GET INSPIRED! Interviews: Pretty Pink, BT, Ela Minus, Woodkid What is important to you when producing music and what do you focus on? « BT / I think of my BT albums as a conver- sation with myself around songs, while the more experimental things I do are typically instrumental. In these, I get to do all kinds of wacky time signatures and crazy things that I studied as a school kid. But my album “Electronic Opus“ was an eye-opener for me because of the idea that I could invite parts of myself into a room. Th is new album was the fi rst time that I’d created a song combining trance 2.0 with neuro breakbeat stu and synth wave. Th is time, I didn’t separate the usual sound experiments from the orchestral, deep counterpoint live recording thing – it’s all on one record and the height of what’s possible for me. Ela Minus / I’m trying to be as honest as I pos- sibly can. Th e more you think about things, the more the ego gets involved, so I try to make the process really fast and commit to initial ideas, whether my ego is saying something is good or stupid. I’ll record something, improvise and listen to it again. If I feel something, I put my producer hat on and ask what it is that is waking up these feelings. Sometimes it’s really specifi c like a synth line or vocal melody, so I’ll make a decision that everything should serve that because it’s the soul of what I just made. Th at’s when the magic happens. Pretty Pink / When I think about it carefully, there are two ways I start a track. On the one hand the more classic way: Suddenly you have a melody in your head that you want to capture quickly – no matter how. But if it doesn‘t happen with this rather panic-looking method, I always like to start with drums and bassline and let the creativity fl ow in the process. Ultimately, however, the track has to have a sound that is as clear as possible and, above all, a good groove, with- out sounding artifi cial. I also use natural sounds like splashing water, chirping birds, other natural sounds and my signature synthesizer sounds. Woodkid / I‘m very proud of my recent album „S16“, because I think it‘s a treasure chest full of ideas. Th ere are many little inventions that came with random processes that were surprising even to me. I tried to bring more adversity and inde- pendence into the music, especially when working with the orchestra: Th e instruments take on a life of their own, so to speak, and don‘t just play permanently in an ensemble. And sometimes it was more about fi nding unusual sound associations. Th ere are no drums, guitars and basses on the album. It was more about fi nding sounds that were di erent. My music has always this ambiguity. You never know if something is real or not. New every month: The music magazine with answers to all questions about music, production, mixing and DJing. Available in english (digital) and german (print, digital). SUBSCRIBE NOW starting at 5.49 Euro per issue | www.plugins-samples.com