“I actually grew up in my father’s music studio,” says the prodigal son. “He was a songwriter and guitarist for a well-known Belgian pop band back in the day.” Unlike his father he always wanted to be a drummer, but started playing the guitar instead. While you may not hear the link in distorted compositions like Destroyer, he actually grew up with blues and rock as his foundation. “I had Chuck Berry riffs on my Fender Telecaster and a Marshall amp bigger than me.” The gap between his rock roots and his electronic hell raising becomes smaller as he says his glitchy sound was born out of his “love of distortion when I was playing the guitar.”
Before launching himself onto the world under the moniker of Gtronic he was a DJ for two years, one who proudly still used vinyl. “I spent all my money on buying vinyl back in the day.” Playing in “crappy bars” and being paid in beer he says it was “hard to maintain this hobby. It actually led to a ‘depression’ in my musical career.” That all changed in 2007 when a friend gave him a copy of the Sony Acid Pro software, “Then it all started,” he exclaims. It was the work of club assassins like Digitalism, Boys Noize, Justice and The Proxy that cemented his decision to orchestrate his own sonic boom.
Unlike its European counterpart Germany, Belgium is known more for its contributions to sport, cuisine and kicking people in the face (we’re looking at you Van Damme) than it’s dance music. Referred to as one of the ‘low countries’ because of its geographic location, Gtronic is flipping that description on its head as he keeps the bass low, warbling and of course trashy. The man himself understatedly describes the electronic music scene in his native land as “OK I guess,” saying that “It could be much better.” He does go on to say that “We have a lot of really good festivals,” but that the majority of the young audience is going to these big dubstep parties.” Gtronic won’t be jumping on the ever-expanding bandwagon anytime soon though, “I’m not a big fan to be honest. I’ll keep pushing the electro scene.”
After only a short time as a producer Gtronic has become a household name thanks in large part to his embrace of online promotion. Moulding his own image he has taken to YouTube with some unique video creations. The cinematic video for his club hit Iron Man fits the chaotic sounds as snugly as the suit fits Tony Stark. Don’t expect any cross-promotion with Marvel comics to be forthcoming however. “I actually ripped their original video from YouTube, and edited it to fit on my soundtrack. Marvel wouldn’t be happy if they saw this video.” Gtronic, who had no prior video editing experience, spent two days putting the visuals and sound together.
As evidenced by the new singles Cerberus and Dance Machine, Gtronic is going into groovier territory with his upcoming EP, which he began recording this past Christmas. “Cerberus was the first track. I always wanted to do something with self-recorded vocals.” Another goal this time around was to create crunchier, thicker bass lines. “On the feedback I get, I’ll sort out whether this was a good move or not.” He says that Cerberus is his personal favourite track, “It’s one of these tracks you make in one day. When that happens, you know everything fits well.”
“If you find out, let me know,” he says jokingly about what makes a good club anthem. “Mostly all my weird-sounding ‘wtf-did-I-just-make’ tracks are doing the best.” If there was a magic formula for making a hit, many would be taking it. “I’m learning which sounds people like the most by collecting all feedback I get. Most of the time it’s trial and error.” Not one to rely on the same sound, on every EP “I try out something new,” he states. Experimenting without overindulging is a skill in itself, “It’s hard to keep on developing and renewing your sound without going off-road too much.”
And what now, apart from the new game-changing EP? “There’s a world tour coming up including the one month tour in Australia. I’m dying to get in my studio and produce some new originals. I have some good ideas I want to try out!” We will be waiting with open ears, bring on the trash!
