Prolific house DJ and producer Thierry Tomas teams up with Belgian producer Pat Lezizmo for a two tracker on Steve Bug’s home for more reduced, hypnotic, and raw sounds, Sublease Music.
Hey guys, thanks for chatting with us today! How has the year been for you?
Pat: Hello and thank you for having us! It’s been a very good year actually, I had some very nice releases this year on labels I have been following for a long time. It’s great to finally get to that level and see my music being released on them.
Thierry: It has been a very good year despite otherwise. I released a good house EP on Jump, I like it a lot! We did a release with Pat that is very special to me, not only because of Sublease, but in many ways because of the pleasant work with a pro!
Another pleasant event was marriage to my beautiful wife Dasha.
And a very important step this year was moving to Portugal. Now I am closer to the music world and scene that I belong to.
Tell us about your journey into electronic music, when did you first fall in love with it?
Pat: For me it’s the early 90’s UK / Belgian Rave scene that brought me into electronic music. Those breakbeats and later jungle vibes were all I was listening to. I love that era. Later I discovered Deep House and fell in love with it as well.
Thierry: I think it was the early 90’s too. One of my friends gave me a VHS tape with some cartoons on it. I was very surprised to discover that the cartoons were recorded up on rave video, last 10 minutes of a tape) I couldn’t understand what was going on, I was a child), but music was magical! I think it was the first checkpoint of this long-lasting journey.
You both have extensive careers as solo artists – if you had to choose, what has been the proudest moment of your career to date?
Pat: There have been a few really cool moments and the one I’m most proud of is when my friend Frederick Alonso and I had our first release on Atjazz’s label. We are both huge fans of his work and of his label, and to be able to be part of that catalog was a real career milestone for me.
Thierry: The first and last releases!) the first because of «oh sh*t, im published now» effect and last because from each release you grow.
But seriously there were two times when I was very proud, first – release on Dessous and second – release on Robsoul! It was some kind of recognition for me.
Who is the Boy Who Recorded Birds? Is this based on personal experience?
Pat: When I got the first jam from Thierry I was listening to it and somehow I pictured in my head a young kid with a recorder walking in the woods recording birds. It’s something I love to do when I’m on holiday, recording stuff in the streets, beaches, markets… It gives me the possibility to add some subtle textures in songs. And if you listen carefully you can hear some birds in the song.
Thierry: It’s all on Pat, he came up with the names!)
How did you hook up with Sublease for the release?
Pat: I’ve been a fan of the label since its birth some years ago and I wanted to be part of it. I just did not have the right music for it until Thierry and I finished the 2 tracks. I was like yeah, this could be something for Sublease. Thierry took the lead to contact the label and I was so happy we got a yes.
Thierry: I really liked Pat’s idea about Sublease and it was another opportunity to work with Steve and his team!!
How do you work in the studio, do you have an idea in your head you work towards or do you just experiment and jam and see what happens?
Pat: I’m a jammer, I like to record ideas and play with different chords, vibes and drum kits. Once there’s an interesting loop I start to layer more chords with different synths and then park the idea. I’ll come back to it later to hear if it’s still ok, and if it’s good enough I’ll make a first arrangement. I try to work on several projects in each studio session to keep it fun and varied.
Thierry: Always different! Mostly I do jams and mess around with the gears or samples trying to find something catchy. most of the time it’s the funny part.. But sometimes I have a clear idea of what I want, nothing can stop me there and honestly I love this «times» more.
How does the workflow differ when you’re collaborating? Were there any tense moments putting the EP together?
Pat: For this EP it was Thierry who came to me with a jam. I loaded his STEMS in my DAW and started playing around by adding extra chords and layers. I tend to record a lot of extra’s, too much actually. I sent my parts back to Thierry and then it was up to him to choose the ones he wanted to keep in the track. There was no tense moment as I trusted Thierry during the whole process.
Thierry: Totally agree!)
What are some of the key bits of music-making gear in your current setup?
Pat: I’m an in the box kind of producer. It’s my DAW and my vst’s, no external analog gear. I do have some go to plugins like the Lounge Lizard for my rhodes, the TAL-UNO and the KORG legacy collection for the synths. The beats are done in Logic’s native Ultrabeat. It’s a less is more approach really.
Thierry: I have a lot of gear which allow me to have fun in any genre, but the most important thing in my setup are my monitors, the A77x from ADAM. It allows me to get the sound I want no matter which synth I use software or hardware.
What else should we be looking out for from you both for the rest of 2022?
Pat: I don’t have any other release planned this year. I’m working on music for next year now. And at the same time I’m rearranging my studio and DAW setup. I like to take time for this, it’s essential to get a good/fast workflow and to keep things excited for new music projects.
Thierry: Highly recommended my upcoming release on Minor Notes! There are 4 original tracks in a very wide spectrum of house music! I hope that the record will be released this year, but there is a chance of a little delay till the beginning of the next year.
