Some time ago we had the chance to speak to Christian, the great producer behind Bruise. Directly
from the UK, he kindly talked to us about the emotional process that is creating music, a little
about his history around electronica, and some of his new and upcoming projects. Continue
reading to get to know more about this creative, witty, and all-around talented artist.
You’re from Birmingham, right? And now you are living in London.
That’s right. I grew up in Birmingham and then I moved to Leeds in the 90s, then 10 years later, I
moved to London. I’m now based in Enfield, North London.
Do you think where you have lived influences the music you do?
I was always into music, from a young age. When I moved to Leeds, I started DJing with a friend, we used to DJ on a pirate radio station called Dream FM. At the time, as teens, we were really into our music, buying lots of vinyl and sort of playing when we could, which was really good fun. I’ve always been into making music and listening to music.
I remember reading that you had piano lessons when you were younger, right? But you didn’t
really like them?
Yes. My mum would drive me and my sisters to a very stuffy house in the country where an old
lady, with an upright piano would give a very regimented class that focused on learning scales
repeatedly and playing old music that I had no interest in. I really didn’t enjoy it, but I guess it
probably gave me some sort of foundation in music making, so not all bad.
When I was about 15, and I got a cheap keyboard, a Yamaha PSS-680 I think it was, which had a
very basic synth and drum machine in it, and I used to experiment with just making what was
probably at the time quite horrible sounds. But as it was the only piece of equipment I had; I
would really delve into every function to understand how I could make it sound cool. I would also use a
double cassette tape recorder to sample from the radio and take snippets from the news and try
and build that into music. I was like a pound stretcher Coldcut!
I’d love to go back to learning the piano and music theory properly, to get better at playing which I
think would really help me in the studio.
Tell me a little bit more about that feeling of wanting to go back to learning.
Well, that’s more of a recent thing. I think like most of dance music producers, you mostly have a
keyboard and a laptop running everything and the way to express yourself is through those two
bits of gear. So I think the more proficient I can get on a piano/keyboard would really help in
expressing the musical ideas I want to achieve more effectively.
Would you like to return to piano lessons, or are you thinking about some other instrument?
I’ve always loved playing the piano, it’s so immediate as anyone can hit a note. But when you’re
taught piano, especially when you’re young, you just want to enjoy the exciting part which is
making music or playing songs you love, so if the music you’re practicing with is old and not very
exciting then it can stifle your desire to get better. Well, it certainly did for me.
Now I’ve gone through this journey of creating my own music and getting more proficient at
making that music, I can see the value in learning and understanding the mechanics and the
theory behind music which, as I say, can really help to express yourself creatively, so it’s definitely
something that’s on my list.
I’ve got two young kids and in their music lessons the teachers realize that if they use modern
songs and engage with the music that the kids are listening to, the kids will find that process of
learning a little bit more enjoyable. So, I hope that when I do start, it will be a little bit more
enjoyable than it was when I was seven!
Tell me a little bit about the role music plays in your home.
I’m very lucky because I’ve got a separate office/studio at the bottom of my garden, which houses
all my records and all my equipment. My kids probably think the music I make is a little old for
them but i make sure that all the equipment I have in the studio is there for them to access and
play if they want. I hope in a couple of years they will show a bit more interest and they’ll want to
make more music for themselves, but I think it’s important not to push that.
It must be very beautiful to see your children get interested in what you love to do.
Yes, it’s great. I’ve got a 303 synthesizer which my kids are fascinated to mess and play with. They
can turn a knob and instantly it will connect them to these weird squelchy noises, and it’s a really
nice feeling to allow them to have access to those classic elements of dance music, particularly
drum machines and synths which always generate instant fun! When I was a kid, it was just a
piano, which was great, but you know, it was no drum machine, or anything more exciting!
It can be intimidating to face a musical instrument like these without knowing where to start.
It can be but it can also be quite fun, because sometimes when you have no idea what you are
doing, that’s when you say “well I’m just going to press some buttons, push some sliders and turn
some nobs, and let’s see what happens.”
Regarding your creative process, do you have a routine for creating, or do you let it flow? What
is more comfortable for you when creating music?
I love making music, it has never felt like a chore. I do it firstly because I enjoy the music making
process. So I’ll often go in the studio, and I’ll fire up some instruments on the laptop and mess
about for a couple of hours, and then if I feel there’s nothing there, I just delete everything . I
don’t feel the need to record and save everything, just having a few hours of expressing yourself
and playing without the pressure to create can be fun, cathartic and a great way to unwind. Then
hopefully occasionally, I’ll come to a point when I realize that there is some glimmer of a decent idea, something that is worth developing. And then I move into the second stage where I know I
have a decent hook or phrase and it’s all about where I can take this idea next.
How do you know when something is ready? Must be so difficult to say, “ok this is done.”
That’s a good question, and I don’t know what the answer is. Sometimes you know when a track is
ready, and sometimes someone will tell you when it’s ready.
I think any musician, given enough time, will continue to tweak or constantly rearrange a piece of music, and I believe that there is a risk in that that you can produce out the decent idea you started with. I always try and remember that phrase that perfectionism is the enemy of good.
What I love about dance music is that there are a lot of classic records that probably won’t be seen
as finished records now, they might even have flaws or mistakes, but what they captured was an
energy, or a feeling, or a soul that made them what they are.
I think the more music you create, the better you are at realizing when a track is finished. For me, I
think if it completely retains your interest from the start of the track to the end of the track, that’s
a finished track. I also will take in consideration not only my own opinion, but people that I trust,
people that you know have got good taste, and take on their feedback. I think it can often be an
organic process.
It must be such an amazing feeling to have when its finally ready.
It’s an amazing feeling but also a weird process, particularly when you put out music on vinyl or
CD, because that’s a physical manifestation of the music which you finally have no ability to
change or tweak any further. So, when new music is finally released, I often find I start to move
away from it.
Also the music that is being released now, can be quite old from the perspective of when you
originally wrote the tracks, so I’m often already working on the next thing, so it’s quite hard to
have that as a process, because there is naturally a delay, from when you are finished, and when it
is released and people start to listen to it. That’s quite a weird dynamic.
How do emotions play a role in your music making?
Emotion is everything, it’s everything for music. Isn’t it? And it’s fascinating that when you are
creating something, you can steer that emotion, by the chords that you choose, the progressions
that you make. It’s so interesting to just play something and then there’s this physical reaction
that your body has, and it feels a certain way.
It’s interesting to play with that as a writer. If you are using instruments, and particular chords,
particular progressions, they will create a certain feeling, and what I love about dance music is that
that feeling can be shared with a thousand people together, all having, hopefully, the same
connection with the music.
I haven’t created a huge amount of my own music with vocals in it, but I do find the combination
of vocals and music to be so powerful, and it’s intoxicating. So, when I remix, I’ll will take someone’s vocals and generally I’ll completely re-write the music underneath, and it’s just so much fun. The original song might have a completely different emotional quality to it, because of the original music used, and if you change that, you can create something completely different but with the same vocals. That is such a fun thing to do. I always come back to that. It’s such a joyful thing making music.
There must be such a vulnerable thing about sharing your musical creations with thousands of
people, especially coming from a specific emotional state.
It’s brilliant but it can be an emotional process, because you create a piece of music, and the label
decides to release it, hopefully, and then they’ll do a promo campaign. So initially you’ll hear DJs
talking about your song, and a lot of it will be good, but also some of it won’t be good, and that’s
quite hard.
It’s kind of a rollercoaster; it’s great to have that connection with people, and have people say “I
really liked what you created”, but I think people that don’t make music don’t see the other side,
where you can feel quite exposed. You are putting your creation, your creativity, or art out there,
and of course everyone has an opinion, which is brilliant, but it can be tough sometimes.
Then you learn to realize that just because you send one track to one label and that person that
runs the label or a certain DJ doesn’t like it, it doesn’t mean that piece of music is not good or even
brilliant. It just means that one person doesn’t like it.
How has it been for you to make that shift regarding the feedback you get for your music?
I would love to say that I don’t care, but I think everyone does. If a hundred people say “oh this is
brilliant”, and a couple say “oh its rubbish”, you tend to focus on those two people and just think
“why didn’t they like it?” Which is ridiculous. Its arrogant to think everyone would love it, but I
guess you can’t help it sometimes.
For me, because I’ve released a fair amount of music over the years and I’ve learned to get a little
thicker skinned, I don’t take it as rejection. I’ll watch a film with my wife and she might hate it and
I might love it, and that doesn’t mean the film is good or bad, it just means that people have
different opinions about art. I think it’s important to realize that, and to have confidence in your
work.
Do you know who your audience is? How could you describe them?
As much as I care about feedback, I just enjoy making music. And that music goes out into the
world, it just does its thing and I’m on to the next thing so, I don’t feel I can say I know who my
audience really is. That said the Bruise stuff of the last couple of years obviously references the
90’s and 2000’s house and techno, so people that are into that, connect with it. So that can be,
sort of the older clubber. And now, it’s coming back again, and it’s very much in vogue, so you get
this duality of people that enjoyed it the first time and now people discovering it again.
What are you working in at the moment? Tell us about your latest releases, and projects.
I’ve just finished two new EPs which will be coming out on Faith and New Groove. One explores a
more modern club sound, and one is more of the old-school Bruise sound i.e. a shit load of pianos
and strings and choirs!
I’m also dabbling with the idea of a new alias called Bruised. Its more of techy electronic, weird,
experimental project with heavier sounds, and lots of sound design. I don’t have much of a plan
for it I must admit, maybe I should… but I make music pretty much every day and there comes a
point you’ve made a sufficient number of tracks that feel like they’re a project, that they all sit
together, and then you think “ok, what can I do with this?” So, yeah, it’s pretty planless other than
I want to call it Bruised.
The main release currently is The Skyline EP, which is a collection of tracks that I had been working
on, around the same time, that were very inspired by film soundtracks; strings and brass and
almost orchestral arrangements with everything quite over the top and epic. I think Cascade,
Thunder, and Brass Tracks all have that running through them, they’re very big, bold, over the top
dance music.
Then the other tracks are a mixture of more originals and remixes, with The Reflex making this
amazing revision of When Pianos Attack. It’s about a year old, but he contacted me and said “I
really like this track, would you be up for me remixing it?” And of course, I said yes, that would be
amazing. He released it on his own label, on vinyl, a couple of months ago, and this is its first
digital release. It’s the first time I’ve been remixed on this album. So there is his remix and a
brilliant Future Beat Alliance remix of Theme.
I do quite a lot of remixes myself, so it’s quite strange to be on the other side and have someone
send you their own interpretation of your music. It was brilliant, they both did a fantastic job.
So, all this kind of came together in The Skyline, and I’m really pleased with it.
Let’s talk more about Bruised. What part of you as an artist do you think this alias represents?
When you have a remix, you have a clear direction and deadline, so you work to that deadline and
just go “ok, I have to get this delivered by this date, and they want this type of music.” But when
I’m in the studio I just tend to have fun and let things flow naturally, and then when I hear certain
pieces of music develop, I’ll be like “ok this feels like a Bruise track or that feels like a Sona Vabos
track.” And there were these other pieces of music that felt heavier… the people that like Bruise
might find quite alien, it’s quite more dissonant, harsh pieces of electronica that didn’t really make
sense under the name Bruise, and I thought to put them under the alias Bruised, so you still have
that link but the name references a heavier sound.
I’ve been slowly building an EP; and have around 7 tracks. I have yet to send it out, but It’s
something that I really enjoy, and hopefully someone will want to put it out. Its more electronic,
and I’m less worried about “would a DJ play this”, or “would this work at a club.” More just, you
know, is it a good piece of music when you put your headphones on. That’s the thing about dance
music, what’s fascinating about it is it has a clear purpose: it’s there to make people dance, and
that sort of limits things. For example, it has to have a beat, without it, it wouldn’t work in a club.
There’s another side of electronica which is just about the musicality of it and I think Bruised will
be that for me. I’ll still make things as Bruise as well, but I quite like the idea of an alias which is
obviously linked to you, but also separated creatively, so people know to expect something
different from that name.
Having an alias then allows you another kind of freedom to explore maybe…
Absolutely, that’s very true. I think that works both as an artist, as it allows you to express things in
a different way, and then I’m also fascinated by the way an audience perceives an alias. If you are
a particular type of artist, your audience has a certain expectation of what you are going to make.
Even if the audience might be into different kinds of music, they want you as an artist to make the
music that they know that you make.
So, having this alias is like saying, “it’s still me, but have a different expectation with this thing as
well”. It’s kind of putting on a different hat, or a mask, isn’t it? Like saying, “I’m going to play this
character now.” It allows you to try something different.
Growing up, I always loved artists that had many aliases, and you knew that that person would be
producing a drum and bass record under one name, and then a house record under another. I
don’t know if that’s the case with all music, but I know dance music has a rich history of aliases
and I think it really helps to push experimentation.
Listen to Bruise’s The Skyline here, and watch out for his new EP coming out this September.
