#15 - Jannes Lathuy
#15 - Jannes Lathuy
Discover the mind behind the talented guitarist and teacher Jannes Lathuy
Welcome back everyone! Are you enjoying your well deserved summer weekend? This week I would like to know where my readers are coming from, so feel free to write a comment here about your place or where you spend your summer! Today we are interviewing Jannes Lathuy, a Belgian guitarist and teacher who writes beautiful instrumental music.
Can you present yourself in a few words? Where is your artist name coming from?
My name is Jannes Lathuy. I’m a guitar player from Belgium, who writes and records instrumental pieces.
How do you start your day?
Breakfast, shower, practice!
When did you start your musical career? What motivated you to start it?
I suppose I started taking music seriously around 2018. Playing guitar had been more of a passion and a hobby for a few years. At some point I found myself in a bit of a rut with what I was doing and studying and I applied for a pop and rock conservatory on a whim. Somehow I managed to get accepted to start a professional bachelor in guitar performance. At that point you just have to fully go for it.
What genre of music do you play?
I write instrumental guitar pieces, for both acoustic and electric guitar. I like to describe it as a healthy blend between classical guitar and ambient music, with some jazz influences here and there. I’ve struggled to really pin down exactly what genre it is. It also largely depends on the project I’m working on.
Is there an event, an artist or a band that inspired you?
For my latest album Ivy I was musically inspired by Bill Frisell’s album Music IS. Which is a collection of wonderfully melodic guitar pieces.
Is your music your principal work? If not, what else are you doing?
It is! I’m primarily teaching guitar at the moment, with gigs and freelance work as a supplement, but not a day goes by where I’m not doing something music related.
What is the process behind your mind while creating a new piece of music?
It varies really. Often I feel it’s important to establish a theme first (I suppose you could refer to it as a hook as well). Once you have that melodic pattern that can carry the piece by coming back a few times you can build around it. I tend to build chords around the notes I’m playing, which can lead to some very interesting chord extensions. Mostly I follow my instincts, but occasionally falling back on some theory helps as well!
Where do you perform most of the time? On which platform is your music available?
I currently perform smaller local venues in Belgium, where people really come to listen to the music. I feel like the music I write is more suited to cozy environments, nothing too grand.
My music is available on all digital platforms! I tend to push listeners towards Spotify or YouTube though.
Where is THE place or country you would like to perform?
Anywhere that has a beautiful backdrop. I recently saw some photos from the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and it looked gorgeous! The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Jefferson County also belongs on that list, as does the Minack Theatre in Cornwall. But we’re already dreaming big with those! Here in Belgium there’s a lovely venue called the ‘Openlucht Theater’ (translated; Open Air Theatre) surrounded by greenery that would already be a dream come true.
What are the songs you want to share with people that don’t know your music?
I’m very proud of my latest album Ivy! ‘The Places We’ll Go’ is probably one of the more digestible tracks, but ‘Contentment’ and ‘Eleventh Hour’ are personal favourites that harbour a few surprises!
Which artists do you listen to when you are composing or playing your music?
When composing I strangely prefer not to listen to too much other music. It runs the risk that I’ll subconsciously try to emulate other artists too much, and stray away from the original vision I had for my own music. Maybe I’m weird like that.
Do you have other hobbies? If yes, can you tell a little bit more about them? Was there a moment you wanted to give up on music?
I think every artist or musician will have doubts every now and again. Writing music is very personal and when things aren’t received the way that you hoped it can be discouraging. I don’t think I’ve contemplated ‘giving up’ but sometimes it’s important to take a little break and let new inspiration show itself.
Besides music I enjoy a lot of sports, but also drawing. That’s how the animated short for my song ‘A Valentine’s Day’ came into existence!
Is there an artist you would like to make a song with?
I hope to collaborate with a lot of my musician friends!
If I’m allowed to dream big, Julian Lage or Bill Frisell, but I am nowhere near worthy to work with that level of guitar royalty.
What do you feel about the music industry these days ? Is it crowded ? Do you think anyone can find a place ?
This is a difficult question! I have a lot of thoughts about this but I’m finding it very difficult to put into words. I’ll try not to turn this into an essay.
The development of music creation tools along with aggregators like Distrokid have made it very easy for anyone to make and release music. This is a bit of a double edged sword.
It’s great that there’s no longer this hurdle of needing an expensive studio or label to create music and getting your work onto massive streaming services. I also love that music as a form of expression is more accessible.
However, this leads to a massive influx of creators. Add to that the sort of ‘quantity over quality’ mindset that platforms and algorithms tend to prefer these days and you end up with a lot of music.
It makes it much more difficult for anyone to stand out, and sometimes it’s not a case of your music being ‘worse’ (which is all subjective anyway), but often just because it doesn’t use the formula that, admittedly, works.
What is the song you are the most proud of?
Probably ‘Contentment’ off my latest album ‘Ivy’. Music theoretically it’s an interesting one to analyse whilst not sounding overly complicated. I feel it has a strong, catchy hook and a positive, upbeat vibe. It just makes me smile.
What are you using to record your performance ? Are you doing everything by yourself ?
Currently I try to do everything in my home studio. I have my amp mic’ed up via an interface and I use Logic Pro as my DAW. When it comes to solo guitar mixing is a little easier compared to a full band, as you don’t have to compete with lots of other instruments. I’m relatively comfortable doing it myself for now.
If you could recommend a small group or artist to people, which one would it be and why?
If I can only pick one it would be Lamoon. He’s a Belgian Indie Pop singer who’s surrounded himself with a good band and is starting to make some splashes. I think he’ll definitely make a name for himself in the future.
Do you have any new songs in preparation? If so, can you give us a little hint about it?
I have a new piece ready to go! It’s a reharmonisation of a song from a Disney film, so licensing is still an issue. I’m not sure when it will be released, but I’m looking forward to it.
What are the places where people can follow you ?
Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube
Thanks again for these amazing answers! What are your favorite ones from him? Mine are Time and To Dance Again. Their titles both described exactly what I would expect from it.
This week I noticed a lot of new readers joined us! Thanks for taking part of our small newsletter and feel free to talk about it around you! See you next week!
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