Austin lover & music savant Malika helped us recall through the memory fog & mayhem that was SXSW 2011 in an exclusive with BK favourite Brenmar
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Read the full interview here: http://biglovearchives.com/post/1007156 ... ly-brenmar
Brenmar: http://soundcloud.com/brenmar / http://brenmar.biz
Big Love’s been feeling big lucky lately. In honour of his birthday and our strictly I-fficial day of Big Love & Appreciation, we’re posting contributor/friend/& artist ladybird Sarah Malika’s chat with Billy Brenmar. Sarah & Billy first linked when her gypsy band of Atx performers’ hosted the unofficial SXSW showcase The Hook Up!, a riotous 2-day event featuring Brenmar, Kingdom, NOLA bounce diva Big Freedia & Austin-based nonprofit Project Transitions. Billy proved himself a big heart and talent. Here he speaks on hybrid club music, trade tools, NY, family, and the nitty gritty of girls in the dance…
What was your first sampler?
My first sampler was a really shitty 8-second Gemini sampler. I also had a little Tascam 4-track that I would use to record the beats I made. I would create really amateur beats, make tape loops and sample from my hip-hop records. When I was 15, I worked at my father’s auto shop, and then moved on to a telemarketing job doing surveys over the telephone. It was then that I saved up to buy a used MPC 2000XL. That was my first legit sampler and I used it up until I was 23.
I have been doing this for a very long time. I am 25 and I’ve been doing this more or less non-stop since I was about 16. I got Turntables when I was 14. I got my first sampler when I was 15, and started making beats then. I didn’t really take it seriously until I was 16.
So what tools do you currently use to create?
I use primarily software these days. I’m on the road a lot and always working on tracks. Primarily, Ableton Live is what I use. I have access to a studio here on the Lower East Side and they have pretty nice synths that I sometimes play around with. They rarely make up the bulk of the track; they are mostly an additional noise, sound, or bassline here and there. I use a Korg MS-20 and a Juno-60 there occasionally. I write in Ableton and mix in Protools. I have an MPC500 and a Roland SPDS. I don’t use them that frequently but sometimes if I’m going for a certain sound I will sample outside the computer and then just record myself playing them back...
