Beautiful There

There's this weird thing when it comes to December. Finding good new music is just... ridiculously difficult. Whether it's because artists (just like the rest of us) are also feeling the holiday mood or... we're too busy checking all those Best Of playlists. My point is that December has never been a month (at least for me) to find that one special 2016 track.

Well, time to change that.

I'm extremely happy and honoured to premiere this next tune, created by a really awesome person I've met on the streets of Berlin - Matteo Pavesi AKA Pavlov. "Beautiful There" is the first single off his upcoming debut EP and it's nothing short of an absolute delight. It's beyond imaginable how 4 minutes could fit so many different tiny sounds perfectly blended together. This could easily be one of my favourite discoveries of 2016 and after a week of repeating the song, I still find myself hearing new sonic ornaments.

Besides the beautiful sounds you're streaming right now, I had the chance to talk to Pavlov about the release and... a few other things.

Hey Matteo! Before anything, tell us the origin of the name Pavlov?

My friend Bella_Dullah called me Pavlov one day (from my surname: Pavesi) and it was too good already: short and suggesting a move to the East . Its probably my second favourite nickname on the planet.

Today's premiere - "Beautiful There" is the first single of your upcoming release.

Yes man , i am super happy to finally release my music. The making of ’Ravel’ - my first ep coming out via Averege Negative on 02/02/2017 - was a huge learning process: learning what it means to write a song, how to understand and follow my musical instincts without compromising, learning what it means to make music that is experimental (and all the challenges that come with it), how to mix a record and what it is to release an album. I mean when I did that session for you guys two and a half years ago I was 21 and reading David Harvey&co and international law papers all day and had no idea how to use Ableton or a synthesiser. I was really into my studies and going to do a master in international politics in Paris, but I felt there was a less scientific level of communication that most of the people from academia did not consider enough and i wanted to explore it.

So how did you become a producer / multi instrumentalist?

I got into music production and such because Alice and I were doing shows together, but it was just the two of us and I wanted to hear some beats and bass and textures in the tunes. It all happened very naturally: she would write songs, I would arrange and produce them for the live shows and we would play gigs together. It was a very nice time: i had no idea what I was doing but could hear so many melodies and sounds and rhythms in my head when she was playing me her verses. Looking back I think it was a bless to have had that period: i had so much time to fuck around with sounds, instruments, field recordings, and try using some of it for the shows. Then last year I moved in with Jian (Kyson) and we became such good friends and made so much music that I started realising I wanted to take all those jams to the next level. So i started writing songs.

The track is an absolute delight and extremely rich in sounds and instruments. Did you record everything by yourself?

Thanks hombre. My friend Louk is playing the tenor saxophone on that tune. The rhodes is taken from some recordings we did with incredible pianist Rieko Okuda for Alice’s album but did not end up using. Everything else I played myself and programmed the drums. I am a musician first, I love to play stuff. I think the genre of music I make is generally not ‘played’ enough, especially the live shows. I mean I would lose my shit if I saw Teebs playing with a five-piece band instead of him turning knobs on the sp404. Imagine Flying Lotus performing with a big band!

In addition to the whole soundscape, you're preparing a short movie to come along with the release. When can people see the visuals and what's the inspiration behind it?

‘Ravel’ the movie is coming out with the Ep on the second of Feb. It is the first work I ever did in film. I never thought i would end up directing a movie, but I felt a strong need to release the Ep together with something that would help framing the record and build a world for the music to sit in and take you places. In a way I wanted the visuals to strengthen the Ep and tell the people “ Yo, this record is not full of summer hits, so chill out and let the music take you to a limbo”.

You're releasing the track via Average Negative. How did you guys started working together? Do they help you with the creative process as well or its mostly release support?

Av Neg is the label of Chris and Jian, two of my best friends. I was there since day one and they were the first ones to push me to write songs and make Pavlov a real thing. For instance, they had booked me for this amazing show they do every year called Potentials when I had zero songs written and Pavlov was just my second favourite nickname. Labels are tricky, I don’t want to get into it, but I really trust them, their work ethics and their taste and they very respectful of my vibes.

What are the next steps for Pavlov?

Firstly going to going to retreat for a bit in the Alps, then coming back strong next year with a double release of my next single , which will be out on Av Neg and on a compilation curated by L.A.-based label Friends of Friends . Besides, I am doing a live session at the red bull studios HERE in berlin with the Pavlov live project (4-piece band, amazing homies) and work with them on the EP launch show, which is on the 7th of March at Privat Club.