ITW : PTTRN [VOLTAGE, TOKEN RECORDS]

Although hanging on to the essence of recurrence, PTTRN widens their spectrum with hypnotic but straight forward cuts, only playing own work. Releases primarily on Float Records and their music is loved and supported by many great artists in the scene.

Hi Robbert & Dave, thank you for agreeing to this interview and podcast.

First of all, how did you two get to know each other? Where did it all begin and how did your collaboration evolve from there?
Dave : We met at a party at Dave’s home through a mutual friend. Afterwards we saw each other regularly at the now closed club Café d’Anvers where Dave was working and organizing his INSIDE events. Robbert was always into music, especially the weird kind, and he talked about learning to mix vinyls and organizing events (which led to ONRAAD) so Dave lent him his Rodec mixer and from then on Robbert starting investing more time into searching and developing his music taste. Since we’re musically a very close match, we eventually decided to give it a try in the studio, with delightful results and a symbiotism we never expected. Soon after our first collaborations we had a few tracks ready which we decided to send to Float Records. After a few tracks sent to Roger (TWR72) from Float, he chose a track to release with in such a persuasive way which was a real motivator for us to continue our work in the studio and is primarily why we are here today and giving you this interview.

Could you tell us how you got into electronic music and techno ?
Dave : Primarily through my mom and brother. My mom was always listening to music. soul, funk, disco and pop. My brother took it to another level, first rock and hard rock then new wave and EBM, One day he came home with a stack of records with a repetitive beat and melody, called new beat. Things went fast after that. Soon after his bedroom was filled with the first acid, house, techno and experimental music. I was still a kid back then but it made a huge impression on me and I was hooked from that moment.
Robbert :  Trough Dave

You are member of Voltage Agency and label. How did you started to collaborate with them ? And what’s your relationship with all the members of Voltage ?
Well, we were waiting for a good Belgian booker to contact us and suddenly there was Parallel Circuit who we knew already trough the scene. He threw one hell of a pitch so we immediately shook hands. As for the artists, we know almost everyone personally so that creates a kind of family-feel, which is a nice thing in this time of bookers who live abroad and have a wide range of artists from all over the world. This is why we also waited to have a Belgian booker, who you can meet one on one without a screen between us.

Your next track will be released on Token Records. Is it a personal highlight in your emerging career ? What about it ?
Well we both respect and are inspired what Kris is putting out there with Token Records for years so of course this was somewhere on the top of our bucketlist and when we send tracks we always try to get in the purest possible techno.

Can you tell us a bit about your process of producing, do you use software, hardware or both ? And what do you often do to get inspired ?
We do a lot in the box, but we also use hardware. Dave’s got the technical down and comes up with loops that sound like something else, weird cuts but still familiar and very danceable. Robbert’s input is essential when finishing tracks, he always brings in extra flavours an keys and ideas. Also a strong point is he gets the right tracks in the right place and has an ear for what will work where or when or for which label. I like to think we work in the moment and get inspired by each other.

Do you have any plans to create a live set in the future ?
We like to invest more time into that possibility, but our hardware isn’t suitable for travelling outside of the studio. Nothing wrong with laptop live sets, but we both see a live set as with synths, drum computers and effects on stage. Dave is a freak in keeping every sound in his own perfectly ordered database so we’ll eventually do something with them, all in good time. We are not in a rush. At all…

What have been your best gig experiences from the past year, and what is your dream venue?
For sure our all nighter at Club Vaag was real fun. Just having the time to build a set with our own music and having all control musically over the night is something we both like. A stand out dream venue? we’re always happy when we know we’re going to play for a good and openminded crowd but if we would choose one it’s definitely Berghain/panoramabar or Instytut

Are you looking forward for certain festivals this summer?
Yes, Voltage especially, but also playing at Tomorrowland on Robbert’s own ONRAAD stage is going to be cool because it’s an artist family gathering. And the backstage at that stage is pretty legendary as one must say.

What can we expect from you in the near future? Any new releases or gigs that are upcoming?
Yes, end of March we released on Pfirter’s Mindtrip Record imprint. Now the release on the Fuga compilation on Token Records is coming closer. For the future we have a release on Line Of Thought, a new Belgian label by Siwei and we’re planning a new releases on Float Records and VOLTAGE Imprint. Gigs are unfortunately a very unshure thing in this times of the COVID-19, but the first one we will be able to play is the one we look out to the most.

What kind of mix have you prepared for InDepth, did you have a certain concept in mind prior to making the mix?
We did a mix witch showcases our PTTRN sound, only playing our own stuff, like we do when we play out in a club. For this mix we focused on a darker sound, and our own ideas about how to build up a set that stays under peak time and is easy on the ear, as a podcast should be in our eyes.