QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH BROTHERTIGER
WITH HIS NEW ALBUM COMPLETE, AND A LIVE LINE-UP FOR THE FIRST TIME INCORPORATING OTHER MUSICIANS, BROTHERTIGER ANSWERED SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS WORK AND WHERE HE IS HEADED.

After establishing his signature, bathed-in-neon, electro-pop sound with his debut, the Vision Tunnels EP and his first full-length, Golden Years, Brothertiger graduated college, packed up his studio and moved from Athens, Ohio to Brooklyn, New York to jump into the next phase of his career. His sophomore LP, Future Splendors, shows growth in every aspect of the song making process. With the album complete, and live line-up for the first time incorporating other musicians, Brothertiger answered some questions about his work and where he is headed.

How did you go about writing and recording Future Splendors?

I had a few ideas for those songs already started around the time that my last LP, Golden Years, debuted. It took me about a half a year to write the tracks on Future Splendors and I recorded half of it in Ohio and the other half in New York when I moved here, which was pretty interesting. After that, I sent it off to my good friend Elliot who mixed the entire record to tape. It was a really cool experience because I did more recording out of the box than I'm generally used to.

How would you describe the sound of the new album?

I like to describe it as synthpop. Obviously there is a big blend of influences going on in my music, but I think in it's most simple form it's synthpop all the way!

Who did the artwork for the new album and single?

My good friend Kenny Phillips did the artwork and overall design of the front and back covers, as well as the inner linings. Kenny and I met at Ohio University, and he lives a few blocks away from me in Brooklyn now. He's an amazing graphic designer with a really cool approach aesthetically. We came up with the vision together, but Kenny definitely translated my initial idea into something extraordinary.

How has your songwriting evolved from your debut to the new album?

It has definitely become a more broadened approach. I have a tendency to write pretty simple songs, structurally. On the new record, I expanded on some sections a bit more and added a few different ideas to shape songs, something I normally didn't do. I've also come to love using more real instruments like guitars and basses. All my sounds used to come from the computer, but now I am trying more and more to incorporate strings and other interesting elements to the sound.

How has the recording process changed?

Now that I'm in New York, it's a bit more complicated than it usually was. That's not meant in a bad way, though. I live in a recording studio, so the process involves more steps. I'll usually demo a song in my own recording setup, then once I have everything ready, I'll record it through better gear in the studio and do it right. It's a great workflow.

Do you listen to a lot of music? What current artists impress you the most?

Yes! I am currently obsessed with groups like CLASSIXX, Chromatics, Flight Facilities, and Touch Sensitive and I'm a long time fan of M83, Toro y Moi, Delorean, and Neon Indian.

Your live show has progressed from a solo set to using a full band. How is it different?

It's a lot more dynamic, and I feel like there is more to work with in terms of shaping sound live. Before, I was up there by myself trying to make a huge sound with a laptop and some synths. Now, with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer, I don't have to work as hard to get that sound, and it's a lot of fun to play with them. We work really well together.

You recently moved to Ohio to NYC. How has that influenced you?

It definitely gave the record a more "city-like" sound. I felt like my previous work had a bit more of a suburban, bedroom-type sound. I think that's still there in a sense, but living in New York definitely had it's influence. Moving here allowed me to form a band. I met all my bandmates here!

You work in a recording studio. How does that effect how you go about producing music? Do you learn anything about your own music through producing or engineering other people music?

There are more steps involved now that I live in the studio. I demo songs with my setup, then I record them in better gear and mix them in the studio. Through engineering and mixing other peoples' music, I've definitely tweaked how I record my own stuff, whether it's with vocals or guitars or overall placement of things in the stereo field, it's always changing.

Mush Records