LEGAT — Interview with the bRAVEs about “The Fall”

Born in Kyiv, LEGAT lives in Berlin since 2017 and produces electronic music with a bit of Hate, Melancholy and Paranoia. Between 2010 and 2020, he released four albums and five singles under the German-language Industrial-Metal alias Tyler Milchmann. the bRAVEs spoke (first published Mar 17, 2024) with LEGAT about Berlin, his love for the German language and his debut album “The Fall” (Opens in a new window).

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the bRAVEs: You are living in Berlin since 2018. What feelings have you developed for this city?

LEGAT: I was honestly more inspired by Berlin right after I moved here than I am now. Some things seem tempting and refreshing till the moment you realize they stay mostly the same and their diversity is just a one of many illusions. I have a feeling the city has been in decline in recent years. I definitely met some wonderful people here, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that I would move somewhere else in future. Life is a journey after all.

the bRAVEs: In your project Tyler Milchmann (Opens in a new window), which ended in 2020, you sang in German. Where does your love for the German language come from?

LEGAT: Since I was a child I had a really strong bond with Western culture as a whole and German culture in particular. Not the most trendy preference in Germany 2024, I have to admit. I always liked German poetry for focusing on action and meaning rather than on feelings. I think the story has a greater impact if you tell it without adding too many adjectives and too much of your personal perception. I feel that German poetry — unlike Russian or Ukrainian — is all about it. It just resonates with me.

the bRAVEs: What made you switch to electronic music?

LEGAT: My music always had a strong electronic background, even when it was industrial metal.

Berlin’s techno clubs — a truly remarkable part of the city

— brought me to the idea of trying new ways of expressing my musical vision. Basically I´m still telling the stories through my tracks, just in another setting.

the bRAVEs: You use a lot of hardware in your production. Did you teach yourself everything?

LEGAT: Yes, but nowadays — when you have all these talented people on Youtube with their brilliant ideas and detailed tutorials — it’s honestly not a big deal. You just need to have time, patience and love for this specific process.

the bRAVEs: After 2 singles “Once Upon a Time in Ukraine (Opens in a new window)” and “Kyїv22 (Opens in a new window)”, your first album as LEGAT “The Fall (Opens in a new window)” was released on March 1, 2024. In what period of time was it created?

LEGAT: Basically I worked on this album for the last 4 years. Not only on this album, on some other projects as well. That’s why it took me a while to bring these ideas to their final destination. I experimented with genres, equipment and forms a lot till these 7 tracks with their own different stories stood out from others and formed an album.

the bRAVEs: “Heimweh” — a very energetic song. What was the inspiration behind it?

LEGAT: Imagine that drive, that adrenaline spikes you´re getting as a traveler from a nomadic life. And also that feeling of sudden sadness when something during your chaotic adventures reminds you of your home — a color of the sky, smell of burning leaves, edges of roofs under the evening sun, — something barely explainable. That’s when Heimweh (“Homesickness” from German) kicks in. I used the quotes of Salman Rushdie as a sample in this track — I think his idea of home and away being both a mirage is also very interesting.

Maybe the home is not a place, but something existing only inside of us — somewhere beneath our remembrances.

the bRAVEs: You don’t want to commit yourself to a genre, but it’s clear that space plays a big role in your tracks. What feelings do you want to evoke in the listener? Or are these your feelings that you process in the songs?

LEGAT: The endless space, dark and silent, where you’re alone and no information nor people can reach you. That’s the place where you can finally rest from a rush of your day-to-day life and just be yourself. I´d like people to forget for a while about the raging world around them and to concentrate on their own thoughts and feelings when they’re listening to my music.

the bRAVEs: How much do your songs reflect russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the country where you were born and grew up?

LEGAT: They’re definitely not getting happier. The album is called “The Fall”, and for me — as like for millions of other people —

the world I knew previously collapsed and fell apart on 24.02.2022.

I’m still figuring out what to do with all the shards left. I miss Kyiv and my friends in Ukraine a lot. My thoughts of them, my dream to meet them soon are a big part of what created this album.

the bRAVEs: Will we still hear you DJing in the future or do you just want to concentrate on producing?

LEGAT: I love producing and creating new music the most. But I’m also open to DJing, so, dear event managers, feel free to book me as a DJ to your parties 🙂

the bRAVEs: What are your plans for the future?

LEGAT: Now I’m working on two albums, which I’d like to release this year. One of them will be more of a traditional hard techno. The other one will be my return to the roots, an electronic music with my vocals. I started to work on it during my last visit to Kyiv.

the bRAVEs: Thanks for your time!

LEGAT: My pleasure!

LEGAT
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Photo Credit
Darina Medoeva
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the bRAVEs — Electronic Music Berlin
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