Originating from London, the DJ Duo was formed in 2005 and thus began the journey for them in the English electronic music scene. James Ford and Jas Shaw rose to fame with singles like “The Mighty Atom / Boatrace / Upside Down” on I’m a Cliché and “The Count”. The Remix/production kings share more about themselves, their music , their future plans with Eight Octaves.
Eight Octaves: You guys have always held a good record for being the awesome DJ Duo. On the contrary, how has it been different in comparison to your early four-piece band?
SMD: The difference is we’re not playing instruments… it’s a lot easier to DJ than to play live, less stuff to carry – the same is true for our current electronic live show too though. But they’re just different sorts of gigs, some elements better, some elements worse. You can’t really compare them objectively.
Eight Octaves: How was the response for ‘A form of change’? You had a lot of single releases last year including the hit ‘Seraphim’! What are the plans for this year?
SMD: Pretty decent response.. it was really just collecting the remainder of the tracks for the album session. We also released a live album earlier this year you know… and collaboration with Bicep. We’re releasing another single shortly, and have some more collaboration in the works.
Eight Octaves: How much are you able to relate with the set of audience while performing? Which was one of your best experiences?
SMD: Too many good shows to recount really… we really enjoyed playing in London recently, as we got the chance to play a long 4 hour set. We try and relate to the audience as much as possible..
Eight Octaves: How would you describe the evolution you see in your music, keeping in mind your first release and what you are currently working on ?
SMD: Our music has definitely got deeper, less noisy, and we hope a little more subtle. We’ve stripped things back, back to basics with the 808 and synths.
Eight Octaves: Well, according to some people we know, ‘Remix’ is nothing but just bringing out a different version of a hit song and basking in someone’s glory and eventually they are termed bad musicians who lack creativity. Do people approach you with projects, or is it the other way around?
SMD: Remixes can be very creative, it really depends on the artist. We usually get approached by artists asking us to remix them.
Eight Octaves: When it comes to DJing, how do you usually manage your music style?
SMD: If we have long sets, we tend to play weirder, stranger music to warm up, before getting towards the more dance floor techno.
Eight Octaves: If you had to pick between ‘The Mighty Atom’ (2004), Run (2008) and Seraphim (2012), which is your personal favourite and why? Can you share with us the ‘making’ of the same?
SMD: Probably Serpahim, but maybe only because it’s closer in time! It was fun finding that vocal (from Cilla Black) and using it to build the track around. The making of it was we stuck some drums and synth parts together around the vocal really!
Eight Octaves: What do you advice for young musicians? Some ‘On stage’ tips?
SMD: For electronic musicians, we always say – get one piece of gear and learn to use it really well. Onstage it’s hard to give tips for… do what you love, and be sincere.
