Breakbot Talks ‘Still Waters’, Hip Hop, and Disco on a Psychological Level

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Breakbot Talks ‘Still Waters’, Hip Hop, and Disco on a Psychological Level

French disco crooner Breakbot has just dropped his second album ‘Still Waters’. Layered with sampled and plug in sounds, the album takes a journey through lush 4×4 tempos with typical French disco bass lines, and breakdowns through RnB tempos and catchy hooks.

Stoney Roads caught up with the producer to talk about his new album, his childhood inspirations, and living the dream on Ed Banger Records (don’t we all?)

Henry (HR): So with the announcement of ‘Still Waters’, you released the clip for ‘Get Lost’ – an interesting depiction of the final stages of a wedding between a couple. What was the inspiration for that?

Breakbot (BB): The inspiration wasn’t ours, it was the director called Dent De Cuir. When you make a music video you read a lot of different scripts from different directors and I think this one was, to the both of us, the one that captured the idea of the song in the best way. It kind of represented the impression of someone really being ‘lost in the moment’, with that repetition and everything, so it was a great visual metaphor for what the song was trying to say, and with a funny twist, so I think that was very clever.

HR: Also on the album is track ‘2Good4Me’, a soulful, almost RnB jam. Why did you decide to change it up from your regular disco productions?

BB: Well, first it wasn’t really moving away because we’ve been producing hip hop beats since we’ve producing music basically. Since i was like 16-17 i was making hip hop beats at first, and it started as a kind of hobby. On the first album we had some slow jams, and when you have a full length album you don’t want only up-tempo songs, sometimes you just wanna, y’know, make some more waves I guess, rather than just ups and downs.

HR: What was it like when you first started gaining commercial success? Was it confronting having so many plays and fans over social media?

BB: Well to be honest I’m very lucky. I’m very lucky to be able to do what I do and I’m really grateful to the people who listen to the music and to the people who trust me on the labels and stuff. It was never overwhelming in the sense that, like when I go on the streets I don’t get people who are trying to get a picture of me or anything, so yeah I think I have found the right middle between the freedom to do what I want to do and also the freedom to go where I want without being harassed or anything. I feel really happy with my profession.

HR: Were you always influenced by disco and house music growing up? What/who were your main inspirations?

BB: Oh wow, there are so many of them. if you want to think about the records, there are many influences from the 70s and 80s you know, basically like funk, soul, and disco from California. All the white guys trying to make funk in the 70s and 80s. Like the Bee Gees in Australia for example! So yeah there’s so many of them from Cat Stevens to Prince, from Giorgio Moroder to the Doobie Brothers to Chic to Michael Jackson, older brothers in my family as well.

HR: What does disco music mean to you?

BB: It means, in a way, a type of psychology. It’s a way to get away from your trouble and your worries and your everyday things. Disco is a good way to forget about your troubles and get rid of them!

HR: Was music always the focus for you?

BB: I used to study graphics before. I was really interested in being a director and working in animation, so thats what I did for a while and I was doing music as a hobby, so I quit my job and got into music and now here I am.

HR: When you first started playing international shows, what were the feelings like? Do you ever still get like that when you play shows today?

BB: It was an absolute dream come true for me. I’m very grateful about the people who are coming to the shows. It’s a beautiful feeling, and it’s very strong now still.

breakbot live

HR: How do you like to produce your music? Do you use a live band or is it just you?

BB: We started to produce on our laptop in the simple way, like Ableton and plug ins and stuff, thats pretty much the first part of the process. Then on this record we went to my brother’s studio which has lots of synths and instruments and we replaced the sounds we didn’t like on the plug ins with new stuff, with lots of real bass and real hi-hats, and drum machines. So yeah there’s like a mix of what we’re used to having on our Ableton, and at the end of the process when we finished the tracks and were mastering the whole thing it really tied the whole project together and made the whole thing a lot more cohesive. We can definitely say my brother had some impact on the record and was really important in the process of finishing the tracks and making them sound how they sound like today.

HR: What’s it like being signed to a label like Ed Banger Records?

BB: It’s awesome dude. They’re the best label in the world. I’ve been travelling with these guys for a while now and it’s cool because it’s like family vibes man, and it intimidates you in a way because they’re all doing different stuff and stuff that I’ve been appreciating for a long time now, because I used to be a fan of them before I was even on the label, so yeah for me it’s a dream come true and today it’s definitely cool to be able to be a part of that. I feel really grateful once again.

Breakbots latest album ‘Still Waters’ is out today through Warner locally and Ed Banger World Wide. Be sure to grab a piece of music history on iTunes.

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