[Patashu]

mine theory:

mines are used to add tension to a file. there are four basic ways mines can be used; before notes, to throw you off about hitting them, after notes to make you jumpy, beside notes to make you careful about them, and scattered around to produce visual obscurity and general tension at things requiring more effort to read.
you want to use mines during points in a song that are naturally tense or awkward. examples can be sudden silences, abrupt changes in how the song is proceeding or additions, stutters and choppiness, ominous sounds like winds (see croquel pt 1).

a different way to use mines, however, is to pretend to layer another sound or instrument; for instance, itg's summer speedy mix and tell have mines accenting certain cymbal crashes in the song.