5 Questions with Le Motel
5 Questions with Le Motel
Since his 2015 debut “Oka” that caught Gilles Peterson’s ear, this Brussels-based producer and composer, Le Motel, has been blurring the lines between global sounds and cutting-edge production. His discography includes collaborations spanning from Nigeria to China and working with fashion brands such as Bottega Veneta for their Winter 24 Collection.
Today marks a significant milestone for Le Motel with the release of his latest project, "Odd Numbers / Số Lẻ". This album, out now on vinyl and digital, is the culmination of his recent immersion in Vietnam’s sonic landscape. Featuring collaborations with local artists like Yvonne Quỳnh-Lan Dương and Hoàng Tuấn, the album showcases Le Motel’s approach of using field recordings and found sounds as the foundation for his music. The project also extends further, with an accompanying visual exhibition that further explores the cultural and artistic themes that feature throughout the album.
Tracks like "I Cried Like a Child of Three / Tôi đã khóc như một đứa trẻ lên ba" and "The Universe Is a Rabid Creature / Vũ trụ là con thú điên" highlight a mix of traditional instruments with his production techniques. This release is a new chapter for Le Motel, and why should you listen or take note of this artist? His collaborative process, involving local artists and field recordings, results in a rich, immersive soundscape that captures the essence of the places and people he encounters and offers the listener an opportunity to hear a genuine musical exchange.
Describe your studio space.
My studio is in Brussels, inside a creative coworking space called 254 Forest, where I work alongside sound artists, photographers, graphic designers, and videographers. I love having my own space, but what makes this place so special is the opportunity to connect with other artists, exchange ideas, and collaborate on multimedia projects.
The studio itself is filled with a collection of small instruments I’ve gathered while traveling, a few synths, and a lot of tape and reel-to-reel recorders—tools that allow me to explore sound in a tactile, hands-on way.
“Field recording is very important in my process, it’s the starting point of most of my tracks.”
A piece of gear or instrument you can't live without?
When I was in Vietnam, I stumbled upon a sound I had never heard before while walking through the streets. It resembled a guitar but had an eerie, almost ghostly quality, like a melancholic entity crying through sound. I later realised it was coming from a beautiful instrument called the Đàn bầu, a Vietnamese monochord zither. I became obsessed and set out to find one in Hanoi, eventually bringing it back to my studio.
A few months into working on Odd Numbers, I met Yvonne Quỳnh-Lan Dương, a Vietnamese musician based in Brussels who specialises in the Đàn bầu. When we recorded the album, we used the very instrument I had found in a small street in Hanoi, a place filled with gongs and traditional Vietnamese instruments. You can hear it on the track “The Universe is a Rabid Creature / Vũ trụ là con thú điên.”
Could you tell us about the time when you first took notice of a film score?
I can’t recall the first time a soundtrack truly struck me, but one that left a deep impression is Monos, Alejandro Landes’ incredible film with a score by Mica Levi. Their work is brilliant, I love how there are no clear boundaries between the score and the direct sound of the environment. It feels as if the landscape itself is part of the composition, blurring the line between music and sound design in a way that feels completely immersive.
What's your biggest inspiration right now?
At the moment, my biggest inspiration is the mouth harp. I used to struggle with understanding it—even to the point of disliking it—but recently, I had a sort of awakening. Now, I’m completely obsessed. I’m captivated by its natural sound, but I’m also exploring ways to recreate its essence using electronics and synthesis, which I find fascinating.
The instrument is held firmly against the performer’s lips, using the mouth, along with the throat and lungs when breathing freely as a resonator. This not only amplifies the sound but also allows for a wide range of tonal variations. While the fundamental pitch remains constant, subtle changes in the shape of the mouth and the volume of air inside it can produce different overtones, creating melodies. The vibrations of the steel tongue generate a complex sound, blending a fundamental tone with its harmonics. By using the mouth as a resonator, each harmonic can be isolated and reinforced in succession, revealing the instrument’s full expressive range.
How do your field recordings influence the way you approach composition and production?
Field recording is a fundamental part of my process, it’s the starting point for most of my tracks. Sampling life itself is the most inspiring way for me to create music. For my album Odd Numbers, for example, everything began with field recordings in Vietnam, where I captured the sounds of nature, bustling cities, and chance encounters. Back in Brussels, I started composing soundscapes around these recordings, but the essence of the tracks, their intention and emotion, was already embedded in those raw fragments of life.
Even in my more percussive and club-oriented projects, I love blending electronic elements with organic recordings. Layering these textures together brings depth and a sense of life to the music, creating a balance between the synthetic and the real.
Follow Le Motel here.
