PITTO Dutch Producer – VMM In The Spotlight Interview
The VMM places In the Spotlight the Dutch producer Pitto. His debut artist album called Objects In A Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear is signed to the label called Green owned by the highly talented Joris Voorn & Edwin Oosterwal from Holland. The album displays a mature and genre-defying sound from filtered house to fragile electronic pop with a cinematic twist. Working with a number of gifted musicians and talented vocalists, Pitto even drops his own vocals into the mix making this an unusual and mould breaking album experience. So the VMM catches up with the producer himself, Pitto, to ask all about his journey in making his debut album.
The Interview:
Hi there Pitto hope you are well and looking forward to a packed year ahead for you!
VMM Q: Pitto can you tell the VMM how and when did you start to create & produce electronic music and who would you say influenced your sound?
PITTO: I started DJing when I was about 20 years old and was wondering what it would be like to produce my own music. First, I flirted with some hardware and some fun music programs and then started to be more serious about it. After a year or two I released my first release on Phil-e. At first, I was making techno music, but slowly I found my interest was to produce other music as well, like more pop based music or new jazz stuff. I think it’s hard to talk about influencing my sound. When I grew up I listened to a lot of hip hop, there wasn’t internet at that time as you know it today, so you had to really dig for music. Luckily, I had a brother who had a lot of hip hop tapes which I could record and listen to. Hip hop like Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Naughty By Nature. When I was 15 I slowly got interested in dance music. I lived near the eastern border in Holland and could pick up a German radio station (somewhere in Nordrein Westfalen, as far as I can remember) and recorded a lot of tapes full of house music. The real changeover from hip hop to dance music was the Prodigy, I guess. I went to a lot of house parties and some DJs I liked a lot, so I guess they inspired me in a way. But listening to just pop and jazz music also inspired me, so influences came from o lot of different sources.
VMM Q: The VMM would like to know how would you best describe the Pitto sound for people that are just discovering you for the first time?
PITTO: Woah! That a tough one! A bit raw even if it is a pop song. Straight to the point. Expressing the feeling I want to express. So that can be new jazz house techno pop sing song music idm. But in a way it has a same touch.
VMM Q: Pitto you have just finished producing your debut album called Objects In A Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear so the VMM would like to ask how long did it take you to create this piece of music art?
PITTO: Between 2 and 3 years I guess.
VMM Q: Can you tell the VMM how many tracks did you create to make the final track list choice and was it difficult process?
PITTO: It started with an original line-up of over 40 tracks and that slowly got filtered down and reworked to just 20 and then re-worked some more into the final track-listing of 13. It wasn’t really a fast project, I can assure you! Actually, Joris Voorn came up with the idea to do the album because he got a lot music from me in the same period that I signed Feelin to Rejected. I think that over the last two years he will have wished that he never asked me! Ha ha ha! Because it was a long journey to finish this project, but hey, I survived and Joris and Edwin are ok as well!!! There were challenges but they were exciting to overcome.
VMM Q: Looking at the track list there are fantastic names on there who have joined in the fun making this album including the spoken voice of Annie Mackin on Childhood Storage & Childhood Storage Returns, so do you like the process of collaborations more than working solo?
PITTO: I like both, working with other people though is a nice experience and very inspiring. They are all great artists. Alice Rose, Anna Nicole Ziesche, Lilian Hak, Manu Delago, Leonie Muller, Wout Smeets. What really worked well was having tools/ideas to work with and to jam around with. All of the artists have a great feeling/love for art and music. So I guess it has taught me a lot!
VMM Q: We have chosen some of our favourites from the album and the VMM would like to ask you to give us a short synopsis about each of the tracks and tell us what’s behind the music?
PITTO:
01. Childhood Storage: I was attending a museum fashion exhibition and I heard this voice somewhere. It attracted me like a magnet and I sat down at an art movie made by Anna Nicole Ziesche. It’s called Childhood Storage. It immediately entered my state of mind and stayed there for a while, so I contacted her and explained what it did to me and asked if I could use it for my album. She was excited about the idea so we made the album track of the same name. It’s a nice example how art influences art in a way. I’m very proud of the result.
02. Ceiling In Paris: I once had a remix request from Lilian Hak and I still had some vocals by her. It all started with the beat on this track, I felt the groove and was looking for a lyric line which would continue to repeat. I tried one of the vocals with it and Lilian added some on top at a later stage. The break was added at a really late stage in the creative process. The album was almost finished, but I wanted to add something special to this track. I felt a bit frustrated about love and that’s the bass line. I hope it will break down some walls.
07. Walking By The Sea: Is all about love and dreams. It’s great to sing this track live. I’ve been playing it already for one and a half years and the reactions of the crowds are always big. It’s actually the first track where I started singing and I’m happy this is the first one.
08. Mono Desire: I heard Manu Delago playing this beautiful instrument called a hang and the first time I heard the melody I was astonished. That was 3 or 4 years ago. It described my feelings at that period so closely that I wanted to work with it. The track changed and changed. And finally Manu played some new melodies on top in a new arrangement and here it is Mono Desire. Desire. Desire.
09. Where My Soul Is Now: Actually, this is one the oldest tracks on the album which hardly changed. I can remember sending it to Leonie Muller and inviting her into my studio. She was the first vocalist I worked with. When she starting singing I couldn’t believe my ears, it was Billy herself who was standing in my studio.
11. Finding: This is a melody which was giving me a big hug when I needed it most. Originally, there was a big 90s beat in there, but I took it out, because the melody is more important.
13. Goodnight: Written by Leonie Muller and a song to sleep peacefully. It’s lovely to have a gently sung song on the album. It’s not about what kind of music it is, it’s the music itself that counts here.
VMM Q: The VMM would like to know what sort of studio set up do you have can you give us a studio kit list, also there seems to be a lot of live sounds on the album did you record these live or do you have a good sample library?
PITTO: I have a computer and some hardware, like keyboards and drums, a Nord Lead for instance. I think my computer is the most important thing and yes, a lot of the instrumental parts are recorded live at my studio or at a studio elsewhere. For instance, the viola parts are recorded by Alice Rose at her place.
VMM Q: Pitto if youre not mixing or producing Electronic Dance Music what other music do you enjoy and get inspiration from these days?
PITTO: New-jazz, IDM, Indie, Pop I like a lot of music.. Only hard rock is not my cup of tea.
VMM Q: Your career is going from strength to strength Pitto so can you tell the VMM what goals have you set for yourself for 2011 that you would like to achieve?
PITTO: I think the reaction to my album will help to determine where I go next with my career, but feedback for the opening single, Where My Soul Is Now featuring Leonie Muller, has certainly been fantastic, so hopefully the full album will be received in the same way. At any rate, I’m working on a live concert show with a band set up with people who collaborated on the album, to do some shows in the Netherlands and, of course, I’ll keep palying my DJ sets and doing some solo live performances.
The VMM thanks Pitto for taking time out to speak to us and we wish you further success in 2011. Also don’t forget to check out the called Objects In A Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear (Green) VMM album Review and you can buy called Objects In A Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear in all good online stores NOW!.
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For more information about the collaborating artists:
Alice Rose: www.alicerose.com
Anna Nicole Ziesche: www.anna-nicoleziesche.com
Leonie Muller: www.artimix.nl
Lilian Hak: www.lilianhak.com
Manu Delago: www.manudelago.com
Wout Smeets: www.myspace.com/wsmeets
