BRITE LITE BRITE performs at Lollapalooza 2013

Every summer, music fans from around the world congregate at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois for the legendary Lollapalooza, a music festival that not only features bands and artists from all over the country but also offers food booths, wine tastings, arts and crafts, autograph stations, and even a program called Kidzapalooza, where kids can participate in fun activities! This year, Berklee band BRITE LITE BRITE was lucky enough to share the stage with artists like the Killers, Steve Aoki, Vampire Weekend, and the Cure. BRITE LITE BRITE, Berklee alumni electronic duo made up of award winning singer-songwriter Andrea Stankevitch and master electronic producer Luke Johnson, was invited to play on the Lollapalooza stage. Afterwards, they agreed to answer a few questions about the experience, which, not surprisingly, turned out to be incredible.

You can check out BRITE LITE BRITE here in Boston on August 31, when they perform at Christopher Columbus Park with Bear Language and Endangered Speeches; to find out more about this event, click here.

Can you talk about your experience at Lollapalooza this year?

Performing at Lollapalooza this year was definitely one of the best experiences of our lives. We work very hard to create and produce music from our hearts, and it was a pleasure to share it with such an incredible crowd of die-hard EDM fans. We were honored to be a part of the Lollapalooza line-up this year and open for Flux Pavillion and Steve Aoki. It was an amazing experience for us to perform live on Perry's Stage. We also had backstage access to other performances including Modestep, Major Lazer, Cole Plante, Ellie Goulding, Nine Inch Nails, Knife Party, Steve Angello, The Postal Service, and Phoenix to name a few of our favorites.

In the weeks leading up to and while at Lollapalooza, we received incredible support by Berklee's record label, Heavy Rotation Records, led by faculty advisor Jeff Dorenfeld. The Berklee student interns at Lollapalooza were absolutely amazing. In addition to running a live instrument and recording booth at Kidzapalooza, they also distributed one thousand slap bracelets with our band's logo, performance time, and stage location to music fans at the gates, ensuring that we had an amazing crowd for our set. They also assisted with our stage set-up, and various logistics surrounding our performance and a second special guest performance at Kidzapalooza on the final day of the festival, requested by the Lollapalooza promoters. 

The fans were unbelievable, and we connected with many of them after our performances. We also had an opportunity to meet with EDM Chicago, VH1 Music, Chicago magazine Gozamos, representatives from Twitter Music, and a photographer for Gap (Lolla's partner for the festival's commemorative tee's) following our first performance for interviews and promotional photos. 

What is the coolest/craziest thing that happened at Lollapalooza?

The coolest things that happened during the festival were: meeting Crystal Castles over dinner in the artist lounge, meeting Perry Farrell backstage at Steve Angello, and spotting Skrillex hanging out backstage at Kill The Noise, and of course enjoying our own well-stocked artist cabana. 

How did you become interested in producing electronic music?

Luke has been into electronic music since he was a teenager, and has been striving to create the best "brain to synthesizer interface" possible. Over the years his research and development has led to a live performance system which yielded a pleasant surprise: Real time production. For our band, performance and production are now one in the same; Luke's creation has led to a better creative method for production as well as a greater technological augmentation of performance.

How did you come to form a two-man group?

We decided to become an electronic duo as soon as we realized that we could create all of the components of a full band electronically without compromising sound. Our original sound design combined with original lyric and melody writing also keeps everything feeling alive. Luke performs all of his electronics live by incorporating Ableton Live, Reaktor, Max/MSP, synthesizers, and a whole lot of controllers. 

As Berklee alums, do you feel that attending Berklee helped you get to where you are now? Is there a particular professor that inspired your interest in producing electronic music?

Berklee was essential in establishing both of our careers in music. My private voice instructor, Joanne Whitaker, taught me not only how to sing, but also to believe in myself and my originality and creativity around story telling and songwriting. Songwriting professor, Henry Gaffney taught me to seek inspiration through life experiences and to be true to myself when it comes to my songwriting. He taught me that the lyrics and music in a song should form a "marriage" together in order to best convey a song's story and emotion. That is something Luke and I always try to do, to match up our productions with our lyrical content. And although there are techniques that you can study to write hit songs, authenticity is another element that exists among true singer/songwriters, and it must be felt in order to be expressed. As a Berklee student, Luke was heavily influenced by Michael Brigida, who's modular synthesis sound design skills blew his mind on a daily basis. 

Can you talk about your newest album, Stalker?

Stalker is our soon to be released second album that will feature 7 songs including our recently released singles "Radioactive Love" and "Never Let You Out of My Heart". Our song "Stalker" will debut on our album's release. When writing the lyrics and melody, I found myself influenced by one of my favorite songs of all times, "Thriller". Together Luke and I created a sort of "Stalker" musical theme that repeats in the song and creates an atmosphere of creepiness and excitement. Luke's original sound design of the theme itself will make you feel afraid of what is to come, and yet very intrigued at the same time. 

Stalker will be released on August 31st, and features singles including “Never Let You Out of My Heart” and “Radioactive Love.” To check out what else BRITE LITE BRITE is up to, check out their official website www.britelitebrite.com, where you can listen to their music and pre-order their album Stalker (which comes with a secret bonus track and an free download of “Radioactive Love”!) BRITE LITE BRITE is an incredibly innovative duo that deserves recognition, so be sure to check them out!

For a video of their performance at Lollapalooza, check out http://lineup.lollapalooza.com/band/brite-lite-brite.