01. Who are you ?
I am a French artist who has been evolving in ambient for a year and a half. In 2016, I created Apnea Label, a label specialized in dub and deep techno and in 2020 with my friend Anne, we created the ambient label Mare Nostrum Label.
I’m also half of the band Belle Brume that I share with my friend Gaëtan aka Maussene, and I also host with him a podcast dedicated to ambient music « Ambient Travelers ».
Le Code was first a techno artist, releasing several singles and EPs under this style. I’ve always been fascinated by ambient and it wasn’t until the Covid crisis and its confinements that I decided to compose tracks and choose my path in this musical genre.
02. What are you listening actually ?
Many different things.
I listen to ambient music of course through playlists to discover new artists or my favorite artists to go back to the roots (Loscil, Lauge, zakè, Marine Eyes…).
Lately, I was very happy to see Röyksopp coming back with two albums, I always loved this band. I listened again to albums of Lamb or Recoil (ex-Depeche Mode).
And I listen to a french webradio called Nostlagie Pop 90, which broadcasts tracks from the 90s. I love the music of this time, I grew up with it, these are the sounds that built me in a certain way. It’s my guilty pleasure, because it’s really a pop radio, with very commercial tracks. But it feels good sometimes.
3. How you came to music ?
Since childhood, I always wanted to make music. I didn’t grow up in a musical family, but my parents listened to a lot of music, from classical to pop. I received a Bontempi organ for Christmas and created little musical pieces with this rudimentary instrument. At other times, I thought I was a radio host listening to my parents’ vinyl records.
It wasn’t until I finished school that I created my first rock-metal band where I tried to sing. Later I created Proyas, a trip-hop-rock band with a drummer, we got noticed locally by receiving different official support. I had other bands that did more or less well locally.
And since 1 year, I decided to devote myself fully to my solo project Le Code and Belle Brume.
4. What gear do you use in studio/live ?
For a long time, I accumulated many hardware or software synths thinking that the more I had, the better. That was a mistake: now I use the same tools regularly, I know them well and I know where to go to get what I need quickly.
I use Ableton Live with a Push 2. My tracks often start with a pad generated by Omnisphere or Kontakt banks from Luftrum. I add synths such as the Prophet Rev 2, Waldorf Blofeld, Virus TI or Moog Subsequent 37.
For the final touch, I use pedals, like the Strymon Big Sky or the Hologram Microcosm.
To mix, I use the Console 1 from Softube.
5. Do you have an anecdote or a memory to tell us about your music ?
Ten years ago, I played on a big festival in France, with my electro-rock band Proyas. It was awesome : big stage, incredible sound and thousand people on front of you, it’s just an unique feeling !
6. Which artist would you dream of working with?
I am very admiring of the artists of the ambient scene: I am very happy to be part of this prolific but also very kind scene, I have made incredible encounters, despite the distance.
Choosing an artist is very complicated. Lauge comes immediately to my mind because it is with him that I discovered ambient music and that I continue to discover it with his playlist « Ambient Soundscapes ». If he lets me do a rework of one of his tracks, I would be really happy and honored.
7. What are your plans for the future?
The year 2022 is the year of good resolutions: I promised myself to work on my project Le Code and to make it grow: I followed several trainings and an artistic coaching of 3 months at the beginning of the year. It’s starting to bear fruit, even if I have to be patient (which is not a quality I have).
I would like to compose more tracks, especially albums : my first album Oceans was released this year, and I would like to continue this exercise. I’m going to continue my videos on YouTube, I’m starting to find my way and to propose a content that looks like me.
Finally, I would like to do livestreams regularly, but I don’t have enough time. It’s something I have in mind, but it may be in 2023.
ARTIST LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/lecodemusic
https://www.instagram.com/lecodemusic/
https://le-code.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGykDEr7ugNVA6QylRuzOPA?sub_confirmation=1
