Beyond the years of technical know-how and self-improvement in production, DJing, and live sets, Brice Deloose aka Pattrn has been an active member of the local scene for quite some time. Cocreator of FTRSND, Brussels By Night Federation, Initiate, as well as having been the artistic director of Fuse club, Pattrn has spent much of his time promoting local artists and collectives to push forward Brussels’ underground.
Having shared the decks with the likes of Luke Slater, Luigi Tozzi, Claudio PRC, Kangding Ray, Svreca, and many more, Pattrn uses his sets to impose his world of seamless hypnotic music to lure passionates for always one last dance
Hey Pattrn, how are you? Thanks for chatting with us!
Hey, I’m doing very well recently, thanks for asking, and thanks for the opportunity to exchange thoughts with you :)
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What first got you into music, and how long have you been DJing and producing music – what came first?
My first violin lesson was at the age of three and a half, so music has been on my side pretty much from the beginning. What really got me into electronic music is my big brother. Around the age of 8 (he was 22), he used to make cassettes for me out of his CDs with tracks from “2 Unlimited”, “la Bouche”, “Dr Alban”, “Robert Miles”… I remember dancing for hours trying to learn break dance alone in my bedroom playing these cassettes… I wish I had some pictures so we could all have a good laugh :)
I remember dancing for hours trying to learn break dance alone in my bedroom playing these cassettes. What really got me into electronic music is my big brother. Around the age of 8 (he was 22), he used to make cassettes for me out of his CDs with tracks from “2 Unlimited”, “la Bouche”, “Dr Alban”, “Robert Miles”.
Pattrn found his calling with electronic music from cassette tapes.
When I was around 12 (so 23 years ago) with my best friend we started to “DJ” at some friends’ home parties (these were called “boum”). It was a very basic setup of hi-fi CD players and a shitty mixer, trying to mix tracks that had the same BPM as we had no pitch control on the cd players. It was the same friend who introduced me to “Dance Ejay”, and later to “Fruity Loops”, the first real DAW I used. My parents had an electric piano from Roland and I was recording midi parts on the piano, saving on a floppy disc and importing them on the computer. It feels like another era but this is how it first started
Then I bought my first turntable with pitch control and a double CD player with pitch control… so I’d say that DJing and producing kinda grew together.
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You have experience in a wide variety of music from classic to jazz to electronic music, where have you pulled the most influence from in your music production? What kind of sound do you aim to create?
The biggest revelation in music I got was definitely when diving into acousmatic music at Conservatoire de Mons. Annette Vande Gorne, head of the section, not only opened my vision on sounds, textures, energies, and articulations but also on art in general. Her lessons provided me with the different ways of analyzing or looking at art, and the different levels of lecture. It’s also there that I learned, in the tradition of Pierre Schaeffer the different levels of listening and the “objet sonore”. The ways to listen, to look, and to analyze art are now engrained in me, and somehow represent a checklist of boxes I need to check before I could consider a track completed.
It also opened my ears to the interactions of sounds and how creating music is in fact constructing sonic elements through time. During this degree, I developed a strong interest in the perception of time (and made my thesis about “unités semiotiques temporelles” like time-units of sounds). But of course, playing violin both in chamber music ensembles, orchestra or improvising for years with my violin on top of Jazz music that my dad was playing at home is just part of me and is for sure unconsciously guiding my choices when I make music.
When I make music I don’t have a specific goal or target. I don’t aim to create any particular sound. I just make things I enjoy listening to and I let the music guide me where I feel it needs to go. It might sound like a bland answer but I think it’s important, to make honest music, to make it for yourself. At the end of the day, the aim is just being happy to be able to make music right? Hopefully, music others enjoy as well.
When I make music I don’t have a specific goal or target. I don’t aim to create any particular sound. I just make things I enjoy listening to and I let the music guide me where I feel it needs to go
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What feelings or emotions do you seek to inspire with your music?
Honestly, there isn’t one in particular.
I primarily make music because I genuinely love creating music. As I’m spending hours listening to what I make when I’m in the studio, I just make things I like to hear and to craft. On the same day, I could work both on a luminous ambient track and a dark deep techno one. I get bored pretty fast so I also need to change vibes and emotions. It’s obviously nice to touch people’s hearts and emotions, but I think this is a consequence of being authentic and diving in yourself to expose your feelings.
I primarily make music because I genuinely love creating music. As I’m spending hours listening to what I make when I’m in the studio, I just make things I like to hear and to craft.
Creating music from his surroundings comes naturally to Pattrn.
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People can start to see themselves in the music, or feel connected as it talks to them in a certain way, in the same way, it was talking to me when I was making the music. Also when it comes to emotions, depending on your own history, you might project different emotions into something. This is probably why I prefer abstract music rather than songs with spoken words. A sentence, a word, directly gives a frame, a direction where sounds only are just evocative. I also love impressionist music (St Saens, Debussy) and painters, maybe there’s a link here…
I prefer abstract music rather than songs with spoken words. A sentence, a word, directly gives a frame, a direction where sounds only are just evocative
Interpreting music instrumentally is how Pattrn finds his inspiration.
Speaking of creating music, you have your new EP Bridges coming out! How do these tracks differ from other tracks you’ve produced?
Every track is unique in its way and for sure Bridges had a strong meaning being the first EP I released on my own label and being composed in troubled times. But at the same time, it’s just me following my own path. Like you celebrate your 30th Bday, it’s a mark but also it’s still you being just a day older than before. The main difference is that for Bridges I had really total freedom to go in any direction I like and cover a wide range of “styles” that ultimately just are codes to tell a story.
Also, the “Opus”, the name of the series we started with Initiate, is a peculiar format. It’s not just an EP composed alone in my studio, it’s a collaborative work where both Dom (label co-owner aka Hesh) and Erd (who did the third track of the EP) brought ideas, feedback, and structure. Erd’s contribution was not only a track made of samples and following some “compositional rules” I wrote. It also inspired the last track “Rosa” and I resampled parts of his track to make the final one.
The whole EP came from an idea and a wish to reconnect with people and make bridges between musical aesthetics I love (ambient, U.K. bass, broken beats, hypnotic techno…etc.), and in this way, I’m very happy with the outcome and enjoyed the entire process.
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What is it like in the Brussels underground scene? What is your favorite part about being involved in that community?
From my point of view, Brussels’ scene is beautiful, diverse, complex, rich, and can be hard as well while still being open and caring…crazy as we all are…
To be honest I don’t know anymore… do I know the local scene too well and am I sick of some silly games, “chess players”, or business?… is it like this everywhere? Have I been too long trying to do things for the community and growing an eagerness regarding how some did return this hard work?
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In a society where the ego becomes a god and where it’s always “me first” could I blame anyone or should I blame myself for having let me down and not push myself more?… I don’t know… and to be honest, it’s a community I’ve been happy to be active in, very happy to contribute to, but today I feel it’s more important for me to focus on myself. I’m happy to leave things where they are and to look towards the future just making music and being happy just doing that. Just trying to embrace the moment and be in my own bubble with no expectations from the outer world.
This being said, it’s a genuine pleasure to feel at home and meet friendly faces in nearly any venue here I could walk into. I’m happy to see that both the “FTRSND” project and “Brussels Electronic Marathon” brought people together, made ideas emerge, venues collaborate, and even got artists starting to work together. It’s something that will always warm my heart when I think about it.
I’m happy to see that both the “FTRSND” project and “Brussels Electronic Marathon” brought people together, made ideas emerge, venues collaborate and even got artists starting to work together. It’s something that will always warm my heart when I think about it.
The electronic music community coming together and collabing is what Pattrn strives for as an artist.
Anything else going on you’d like to share?
Well, I just released an autobiographic podcast for The Memoir curated by Hypnus which was a real achievement for me and I can’t wait to play, live, or DJ to see people dance, smile, and close their eyes while having a good moment of escapism. These last years spent alone in the studio were surely prolific but I’m missing the vibe and the energy of playing for people. Looking forward to see you!
Thank you.
Connect with Pattrn: SoundCloud丨Facebook丨Beatport丨Instagram
