On the Rise
Berlioz

His journey to this point came with the essence of DIY punk attitude. Though raised in a household where he was surrounded by the sounds of classic jazz artists such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, alongside various rock music outfits, he's quick to admit, "I was never super gifted, right? Like, on any instrument. So music was always just something that I enjoyed, like everyone else."

But after falling down the rabbit hole of Soundcloud producers in an effort to escape his looming A-Levels, the simple yet hubristic teenage thought of "I can do that" led him down the path to becoming his truest self. On his solitary start, Attlee notes, "Being able to do it all yourself, that seemed so cool to me. There are these guys who are making emotional and sort of groundbreaking music just on their laptop."

First starting up on Logic Pro, he graduated to Ableton, figuring his way around the endless possibilities by undergoing an informal education. It was a Deadmau5 video he watched that taught him the most pivotal lesson: after the DJ actively advised against watching tutorials, it unharnessed berlioz's artistry by understanding that you need to "throw stuff at the wall on your own." Speaking from a seemingly matured place now, he continues, "I think it's good to learn how everything works, and then go from there. Go off and do your own thing because then you're going to have your own imprint."

This advice lies at the core of the development of berlioz. His initial beat-driven projects under the Ted Jasper moniker were his first forays into releasing his music. But it was marrying his creativity with his passion for artistry - particularly Matisse (something that would come full circle after he sampled a rare interview with the artist for his 2022 track ‘la danse") - that sparked his evolution further.

Growing from a bedroom studio, Soundcloud-wannabe to establishing himself as a fully-realised producer came partly thanks to his fusion of his beloved genres, jazz and dance. "It's just always been a sound that I've loved. I wouldn't say I always knew I'd do it - I learned loads of lessons going in different directions - but everything was condensed with berlioz."

He admits there was a period when his full attention wasn't being paid to producing. "I was getting so into songwriting and alternative music, I was ignoring my strong suit of production. I had friends who were like, ‘In the nicest way possible I miss your production-lead stuff’." This eventually guided berlioz to making a “fresh start with all the lessons of my last projects", which included focusing more on the aesthetics and visuals, crafting each element with the same level and care to ensure an all-encompassing feeling.

Building berlioz to this point inevitably involved branching out to musicians; entering a real-world environment was always on the cards. Far from that singular entity he started as, it's in this physical reality – away from the 1s and 0s of digital production – that berlioz is flourishing. Marrying the flesh-n-bones of instruments with the matrix of incalculable possibility was only a limitation for one reason: "It was a matter of not having the funds to bring in musicians," he laughs. "It would have been great if I could have been doing that earlier on. It's always been an ambition to get musicians in the studio to record and sample."

All of berlioz's evolution culminates this year. His debut album Open This Wall is a jazz-house delight that warmly embraces you, embodying emotions with a direct-to-god level of care and attention. Upon finishing it, he found himself reflecting. "I don't even know when I'm going to make music again," he sighs. "It took so much out of me. I've never made a project even half as long as this. It's a huge moment for me personally, and it's a huge moment for me in my relationship. My wife and I have both put so much into this. I want it to be a nice landmark in my life. Putting out my first ever album, it's really cool. I want to enjoy it."

berlioz is the perfect vehicle for Attlee to soak in his moment. "Having that feeling of a little spotlight on you makes me feel invigorated to be more ambitious," he mentions. Not one to get carried away with his blessings, however, he does say that "I still question myself. I'll still have a week where I've made music that's so uninspired and doesn't do anything for me and then I'll be like, well, this is it, it's over.” he laughs. “So I think, obviously, there was a huge moment with berlioz where it was connecting with people. But, I try not to kid myself."

This connection is an immeasurable prize to Attlee. "It's what everyone wants when they make music; for people to feel something, for it to become a part of their life and to punctuate a time for them."

It's what first drew Attlee to producing in his teen years. Finding himself in berlioz means he's been able to fully realise what this simple name can offer him. "It's not me, it's berlioz," he beams. "That's the beauty of it, it's so freeing. It's a vehicle for this music, and it's a vehicle for this style and this art and these ideas. It means that I can be quite objective, so if anyone's saying anything positive or negative, you can have more detachment benefits. You get a bit more obscurity with a project like berlioz."

Having found some success, particularly on TikTok, Attlee knows his anonymity is his treasure. But under a moniker, he's at least able to achieve a modicum of that teen-freedom that kick-started his ambitions. "You're never going to be as free as you were when no one was listening and you could just make anything you wanted," he says. "You may trade that in for something else, but every time I get in the studio and open up a project, I feel just as free as I felt then to make exactly what I want to make."

The future for Attlee could be a divergent path from berlioz. He notes that if the whim were to take him, he'd be up for creating new aliases for new experiments and projects that don't fit under the berlioz moniker.

That's not to say he's hanging the hat up anytime soon. "There's so much more that I can bring to berlioz," he reveals. "I've got so many ideas for future projects." Likening it to creating a big outline of his plans on a "huge canvas," expanding further he says, "you put out an EP, and maybe that's just the line drawing. When you put out your first album maybe there's some shading, but there's still colours and paints and so much more to add. I feel like I'm nowhere near finished with that idea for berlioz."