60 - brwnb0y

Giannis Kampiotis
March 17, 2023

Hello music people 👋

Today in the spotlight, brwnb0y

He is creating chill synthesizer music with an urban and electronic influence. Making music since the age of 11 and learned to play multiple instruments, including guitar, bass, piano, uke, and saxophone.

He started recording after a decade of learning and playing instruments and added synthesizers to his studio. He kindly opens up and tells his story 🎶

Read Time: 10 minutes 📰

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Interview

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

Ι am brwnb0y. Ι produce chill synthesizer music with a heavy urban and electronic influence.

I’ve been making music since I was 11. I originally wanted to play drums but my parents were not as eager to let their spastic preteen, who had never shown any musical ability, bang on drums for any length of time. I was allowed to have an electric guitar, but I had to save up my own money from chores to buy it. It took me months but I did save up enough for a guitar, and immediately I couldn’t put it down. Once Ι showed some ability on guitar, my parents bought me a drum set for my birthday. From there, picked up bass, piano, uke, saxophone... Anything I could get my hands on really. After about a decade of learning and playing these instruments, I began recording. Synthesizers just went hand in hand with filling out my studio as needs arrived.

As it stands right now, I’ve been able to survive as a creative. Between music and some photography, I’ve been able to scrape by. I've never cared to be big rich. I’ve always just wanted to make music. I’ve been blessed enough that, between photography, streams, sample packs, recording sessions, shows, scoring, and beat leases, my creative projects have been able to support that lifestyle.

Which piece of equipment in your studio is essential to your production process?

I think my music would sound very different if I didn’t have the digitakt. It’s my swiss army knife. For smaller setups, it’s my interface, sequencer, sample mangler. My live sets entirely revolve around it. I use the digitakt just as much as a creative tool as a utility. At first, I didn’t jive with the Elektron workflow. There was definitely a learning curve to it. But after working with it for a while, I’ve become so accustomed to using it to chop and sequence that it’s become practically indispensable.

What is the least expensive piece of gear that gave you the most results?

The piece of gear that i think has given me the nose bang for my buck is going to have to be the Arturia Minifreak. I got the Microfreak and fell in love right away. There were a few features that I didn’t really care for like the keys and the polyphony. Then Arturia announced the Minifreak and I knew i had to get it. It feels like the Microfreak but upgraded in every way. For the price, I think that might be the most versatile synth on the market at the moment.

Walk us through your process for creating and producing music.

I usually begin from scratch. I am in love with the process of synthesis and sound design. I rarely ever sit down with the intention to make a track, usually just looking to make a cool sound. My process starts by noodling around on a synthesizer. It’s through tweaking and experimenting that a melody comes into focus. It’s at that point that I typically record a sample for socials. After I have the sample I typically throw it into the digitakt. I often chop/pitch/mangle the sample, then add the drums. In some cases I make the whole track on the digitakt, but more often, I’ll record the tracks individually to Ableton through overbridge, throw the drums in their own group, make the melody it’s own track, then use the DAW to add detail and to also mix and master.

What is a production technique that you always come back to?

Something that has become a heavy part of my workflow is resampling my own melodies. The digitakt is nice for chopping samples, but I also use Ableton to chop a sample, then use the chops in drum rack to tap out a new melody on the push.

How would you explain your style?

When I write music, each track I publish is just something I would like to listen to if I were alone on a spaceship, drifting through space. That’s just how I feel. It is hard to actually put words to what I believe my style to be. With both photography and music I believe it’s my editing that defines me. I create, what I’ve come to find out, a lot of content every day. Most of it never sees the light of day. Some of it goes away for times when i feel uninspired. My style presents itself in the content I do publish. It may sound strange but out of all the content that I make, there is only a small fraction that I feel has a true brwnb0y spark to it.

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

The biggest hurdle for me would be the growth aspect of trying to be a creative in the 2020s. It feels like it takes an enormous amount of energy distinguish yourself from your peers on social media. The reality is that there are 1000s of people doing exactly what I do. A lot of them are better at it too. It’s so difficult to identify what it is that make me myself to other people, and then using that thing to find my audience. Cutting through the noise is huge hurdle.

I always have to remind myself that there is no winning this race but the only way to lose is to stop going forward. The only thing I can do is continue put out the best content possible.

Has building a hardware setup changed your perspective on music or life in general?

Getting hardware has actually helped me understand my DAW better. With every piece of gear I get, I mentally run through how I would recreate it in Ableton. My biggest revelation was when I got my Mackie 32•8. Then Ableton is basically a mixer in software for it. As I began using the sends on the mixer, that workflow found its way into my DAW sessions.

One tip on how to spark creativity?

Honestly, I think getting a new piece of gear is the coolest way to find some inspiration.

I think a lot of artist block comes from being too comfortable. Sometimes you become so familiar with a bit of gear that working with it becomes muscle memory and you just end up getting results that you’ve got before. That’s the rut. Getting a new bit of gear can help you break out of that rut by putting new obstacles in your way and breaking up the monotony. Also, you think about a new piece of gear differently. You likely approach it from a place of learning and exploring as opposed to a tool to achieve a particular effect.

With that in mind, any gear can be new gear with the right mindset.

A book, movie, article, or album that has inspired you?

Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder (the ONLY Willy Wonka in my book) has influenced my life the most. That movie gave me the courage to shut myself in my factory and build my own world.