Artist interview #1
Lowel
Q : Qui es-tu ? D'où viens-tu ? Et où vas-tu ?
I am Lowel, a music lover, DJ and producer from Paris. I am not going anywhere too far from my studio 🙂 I want to be involved more and more in the local scene and keep sharing music with passionate people.
Q : Qu'est-ce qui t'as mené à la production musicale ? Pourquoi aimes-tu ça ?
I started playing the piano for a long time, then the drums, and I discovered Ableton and that was it. I love the fact that you can produce any style, have as many instruments as you want, and access incredible tools to drive music creation with just a laptop ! There are so many possibilities and ways to make great music without needing anyone or anything. Fully producing your track is the ultimate freedom.
Q : Depuis combien de temps produis-tu ? Et quelles sont les composantes principales de ton setup ?
R : I have been producing for 7 years now, and more seriously since 2 or 3 years.
I really could not work without my Ableton Push. It is the brain of everything, it gives me a real hardware feeling, I can play an instrument, but at the same time mix my tracks, add effects on the fly, and I really love the whole workflow. The only thing is that I feel a little bit lost without a real keyboard, so I would say my MIDI keyboard next, as I can play the piano, create melodies, and play music. The Faderport 8 is also important in my setup to mix all my tracks together.
Q : Comment approches-tu les côtés plus techniques liés à la production, comme le mixage ?
R : I often start basic mixing in the production stage, when I feel like something bothers me, I fix it. Then, when the arrangement is finished, I start more in depth mixing. I often struggle to find the right sound for the track, but I always try to have a good balance, not to overcompress, and most importantly I try to match the energy and the emotion of the track with technical tools.
Q : Quelle est ta dernière sortie ? As-tu des nouveaux projets en cours ?
R : My last release is a track for a Canadian label called Secret Knowledge, and the track is called “Noworldorder”. I have also released under a different alias a 2 track EP and will be releasing more and more in the future, on various labels 😉
Editor’s Note: Due to laziness, Lowel has released a new EP called Psychose since then.
(Mastered at Smart DSP 😉
Q : Souhaites-tu partager autre chose ? Des conseils pour les personnes débutant en production musicale ?
R : The advice I keep telling myself is to be consistent, not try to do too much but just keep practising, learning, having fun and experimenting everyday. I try to do at least 1 hour of music per day, and for me the best way to progress is to listen to all kinds of music and keep producing with all these influences in mind. And of course, sharing with other DJs, professionals or whoever might be interested is always very enriching.
Q : Quel est ton "coup de cœur" musical du moment ?