INTERVIEW – SAINTE VIE

Hey Pablo! It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How has 2023 been for you so far? 

Hey! Thank you for having me! 2023 has been amazing so far! Lots of projects I’ve been working on for a while are finally coming together and seeing the light.

Congrats on the release of your latest single «Fear». What was your inspiration behind this track?

Thank you! In terms of composition, I wanted to make a track with very few elements in order to achieve a clean powerful sound. I wanted to give the lead synths enough space to properly stand out. From an emotional perspective, as the title suggests, I wanted to analyze the process of Fear. From the moment you identify it to the moment you face it and overcome it. I see the melodies of the track as a tool that guides you through the process and helps you overcome Fear. 

What was your experience working on this record? Was it an instant success or was it more about experimentation for you? 

I worked on this record for quite a long time. It wasn’t easy for me to make a track that had very few elements but I was determined to make it happen. I had to work a lot on the lead synths, from the actual sound to the melodies in order to make sure they were strong enough to carry the track without having to add too many supporting elements.

You have released this track independently – no labels are involved. What was your thought process behind this? 

I had a bunch of ideas for the release of this track starting with the fact that this track is actually the first single of my upcoming EP “Hypnotic Places” which will come out in the form of 4 singles total. In addition to this, each track has its own specific artwork and animated NFT. It would be hard to find a label that perfectly aligns with this particular release strategy so I decided to release it on my own and present it to the world exactly the way I had in mind. 

Can you mention some musical influences that you believe have shaped your sound? 

For sure, I would say Nicolas Jaar, Interpol, Caterina Barbieri, Weval, and David August to name a few.

What does your studio setup look like?

Pretty simple to be honest, I mainly use Plugins, and I also use a couple of analog synthesizers, electric and acoustic guitars, a midi keyboard, Barefoot studio monitors, and an Apollo twin sound card.

Can you name some of the instruments or plugins that you believe define your sound?

Plug-ins: Sylenth, Diva, Pigments, Battery.

Instruments: Nord, Prophet, electric, and acoustic guitar.

Where can people expect to see you performing live in the coming months?

In the coming months, I’ll be playing my live set at Timeless Festival in Cape Town, Knockdown Center in New York, The Monastery Festival in San Miguel de Allende, and Marvellous Island in Paris to name a few. 

Now that «Fear» is out, what is next for Sainte Vie? 

 I have a new remix I did for Aalson coming out this Friday, March 10th, and 3 more tracks coming out in the next couple of months as part of my new EP “Hypnotic Places”.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer our questions, is there anything else you would like to mention before we go?

Thank you so much for the invitation!