What Happened to Gotye: Why Did He Stop Making Music?

By Aarush Sharma On Dec 1, 2022

Wouter André “Wally” De Backer, is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter.

The name “Gotye” is a respelling of “Gauthier,” the French cognate of his Dutch given name “Wouter.”

Where is Gotye Now?

While it appears that the artist has abandoned his world-famous persona, the 40-year-old Australian has been working on a number of other projects over the years, which he has shared with his Twitter followers.

After the death of musical pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey in 2016, Gotye founded the Ondioline Orchestra. The orchestra pays homage to the innovator and his work by being named after the musical instrument created by Jean-Jacques, which created synthetic sounds that transformed pop and alternative music.

Gotye formed this band, which included Rob Schwimmer, Joe McGinty, and members of the alternative band Zammuto, to perform some of Jean-Jacques’ works. According to National Sawdust, the performances will include a “carefully curated selection of Jean-Jacques’ best-known songs… as well as ultra-rare pieces co-written with Angelo Badalamenti and Billy Goldenberg that haven’t been performed in over a half-century.”

It’s unclear whether he’ll ever make music as a solo artist again, but it’s clear that music is still a big part of his career. If Gotye ever releases new music under his stage name, it will have to fill some big shoes.

Gotye is Still Producing Music, Just Not Under His Stage Name

In 2011, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing a cover of Gotye’s hit song “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

The music video for the single has over 1.5 billion views, and while you won’t hear it on the radio much anymore, it’s a staple of pop culture from the early 2010s.

Wouter “Wally” De Backer, aka Gotye, has not released a new album since the success of “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Where is Gotye now, and what is he up to?

Why Did Gotye Stop Making Music?

He never did, is the answer.

Gotye announced in a newsletter in 2014 that there would be no more music released under his stage name.

“Perhaps there will be,” he wrote. “Right now, I’m not entirely sure. There are numerous possibilities.”

The artist provided no explanation for his decision to retire his international persona, but he did reveal some of his other projects in the works, including a new Australian-based record label, Spirit Level, and music with his other band.

While Gotye no longer creates and releases music under his stage name, the artist is still very active, working with a band called The Basics.

The Basics’ sound and style are very different from Gotye’s on his own, but he and the rest of the group have been consistently producing music over the last few years.

Tim Heath and Kris Schroeder, who Gotye met through his other musical endeavors, are also members of the band.

The group has performed all over the world, including a few shows in the United States (which Gotye always announces on his Twitter account). The band has nearly 40,000 monthly Spotify listeners and has released a series of albums since 2003.

The Basics were formed before Gotye began producing music under his own name, and his work with the trio influenced the music he made as Gotye.