Name: Bremer/McCoy
Members: Morten McCoy (piano), Jonathan Bremer (bass)
Nationality: Danish
Recent release: Bremer/McCoy's new album Kosmos is out via Luaka Bop.  

If you enjoyed this Bremer/McCoy interview and would like to stay up to date with the band and their music, visit their official homepage. The duo are also  on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.  



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

The most intense way of listening for me is with my eyes closed, solely focusing on the music.

I don’t see shapes or anything like that, it’s more like a feeling of pure awareness. It can feel somewhat like a kind of meditation, which is nice.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

One big difference is that on a stereo system the sound can become more physical. Feeling bass in your body is awesome and does something to the listening experience.

On the other hand, having the speakers on your head often feels more detail oriented. I often notice reverb tails or other details I haven’t noticed before when I sit with headphones.

For a physical experience, put on our tune "Dub" and turn it up loud on a big system! :-)



Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

Rhythm & Sound have a very interesting sound to me. The music is so simple and repetitive, and there is no melody or traditional form. This means that the sound and rhythm (hence the bandname) is the only thing left to focus on.



Also there’s often some kind of noise involved which moves in a way that’s not necessarily related to the rhythm, which is interesting to the ear.

[Read our Rhythm & Sounds' Moritz von Oswald interview]

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

We once played some concerts in an old water tower. We counted a reverb time of over 20 seconds. It was really remarkable.

We had to change our setlist. If we modulated to a different key during a song, the old key would still be in the reverb and it would sound really spacy. Sometimes in a nice way and sometimes not. There was also a really long, winding staircase in the middle of the room that rattled and vibrated with some of the notes. We wrote a tune in that room that highlited both the sounds from the staircase and the extremely long reverb. Unfortunately, we can’t play it anywhere else.

I remember playing in a big old church the day after, and thinking to myself “It’s so nice to play in a totally dry room”.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

For recording, we actually like a small studio room. It gives a feeling of intimacy to the recording.


Bremer McCoy Interview Image by Søren Lynggaard Andersen

Many animals communicate through sound. Based either on experience or intuition, do you feel as though interspecies communication is possible and important? Is there a creative element to it, would you say?  

I know a few people that really have a feeling with animals. One can always call on cats and they’ll come to her for example. But I think most of the communication with animals (and this probably also goes for humans actually) is intuitive and not sound based.

We have an interesting experience at our concerts where we sometimes really can feel the audience, even though there is no verbal communication. The vibe in the room is a very real thing.

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

I have onset tinnitus in my left ear. It’s a little hard for me to prevent because I really dislike using ear plugs.

The sense of hearing is so accurate and precise and putting something in your ear, even custom made, highly linear ear plugs, changes the sound and I feel like it removes me from the music.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I don’t think surrounding yourself with music every second of the day is great for most people. I think silence is also very important because it gives you time to reflect.

And when you then do put some music on, it really means something.