Hey! Alaska in Winter
In the winter of 2004 Brandon Bethancourt dropped out of art school in New Mexico and headed up to Alaska. Shielded from the elements by a tiny cabin, and from boredom by his laptop, he spent this period of isolation recording music. This experience propelled him on a quest to the Balkans, and more recently on to Berlin where he soaks up the local musical culture and conjures up songs that fuse orchestral elements with electronica. Hey! Manchester catches up with Brandon ahead of Alaska in Winter’s show on 22 October.
Let’s start with the name: did you go up to Alaska specifically to record music?
No, not at all. I didn’t plan to do any recordings while in Alaska, but after a while I just got the itch and managed to borrow enough stuff to get some recordings done.
How did you find the experience?
Beautiful but lonely.
Was it anything like the film Into The Wild?
Not quite that extreme… but it’s the first time I’ve ever had to use an outhouse when it’s -5 degrees outside.
What inspired you to travel from Alaska to Eastern Europe in search of dance parties? Couldn’t you have done this a bit closer to home?
Well I think that’s exactly the point. I wanted to get as far away from home as possible.
What were they like when you found them?
Fun, different, foreign, exciting – not like anything in New Mexico.
Your music is a combination of bedroom electronica and orchestral scores. How has Berlin affected this sound?
Well being in Berlin has definitely led me to have a fonder understanding of electronic and dance music. The music scene here has really influenced my music and has added a dash of dark minimal techno flavour in the mix.
And now you find yourself heading to Manchester, famously a party city. What do you know about the place?
Actually not much but I’m looking forward to the party.
Tell us about your ‘virtual video orchestra’ to give the people of Manchester a foretaste of your live shows.
Well, I’ve videotaped myself playing all the parts that the ‘band’ would normally be playing on stage and synced it up with the music. I then project video on a screen behind me with all of the ‘band members’ who are each in a little window playing the music that the audience hears. I wrote my own computer program to do this using Max/MSP and Jitter, which is a bit high tech at times. I play keytar and sing… and there are costume changes to coincide with what the ‘band’ is wearing in the video. It’s meant to be playful, and hopefully a different and new experience for the audience.
So you’ve travelled Alaska, the Balkans and Berlin in search of music. Where next?
Hmmmm, good question… I don’t know, maybe I’ll go to New Zealand or something.
Alaska in Winter play at Nexus Art Cafe on Dale Street on Thursday 22 October.
Interview by Chris Gilliver
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Tags:
alaska in winter • beirut • nexus art cafe
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