Spencer Brown credits Stereo Montreal for reshaping his approach to long-form DJ sets
Spencer Brown has always approached DJing and production as a long game, and that mindset runs through this conversation. As he prepared to release the MT.DS EP with Qrion on Sasha’s Last Night On Earth, he speaks openly about discipline, burnout, obsession, and the environments that sharpened his artistic focus.
The two-track release pairs their shared melodic instincts with club intent, and Brown describes the sessions as fast, instinctive, and almost forgotten until Sasha and the LNOE team locked them in.
In our second exclusive interview with him, the first covering his approach to DJing spontaneously, Brown reflects on the yoga practice that reshaped his mental clarity, the nine-hour sets at Stereo Montreal that redefined how he thinks about storytelling, and the practical way he handles creative droughts by stepping away instead of forcing output.
He speaks candidly about extreme travel fatigue, long airport mornings, and the internal reset required to stay aligned with music he genuinely believes in. The result is a grounded look at how he sustains energy, filters pressure, and channels experience into records like “MT. DS” and “Lost Project.”
Interview With Spencer Brown
Do you have any rituals—pre-show, weekly, seasonal—that help you stay inspired or grounded?
I’ve been regularly practicing yoga for the last couple years which has really changed my life. I tried it a few times earlier in life, but it didn’t quite click. I had to find the right space, the right instructors, and one day it made sense to me. I can’t live without it. It’s far beyond poses and stretching (that’s only 1/8 of it).
I am regularly transported into an alternate state of consciousness through yoga and meditation, similar to what psychedelics provide. It’s pretty cool you can achieve these states dead sober with discipline.
Pre-show, I try not to use excess energy. I like to be alone or talking with a couple close friends. I try to find peace and avoid endless smalltalk before a show, this drains me. After I’m done playing, I am in a completely different headspace and can easily talk to anybody.
Where do you go (physically or mentally) when you feel your creative energy dipping?
When I’m not inspired, I just don’t work on music.
Creativity always comes back. I do other things. Forcing creativity is the worst thing you can possibly do. Output requires input. I had a period right after COVID where I couldn’t make music for like 4-6 months. I was bashing my head against the wall… I think that was the moment I realized: when you feel it, work as much as you possibly can. When you don’t feel it, do other things (dig for music, stuff around the house, family time, etc).
Sometimes, when I’m feeling it, I’ll make like 10 tracks in a week!
Are there any specific places, people, or environments that consistently recharge your relationship to music?
Recently, Stereo Montreal shaped my relationship with music. How I play, how I write, how I think about sets.
I partied there once for John Digweed’s party and had the best night out clubbing of my life. I had a dream of playing there. The dream actually came true about a month later, they gave me one chance, but I had to play all night (9 hours minimum).
I prepared for weeks, and thankfully the gig went well. I now have the honor of playing twice a year.
The presence of the crowd, the long timeline for story telling, the soundsystem, the connection you feel… I don’t even want to try to explain it. But that room helped crystalize who I am as an artist in 2026.
How do you manage the pressure to constantly discover new music while keeping it meaningful?
I’ve always just been passionate, borderline obsessed. So when something is your passion, it’s not work.
I just focus on what excites me musically, both in the studio and digging for music. When I’m on stage buzzing about the music, usually the crowd is too.
I’d rather do something completely unrelated to music with my life than stand up on stage playing stuff I’m not fully behind.
What’s your relationship to boredom—and do you ever use it intentionally to spark new ideas?
I think my brain is so hooked on music, I don’t get bored. In fact, I don’t know the last time I was bored. The obsession is so strong, I’ve had to actively find more balance, but I think I’ve gotten better with that with age.
Is there a moment you return to in your memory when you need to remember why you do this?
It’s the extreme travel situations, no sleep for multiple days, in an airport with your head pounding, when I have those moments of “what the hell am I doing.” I remember a few of these.
Like any job, there are sacrifices. Lack of sleep, dehydration, and poor eating catches up with you. Combine that with DJing until 7am and going straight to an airport and immigration in a country that doesn’t speak your language… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have challenging moments.
I try to remember that I have the privilege of traveling the world playing my music. Calling family and friends also helps. I’m lucky I have a great support system around me.
What has surprised you about where inspiration actually comes from, versus where you thought it would?
The older I get, the more I realize I am simply a channeler. Energy enters from experiences/people/places/interactions, and I let it out in the form of music. I try not to think about it much, I let it happen. The stronger relationship your conscious mind has with your subconscious, the easier it is to let go.
