Elderbrook, XOYO, Shoreditch

“I’ve spent most of my life in and around London”, Alexander Kotz professed as he prepared for his headline Shoreditch show: “It’s amazing to play in this city wherever it is, but I’ve seen countless artists play at XOYO – it will be incredible to play there and be a part of a venue that I’ve spent so much time in, even before Elderbrook existed”.

Descending the darkened narrow staircase, into the small, hot and soon-to-be sweaty basement venue, glitchy bass and tech beats had already begun to resonate through its concrete walls, with a far heavier, funkier sound than I had first anticipated from a show with Elderbrook at its helm. The packed out crowd were bouncing to broken rhythms from Shelter Point and Parx far before the London-born minimalist electronic producer emerged from the darkness to a greeting of heavy, frequent strobe lighting.

With influences ranging from Sam Cooke and Etta James to The National and Interpol, Elderbrook’s live show promised a great experience regardless of your musical orientation, but this experience is not the be all and end all for Kotz: “Making music is mainly just something I enjoy – It’s good to get lost in something, whether it’s a book or painting or music or whatever – the brain needs to chill. Music is just really a therapeutic tool for me a lot of the time but I’ve been really lucky to be able to do it quite as much as I have”. This was something that his fans clearly appreciated too.

Lately, Elderbrook has made substantial progress in his career and is quickly gaining acclaim and exposure. His new single, ‘First Time’ which plays host to a hectic array of drops, turns and strobes – has been received amazingly, with fantastic remixes coming from the likes of MANT and WiDE AWAKE.

He told me: “The support for ‘First Time’ has been great so far. It’s been part of my live set for a while and, because of the amount of energy in the song, it’s been a lot of fun to play out. The other half of the EP is actually quite different; more structured and songlike, rather than the sheer madness of First Time”. ‘Madness’ truly is the perfect word to describe the energy of the track: XOYO almost felt as though it was shaking.  

Throughout the rest of Elderbrook’s set, Alexander’s soulful voice, crazy melodies, uptempo beats and glitchy arpeggios shone through despite his ever-changing creative process: “I couldn’t pin down a secret formula”, he told me: “Sometimes it’s a vocal idea I’ve recorded on my phone or had in my head that I build the track around; sometimes it’s just a snare or some exciting chords – It could be anything”. Kotz intimated: “Although my music is predominantly electronic, I do have a few guitars and a piano that I love to use whenever I get the chance. I produce on my laptop using Logic, so I can work from anywhere whenever inspiration may strike”. There’s a lot of talent hidden within the moniker of Elderbrook and, combined with a warm disposition, he’s a pretty nice guy too.

Although Elderbrook’s success hasn’t been without obstacles. At first, he really struggled to get to grips with playing live: “Originally it took a while to translate my recorded works into something that makes sense live. I sing over all my tracks but I also have tried to incorporate guitar as well as recreating the electronic side through using my MPC and looping”. Luckily, the hard work all paid off: “I’ve been playing live for about a year and a half and it’s always changing as I try and incorporate new ways of translating my music into a live scenario”.

With London at his heart, its growing electronic music scene really matters to Alex, both under his own name and as Elderbrook: “It’s great that there is such a strong sense of community within music, especially electronic music, that can overcome things like the initial closure of Fabric and that can inspire new projects and festivals all the time. I feel like electronic music, as well as other genres, has a strong future in London. It will continue to grow as long as the community stays strong and supportive. I’ve spent a lot of time in places like Fabric and would love one day to get the chance to play there”.

I, for one, would relish the chance to see Elderbrook sell-out Fabric, and with his fast-growing success and his infectious funky sound, I hope that day will not be too far off.

Catch Elderbrook in LA when he plays The Echo on June 16th & listen to ‘First Time’ today!

ELDERBROOK PLAYED:

Could

Rewinding

Go

First Time

Woman

Difficult To Love

Smile

Closer

What You Want

Sunrise

Just For You

Let Go

How Many Times

Instagram: @_elderbrook