Interview with Turbine

Photographer: Bruno Destombes

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? 

Nico: Something like 20 years ago now, i’ve visited a friend of a friend and that guy has a turntable set up. He already had a very good turntablist level and he did a scratch routine and a beat juggling with Bootsy Collins records. One month later I had my first set of turntables.

Tony: BrainBlake taught me how to scratch. I don’t know what I would be doing today if my life wasn’t about making music or sound design.

Ben: When I was 17, one off my friend bought some turntables to learn scratch. It took my 2 years too get the money to get mine. After that we discover that we could record sounds by plugin a headphone into a mic in, it was the beginning of producing non-sence stuff. Years after years, beats become Hiphop and then Electronic. If I wasn’t starting music, I guess I would work in 3D or programming.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Nico: I like doing some long bike rides and watching a ton of movies and TV shows. It evacuates the pressure and some soundtrack has really influenced me. 

Tony: I work in a sound studio and a lot of my friends are musicians and artists, so I’m pretty much always drowned into it.

Ben: I watch a lot of movies and TV show too. And like Tony, I am working as audio Lead in an audio company for video games, so it is audio all day everyday.

How long has your band been around? 

Nico: Since september 2021. It's a very long creative process so we've just finished building our liveset. We're ready to play it now.  

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

Nico: We are based in Montreal. It's a very creative city and we are surrounded by talented artists in many musical genres. It helps open our mind.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Nico: I guess like many bands, we've brainstormed. We were thinking about something energetic. As you know, a Turbine creates energy with a circular movement and we use turntables to make people dance. In France the Turbine is also a way to qualify some powerful music. And finally in French slang, the verb to 'Turbine' means working a lot.

Ben: Fun Fact when we produce some new track, we always name it like that: T3N_xxx.wav.
T for Tony, 3 for the B for me and the N for Nico

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Nico: As I said, we've just finished building the set but so far, the DMC world championship was a milestone. Because of the Covid, the event happened online. And in person, that was probably our first showcase during the Mural festival in the streets of Montreal. It was a good way to gage if it works or not.

Tony: I agree with Nico, the first showcase felt good. It was just a proof of concept at that time. We played our tracks for the first time in the streets, in front of a mix of friends and random pedestrians. Honestly that’s scary, and it can be really and disappointing if it fails. It was a decisive moment for the project and the band. But at the end, the audience loved it and asked for more, so we decided to keep on working on it.

Ben: I loved the second time we play in a Bar during a modular night event. We opened the evening with 30 minutes of our show, it was totally madness.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Nico: In Montreal, I've liked to play at the Olympia, it's a big venue. We got a very long way to go but I really want to play at the Webster Hall in New York, I really love that place.

Ben: I love the placed that DEF TV choose for their YT channel. One on my favorite will be where DR Fresch played, in and underground mall in Atlanta. Otherwise the Dour festivals in Belgium is a good place too, we have some good memories with Tony over there.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Nico: Something with all my influences. The Prodigy, Noisia, Flako, Lorn, Rage Against the Machine and Dizzee Rascal.

Tony: That’s a tough one. Let’s start with Nitepunk, Apashe, Habstrakt, Eprom, DJ Fly, Dj Craze, Camo and Krooked and the Upbeats.

Ben: Cypress Hill, Ed rush and optical, The Upbeats, Phace, Noisia, Nitepunk, DR Fresch, the Glitch mob, IT HZ.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Nico: It's a new project so it's tough to give advice but I still got a background. So I would say be patient. Don't try to fit in the new trend, build your own identity…

Tony: I agree with Nico. Patience and commitment are the key.

Ben: I would say never give up and don’t be discourage by others skills. Personally it motivates me when I realise we still have a long way to go. I would say work more with other producer to myself.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Nico: I wouldn't change anything. If I made an error, it's part of the path.

Tony: Quality over quantity.

Ben: Same has previous question

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? 

Nico: Warm-Up, cause it's the first track that we've made together.

Tony: The upcoming ones. We released a few songs on the music platforms, but we have a lot more. Stay tuned.

Ben: For me it is mind control because it is the first DnB song I officially released. I tried DnB since 2009.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Nico: I like Bassquake, our latest. It's energic with a prodigy vibe. Can't wait to play it in front of a crowd.

Tony: The whole liveset is very pleasant to play so I can’t chose. 

Ben: All the Basshouse part is really dope to play. We have a Salsa DnB tracks that put the crowd on fire, really nice to play.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Nico: Ben is the production brain of the band. He composes 90% of the tracks. He always comes up with new ideas or a new track. Don't let him 2h alone with a computer. When we have that frame, we polish it together and we have a very specific way of working because we have to decompose every track in hundreds of samples to play it on the turntables. Then we practice...a lot.

Ben: I love synthesis so I spend a lots of time making serum presets. Sometimes I just add some kick and snare and like Nico says, sometimes in 2 hours we have all the ideas for a track. I also love mixing and mastering, sometimes it also put me in the producing process. 

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Nico: To be honest, I don't know if we want to pass a message. We just want people to have fun and enjoy themselves.

Tony: There is no traditional political, economical or ecological message. We don’t make music for those reasons. As Nico said, all we want is people to have fun. Live-practicing our art, while the audience has a blast dancing on heavy-bass tracks is the main purpose of the project.

Ben: Dance, Dance, Dance. 

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Nico: It sounds crazy but never. It's very straightforward. We have a lot of fun when we practice and everytime we see each other. 

Tony: Everything happens simply, decisions are taken very naturally. When we disagree on something, everyone proves their point. Whatever makes the most sense for the band, the project or the track wins the decision.

Ben: Since the beginning of the project we are really thigh on our schedule and our agenda. I think in almost 2 years we only skip 2 or 3 times our weekly practice. It hardens the belief in this project so it is difficult to have disagreements. We have fun all the time.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Nico: We want to run the liveset in Montreal and across Canada until spring 2024. Then the perfect plan could be a tour in France, we are already working on it. 

Ben: We are also working with a french advertisement company called Alter K. Maybe someday we’ll get our music on TV.

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

Nico: They can follow us on every platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok. We got the same id everywhere @turbinescratchmusic