Keep it in the family
Here’s an interview that I did last year with Pier Bucci before the release of his criminally neglected ‘Familia’ album. I love the way that he changes his tune when some of his fellow countrymen are mentioned, suddenly switching from open and friendly to guarded and monosyllabic. I never asked him who his former ‘good friend’ who messed him about is because he seemed pretty cut up about it. Anyway, Bucci is one of my favourite artists in the Chilean /
German techno scene, and it’s no surprise that he cites classic Warp as a major influence…
The cover of Pier Bucci’s debut album, ‘Familia’ features, atypically for a techno artist, a painting of wild flowers, each one bursting out with vivacity, outdoing the next with their colourful hues and warm tones. The cover art is Buci’s handiwork and is a motif for the 36-year-old Chilean producer’s life, which has taken a number of unexpected twists and turns that have
fuelled the adventurous sonic brush strokes that dominate ‘Familia’. Bucci is a warm, larger than life character and, as he recounts his experiences over the phone form Berlin, where he has lived for the past few years, he peppers his answers with amusing turns of phrase and explanations.
Growing up in Chile, Pier decided to go travelling when he turned 20 – “I wanted to see the world and get to know myself”- and ended up sailing around and trekking across Latin America, which inlcuded a stint living Brazil. He also spent a few years in London during the mid-90s – “it was fun but I had to earn money to eat and pay rent” - so he returned to Chile for a few years, where he could dedicate all his time to artistic endeavours.
Having studied fine art and purused painting for a few years, Pier wanted to find a new outlet for his creativity and he started playing with the sampler that he had bought his brothers back from London.
“We were lucky because we had a lot of friends who brought us music back from the UK and the US and my brothers had been programming since the early 90s,” he explains.
He may have been a late developer, but Pier didn’t waste any time once he learnt how to make music and he has released albums as U Cover, Mambotur and Monne Autonme - the latter with fellow Chilean producer Luciano. ‘Familia’ is his fifth long player, but it marks a radical departure for Bucci’s work.
It is the first time he has moved from the fusion of pop, Latin influences and abstract electronics to the quantized pulses of the linear dance floor groove, but he hasn’t lost his love of early 90s electronica and Chilean experimentation in the transition.
“When I lived in London I was really inspired by Warp artists like Autechre, Aphex Twin and LFO as well as 808 State,’ he says. “This for me represents the very highest point for electronic music. I bought every release, but unfortunately these artists don’t do it for me anymore. I heard Luke Vibert playing recently at a festival and it sounded like he was still stuck in 1997. I had to walk away.”
While still inspired by ‘Artificial Intelligence’-era Warp, he also cites the Chilean producer Uwe Schmidt (aka Atom Heart/Senor Coconut) as a major influence on his pop, Latin and experimental work.
“If you talk about Chilean electronic music, there are really two ways to follow: Uwe’s experimental, conceptual way or the Ricardo Villalobos dance floor way.”
The mention of Villalobos’ name elicits a sigh of weary recognition from Bucci, and, although much has been made of the Chilean holy techno trinity - Villalobos, Luciano and Bucci - they are not close as it would seem.
“We have worked together and I suppose that they are friends but I don’t DJ, take drugs or go to clubs like they do, I prefer to stay in my studio and make music,’ he answers with a hint of disdain in his voice. “Berlin is a big place, it’s a city where the last 50 years of history is still apparent on every street: you can have the mad parties, but also the peace and tranquillity which I prefer.
“Musically, Berlin seems to have developed further than the UK: sometimes, I get the impression that London never moved on from the late 80s because they felt that they didn’t have to. In Germany, because of their Nazi past, they know that they have to be open to other people’s music. It’s something that they carry with them and it explains why so many international producers live here and why one of the biggest DJs in Germany, Ricardo Villalobos, is a foreigner.”
Pier says that with the exception of Jamie Lidell, there are no techno/electronic artists who make him feel the way he did when he first heard Autechre - “I was like, what the fuck is that?” This lack of enthusiasm for his peers hasn’t stopped him from making minimal techno EPs for WMF and later for Crosstown Rebels, who are also releasing ‘Familia’, their first artist album project.
Given his pedigree as an experimental and pop producer, Bucci’s vision of minimalism is warmer and more thought out than the average laptop producer’s oeuvre. Echoes of classic Warp electronic melodies are present –“apart from rhythms, these melodies are the reason why I like techno” – and the rhythms are complex and intricate, the beats are crunchy and the claps tight and crisp, as repeated listens reveal new nuances and quirks.
While it may not be the year’s greatest electronic albums - a title that Isolee’s ‘We Are Monster’ still holds – it breathes colourful shapes and tones and lends a personal touch to repetitive minimal techno.
“It is minimal in a way, and because I was making non-dance floor stuff in the past, it was a real challenge,” he says. “I’m not a DJ, so I’m not that in tune with what’s needed to keep a dance floor happy. I’ve never been concerned before about ‘dropping the ball’ (losing the crowd’s interest) because I come from a song-based background.”
However, this background also explains why ‘Familia’ is such a fluid, morphing work and why it has so many intricacies. As Pier explains, “If I leave a loop running for more than a few bars, I get frustrated.”
There is another secret weapon powering ‘Familia’: the Moog. Evident on the gnarly bassline on the new single, ‘L’Nuit’, and the resonating ‘Towers’, Bucci uses his beloved Moog to help relate his personal experiences.
“I use the Moog for my basslines, which can sound by turns romantic, moody or even just depressing. The sounds are very warm and full of personality,” he believes.
“When I was making ‘Familia’, I was being fucked over by a really old close friend, which was very upsetting,” he explains. “But at the same time, I was also enjoying a lot of simple pleasures, like going to the beach. Any artist will tell you that their personal life is always filtered back through to their work.”
Pier has a live European and US tour lined up to promote the album, but he is already working on a new project.
“I work very quickly because if you spend too much time on a project you lose the concept and if you work on two at the same time, you get confused. I also have no patience,” he laughs.
The other reason why Bucci can’t stay away from his studio is because he feels that making music is the ideal outlet through which to channel his creativity.
“When I was painting, I was making some abstract, some naïve material, it was a mix of styles, but I wasn’t as passionate about it as I am about music. This must be like what a heroin addict feels: if I don’t make music for about two days, I feel like I’m about to die.”
