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Gotye's new musical profile
CBC News
Posted: Feb 16, 2012 2:20 PM ET
Last Updated: Feb 16, 2012 2:12 PM ET
Gotye, real name Wally de Backer, gets his stage name from the French translation of Walter -- Gaultier. (Universal Music)Australian artist Wally de Backer, a.k.a. Gotye, has become an international phenomenon with Making Mirrors, his third studio album.
Much of the attention has been fueled by the song Somebody That I Used To Know, with its popular music video featuring Gotye and New Zealand musician Kimbra. The track has charted in the Top 20 in more than 10 countries and reached the No. 1 spot in six of them.
Gotye is also one-third of Melbourne indie-pop band The Basics, who have independently released three studio albums since 2002.
Now promoting Making Mirrors on an international tour, Gotye talked to Jian Ghomeshi, host of CBC’s Q cultural affairs show, about the challenge of playing every instrument on his recordings and electronically manipulating the sound to get the effect he wants.
The Melbourne-based, Belgian-born songwriter also talked about his ecological awareness and what kinds of songs capture his imagination.
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