Encapsulating BT’s sensational career is a bit of a challenge, as he has achieved more in the past 12 years than many of even the most successful artists will accomplish in their lifetimes. Aside from releasing five albums, producing a television show and scoring the music for a number of feature films, BT (real name: Brian Transeau) has regularly worked with the likes of Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Britney Spears, ’NSync, Tori Amos and Sting. His tracks, both those produced and personally recorded, have become some of the most popular hits played by fellow electronic superstars such as Paul Oakenfold, Tiesto and Deep Dish. He has single-handedly developed ground-breaking software and technology that aims to change the very way DJs communicate their sound.
In an entertainment industry seemingly overflowing with canned artist collaborations that are merely calculated marketing ploys set up by label management, BT is able to stay true to the direction of his work as he adamantly refuses to produce or work with anyone unless he is positive that they are like-minded. “I’ve never been approached and agreed to work on something that did not start face-to-face,” BT declares. “Collaboration is one of my favorite processes of creating. When two or more people create and reach a shared vision, it is a very powerful and rewarding process.”
This Washington, D.C., native began playing the piano at the age of 2 and was already in full classical training by the age of 13. Ultimately attending the esteemed Berklee School of Music in Boston, BT lost interest in formal education after only a year of study and eventually made his way back to Washington to begin doing things his way. This included collaborative work with Deep Dish that resulted in the release of the first of many tracks that would, in due course, top club playlists in both the U.S. and the UK.
The tone of his work, unique thanks to his classical training, has given BT an edge over other artists, and any time he has questioned there being a better possible way to present his sound, he simply has researched and created ways for doing so. “I’ve loved music since before I could talk, and I find new things to engage in and pursue in music daily.”
In recent years, BT has developed a number of new technologies that have achieved everything from helping start the standardization of the production setup of nightclubs to allowing him to mix songs by simply waving his hand over a series of lasers that more closely resemble something you would expect to see on Star Trek. Most recently, BT has perfected a performance aptly titled a Laptop Symphony. While this name sounds simple enough, even BT has a difficult time explaining just exactly what it is to those of us who are a tad unfamiliar with the technical side of his work.
Suffice to say it involves a lot of keyboard commands, wire configurations, horizontal zooms and plenty of things that both start and end with the word “logic.”
BT attempts to simply the idea: “It’s rife with spontaneity and improvisation.” That’s a little better. “It’s about as far away from a DJ set as you can get and not be playing with 20 keyboards. I am starting to sing and play instruments in them as well and loop myself and use my stutter edit plug-in live. It’s really grown into something very unique and special.” His goal, of course, is ultimately to enhance the overall experience for anyone who finds themselves present during his set, and to have club-goers “feel like they can leave their worries on the dance floor.” In short, he wants to have everyone shake their ass and have a good time, and you will have the opportunity to do so as BT performs his Laptop Symphony set this upcoming Wednesday, September 5, at Body English.
When asked if he’s ready to share any of the great things yet to come, BT obliges, encouraging us to watch for his next album (set to come out in 2008), his production work with Blake Lewis of American Idol, his involvement in Charlize Theron’s new movie Battle in Seattle and the launch of his new software company, Sonik Architects, as it debuts its equally as ambitious product line. This all begs the question, is there anything we can’t expect from BT?