Latin Bitman was a kid growing up in Chile and enjoyed riding the waves. He never planned for a career in music, but his innate curiosity for picking up instruments and technology led him to Santiago. One thing led to another and before he knew it, he was in love with scratching. After working with Christian Powditch under the moniker “Bitman and Roban,” Bitman released his first solo record in 2007 on Nacional Records. This fall he returned with a new album, Colour, and we talked about it and what attracted him to music.
“I used to surf alone,” Latin Bitman began. “I lived in a small northern city on the coast where surfing wasn’t such a big deal.” There is a distinct connection between the vibe and flow of music with surfing, and the waves of Bitman’s youth carried him into the studio on his quest to create an album as organic and inviting as those found along the pristine Chilean shores.
Although Bitman was drawn to instruments from a young age, he never formally studied music. By twelve he was playing his cassettes at parties. He first learned to play guitar in a do-it-yourself way and during his teen years, picked up the bass and drums.
In 1996 Bitman set out for Santiago to enroll in a graphic design program at the Universidad Mayor de Chile. While pursuing his MFA, still not considering music as a profession, he started spending greater time with new computer technology and animation programs; it was the time of the Internet boom. In this environment he created his first rhythms with the computer. Soon thereafter came his first set of turntables and a newfound love for scratching. He became the beat man; and his stage name, Bitman, was born in the frenzy.
When his first record as Bitman and Roban was released in 1999, he turned his entire focus to making music. “Design was something that, in some way or another, pushed me toward music,” he adds. He attributes his ability to translate songs according to their colors partially because of this strong background in design.
Bitman feels right at home in the studio. When asked if he prefers the studio to the stage, he said, “I can’t deny that I do enjoy working in the studio much more because arranging and recording absolutely satisfies on a deeper level.” Like standing on your the first wave, patience and practice are key elements to the musical process. “In reality, just being in the middle of the ocean, listening to the sounds of the waves, the wind, and the birds, [it] creates music that stays with you forever,” he adds from his studio in Santiago. “It’s really impossible to not connect with that element when I make music.”
This inspiration translates to an organic approach for making samples and writing songs. Bitman does not set out to create certain songs: creating is a natural process dependent on the moment. Typically, though, he defines the velocity and beat, and then experiments with various instruments to feel out the song. Will it be instrumental? With vocals? What kind of arrangements will he need? On a reggae-infused track, he will listen for the melody and then conjure a beat. Either way, he is attentive to the sounds and lets them speak to him.
“The important thing is to travel with the music you make—even though you may have to return to the starting point again and again—sharing this musical journey with the listener helps give a song its true value.”
Critical to his work is the sample. “The tracks that most define me are those that are primarily created from a sample,” he says. Few would recognize the original because Bitman plays around so much. “Sometimes,” he pauses, “I only sample some horns and I play them via a MIDI along with my ideas for a melody, but I keep the color and texture of the original sounds.” He made around 55 samples for the new album and, with songs in hand, he found a few special guests to do vocals for the album.
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