We sat down with Bonar Bradberry and Tom Thorpe, the duo behind acid powerhouse PBR Streetgang (named after the boat crew in the 1979 cult classic Vietnam film ‘Apocalypse Now’) for an Artist Masterclass, breaking down their track ’12.32’. Check out the video above, where the pair touch on a plethora of topics including initial conception of the track, together with their approach to processing samples and arrangement. They also give some insight into the benefits of collaboration and the impact it has on their creative process and workflow, and divulge their tips on how to get the best out of your production by optimising your tracks for the club.
If you want to catch the duo live, they will be playing alongside the likes of Derrick Carter and Hot Chip at Manchester’s Albert Hall on the 31st of December for LA Discotheque’s New Year’s Eve Party.
Meeting at a record store in Birmingham 15 years ago, it was actually in Leeds that the pair started working together, initially DJing at the legendary Asylum at Club Mint and playing alongside some big names in dance music, from Ricardo Villalobos to Jazzy Jeff. It was only after seeing A Guy Called Gerald at a warehouse party in Manchester turn up with just a laptop, using an early version of Ableton, that Bonar decided to get a copy and make the transition into production. Since then they have had a number of releases on labels including Red Music, Futureboogie, E.A.R, ISM, Wolf Music and 2020 Vision, the latter of which Bonar went on to work at as assistant manager of A&R and head manager for remixes. Their debut, ’N-H-N’, was labelled by Futureboogie as ‘a ridiculously repetetive acid gem’ and throughout their career they have garnered fans such as Crazy P, Greg Wilson and Clive Henry to name a few.
For those interested in enrolling at pointblank, we offer a multitude of courses at our London and Los Angeles based studios, or you can study remotely on one of our extensive online courses. With our state of the art facilities, student opportunities and fantastic guest speakers we can help you take your production to the next level. If you’d like to come and see our studios, you can book yourself onto one of our Wednesday or Saturday tours here.
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