Name: Alexandre Gouyette aka Brawther
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Nationality: French
Current release: Brawther's Sundials EP is out via B2.
Recommendations:
Book: I recommend Dreaming in Yellow by Harry Harrisson. This book is a sort of memoir of Harry, one of the leaders of the DiY Sound System, UK free party pioneers who have championed real House Music since its advent in the UK in the late 80s well onto the 2000s. Although this book stops around 94, it’s full of mad stories that are so very well rendered by the pen of Harry, which made my giggle so many times. It’s a 10/10 for me! Get it here.
Art: Please check out the work of the Artist Victoria Topping, she is ace. We’ve worked on the sleeve of my 2015 compilation Once Upon A Time In Japan!

If you enjoyed this Brawther interview and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram, and Soundcloud.



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?

It usually happens when I am preparing music for my upcoming gigs. I usually visualise the events, it's quite blurry but it helps me to understand if the music I'm checking out will fit with the vibe I want to create. It might evoke a certain colour for that specific vibe and if the tunes hit the spot they usually give me the same feeling.

Although we are speaking of visual colours, for me it’s more of a sensation. There is a visual aspect that happens in the mind but I can not put it into words. All I know is that I connect venues, crowds and the time of day or night with music, and there's something that happens that isn’t audible.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

When you are young pretty much everything you hear is new and exciting. I used to listen to all kinds of music but after my first club experiences I started getting more curious about specific genres as I looked for a way to deepen my knowledge and uncover these magical styles of music that you only heard in certain club nights.

In hindsight, I wish I had started buying records a lot earlier as I remained a believer in the CD format for years, only to find out that so much music never made it outside of 12” singles.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Around that time I was stretching myself out between french hip hop, skate / punk core, acid trance nosebleed techno, UK hard house and a total devotion to Aphex Twin and the whole Brain dance affiliated artists on Rephlex and Warp.

Aphex’s music really opened my mind about the different degrees of layers that can be found in music and extended the boundaries of experimental music. I felt like I was listening to cerebral music, more refined and intelligent. (not sure how I feel about this concept these days, but it still appreciate the music)

I only discovered proper deep house in 2001 at the end of my 16th year and that was the start of my lifelong journey into the world of house music. I haven't looked back since.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?
 
The computer has definitely been the most important tool from the get go. I started using Sony’s Acid, then Fruity Loops and Rebirth, before switching to Reason and then combining it with Cubase via Rewire for a few years. I only switched to Ableton around 2012, and that’s been a staple.

Although I have used plenty of hardware, owned synths and sold, tried out various methods of all hardware, hybrid, all in the box etc. I always end up using a computer and I think that I couldn’t ever not use one. It’s probably one of mankind’s most popular inventions and for good reason!

In the end it’s all about workflow, and the computer gives me a good compromise between speed and interconnectivity with hardware.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

I am inspired by music, pretty much all the time. Whether it’s jazz or funk that I listen to on my digital radio at home with my kids, to club nights hearing my peers doing what they do best.

Making music is my way of expressing my feelings when I'm on my own and my mind is reliving all of these musical moments that I've absorbed. I don’t do it with the intention to release it or create something that can be played or packaged for retail. I still feel like a kid trying to figure out how to make this music that can make people dance and feel good.

I don’t know if I'll be able to channel my feelings into something that’s actually interesting, but I still try to be in the studio when the inspiration strikes.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

That’s a difficult question. A lot of people are really trying to define their “sound” and get a bit stressed about it when they don’t.

I find that using the same tools can help to narrow down a sound. For example, using the same drum machine and one synth on all your tracks, will help you create a consistency in sound. Same goes with the type of scales and chords that you play, you might often circle around the same musical themes and find that it gives it the kind of mood that you like the most. Sometimes you try totally different styles and it’s really difficult to make any link between your older work and the latest trends.

So when it comes to sound, I think that it comes down to what is familiar to you and that’s what people will probably associate you with. I don’t actually think about the whole sound thing that much, but if I do, then I think that the tools that I used in the past will help me get there.   

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Although you can always hear music in the way animals express themselves, I tend to find music and rhythms that come out of machinery the most inspiring. I guess because it follows a repetitive pattern.

I kind of hear patterns in the most random places, like my ear always picks up on rhythm and tries to find patterns where it can. I can’t say I've had any particuliar moving experiences though.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I think that contrast is very important in music, it’s the balance of all these elements that enable music to be digestible and intelligible. We use all these techniques in our repertoire to express our ideas as clearly as possible.

I'm not drawn to one extreme or the other, a bit like in Buddhism, it’s more about the middle way. It’s a bit of everything, with the right dosage. You could also compare music creation to cooking. You have all kinds of ingredients in your fridge and depending on how you balance your dish and use your spices, you can create a masterpiece, just like you could ruin a dish by overdoing it.

I guess every track calls for a different set of techniques but in the end it boils down to the balance of all the elements.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

I probably tend to overthink the arrangement and add too many things. Dance music is meant to be heard in clubs and its repetitive nature works even better when the crowd is under the influence of narcotics. In the studio, I'm obviously straight as a T and I don't have the perspective to let my tracks be that repetitive and simple. So I usually have to get second opinions or play them out to really understand what it needs in order to be completed.

House and techno don’t really follow traditional structures but I feel like it’s still worth educating oneself about them and trying to apply them in our music. After all, if we compose music it’s because we care about it, so I feel like that we owe it to the music to constantly try to elevate our knowledge and skills instead of stagnating and repeating the same formula over and over again.

It’s always been a trial and error thing for me.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

I made this track called the “Fuck Off Track” with my friend Tristan Da Cunha in Leeds back in 2012. It was before we called ourselves Dungeon Meat. The idea was to create a track that could be played in DC10’s terrace. So we knew it had to be quite banging.



We started making the drums, then Tris started recreating a bassline similar to a favourite Cajmere track of ours. I tweaked the patch further, and once we had the groove we thought that since DC10 was a tech house mecca, our track had to have a silly breakdown that would lead to a big drop!

After finding a patch of the Juno 106 that what just made out of some white noise, I proceeded to bang the keys indiscriminately on time with the tune and slowly hammer them faster and faster and faster until it peaked and slowly wound down before the drop. It left a small gap of sound before the kick hit, and Tristan found a nifty vocal sample from his collection that would be the perfect pre drop vocal shout.

[Read our feature on the Juno 106]

The whole track was done in an hour or two, mainly as a way to take the piss and have fun in the studio. Little did we know that actual huge tech house names would be playing it that summer and for the years to come.

I personally never really cared for that track after we made it and it had a life of it’s own, finding it’s place in some of the biggest festivals in the world.

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Not really, I might have to resort to finding some sort of table of values for setting delays and reverbs if I get overly nerdy on something, but usually I just use my ears. Maths is all over music, but you can totally bypass it and rely on feeling.

I started playing around with modular synths and it’s definitely more scientific than what I am used to, and I would argue that it’s not as fun when you think in terms of logical signal flows and get stuck trying to understand what went wrong.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I think so. Making music is a labour of love and patience. It requires experience, dedication, passion, balance, restraint, care and so many other qualities that one needs in everyday life. The success I have had in music is the result of all of the above and it took me a long time to get to where I am.

I'm only getting started, music is a lifelong journey, not a destination. I am not trying to get somewhere and stay there. I strive to get better as a man, parent, husband and friend, just like I strive to become a better artist, keyboard player, arranger, digger, expert and what not.

Overall I would say that patience is one of the best qualities that one needs when it comes to music and life.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I feel like everything is better when you put great care into it. Making music, or DJing can really have a great effect on the people that listen to it, like a magic spell, it can trigger all sorts of emotion. It can really only happen when you set the right intention and dedicate yourself to your craft.  

Music is my way of interacting with the wider world and influencing it. Some do it through singing, or politics, or food. Whatever your passion is, don’t take it lightly or botch the job. Take your time and put more care into it, it will not go unnoticed!

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?



Always loved this track. especially the live version from Everything Everything. I'm a big fan of Underworld and I still get the same feeling when I listen to these tracks like I did when I first discovered them. They are so layered, deep and emotional, these guys really created true masterpieces in my opinion.

The merging of styles and the singular voice of Karl Hyde. It’s all about maturity! The guys were well into their 30s in the early 90s and had already been through various iterations of their bands in the 80s. I'm a sucker for Underworld.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I'm really not into AI generated music and my wish is for people, humans, to stay away from AI tools and try to make their music with as little hacks and tricks as possible. We have the power to create art, that’s what makes us human.

I would like to be blown away by music that is certified AI Free, that’s what I would like the future to hold. A world where music is made for humans by humans.

Sounds like a given, but looking at the state of the world and advancements in technology, this might become rarer and rarer.