Insight Interview: Ptr.

Tuesday 5th June // Poland resident Piotr Ostrowski has kindly agreed to speak with Insight for this edition of our Insight interviews. Ptr is a producer of chill, ambient and atmospheric electronica, influenced by the sights and sounds of mother nature. Their recent single releases include ‘Retrospection‘, ‘Two Sides‘ and ‘Blissful Moments‘, three beautifully written and produced compositions of bliss melancholy.

Hey man, thanks for agreeing to do an interview with Insight. Where are you currently based? Do you travel a lot, or are you firmly rooted at home?

Hey there, thanks for choosing me for the interview! At the moment I’m preparing for my finals so I’m at home, but apart from that I love traveling and I already have some plans for the summer.

When was your first real exposure to music?

It’s really hard to tell when because I’ve been listening to my dad’s cassettes since forever and my dad overall was a huge music fan. So music has been with me since I was little.

What’s been your proudest experience to date?

It might sound silly, but I think it was getting my drivers license. It was such a stressful time for me and I passed it on a very special day. I haven’t used it much since though haha.

Tell us a little more about your writing and production style. What software and equipment set up are you currently using?

I’ve always used FL Studio as a DAW, it’s just my favourite. There are quite a few plugins I’m using, but the very core right now is Sylenth1, Massive, Omnisphere 2 and some self-assembled sample packs. The equipment part is very easy – it’s just Scarlett 2i2 and Beyerdynamic DT880.

What’s your favorite record right now? What album out there are you really enjoying?

It’s hard to tell, there so many tracks on my playlist and they’re so different! As for an album, it’d be “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis. I’m been coming back to it regularly for years now.

How about your favorite record of all time?

The first song that came to my mind is U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. I still remember taking the “The Joshua Tree” cassette from my parents to listen to this song at night.

Your music is very relaxed and has an extremely calming effect on its listeners. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Number one inspiration would definitely be nature and you can probably see that in my track titles and covers. I love taking walks in the parks, forests and traveling to mountains, lakes, and seasides. Sometimes just looking at pictures gives me the right vibe to produce. Recently though I’ve been getting a lot of inspiration from people and conversations with them. They share some great experiences, thoughts, and emotions that make me want to create something out of them.

Are there any producers in this space that you’d love to collaborate with?

My friend Peter, we’ve been promising each other the collab for years now. Other than that? I’m not sure. I really like working on my tracks alone to be honest. There are a lot of artists I respect and listen to, even in similar genres, but I’ve never had an urge to collab with them.

Are you currently working on any new material you can share with us?  What lies ahead for you as a producer?

At the moment I have nothing new to show as I have quite a few projects, but none of them are really finished. I wish I could tell you what lies ahead, really. My music is constantly changing and evolving so I might end up doing 2 projects side by side, each in a completely different genre. One thing is certain – I need to discover and try new things.

Can we expect to see an EP/Album release from you this year?

I’m actually planning to release an EP this year, but I think it’s a bit too early for an album for me. We will see.

What’s your musical goal for the next few years? Is there something you’d love to achieve in your career?

Oh, there are definitely quite a few things. I want to continue producing under Ptr. and giving people the music I love. I’m also planning on launching a second project, more energetic one and I hope I will have the time and motivation to do so. I would love at some point in my life, to be able to have music as both a passion and a side source of income, but that’s a big goal. A smaller one would be seeing myself on one of the youtube channels I’ve been following for years or getting on some bigger Spotify playlist.

Any life goals?

To be able to do what I love and to be secure financially at the same time, to have time to spend with my beloved ones, and to keep myself in good health, both physically and mentally.

These are not strictly life goals, but more like how I want my life to look.

Has there ever been a piece of music or an experience that shaped you to become the musician you are today?

Around 11 years ago I was sitting in a school bus and my friend gave me his headphones and told me to listen. Eric Prydz’s “Pjanoo” was playing. This was the first time I’ve ever heard electronic music and I’ve instantly fallen in love it. Since then I have been exploring music on my own.