rothel. began his career in music playing with classical orchestras and jazz bands but a different sonic frequency was always calling him. Brothel.'s real name is Marcus Gamboa and after being creatively stifled for so long in organized music he found an incredible release through uploading tracks on streaming platforms like Soundcloud.
When I found about SoundCloud I was like cool I can make all this “shitty” music in my room and just upload it and people aren’t judging me or telling me how to make my music and that’s where it happened and I met a bunch of other producers that were in the same situation...
Although Gamboa didn't prioritize these seemingly "shitty" tracks, they would soon be noticed by prominent producers that ruled the underground world of electronic sounds. When he was at only 100 followers, he was interested by the ambiguous aesthetic of soundcloud producers which included "trappy, dreamy beats" and profile pictures showing "chicks covering their faces", but soon these inspirations would become partners in creation and lifelong friends.
I always wanted to make music with him [Divine] but when I first met him he goes you're alright but you’ll get better and we’ll eventually make music and I was like ‘Ah fuck you dude!’ but at that point I was at 100 followers on Soundcloud.’ He hit me up a year later after getting on Amstergang collective with Dr.Derg, Dabow [and more]... Then we hit it off me and it was me, him And Jerry (16yrold) just Skyping right when I started. This was right when SoundCloud people were communicating inbox-wise and now it’s like let’s upload music and forget about it, but back then it was really a thing. That was the beginning of it and it led me to a bunch of crazy weird opportunities but I stayed true in what I believed and what I liked to do, I always kept it as that.
After making proper connections in the American scene, Gamboa would soon be contacted by superstars from overseas. Gamboa began conversing with artists like Plastician, Kareful and more because they all had an instant connection with the Brothel. sound, which coincidentally is a sound that can't be truly defined. Some call it wave, others bass, but all that we know is that people are listening.
It’s growing like crazy...The way I think of wave is just like the next wave of sounds that are coming in and the new shit that is waiting to be defined, I was really influenced by witch-house but I wanted to branch out to and go into harder trap and created what I have now. I think it’s about to get really big, bigger than a lot of us expect, RL Grime is putting it on Super Hard like... you know what I mean. I think for a lot of this music it’s just really powerful and emotional and I feel like a lot of the people in this scene that were influenced by bands, they can relate to this music because it takes you back to that certain place. It’s kind of nostalgic, which is my goal, I just want to write timeless shit.
Brothel. just came out with an impressive project called REDSKIES and he says it wasn't necessarily a break from wave but it evokes a personal evolution in his sound. He has found himself exploring his darker emotions with his music and hopes people can resonate with a more raw atmosphere.
I wanted to do a more emotional approach and minimalistic, experimental vibe with it. I hope people can fuck with it, I put a lot into it... guitars, keys, getting vocals on there. I wanted to be looked at as an artist because I really got stuck in that producer realm... at the end of the day I want to be an artist that puts out material that he really believes in, not just for other people.
Be on the lookout for an upcoming collaboration between brothel. and UZ.
