Exclusive Interview with BT

This interview appeared first on MaxMuzik.com.

Recently we had the opportunity to speak with BT. Read up on a lot of interesting things you may not have known about Brian.

Hello Brian, nice to have you on MaxMuzik! As this is your first interview with us, let’s start off with a little background. How did you get into music? Please tell us about the beginning of your career as a DJ.
BT: Thanks for having me. Well I began studying music at a very early age (4 to be exact). I spent most of my childhood playing and composing. It has been and always will be my first love. I studied composition, harmony and theory starting at age 8 at the Washington Conservatory of Music and attended Berklee school of music in Boston at age 15. “DJ” ing has always been a bit of a misnomer for me but now the line has blurred between live electronic music and “DJ”ing so I openly welcome the tag. Truth be told I am a composer that likes to perform electronic music live.

For our readers who’ve never heard your music, explain your sound in 5 words.
Molecular detail, emotional, broad, yearning, soaring.

BT featuring Au5 and Matt Hales-Surrounded (7″)

Can you offer insight into some of your musical inspirations? And who is your favorite artist from Electronic music outside your own specific genre?
BT: I run the gamut from Stockhausen to Stravinsky. I’ve studied everything from 12-tone row to music concrete so my fav’s list is quite long *laughs*. I suppose a few are Depeche Mode, New Order, Curtis Rhodes, John Cage, Prefuse 73, Boards of Canada, Richard James, Skinny Puppy…I could go on for a long long time.

You’re going to release your ninth album “A Song Across Wires”, how was the experience working on this album like for you?
BT: Amazing, it’s the first time in many years where my “likes” sync up with what is happening in EDM. For many years I was bored of the sounds I was hearing. It’s only over the last 3 years that dance music and especially production techniques and sound design have piqued my interests. This album is the molecular detail and production esthetic I am known for, applied to the current state of EDM. It was a really fun record to make.

Surrounded feat. Aqualung – The new single from BT’s upcoming album “A Song Across Wires”

What was the most challenging part of the production process of “A Song Across Wires”?
BT: Finishing. That’s always my greatest challenge. When you work on a single composition for months, it’s hard to step back from the canvas and say, “this is now finished”.

Could you tell us about your music production process? Also your equipment and the setup you use in your live shows.
BT: I use Logic 7, 9, Albeton, FL Studio (Mac 12 Core) and Logic 6.43 on a OS9 24bit protools production rig for destructive editing. My fav synths are the Jupiter 8, Prophet 5, Pro One, Oberheim 4 voice and Arp-2600. I use those as the backbone for almost everything I do that is electronic. I also do quite a bit of coding and command line DSP/Sound design. Fav’s for this are CDP (in Mac terminal), Csound, Super Collider, and Max/MSP. Finally and very importantly, I have a collection of instruments from all over the world (that grows too quickly btw) that I record and play on all my songs. There’s not one of my songs without lots of live instruments. For a song to have emotional integrity to me it has to be built with human hands on wires and strings, not in a soft synth.

Speaking of shows, what are you touring plans for the rest of 2013? Are you coming to Canada as well? 🙂
BT: We are continuously working on dates and updating my schedule, for the latest updates please check the upcoming event list here on Facebook. For sure coming to Canada. I love it there. I have a French last name after all!

What artists would fans be surprised to find on your iPod?
BT: I don’t think I could surprise my fans because their tastes are as broad as mine. Maybe Naked Eyes, or, I know..The Grease Soundtrack.

Any final thoughts or parting words?
BT: Thanks for the awesome interview! Best, _BT

Follow BT: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Website