffrey said:


> I thought they had more than one developer given the number of libraries.



Therein lies the greatness behind Blake, and I brushed upon that in the interview. His KSP code is highly adaptible and he built extra tools that enabled Spitfire to develop libraries really fast. And also update them - once Sandbox or Kickstart gets an update, all the libraries using them can benefit from the same improvements/fixes etc. I think in 2016 they had *over 50 updates in that year*, which is unmatched by any other Kontakt developer to this date.

They do have more devs now, with their own sampler and all that. Blake doesn't do that part.




N.Caffrey said:


> Didn't know you worked on REV, it's an amazing library and in general Output is a really cool company. What do you think or their new product Arcade?



I will say I didn't check out Arcade past the marketing blurbs. Seems interesting an idea, if you're into loops.



N.Caffrey said:


> I really like it, but it's not as optimised as Kontakt I think, as with 6-7 of them open my computer struggles.



Don't forget: Kontakt started over 15 years ago. Basic parts of it (i.e. DFD mechanism, sample playback code, etc.) remained largely unchanged (if not completely intact) throughout these 15 years. So Kontakt had to be efficient on computers from 2003/4/5 etc. Of course the efficiency of that same code would be even better on much faster CPUs of today!

Many programmers today are not trying to write the most efficient code, but try to write code fast. Not saying everyone does, but this is the unfortunate state of computing today - we have 4-5 GHz CPUs and gobs of RAM, we don't need to optimize. Heh.


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## lucianogiacomozzi (Jul 4, 2018)

Great read, very inspiring. Nice work!


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## Kevin Fortin (Jul 4, 2018)

Cool read, glad that you are getting some public recognition, and very happy for your success! Also nice to see your kitty and that starship console of a desk. Living the good life, it seems!


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## Jaap (Jul 4, 2018)

I really enjoyed reading that interview Mario


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## Anders Wall (Jul 4, 2018)

Fun reading, nice to get a background.
So a Bisernica...
Five strings, top strings tuned to the same pitch the other three to fifths?

I'm guessing here, remember seeing one when our family went to the island of Pag years and years ago.
(before you were born) :O
Our family rented a mandolin-professors house and he showed me some of this instruments.
So strange, can't remember the name of the professor but I do remember the name of his instruments 

Anyhow, thanks for sharing.

Best,
Anders


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

Anders Wall said:


> So a Bisernica...
> Five strings, top strings tuned to the same pitch the other three to fifths?



Yes, top two strings are unison, others are fifths! IIRC, usually tuned from D downwards.

Bisernica is more associated with inland Croatia, it's not really a mandolin - on our coast they picked up lots of culture from Italians so there be mandolins and variants of it there. That's not to say that there are no bisernicas found at random places on our coastline... But it's much much more common in Slavonija and also Baranja (where I'm located, pretty close to the Hungarian border).


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## Garry (Jul 4, 2018)

Fantastic read, thanks for sharing the article, even if most of it is completely beyond me, such as:
_
"I also wish we could use $EVENT_PAR_0…$EVENT_PAR_3 as modulators within the instrument edit mode. This would be a lifesaver in some scenarios"
_
but that's where I'm happy to defer to the KSP Gods such as you, EvilDragon. Can't say I've ever given much thought to $EVENT_PAR_0…$EVENT_PAR_3 as modulators, or indeed as anything else! Yup, pretty certain they've never even crossed my mind! But I'm very glad they cross yours, and really appreciate your willingness to share your expertise on this and other forums. A more no-nonsense, fact-based, to-the-point guy it would be difficult to meet!

Ok, so as for AMA: what do you think of NKS, and where do you think NI will or should take it next to expand it's capabilities? It seems standard to find a Komplete Kontrol keyboard in many of the studios and composer videos (eg JXL and many others), and since the keys themselves are ok, but nothing to write home about, it's presumably the NKS that was the selling point, so it really seems to have embedded in the community, and I'd expect NI will want to continue in this direction. So where do you think they will/should go with it?


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## EvilDragon (Jul 4, 2018)

NKS is good and is gaining traction pretty well. It's pretty important for NI and they will continue pushing it. I have no idea where they will go with it, honestly.


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## juliansader (Jul 4, 2018)

How does one pronounce "Krušelj"?


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## Morning Coffee (Jul 4, 2018)

Super! An interesting insight.

I have family from your part of the world and they always say the word 'super' when expressing congratulations or similar, ha ha. I always wondered how that word got into the culture, probably through television I guess.


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## Morning Coffee (Jul 4, 2018)

juliansader said:


> How does one pronounce "Krušelj"?



The š is pronounced like the letters 'sh' in English, and lj might sound like 'li' in English. At least, that is according to my limited knowledge of the language.


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## dgburns (Jul 4, 2018)

fun read. I’m thinking an updated picture is in order


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## Nathanael Iversen (Jul 4, 2018)

Thanks for all you've given to this and other communities - there is no question the world is a better place for your generosity!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 5, 2018)

juliansader said:


> How does one pronounce "Krušelj"?



That one is really hard to explain unless you have an idea how to pronounce "lj" as a diphtong - there is no equivalent in English for that sound. It's like pronouncing "l" and "y" (from "yoke") really fast one into another until they are sort of a crossfaded mix of both  "Š" is exactly like "sh" and "u" is "oo".

So it'd be "Krooshely" with accent on "Kroo", and the "special" way to pronounce "ly".

In fact, here's a recording (attached)!

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/recording-mp3.14308/][/AUDIOPLUS]




dgburns said:


> I’m thinking an updated picture is in order



Neveeeeeerrrrr!


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## Daniel James (Jul 5, 2018)

Nice one mate! Who is that in the picture tho 

-DJ


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## Glenn Broersma (Jul 5, 2018)

Nice to see the guy who bumps up on every forum I'm on. 

At some point I thought your a bot


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## Francis Bourre (Jul 5, 2018)

Really enjoyed the interview, thanks for sharing.


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## Erick - BVA (Jul 5, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Yes, top two strings are unison, others are fifths! IIRC, usually tuned from D downwards.



I'm having lots of fun playing around with different tuning "preparations" on my guitars, ukuleles and mandolins. It gives you a new feeling when you play. It's inspiring. I'll have to try that tuning out. Awesome interview by the way. You're a bit of a sheep in wolves clothing it seems  Only referring to your avatar as compared to who you truly are. Not saying that you have bad taste in clothes or anything.


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## joed (Jul 5, 2018)

Enjoyed the interview very much. Congrats on becoming a father!


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## TGV (Jul 5, 2018)

Keep up the good work!


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## fish_hoof (Jul 5, 2018)

Great read! Really enjoyed it and learning a bit about your life.


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## Beluga (Jul 5, 2018)

Confused about the haircut..


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## reutunes (Jul 5, 2018)

Working with Kontakt scripting all day will drive you insane - good job you have a cat to calm you down.


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## EvilDragon (Jul 5, 2018)

Beluga said:


> Confused about the haircut..



People do change their haircuts throughout their lives? 




reutunes said:


> Working with Kontakt scripting all day will drive you insane - good job you have a cat to calm you down.



Hahah! She can be a feisty one, mind you! Not always in the mood for cuddling. In fact, we barely even managed to get her in that photo (see how I'm holding her, it was barely enough).


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## bigcat1969 (Jul 5, 2018)

Cool interview, Batman!


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## Beluga (Jul 6, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> People do change their haircuts throughout their lives?


Getting smart on me, eh? :D Well your avatar seems to not change his haircut a lot, but nevermind..


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## EvilDragon (Jul 6, 2018)

My avatar is never changing its haircut, and never will


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## MPortmann (Jul 6, 2018)

Thanks for all the cool scripting work, Kontakt/NI, and VI Control contributions you make to my (our) musical worlds.


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## robgb (Jul 6, 2018)

Great interview!


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## Daniel (Jul 7, 2018)

Congrats Mario. You always help people in the forum. So may I ask you a favor? Can you predict which team will win the game today between Russia and Croatia?


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## EvilDragon (Jul 7, 2018)

Of course I can't predict it, but I firmly believe and wish it to be our guys, we have better players overall and they have a real team spirit this time around, compared to our appearances on world cups in the previous 20 years...


In all honesty, we've had 100% efficiency in games so far. We neutralized Messi, arguably one of the best players in the world. If we can neutralize Messi, we can neutralize anyone. Denmark was a _really_ tough nut, though, but that's basically because they aren't playing real soccer - that game looked more like volleyball considering how much the ball was in the air. 


Or as this pic perfectly explains it:


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## Daniel (Jul 7, 2018)

I missed the half game because just attended Celine Dion's concert in my country (1st time after 3 decades her career!).
Your guys shocked the world when won vs Germany in 1998. Never forget that, also when won vs Argentina recently.
:-D


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## EvilDragon (Jul 7, 2018)

Toldya we'd win.


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## Daniel (Jul 7, 2018)

hahaha.... congrats!
and vs England which team will win? (PM me. I am afraid many people will going to win bet reading your prediction)


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## EvilDragon (Jul 7, 2018)

I won't say anything. Besides, I'm not an oracle, haha. Let's just wait and see.


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## Mornats (Jul 7, 2018)

Looking forward to seeing our team play yours on Wednesday. Should be a good game!


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## Joshua Campbell (Jul 9, 2018)

Great Article!


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## slateandash (Jul 9, 2018)

Great article Mario and thank you for the mention and your help! 

Funnily enough every single thing you mentioned as what you'd like to see added to Kontakt is the same for us. What's your thoughts on the likelihood of any of those happening?


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## EvilDragon (Jul 9, 2018)

I honestly don't know, but I guess we will know in due time when Kontakt 6 is released...


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## Daniel (Jul 11, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> I won't say anything. Besides, I'm not an oracle, haha. Let's just wait and see.


LoL ------ the next 10 hours the battle will begin.


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## EvilDragon (Jul 11, 2018)

Indeed. Fingers crossed for our guys...


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## EvilDragon (Jul 11, 2018)

Looks like it's NOT coming home, after all.


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## Joe Maron (Jul 11, 2018)

Great match! Good luck on Sunday!


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## Mornats (Jul 11, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Looks like it's NOT coming home, after all.



Bah! Good exciting game though. Well done, now go beat the French for us!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 11, 2018)

I really hope we will. There are some debts to pay off for losing to them in semis at WC 1998.


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## Daniel (Jul 11, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Indeed. Fingers crossed for our guys...


Wow....congrats Mario! I was sleeping when 1-1, and after checked the score....


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## thesteelydane (Jul 12, 2018)

You got lucky against Denmark. We could - and should - have won that game, just sayin’ But now I hope you go all the way and beat the French!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 12, 2018)

No, we were better in the second half against Denmark, and all the way through the ET. Absolutely deserved win there, our guys stuck with their guns, your guys were lousy in execution even when close to our goal (got tired in ET, perhaps? ), that's the way it goes 

Also, saving penalties is not pure luck. Saving 3 out of 5 is proper know-how  Schmeichel was great, but Suba was better in the end - and he continues to prove that throughout the whole WC.

Also let's see what the match stats say:

https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/croatia-denmark-july-01-2018-match-stats-108596

Who has more goal attempts and greater attempt accuracy?


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## thesteelydane (Jul 13, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> No, we were better in the second half against Denmark, and all the way through the ET. Absolutely deserved win there, our guys stuck with their guns, your guys were lousy in execution even when close to our goal (got tired in ET, perhaps? ), that's the way it goes
> 
> Also, saving penalties is not pure luck. Saving 3 out of 5 is proper know-how  Schmeichel was great, but Suba was better in the end - and he continues to prove that throughout the whole WC.
> 
> ...


Ok, ok, maybe I was looking at it through rose colored glasses, because we were so shit in the first 3 games, and I expected Croatia to simply play us out of the field - which objectively didn’t happen, since it went all the way to penalty. I maintain we could have won that shoot out, had it not been for the stupid decision of letting Nikolaj Jørgensen be one of the kickers, and Eriksen letting his own reputation down so spectacularly.

But like I said, things being what they are, I will be cheering for Croatia now. Please, please, please beat France!!!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 14, 2018)

thesteelydane said:


> and I expected Croatia to simply play us out of the field - which objectively didn’t happen, since it went all the way to penalty.



Yes, it didn't happen because you guys didn't let us play our game. We don't like long lobs and headbutts all the fucking time. We like to play _actual football, _y'know, where there's actual game creation happening instead of jumping the game. 



thesteelydane said:


> Please, please, please beat France!!!



I hope we will, too. But you never know. The situation doesn't look good - they've had one day of rest more than us, and have played one game less than us (3 extra times = 90 minutes)... But everyone (especially cynical were the British media) said we were too tired and won't do anything in the half-finals game against England, and look at what happened...

Those boys be insane.


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## nordicguy (Jul 14, 2018)

Hi Evil,
Thanks for everything you'r bringing to this and other forums.
Really.

Wish you guys good lock with the match!


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## Daniel (Jul 15, 2018)

Good luck with your team, Mario :D (30 minutes to go)
I just admire the goalkeeper of both team.


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## G.R. Baumann (Jul 15, 2018)

Just stumbled across your interview, and yes, KORE 2 all the way!  I remember when I got my first Hollow Sun gems, adorable graphics in deed. As for grey hair, geeze you're in your 30s, wait another 20. LOL


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## G.R. Baumann (Jul 15, 2018)

P.S. Congrats on a successful WC2018! btw. whats the point of VAR when the referee doesn't apply the rules? It had to be a deliberate handball to justify a penalty and this clearly wasn't.


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## EvilDragon (Jul 16, 2018)

Agreed on that... But it is what it is, I guess.

The whole country here is celebrating as if it were gold.


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## dciurlizza (Jul 17, 2018)

Mario! Two things I didn't know about you:

We both work(ed) with Output (among other places) at one point or another. Still surprised at what small indistry it is;
You're Croation - the place of my not-so-distant ancestors!
That was a fun read, man. Thanks for sharing!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 17, 2018)

Hehe  Kontakt scripting is a proper cottage industry. 

(And BTW, proper spelling is "Croatian" )


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## dciurlizza (Jul 17, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Hehe  Kontakt scripting is a proper cottage industry.
> 
> (And BTW, proper spelling is "Croatian" )



Hahaha more evidence for why you build such great products - nothing gets past ya!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 17, 2018)

I do try my best so that it doesn't.


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## ZenFaced (Jul 17, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> Mario Krušelj, a.k.a. EvilDragon talks creativity, KONTAKT scripting, and more | Native Instruments Blog
> 
> 
> Was a fun interview to do, gotta say!
> ...



Awesome. Didn’t recognize you without the long hair.


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