Straight outta Norwich, UK, Brett Ewels, best known as Louis La Roche, has been making shiny disco balls spin for over a decade now. Rising to prominence in ’08 with his phenomenal Michael Jackson-sampled debut track ‘Love’, his tracks have appeared on compilations by Ministry of Sound, Modular, Neon, Hed Kandi, Defected and Annie Mac Presents, and received airplay by legendary figures such as Pete Tong, Danny Howard, and Zane Lowe.
Following up on his ‘Saturday Night Griever’ LP, Louis La Roche is now behind ‘We’re Not So Different’. A reflection of the human experience, the new album dives deep into the human rights advocate in La Roche for a thrilling and gripping venture under the neon-bright lights.
We catch up with Louis La Roche to learn more about the release of his new single ‘One Big Gay Disco’, his ‘We’re Not So Different’ LP, the politics of the dancefloor, and much more.
Electronic Groove: Hi Louis! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you with us. How have you been doing?
Louis La Roche: I’m great! Thanks for asking, hope you guys are doing well too.
Electronic Groove: Let’s get to know you better. How did you get tangled up with electronic music? Did you know right away that you wanted to make that kind of music?
Louis La Roche: I grew up with electronic music! As a kid, I would go out and buy a 99p CD single every week. Fatboy Slim, Mr. Oizo, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk. They were my heroes, so I knew pretty early on that I wanted to be a part of that world. I started messing around on music software at about 12 and got really into music production. Fast forward to 2008, and I started putting music out under the name Louis La Roche. 15 years later and I haven’t looked back!
Electronic Groove: Now you have officially remixed top names such as Madonna or Fatboy Slim. What has the road been like so far? Has it been all that you expected?
Louis La Roche: The music industry is a funny business. It’s extreme highs and extreme lows. You don’t really have any control of your career when you release music. As soon as you put a song out into the world, it almost doesn’t belong to you anymore. It’s up to everyone else to decide what does well and what doesn’t. I just do what I love, and what feels right and if other people love it too, that’s awesome. Remixing is especially rewarding. Knowing that the original artist trusts me enough to do what I want to their song, it’s really flattering. I’ve never really written to a ‘brief’, I’ve always just taken the original song in a direction that I felt was good at the time. It has to always be organic like that, or else it becomes forced creativity and that’s always led to bad results!
Electronic Groove: Speaking about your music, you’ve got quite a powerful single out now in ‘One Big Gay Disco’. Could you explain the backstory of this one to us?
Louis La Roche: When you look back at footage of Studio 54 or The Paradise Garage, there’s a real mixture of people in the crowd. Black, gay, white, straight, Latinos, drag queens…no one cared when the lights were off and the music was playing. They lost themselves in the music, they became one body of people, one mind. I think disco played an important role in that acceptance, so I really wanted to pay tribute to that. The song itself is like a pep talk to the LGBTQ+ community, reminding them that we are One Big Gay Disco, and that’s something that’s ours. Something to be proud of. It’s what unites us.
“Black, gay, white, straight, Latinos, drag queens…no one cared when the lights were off and the music was playing”
Electronic Groove: Is this something you think we need more of, ‘One Big Gay Disco’? Is there something that we’ve lost along the way?
Louis La Roche: Definitely! Everyone is in it for themselves today. It’s your opinion vs everyone else. It’s no secret that social media is anything but social, and it annoys me that sites like Twitter really bring out the worst in people. Everyone is offended by everything because it’s words on a screen. It’s ok to be offended, be offended. Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn’t mean they’re the worst person in the world. If we’re going to debate things, do it in person. I think if you can look into the other person’s eyes, would you really still be transphobic, homophobic, racist, sexist, etc? Knowing that person is right there in front of you. A real human being. We’ve lost a sense of community and kindness. Whatever happened to ‘kill them with kindness’? Disco did that. They were all dancing together under one roof, whilst the hatred was left at the door.
Electronic Groove: And the drop comes in anticipation of your fourth studio album, ‘We’re Not So Different’. Congratulations! Certainly, the title follows a similar vein to the aforementioned single…Can we expect a politically charged record? What is there in store for us?
Louis La Roche: I wouldn’t say it’s a political record but it certainly is a human rights record. There’s plenty of references to the world we live in today. Addictions, gender dysphoria, mental health, climate change. Mostly it’s just a very personal album, I did a lot of soul searching and self-reflection on this album. More so than ever before. It became escapism for me, almost like therapy. It makes for a very uplifting album I think. Sure there’s some sadness there, but it’s a positive record for the most part. I hope people find the same comfort in it, that I did whilst writing it.
Electronic Groove: Are there any plans to take the album live or have a special presentation of sorts?
Louis La Roche: They’ll be a mini-analysis video that will drop when the album does. It’s just a nice way to give you a little back story behind the process and meaning of each song. I’ve never really been the type to sit in front of a camera and talk, I usually let my music do the talking. I just figured because this album is so personal, I’d mix things up a little. So look forward to that! There are no plans to perform it live just yet, but I’m not ruling it out for next year.
Electronic Groove: The pandemic gave us this chance to pause things and reassess. And we’ve seen a lot of much-needed discussions, such as the need to make the scene a safe place again, equal pay, and so. What do you make of it all? What do you think we need to create actual change?
Louis La Roche: I think the music industry will see serious change in the coming years. The pandemic took an industry already struggling and threw it in the gutter. Musicians, venues, and nightclubs were all forced to stop. In an industry that relies so heavily on physical connections. Many people that work in this sector are self-employed and so the pandemic hit many of us hard. We had little to no financial support, and many people were forced to change jobs. We’re an afterthought industry. We were the first to close and the last to open back up again. That said, due to being such an overlooked industry, far too many names have gotten away with abusive situations. I don’t think the music industry has really had its ‘Me Too’ movement yet. It will though, and it’s slowly starting to happen. It’s a very male-dominated sector, and unfortunately, women are still facing many instances of sexism, misogyny, and an unfair gender pay gap. It will change, it’s getting better, but a lot more work needs to be done.
“I just do what I love, and what feels right and if other people love it too, that’s awesome”
Electronic Groove: What else can we expect from Louis La Roche in the future? What new milestones are you looking forward to in the coming months?
Louis La Roche: My focus is on the album but I’m always thinking ahead to the next thing. I think I deserve a break for a little while haha. After releasing my third album ‘Saturday Night Griever’, I went straight back into the studio to write this album. So I’m looking forward to chilling for a bit. Maybe I’ll write for a new project. I’d love to write for a film or a game. Maybe work on some production for artists and bands again. Who knows! I just have it in me to write every day. So I know I won’t be able to stay away for too long…
Electronic Groove: Thank you for your time Louis! We wish you all the best for the future!
Louis La Roche: Thanks for having me! Great to chat with you.
Louis La Roche’s ‘We’re Not So Different’ is out now on Ever After Records. Purchase your copy here.
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