Part 1

Name: Sylvain Creton aka DJ Psychiatre
Nationality: French
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Current Release: DJ Psychiatre's new EP Moving into Jazz is out via Last Year at Marienbad.  
Recommendations for Rennes, Brittany, west of France: It’s a bit sad because I would have recommended going to eat and drink at Pénates, the best restaurant in the city (and in my heart, the best in the world!). But it closed recently.
So instead, I recommend visiting Blindspot: Les Angles Morts, a record shop in the city center. It’s a real reference for many different genres – from rap to hard rock, ambient, pop, tribe, disco. The people there really know their music, they support local culture a lot, and they’re an important part of the city’s cultural life.
Topic that I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: When I really like something, I tend to get a bit obsessive – which means I love collecting things. People who know me personally already know this, but I’ve been collecting sneakers, especially from the American brand Saucony, for more than fifteen years now.
I have almost 200 pairs, including some rare and exclusive models. I already had the chance to talk about it once, but it doesn’t happen often – and it has nothing to do with music! So I’m really happy you asked this question.

If you enjoyed this DJ Psychiatre interview and would like to know more about his music, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, and bandcamp.  



Debates around production tend to focus on gear. What, though, were some of the things you learned by talking to colleagues or through performing and/or recording with other musicians? What role does community play for your interest in production and getting better as a producer?

To be honest, it’s not really a debate I’m part of, just because I don’t use any hardware.

At some point, I tried—I bought a few machines (like a Juno 106, an MPC2000XL), but I never had the time or the patience to really learn how to use them.

I really admire musicians and producers who can manage several machines with a smooth workflow and make crazy tracks (like Venetia recently, for example), but I think that’s not for me. For me, producing music on a computer is usually a very solitary activity.

[Read our feature on the Juno 106]

I find more of a sense of sharing and community through DJing rather than producing.

I’m not part of any collective or association in the area where I live, but we all kind of know each other, and I’m lucky to be invited regularly to play at local events. We mostly just enjoy time together, but during conversations, it’s not rare to share some tips—about digging for records on Discogs, music production tricks, or DJ techniques.

Would you describe yourself as a very “technical” person with a natural affinity for technology, gadgets, electronic circuits, software, etc …? What is your relationship with technology in- and outside of music?

I wouldn’t say I’m a very “technical” person. But I had a computer very early in my life, and I quickly became passionate about it—discovering all kinds of music on old obscure websites, playing video games, or just internet culture in general.

This curiosity also made me want to try computer-based music production. I started with eJay back in the day, then Reason, and finally Ableton. I think being comfortable with computers from a young age helped me understand and use these tools pretty quickly.

But, like with hardware, I never had the patience to go deep into theory. Let’s say I can do a bit of everything, but often just on the surface. I’m really far from being what people call a “sound designer.”

Still, I have a good musical ear and a quick feeling for sounds, and when I get inspired, I can make tracks I really like and that I want to share quickly.

The word “production” as a separate item from “composition” suggests a creative processes with different stages. Do you see it that way – or are all the steps towards a piece of music always integrated and connected for you?

I understand the difference between a producer and a composer, but I think today, with new technologies, easier access to music software, and so many tutorials online, the line between the two is getting thinner—especially when you’re not making music at a high professional level.

Since I do everything by myself (composition, production, mixing), all these steps are mixed together for me. It’s hard to say where one ends and the other starts.

I think the more professional you get, the more important it becomes to separate the stages, and maybe even work with people who are experts in each part. I can’t even imagine how many people are involved in one single track by Beyoncé or The Weeknd.

In how far, would you say, was your evolution as an artist connected to the evolution of your music set-up? Were there shared stepping stones?

Like I said before, my setup and my workflow haven’t really changed since the beginning. I just have a MIDI keyboard, my computer, and one software. I think when you have a studio with just a few machines or keyboards, the limits of each tool push you to be more creative with rhythms or melodies, so every track can still feel unique even if the base is the same.

But when you produce only with a computer, the possibilities are infinite—with VSTs, samples, everything—which, for me, actually blocks my creativity. As time goes by, I feel like it’s getting harder for me to produce again. My knowledge and the tools I can use are growing, but now I don’t really know where to start. My sound quality and mixing have improved a lot, but it takes me more and more time to finish something I like.

One real step in my evolution was moving from Reason to Ableton. Reason was a great software, but it had a lot of limitations. I had another alias at that time—Nuck Chorris—and I made some hip-hop remixes, like this one: 



When I switched to Ableton, it felt like a revelation. Everything was easier and more intuitive. Things that took me many minutes before were now possible in a few seconds, and I could make music that was much closer to what I wanted to do.

I already had a different alias when I changed software, and my music also changed—from tracks like this one on Reason:



... to this one on Ableton, which I was lucky to release on Dance Around 88:



That was the golden era of lofi-house (2016–2018—what a time!), with all the cool names and aesthetics—Ross From Friends, DJ Seinfeld, DJ Boring—some of them still doing great today.

So I decided to pick a new alias that matched this new musical direction, the aesthetic of that scene that I really loved, and also something that made sense in my personal life—at that time, I was sure I would become a psychiatrist.

There are artists who can realise their ideas best with a traditional – or modified – piano interface, others with a keyboard and a mouse, yet others by turning knobs or touching screens. What's your preferred and most intuitive/natural way of making music and why?

I started playing piano very young thanks to my family, so I think I’m more in the first category.

I have a good ear and a basic understanding of chords and harmony, which helps me feel comfortable when I sit in front of a keyboard and open Ableton. That’s where I can be more fluid and creative in the beginning.

Then, I spend most of the time using the mouse—moving things, cutting, pasting, changing, twisting parameters directly inside the software.

Tell me about one or two of your early pieces that you're still proud of (or satisfied with) in terms of production – and why you're content with them.

It’s funny because all this talk about studios, gear, and hardware made me think about one of my first releases—which is actually one I really care about.

I think it was the very first physical release under the name DJ Psychiatre, in 2016, on a friend’s label from Toulouse called House Plants Records. It came out on cassette, which is a format I really love and collect. It was released on a friend’s label, and the artwork was fully made by my best friend.



Side A includes some edits of old French pop-disco tracks, and side B has the only track I’ve ever made completely on hardware, with just a few samples added in post-production. It was under the name Kretschmer. Of course, there’s a lot of nostalgia when I think about it, but I’m really proud of it—it means a lot to me.

The live track is 30 minutes long, but this is my favorite part:



Another track I think is one of my favorites was made quite early under the DJ Psychiatre name. It’s "Pièce 01," released on GASP Records.

At the time, I hadn’t yet developed the love and obsession I have now for ambient music, but I was already interested, and I made this 6-minute ambient track that I still play a lot during ambient DJ sets.



It mixes perfectly with Vril – "Torus XXXII," so it often becomes a great closing track.

When Ross From Friends played it on his BBC radio show—it felt like a full circle moment. I was so proud.