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Interview with Martin Bryant, Editor-at-Large of The Next Web

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Martin Bryant has to be described as a polymath, combining the weighty role of editor-at-large for The Next Web with being a prolific music producer. Impakter interviewed Bryant to find out more about what it’s like to juggle running a major news outlet with an interest in music and technology; what tech is doing for today’s world; why music matters, and what he’s listening to at the moment.

Could you shed a little light on the different sides of your musical life? Does your professional experience influence your output as a producer and is composition an outlet for you from the day-to-day?

Martin Bryant: As someone whose day job isn’t music production, I’m much more a listener than a producer. I spend a lot of time while listening to music getting inspired by production techniques and wondering how I could work them into my own recordings.

As my work life is generally very busy, the actual time I have to work on songs is limited. It can be frustrating when I have a song idea and I know I won’t have any time to work on it for weeks. Those ideas often come to me when I’m walking around outside, and I tend to have to record them into a sound recorder app on my phone before I forget them. This usually involves whispering the lyrics and instrumentation, so I don’t look totally crazy to passersby.

When I sit down to work on music, this is really useful as I generally come up with better ideas away from my equipment than when I sit in front of it.

Are there any tools (hardware, software, etc.,) that you would like to be invented to use in your music?

M.B.: In the past, I’d have said ‘automated mastering.’ The process of making music as loud and punchy as commercial releases relies on a special skillset, and while you can learn it, best results have often been received from spending time with an (often expensive) mastering engineer. Now Landr has automated mastering, turning it into a ‘one click’ process, with encouraging results, so I look forward to seeing how that technology develops. A human engineer will provide more individual and creative results, but when you just want your song to sound loud enough to play alongside commercial releases, having an easy solution is fantastic.

The only other thing I’d like to be invented is a button I can press to take an idea out of my head and turn it into a finished song – that would save so much time. (laughs)

Composing music can be time-consuming and demanding. What is it that drives you to make music when there are so many other demands on your time? How do you maintain a balance between your career and adult life?

M.B.: Really, it’s just to get songs out of my head. They’ll play in a loop in my brain for weeks or months until I record them, coming back to me often every day like an itch that demands to be scratched. ‘Don’t You Believe Me’ is a good example, that song was playing in my head for months before I finally sat down and recorded it.

Music is the soul of humanity.

What do you think are the most exciting developments in music tech at the moment? Thinking of, say, VR technology, smart fabrics (along the
lines of Imogen Heap’s mi:mu gloves), or the incredible music apps constantly being released.

M.B.: The quality of some of the music creation apps for the iPad these days is incredible. Patterning is a great new drum machine app, while Korg Gadget just keeps getting better as an entire music-production environment. Some of the synths you can get on the iPad are brilliant too. As a kid I used to dream of owning a Korg M1 synth. Now the iM1 (which is an official M1 emulation for iOS) is available for pocket money and sounds beautiful.

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How do you incorporate tech into your music? Is it part of the creative process itself, do you use it to perform?

M.B.: As I make electronic music, technology is a key part of the process. At the moment I use Elektron’s Analog Keys synth and Analog Rytm drum machine along with its Overbridge software to make them work seamlessly with Ableton Live on my MacBook Pro. Software dominated music production for the start of this decade, but hardware is just so much more inspiring and efficient to work with. Overbridge allows me to combine the immediacy of hardware with the flexibility of software.

Thinking of how the line between producers, DJs, electronic artists and just about anyone with a laptop is constantly blurring, where is the boundary between the acts of performing and composing in your music?

M.B.: I’ve more or less given up on performing. I used to do quite a lot of live shows but now I don’t have enough time to compose as much as I’d like, so performing it is even less likely to happen! I’d like to do it again one day but context and timing would need to be right.

What has been the impact of tech and music coming together, democratising music production, distribution and consumption? Has it changed the world? Has it made it a better place?

M.B.: I wish things had been like this when I was a teenager. Back then, me and a friend pooled money to buy a second-hand drum machine and a multi-track tape recorder. Learning to record was so fiddly, and our equipment so basic, that we never got the results we wanted.

Now it’s so much easier to create great-sounding music. The equipment is cheap and learning to use it is easier than ever, with an almost limitless supply of YouTube videos and online written tutorials. Anyone who thinks that’s a bad thing is just a snob. That said, there’s still a lot of work to be done to make it easier to discover of the best new music.

The arts and tech are sometimes accused of being frivolous or abstracted from the real major issues the world faces – do you think they can achieve concrete change?

M.B.: Oh, of course. You just need to look at something like the (admittedly 31-year-old) example of Band Aid for how a piece of music can focus a whole nation on a problem. Nowadays, Google and Facebook offer genuinely useful tools during disasters, Twitter spreads our awareness of issues faster than ever (even if they can be distorted through its lens) and livestreaming video apps can be a window on the world’s problems. Technology is affecting the global agenda in ways we don’t even notice because they became normal so quickly.

What does it take for a creative project or individual to succeed? In the overcrowded, hyper-connected world of the Internet, what makes an enterprise stand out from the noise and become a success?

I firmly believe that luck is the biggest deciding factor. You can help tune your luck through expert timing and other factors, but every project is a roll of the dice.

What do you feel is the point of music? What can it say (if anything), and why does it matter so much to humanity?

M.B.: Music is the soul of humanity – it taps right into our most primal feelings and instincts while reflecting life right now in a way that’s more direct and accessible than any other art form.

It’s always good to find out what professionals are listening to at the moment. Are there any contemporary composers or emerging artists you’re excited by? Are there any tracks you’re currently listening to on repeat?

M.B.: My favourite album right now is John Grant’s ‘Grey Tickles, Black Pressure’. I love albums that are both sonically and lyrically adventurous, and this delivers that in spades.

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Featured Image: Martin Bryant Photo Credit: Tech n’ Marketing

 

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About the Author /

Eleanor studied classics and philosophy at undergrad and is now finishing a master's degree in sound art at Goldsmith's University. Chronically indecisive, her main interests are languages (she did six months of a BA in Chinese at SOAS before changing her mind, can say some upsetting things in Czech and knows how to hire a forklift truck in Italian), the arts, cinema, tech, travel and food snobbery. In her spare time she draws, makes travel plans and worries about the world these days.

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The food industry is coming under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, from greenhouse gas emissions, to excessive and detrimental land and water usage, to chemical pollution. Given the challenge of feeding a growing world population whilst simultaneously needing to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, clearly we need to look at alternatives to “dinner as usual”. The contribution of livestock to global greenhouse emissions is estimated at between 14.5 – 18%. Fortunately, there are companies who are tackling this challenge head on and looking at how emissions from food production can be reduced. With consumer interest increasing in alternatives to meat and other protein sources, we’ve spoken to the founders of three companies. From the seemingly futuristic to the rediscovery of superfood trees, each company tackles this new drive in consumer interest in different ways.

Solar Foods, Finland

Dr Pasi Vainnika is the CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods. The slogan of the company is “Food out of thin air”. Pasi was formerly in charge of the single largest renewable energy program in Finland. However, when he found out that 20-25% of the emissions come from food, he realized that emissions from this sector needed to be addressed, as well as those in the energy sector. But with the growth in affordable and renewable energy – particularly solar energy– it led him and his team to question the possibility of producing food solely from energy, carbon dioxide, and water. It turns out, the answer is yes. Solein is a unique single cell protein. It is produced using a fully natural fermentation process like that of the production of yeast or lactic acid bacteria. The powder, which is produced from the process, is 50% protein, 5-10% fat and 20-25% carbohydrate. Most likely, the first product to reach the consumer market will be a replacement in existing plant-based foods. For example, using Solein in shakes or as an alternative to dairy in milks, yogurts, and even in breads and pasta. In the future, a lasagna could include the protein in all aspects of the recipe: the sauce, in the pasta sheets, and in the filling. Further into the future, there is also the possibility that it could be used as the basis for cultured meat production.
In the Photo: Solein Can be used in smoothies as a protein alternative. Photo Credit: Shawn Fields - Unsplash
To produce a kilo of the protein powder takes 10 liters of water in comparison to the 2500 liters of water for a kilo of soy or 15,500 liters for a kilo of beef. Electricity is the main raw material, and the plan is to source this from renewable energy sources. Additionally, Solein binds carbon dioxide rather than emitting it, easing pressure on land use. The product is currently going through regulatory checks and testing at the moment, with a plan to launch in 2021. NASA and the Soviet Union space programs had started to investigate in similar protein production for their expeditions in the past, but Solar Foods has brought it down to earth.

Higher Steaks, United Kingdom

Whilst some people are switching to plant-based diets and others have reduced their meat consumption, some others still want to keep meat in their diets but are looking for more environmentally friendly options. This is where lab-based meat comes in. Benjamina Bollag, CEO and co-founder of Higher Steaks, a UK-based company, believes that it is important to provide alternatives to meat with a lower carbon footprint, but that taste as close as possible to the real thing. She believes that the change required in human behavior to cut emissions will not happen fast enough otherwise. This approach is confirmed by research they have conducted. 52% of respondents confirmed that they would switch from conventional meat to the Higher Steaks alternative, with 21% saying they would prefer a plant-based diet. There are different ways of producing lab-based meat. The process that Higher Steaks is developing is based on pluripotent stem cells, which are taken from a small skin patch or blood sample. The meat that is grown is then shaped into products. Currently, Higher Steaks is working primarily on pork products.
In Photo: Higher Steaks will eventually release pork as its first lab-cultured meat. Photo Credit: Yvonne Lee Harijanto - Unsplash
The company has yet to conduct a lifecycle assessment of the lab-grown meat, but given the high levels of environmental impact from meat production, it should be safe to say that Higher Steaks products will be more sustainable. In addition, as Benjamina explains, other advantages include the avoidance of antibiotic use, resulting in a product which is better for the consumer as well. The level of fat can also be adjusted, depending on consumer preference. The company is working to have the first products in shops within 3-5 years.

Barukas, Brazil

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In Photo: Baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas
Tuckerman became a co-founder of Barukas Incorporated. They are on a mission to plant 20 million baruzeiro trees – as a start. The trees need little water and – as native trees – they are already ideally suited to the Cerrado conditions. First, Barukas must prove that there is a market for the fruit of the existing trees. As such, the company is encouraging those living in the Cerrado to collect the nuts by guaranteeing to buy them, then creating customer demand for the nuts. Collecting the fruit from existing trees helps to preserve them from being cleared for intensive and invasive agricultural methods such as soy plantations. Likewise, planting new trees helps to reverse the deforestation of Cerrado. A report by the Climate Observatory estimated that the destruction of surface vegetation in the Cerrado released 248 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. This is roughly two-and-half times the annual tailpipe emissions from all cars in Brazil.
In Photo: Closer look at the baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas.
From talking with these three pioneers, it is now clearer than ever that we need multiple solutions to address how to sustainably feed a growing population. We need to cut the carbon emissions and reduce other environmental impacts such as water and land use associated with food production. Some of these solutions are a little way off in the future, but others are available now. We are what we eat, but our choices will increasingly determine what kind of future we will live in as well.   EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com.
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