Starting life in a high school band, the lads got their first exposure to making and performing music there, and with that, decided it was something they wanted to pursue further. Louis continues, “It was during that time we started really getting into electronic music and decided we wanted to do something a little bit different.”
So much like the LCD Soundsystem song Losing My Edge, the boys sold their guitars and bought turntables. “Ben and I are like best friends so we work really well together,” explains Louis. “We both have different roles in Chaos In The CBD; Ben focuses on the music production and I focus on the DJ side of things and all the business related stuff. It’s a pretty efficient system for us.”
Indeed, despite their early success with the Cause Your Worth It EP, the brothers don’t necessarily have a specific approach to making music. “For us, usually the best songs we make come out of nowhere. We’re always working on something different and we both have short attention spans so it’s hard for us to stick to one sound! Some days Ben will produce for hours and we’ll come up with nothing we want to use; other days he might spend a couple of hours in the studio and we’ll have a new single!”
Likewise, defining their sound isn’t easy for them either. Rather, they choose to describe it as ‘rather diverse.’ “I think it’s often a reflection of the music we’re feeling at the time,” chimes Louis. “Recently we’ve been focusing on more of a throwback house sound reminiscent of the early ’90s, but our most recent EP on ClekClekBoom was tougher, more abrasive ghetto music. I like to think we do have a certain ‘sound’ though.” Describing it though, might be an issue.
Studio wise, the boys have completed a release on the French ClekClekBoom imprint about a month ago – and have another EP coming out on Youngunz towards the end of the year. “Currently we’re in the studio writing new material and preparing a few more EP’s for the New Year,” suggests brother Louis. “At this stage though, we have no plans to release a full length album; we just want to work on perfecting our sound and to continue releasing on exciting labels!”
Other than that, their performances are slowly being recognised as the stuff of legend. “It really depends on the night we’re playing, but we generally try to range from the deeper side of house at 115-120 bpm up to the more UK bass stuff around 130 bpm. Having said that, we really enjoy being able to dabble in a variety of genres; it’s crucial to switch things up to keep us from getting bored. Recently we’ve also enjoyed playing deeper – that kind of stuff is so much fun to play in summer, although unfortunately, we’ll be missing some of the summer this year though!”
Which isn’t to say they haven’t been having fun in other ways. Their travels have taken them to France and Australia over the times, with a greater and more far-reaching schedule in the works. “For us, France was an amazing experience, because the scene over there is really strong and far more advanced than what we have back home in New Zealand. It’s an amazing time for dance music and it feels like it’s the best time for us to get out there and see the rest of the world. We can’t wait to get back over to Europe to play more shows soon.”
On other matters, the brothers are going through the process of arranging their ancestry visas for the UK so they can relocate to London late in the year. Not surprisingly, they’re rather looking forward to the prospect of being in the heart of the melting pot. “We’re both starting to get pretty excited about the idea of living in London. I guess music takes up most of our time and other than spending time with friends and family, our lives revolve around it.”
Finally, Louis explains that given they are going to be headlining their Australian shows, they’re going all in. “I imagine we’ll play stuff on the techno/UK bass tip. We’re playing SASH in Sydney on the Sunday so for that we’ll be showcasing some of our deeper stuff and then we’re looking forward to heading down to Melbourne and smashing it down there. We’re really looking forward to the weekend – it’s going to be heavy!”
BY RK
