5 Questions with Le Motel
5 Questions with Le Motel
Since his 2015 debut “Oka” that caught Gilles Peterson’s ear, this Brussels-based producer and composer, Le Motel, has been blurring the lines between global sounds and cutting-edge production. His discography includes collaborations spanning from Nigeria to China and working with fashion brands such as Bottega Veneta for their Winter 24 Collection.
Today marks a significant milestone for Le Motel with the release of his latest project, "Odd Numbers / Số Lẻ". This album, out now on vinyl and digital, is the culmination of his recent immersion in Vietnam’s sonic landscape. Featuring collaborations with local artists like Yvonne Quỳnh-Lan Dương and Hoàng Tuấn, the album showcases Le Motel’s approach of using field recordings and found sounds as the foundation for his music. The project also extends further, with an accompanying visual exhibition that further explores the cultural and artistic themes that feature throughout the album.
Tracks like "I Cried Like a Child of Three / Tôi đã khóc như một đứa trẻ lên ba" and "The Universe Is a Rabid Creature / Vũ trụ là con thú điên" highlight a mix of traditional instruments with his production techniques. This release is a new chapter for Le Motel, and why should you listen or take note of this artist? His collaborative process, involving local artists and field recordings, results in a rich, immersive soundscape that captures the essence of the places and people he encounters and offers the listener an opportunity to hear a genuine musical exchange.
Describe your studio space.
My studio is located in Brussels in a creative coworking community space called 254 Forest, alongside sound artists, photographers, graphic designers, and videographers. I really enjoy having my own space, but being able to interact with other artists and friends and create collaborations and multimedia projects is what makes this place to great. I have a collection of small instruments I collected while traveling, a few synths and a lot of tape and reel-to-reel recorders.
“Field recording is very important in my process, it’s the starting point of most of my tracks.”
A piece of gear or instrument you can't live without?
When I was in Vietnam, I discovered a sound I’d never heard before when I was walking in the streets. I sounded a bit like a guitar, but also like a ghost or a melancholic entity crying with sound. I realized after it was coming from a beautiful instrument called a Đàn bầu. It’s a Vietnamese stringed instrument in the form of a Monochord (one-string) zither. I was obsessed with the instruments, and I started looking for one in Hanoi, which I brought back into the studio. After a few months of working on the album Odd Numbers, I met Yvonne Quỳnh-Lan Dương, a Vietnamese musician living in Brussels who specialises in this instrument. When we recorded the album, we used this Đàn bầu I found in a small street of Hanoi that was full of gongs and Vietnamese instruments. You can hear in on the track “The Universe is a Rabid Creature / Vũ trụ là con thú điên”.
Could you tell us about the time when you first took notice of a film score?
I’m not sure about the first time, but the soundtrack that struck me the most is Monos, an incredible film by Alejandro Landes by the British composer Mica Levi. All their work is brilliant, and I like the fact that there are no boundaries between the score and the direct sound of the soundscapes; it feels like the environment is part of the partition.
What's your biggest inspiration right now?
My biggest inspiration at the moment is the mouth harp. I used to not understand and almost unlike this instrument, but recently I had some kind of awakening and understanding of this instrument, and I’m kind of obsessed about it. The natural sound, but I’m also trying to recreate his concept with electronics and synthesis, and I find it fascinating. The frame is held firmly against the performer's lips, using the mouth (plus the throat and lungs when breathing freely) as a resonator, which will increase the volume of the instrument and makes a lot of variation. The note or tone thus produced is constant in pitch, though by changing the shape of the mouth and the amount of air contained in it, the performer can cause different overtones to sound and thus create melodies. The vibrations of the steel tongue produce a compound sound composed of a fundamental and its harmonics. By using the cavity of the mouth as a resonator, each harmonic in succession can be isolated and reinforced, giving the instrument the compass shown.
How do your field recordings influence the way you approach composition and production?
Field recording is very important in my process, it’s the starting point of most of my tracks. This idea of sampling life is the most inspiring way of creating music for me. For the album Odd Numbers, for example, everything started with field recording in Vietnam, where I recorded the sounds of nature, cities, and encounters. Back in Brussels, I began composing soundscapes based on those field recordings. But most of the track's intention and emotions were already in those fragments of life. In my more percussive and club projects, I also like to layer electronic elements with organic recordings to give them more depth and life.
Follow Le Motel here.
