EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Five Minutes With… Charlotte de Witte

There are few young voices in the contemporary techno scene as distinctive as Charlotte de Witte’s. The young Belgian producer is a fearless composer, artfully mixing harsh and aggressive beats with dark and distorted sounds, creating layered, complex tracks that are dancefloor-ready but also musically interesting.

Latest EP Voices Of The Ancient – the debut release from new label Mary Go Wild Black – continues this trend, as whispered voices create an eerie ambience over the pulsating beat.

We caught up with Charlotte to chat about her favourite pieces of equipment, the challenges of today’s music industry, and her dream collaboration with Lera Lynn…

To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?

I’m a very big fan of stripped techno music. Think 126, 127 aggressive dance floor effective music, but containing – in my case, quite a lot of time – a vocal that gives it a sort of hypnotic, screeching twist.

Are there any key pieces of equipment that you are using to define your sound?

I’m a big fan of Native Instruments. I bought their Komplete Ultimate bundle a while ago and it’s a never-ending source of inspiration. Besides that, I could really recommend Waves Soundtoys bundles. I love using their Tremolator for randomising effects and Sie-Q for adding depth and limiting. The latest synthesiser i bought was the Elektron Analog 4, an amazing piece of equipment.

What would you say some of the challenges artists face today in the music industry?

I think it’s becoming harder and harder to create your own style. People seem to push for having their own identity, but when you’re too different from what everyone else is doing, it becomes much harder to get booked. Everyone’s a DJ nowadays, the market is oversaturated and it has become easier for everyone to become a DJ or even a producer. It’s hard to stand out in the big puddle of water filled with the same species.

Where do you gather songwriting inspiration?

I always thought this to be a strange question. I don’t really know what the thing is that “inspires” me. It’s such a strange word. It doesn’t really depends on one thing but on human conversations, architecture, nature, weather… Listening to other people’s sets, especially in clubs, is a huge source of inspiration since you can really feel what’s happening and what’s working.

If you could perform alongside any other band or artist, living or dead, who would it be?

I’d love to work together with Lera Lynn. You might know her from True Detective Seaon Two, where she’s singing in the bar they always go to. Her voice is so very fragile and breakable, but it still goes right through your bones. I contacted her once, without any luck. Who knows? Things might change one day…

Charlotte de Witte’s Voices Of The Ancient EP is out now on Mary Go Wild Black.

Charlotte de Witte on tour:

05/05: L’Envers Club, Nancy (FR)
07/05: Marvellous Island, Paris (FR)
12/05: KNTXT x Club Vaag, Antwerp (BE)
13/05: Sleeptouw Festival, Tilburg (NL)
19/05: INPUT High Fidelity Dance Club, Barcelona (ES)
20/05: Get Lost Festival, Augsburg (DE)
24/05: KNTXT w/ Charlotte de Witte – All Night Long, Brussels (BE)
26/05: TBA, Bern (CH)
27/05: L’ Andy Live Music, Castiglione (IT)