Better Lost Than Stupid
Better Lost Than Stupid like to live up to their name
Their music isn’t the kind of throwaway electronica that can be replicated by an everyman with a laptop and an Ableton rig; instead, it’s a maze of music to lose yourself in as the clock strikes midnight, when all of the night people come out to play, and carefully formulated for precisely this environment by three strikingly individualistic – and globally renowned – producers.
“We’ve known each other for 10 or 11 years,” nods Davide Squillace of their unique coming together. “We were meant to play Electric Zoo in New York and as we’re all good friends and have respected each other throughout our careers, I said why not come up with a name for all of us.” What happened next was pretty clear: someone shouted out the phrase within earshot and it resonated with all 3 of them. “Yes,” smiles Davide, “this is how Better Lost Than Stupid came about!”
The latest release from the Better Lost camp is the truly excellent vocal-driven club stormer ‘Inside’ (“I can feel it inside of me, every single part of me, running inside of me”) and in time-honoured tradition, all three of the unit’s core members – esteemed electronic DJ/producers Martin Buttrich, Davide Squillace, and Matthias Tanzmann – have been working hard to get the new music to the right place together.
The new single – and first from their forthcoming debut album – sees Martin, Davide and Matthias team up with 21-year-old Swindon-born vocalist Chaney (AKA Theo Altieri). “We did [all the tracks] over the past two years,” explains Martin of the new release. “We weren’t planning a vocal track in the beginning, but it had a very pleasant structure. [Theo] met us for a vocal session, and this is what came out of it.”
Davide picks up the thread, remembering the process slightly differently. “We were in Martin’s studio and at a certain point we were trying things around and came up with a synth melody that we loved. It came organically. The synth we loved more and more every time we heard it; so, Martin made some beats, and then Theo and ourselves finished it off with a really powerful vocal.” Buttrich butts back in. “This is also very possible…!”
Their very first single, the moody and meditative ‘Alto’ came out last year and was backed with the equally insistent and more Circo Loco-centric ‘Dynamite’. It’s ‘Inside’, however, that looks set to do the most damage. “For me, it’s great because I have two partners [alongside me] who are intelligent in making music,” continues Martin. “If one of us doesn’t know where to go, the other two do. In a team of three, one can lean back and see what other people do. Two guys can be the same as one, but if three sit on the machine, this is what makes it super interesting. Everybody can have a hand on the wheel.”
