MacDirectory 85
MUSIC
Before Elderbrook was born, there was Alexander Kotz, a
young boy from London, who at the age of 16 began to
play music. "I started off in an indie band when I was at
school. It was kind of inspired by Arctic Monkeys and Kings
Of Leon— that kind of thing. I played guitar and sung but at
the time I never thought I would be a producer," said Kotz.
He tells us that from the very beginning, his passion for
music is something that was always inside of him. "I
think for a lot of musicians, making music is an important
therapeutic tool and that's certainly the case with me," he
said.
In the beginning, his music had a soulful vibe, which he
wanted to mix with hip-hop. It wasn't until he was in college
that he was introduced to electronic music.
"I learned my way around music software just by recording
my acoustic solo project. I'd record my guitar and voice but
eventually I figured out I could do so much more. I started
messing around with different sounds and electronic
methods of making music until I reached a weird hybrid of
acoustic and electronic," said Kotz.
He tells us that these were the early days of Elderbrook.
"At this point I was at college and I started making hip-hop
instrumentals to make a bit of extra money. Eventually I
sang over a couple of them."
As Kotz began to produce electronic music, he realized
that he would need a new name to release under. This new
project was a new voice for him. He had been releasing
music under his own name, but his new music would be
unlike anything he had released before, so he needed a
new name.
"I watched a Reggie Watts stand up on Netflix around the
same time I was pondering over a new name for the then
side project. There was a moment in it when, for some
reason, he said "Now introducing the lovely and talented
Lady Elderbrook!" I thought that it would be amazing if I
was called Elderbrook—thus Elderbrook was born," he
exclaimed.
In 2015 Kotz released his first EP with three tracks under
the name Elderbrook. The track that would make him
famous would be How Many Times. He worked together
with German duo Andhim and it became a success that
summer. But he tells us that it was the year prior when his
musical career really took off.
"I think an important turning point for me was when I was
paid to do my first ever remix. It was for a Bipolar Sunshine
song: Deckchairs on The Moon. That was the first time I
ever thought I had a real shot at doing music full time which
was definitely an exciting moment for me," explained Kotz.
