Call & Response: Philippe Bronchtein
(5 min)
Philippe Bronchtein is not a ‘jack of all trades.’ That phrase would only be dismissive of his intentionality and talent. But he does play a wide variety of instruments including pedal steel, organ, and modular synthesizers. The talented songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist is one of the most recent creative partners to join the License Lab extended family and we couldn’t be more thrilled. We chat with Philippe about his career as a working musician and touring with The War and Treaty, his recent return to his own music, and how the parameters of production music can inspire creativity.
Photo by: Laura Partain
Lab Notes (LN): If you had to boil your musical journey into one sentence, what would it be? (Run-on sentences accepted and encouraged.)
Philippe Bronchtein (PB): The best laid plans of mice and men - I set out to be my own artist, writing songs and traveling the world singing them to audiences, only to realize that I truly love diving into the nuances of sounds and compositions.
LN: Starting your career in Portland and touring with a variety of acts before coming to Nashville, what are some of the biggest lessons you learned along the way as a working musician, as a creative, or just as a human?
PB: Always try and work with people who are “better” than you. While it's important to not diminish the unique creative perspective you bring to any situation, surrounding myself with people who were further along in their musical journeys has always been the biggest catalyst for growth.
LN: It sounds like your time with The War and Treaty provided a lot of positive experiences, touring on another level and sharing the bill with folks like Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell. Talk us through your mindset that led to your decision to step away from that to focus on your own writing.
PB: W&T was an incredible experience and I'm eternally grateful for some of the stages I got to play on. But there's something special about working on your own music, even if it's operating at a lower level or less 'successful.' That unique satisfaction in realizing your own creative vision was something I really missed.
LN: Your website mentions a surge of creativity during the forced time at home in 2020 due to COVID. Did you immediately start writing and creating when the shutdown happened? Do you have a daily routine that you follow?
PB: I was in the middle of working on a full length record when the shutdown happened. So the lockdown let me really hone in on that production process while hiding in my home studio. I also started taking lessons again to further my musicianship and dove into the weird and wonderful world of modular synthesis. I don't really have a routine besides coffee first thing when I wake up, but I usually set aside at least an hour or two a day for some focused practice. It's too easy to get rusty!
There's something special about working on your own music, even if it's operating at a lower level or less 'successful.' That unique satisfaction in realizing your own creative vision was something I really missed.
LN: We’re all very excited by your work on recent TLL releases, especially the newest additions to Three Ingredients Or Less, Liquid Layers and Raw Drawbars. How do you approach writing for production music? What has that experience been like?
PB: I find that parameters and limitations are one of the best tools for inspiring creativity. Being confined to only three elements forces you to do more with less and be really intentional with compositional decisions. Production music in particular is an interesting challenge, because you want to create a sense of space & context without dominating what’s happening visually. The atmospheric steel album was a wonderful exercise in finding that balance.
LN: Instruments like pedal steel, keyboards, and modular synth make up such an interesting menagerie of musical options. When you pick up new instruments like these, is it more out of necessity or curiosity? Or both?
PB: Mostly curiosity. Like many other musicians, I have horrible Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.) and if something looks interesting to me, I will usually find a way to get my hands on it.
LN: What inspires you? What gives you hope right now?
PB: Storytelling never fails to provide some inspiration. A well told story with the right message can soften even the hardest of cynics.
LN: What do you do when you’re not making music?
PB: I like to go fishing when the weather’s right, I like to box & am ready to get back to boxing gyms once COVID is over, and I love getting lost in a good book.
A well told story with the right message can soften even the hardest of cynics.
LN: If you were trapped on a desert island, what 5 albums could you not live without?
PB: Bill Evans & Jim Hall - Undercurrent, Bruce Springsteen - Ghost of Tom Joad, Bill Frisell - Good Dog, Happy Man, Gangstarr - Moment of Truth, Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother The Mountain
LN: What are three things about you that wouldn’t want left out of your Wikipedia page?
PB: Lifelong Jets Fan, Cookies are my favorite food, Former modern dancer & choreographer.