JOHANNES BRECHT LAUNCHES NEW LABEL
JOHANNES BRECHT LAUNCHES NEW LABEL, 0b16a9
In Brecht’s decade-long career as an electronic music producer working alongside Henrik Schwarz and Solomun, he earned his stripes by cultivating freedom above any style, structure or strategy. Elegant and masterfully executed — undoubtedly, Brecht’s music has above all been praised for bringing a breath of fresh air to a scene so often guided by trends.
Born into a family of musicians in Stuttgart, he started playing the piano and double bass at a very early age, and he discovered himself as a musician through jazz, a genre that continues to inform his creativity to this day. It was through a collaboration with Henrik Schwarz that he had his first foray into the world of electronic music, releasing his first EP in Schwarz’s label in 2013. Since then, Brecht’s evolution has been consistent.
His appreciation for the particular energy of bands and synergy amongst band members also informs his decision to make every release on 0b16a9 a work of collaboration. “I like to be with other musicians in the studio, to develop new ideas together. You feed off each other's energy”. Pulling on the vast circle of artists Brecht has befriended over the years, listeners can expect a stellar roster of musicians joining in on this journey with him. Fellow musicians from Stuttgart, Philip and Sebastian from multi-national neo-soul quartet Seba Kaapstad have lent their colours to the afrobeats-infused first EP, while Portuguese singer Ju (João dos Santos) from pioneering German hip hop band, Massive Töne joined Brecht’s electronic arrangements with Portuguese-sung vocals on “O Mundo”. “These are all people who I have worked with before. They are very close to me.”
Thank you for joining us today Johannes, would love to hear about your greatest inspirations/influences?
That is of course totally different and varies all the time. I find a lot of inspiration in everyday life. I try to perceive a lot of things sensitively with open ears and eyes and often a very small detail inspires me, it triggers something and then sets creative processes in motion. Nature is wonderful and here I draw a lot of energy. A walk with my dog in the woods, across fields, etc. is a great source of energy.
But I like to listen to music. Mainly other genres and also a lot of classical and jazz. Sometimes it's also music playing in a cab or bar etc. Harmonies, moods, rhythms that trigger my own creative processes.
Tell us about your latest EP releases 'A New Day', 'O Mundo' and 'Try' - is your creative process the same when making any music or does it vary?
The 3 EPs have two things in common: They are each two tracks and one of them contains a vocal feature. Other than that, they are very different. "A New Day" and "We Love Our People" is the first EP. Here afro beat influences are in the foreground which has of course to do with the feature of Seba Kaapstad. O Mundo and Reverie, is the second EP, and here I worked together with Ju, a rapper in the German band "Massive Töne", and here we have tried to combine genres and find an urban, open sound. “Try” and “Talking Heads”, the 3rd EP is actually a homage to the song Try by Bugge Wesseltoft and Sidsel Endresen. I love the original and was very happy to be able to make my own interpretation of it - the content fits all three EPs. I think in this order they are very nice together. The lyrics also reflect positive energy in the context of all 3 EPs.
The EP releases mark the launch of your label 0b16a9. How would you describe the label and what it stands for?
Actually, I have always shied away from starting my own label. I'm not good at organizational and administrative things. But it was an artistic decision.
I realized that it is really important for me to let the music happen more in the moment, just as the creation of each piece has its moment, the moment of release is also part of the artistic process. In the past, I often had the problem that pieces were not released at the moment I thought it made sense. This is not always important, there are also pieces where it doesn't matter at all, but to get around this problem it was necessary to start my own complete artistic platform.
How do you think having your own label might impact the creativity of your own music?
I hope that I can become so much freer in what I do. I have so many and such different interests musically that it often doesn't fit into one pigeonhole. I really don't want to spend too much time considering it but instead, just follow my instinct and feeling.
In 5 years, how do you hope the label will look?
Well, that's hard to say. I don't really have any plans at all. I don't like to plan at all.
But of course, it can open up space for friends and other artists, it can become a collaborative place.
