Graham Bertie’s latest project Nautiluss has garnered a substantial amount of attention in its very brief existence. After a debut single in 2011 on Hemlock Recordings, Bertie followed up his stellar release with two equally impressive EPs on Turbo Recordings in 2012 and an inclusion on 3024’s well-received Dover Court compilation EP earlier this year. Bertie’s explorations of the murky depths of sound in his records and mixes have been noted for their nods to a unique amalgamation of both techno and house, and last summer RA covered Nautiluss as part of Toronto’s “new guard.” Ahead of his upcoming DJ set at U Street Music Hall, Blisspop wanted to catch up with Nautiluss, and here is the latest from the man himself.
What is the latest news on Nautiluss? Any bookings, tours, releases or remixes to mention? So far 2013 has seen your track “Zero Gravity” on the ‘Dovercourt’ EP on 3024, plus a couple mixes (Thump, XLR8R) with a lot of unreleased material.
I have at least one 3-song EP on the way in the coming months on this rad dutch label called Audio Culture. There are a few others releases I am hoping to get out before the end of the year if all goes well. I’ve got a few remixes on the way including one for Physical Therapy on Grizzly and another one for a new project called Perera Elsewhere on Friends Of Friends. There will be plenty of North American dates this fall. I’m also planning a return to Europe sometime in October/November.
What have been the challenges of the Nautiluss project versus past projects such as Thunderheist, Bassanovva, and work as Grahmzilla? What do you feel have been key releases or accomplishments as Nautiluss so far? Any major goals you are still striving for with this project?
It’s been challenging but it’s been pretty self-imposed. I decided I didn’t want to go the hype chasing route again and so I just focus on doing whatever I feel like at the moment without trying to going the common route of doing pop remixes to rapidly gain fans. It’s the slower, harder route and building an audience that trusts you  based on your original music takes a lot more time but I think that ultimately it’s more rewarding and helps with the longevity of your music career. My main goal is to be able to to put out quality music, hopefully timeless in nature, for the rest of my life.
Your earlier projects were mostly collaborative, and your first single as Nautiluss included a collab on one of the tracks. Since then, have you purposely kept Nautiluss focused on solo work, limiting outside influence? Is there anyone you would want to work with?
I‘m open to collaborations when they work. I’ve got about 5 different producer collaborations that still need to be finished. I also have some new vocal collaborations that I am extremely excited about that are currently getting wrapped up and hopefully will see a release in the near future.Â
How is the producer community where you currently live (Toronto?)? Is there anything you particularly miss from living elsewhere (Montreal?)? Any thoughts on future moves? If so, where and why (e.g. Berlin for access to the scene there and more European bookings)?
There’s no lack of talent here. There’s a big group of us that support each others shows, releases, etc. People like Gingy, Kevin McPhee, Bruce Trail, Jokers of the Scene, Basic Soul Unit, Egyptrixx are all doing great things. There’s also a ton of amazing DJs here and I’ve learned alot from them. I currently share a studio with Gingy which has been good for both of us. As for what I miss… I miss my family, bagels, Olympico coffee, spacious dwelling and the generally cheap cost of living. I already live in Berlin part-time whenever I have a stretch of dates out there. I’m also considering LA for the winter months. I have metal in my wrist so the cold weather does not jive with me.
Is performance a major part of your music work? Will Nautiluss live sets eventually overtake DJ gigs on your booking calendar?
I’ve done a few live shows but I’ve been reluctant to make it a regular thing. I tend to limit it to festivals/special events like Mutek and Panorama Bar. Playing live is really thrilling/terrifying in that the crowd might not be into it and you are forced to just stick to the program. I love that in a way. But to be honest the live show is a massive amount of time and effort to put together not to mention travelling with a bunch of expensive equipment is costly and a pain in the ass. Every single time I’ve done it, I’ve changed the setup and so I have to start from scratch basically. That said, I am sure I will do more live going forward once I have a body of work to play around with. I don’t think it will ever replace Djing for me as I love that in an entirely different way and it will always have it’s uses and a place in my heart.
Any insights to share on your production process? Any favorite tools? Are you using more analog than digital, all digital, or taking a hybrid approach?
I embrace the best of both worlds. I like the tactile, hands-on of hardware but I am not an analog nazi, I use digital synths as well. If the mood calls for it. There are some things that you can do with romplers and wavetable digital synths that you could never reproduce with analog gear. Most of my stuff is done out of the box, however. I just like being able to move around and record one-takes that I can’t ever perfectly reproduce ever again. Even if I’m using soft-synths I will usually re-amp them back out so that I can dirty them up. I am not a fan of sterile, extremely perfect sounding music. I recently bought Bruce Trail’s Korg Monopoly and that thing is a beast. I also made the mistake of getting into the Modular world and that shit is a black hole for your time and money. Bottom line for me is that if it sounds good, it doesn’t matter how it’s made. I know people that only use software that make some of the best songs so it’s really about how you use it.
Don’t miss our BLISS event featuring Nautiluss alongside Tiga, Daniel Avery and Pentamon this Saturday at U Hall!