The fifth EP on Suara Music from the emerging talents of producer/DJ Bastian Bux goes one step beyond. This time he delivers a rhythmical vocal track featuring Kyla Millette and the result is a modern techno track with soul and elegant vibes. We check in…
Hi Bastian, tell us about your latest EP ‘Lights’ – what was the inspiration behind this release? How long has this been in the making?
To be honest, it was more like an accident than a concrete inspiration or idea. The vocals of Lights, the lead track of the EP, were actually made for a different instrumental. It took me more than a year to find a new idea where the vocals could fit as they do now, but it was cool because when I finished the instrumental it felt if like both parts were pre-destined to be together. It was a different story with ‘Umoden’. I’m feeling more and more attracted by raw Techno sounds, and wanted to try and experiment with my perceptions of this side of electronic music. I finished more tracks that were alongside these two, but we ended up deciding to not include them.
The EP includes remixes from Fur Coat and Steve Rachmad – how did these collaborations come about and what was it like working with them?
I still can’t believe that such big names have remixed my work. It’s unbelieveable! All the credit should go to Coyu and the whole Suara crew… They’re doing amazing work taking the risk and the enormous challenge of moving Suara to a more exclusive and underground audience, and they’re doing it super well in my modest opinion! I did nothing about the remixers, they arranged everything for me. The only thing I did was writing music that they accepted to remix.
Could you give us one stand out production technique you used on ‘Lights’?
I think that editing the vocals was super creative and interesting work. As I said, these vocals were not made for the instrumental, they weren’t even in the same key. I spent more than two days playing with them inside the VariAudio window of Cubase, which is something like Melodyne but inside of the DAW. I LOVE this feature. I created a lot of layers with just a rough acapella which was originally in a different tempo and key. I think this its the most interesting technique I used while creating ‘Lights’.
You’ve released on the likes of Nicole Moudaber’s MOOD Music and and Digweed’s Bedrock label. What release are you most proud of so far and why?
Can’t pick just one, but I think that “Stay EP”, my first work ever as Bastian Bux and my first step with Suara will always be special for me.
Touring with elrow around the world must mean you have a story or two to tell. What has been the most memorable Elrow experience you’ve had so far?
There’s a lot, but recently, just a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to bring my sister and his boyfriend with me to Amnesia Ibiza for one of our Elrow nights where I was closing the Terrace. It was the first time she was able to see a Bastian Bux set and of course the first time she was seeing me playing in Ibiza… It was super special, probably the most special moment I’ve lived in Elrow.
What’s in the pipeline in terms of shows for the rest of the year?
Loads of great shows are in the pipeline! In Spain I’ll be doing the Elrow Ibiza Closing, Zaragoza, Madrid, Barcelona or debuting in cities like Granada or Gijón. In Europe I’ll be back in Amsterdam for the ADE week, Germany which is always special, Belgium, UK… And internationally I’ll be debuting in Lebanon, Brasil, Australia and repeating in the States.
Do you have any more exciting releases / collaborations forthcoming you can tell us about?
No more solo releases for now, but about the collaborations I can tell you that I have more exciting stuff alongside Coyu and that I’ve been talking with some of my favorite artists to find the way to work together. You’ll see the results in just a few months.
