Birocratic

By Sean Maldjian, Contributor

Photo by, Steven Levine

Meet Birocratic

Let’s get loose to the wild and wavy sounds of Biocratic. Brandon Rowan combines electronic, neo-soul, and funk to generate some seriously hard-hitting grooves. In our latest interview, we chat with the musician about collections, their first job, and upcoming projects.

A self-portrait by Birocratic

Would You Rather…

have everything you wear always be four sizes too big or two sizes too small?

Too big!! Who says too small? That's masochism.

Some questions with Birocratic

Do you have any upcoming projects that you are excited about?

Yes!! But it's too early in the process to say anything about it. Can't invite the bad juju.

Earlier this year you released a remix track for “Lettuce”, do you find that you can
still, creatively express yourself through remixes the same way you can through originals?

It's definitely a different process! My originals usually start with a sample, and I build the track around it. With remixes, the vocal becomes the starting point, and I re-write the track underneath it from scratch. I feel like I have more creative leeway with vocal remixes, and they end up sounding way poppier than my originals. Remixing Lettuce was different - they're a super talented instrumental funk band, so remixing them was akin to my original process of sampling old vinyl records.

Do you collect anything, what is it, and why?

I've got a bunch of half-committed collections scattered around my apartment... Guitar pedals, old records, picture frames, and now I'm slowly getting into houseplants, assuming I can prove to myself that I can actually take care of them...

What has been your brightest moment of 2020 so far? Why?

Living with my family for a few months this summer. My brother finessed a six-week vacation between jobs, so we spent tons of time chilling, cooking with veggies from his garden, and playing with his two-year-old daughter, who brings so much joy into my life.

Do you have an artist/artists that you would love to collaborate with? Do you have a favorite collaboration you’ve done?

I genuinely wonder what Michael McDonald is up to, cause I'd be down to call him up and make some smooth shit. But recently I've been having a blast working with my friend Trevor aka Wev, who makes house music, well outside my comfort zone. I love those sessions because I can take a creative backseat while exploring my bass and synth playing.

What was your first job? How did it go?

I scooped ice cream at a drive-in family restaurant when I was 14 till I graduated high school. The place was cool - we served tomato pies and fried chicken too, and the food was quality. I remember my work clothes always smelling like this unimaginably bad combination of fry grease, ice cream, and garlic. Either way, making waffle cones funded my first Korg recording console, which was all I really cared about as a teenager.

What piece of musical gear was instrumental in helping you find your unique sound?

I'd love to say that Korg console, but honestly, I wouldn't be anywhere without Logic's EXS24 sampler. Basically, it's dinosaur software that hasn't been updated in 15 years. It's like trying to make music with an Excel spreadsheet. But it forced me to learn how to chop samples and make tracks the hard way, so in the end it had my back.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Please be safe, for the love of god. And laugh daily!!