Supported by Diplo, Tiesto, Borgore, David Guetta and Pete Tong – plus best friends in real life, GOLD 88 are the guys with the mysterious name but well recognised releases. A DJ duo that is fast emerging they have already had their productions played on Love Island to millions of viewers. Now they release ‘Keep You Closer’ on the epic Ministry Of Sound label. Here they tell us a little more about themselves and how the lockdown has affected how they work together…
Gold 88 – that’s an original name – what the thinking behind it?
Former member Luke Papenfus was the brains behind it, as far as the thinking of it, it remains a mystery ooooooooooooo!
I hear that you are a big hit on Love Island! With your debut release getting a super boost by being on their playlist – what was the reaction after it was played?
Different people different reactions to be fair, we have friends from different backgrounds, so some were like cool but didn’t really care about the show, then family members obsessed with Love Island were bragging to friends and family about it.
How long have you known each other? – do you DJ together would you say you were close pals?
Too long lol to be honest we are best friends in real life so this is a dream come true, from sitting in Max’s room mixing and rapping to this…..wow!
Where do you see yourselves as DJs – What are the ideal venues and nights that you would like to play and what is your sound and style when you play out?
Don’t really have a one venue to be honest as it’s the crowd and atmosphere that makes it for us but Tomorrowland’s energy looks amazing. As far as our sound and style, we have a vast range of likes and tastes so we feed off the crowd’s energy and go by that.
‘Keep You Closer ‘ is a sure-fire anthem, tell me about the track, when and where did you put it together and do you know any major DJs that are supporting it?
Max originally did the topline with the amazing Ola for a different track and one day in the studio together, I wanted to try it on a different vibe and Max was like yeah let’s do it! Once we finished DiscoTek together. It’s amazing hearing Pete Tong play your track, seeing support from Diplo, Tiesto, Borgore, David Guetta etc speechless to be honest
You have a residency on Electric Radio. Many up-and-coming DJs and producers around the world cut their teeth in the music industry through the medium of radio. How did you come to land a programme? What does it allow you to do?
We had amazing support from Electric Radio on the first release and built a close friendship with them, they approached us about doing a show and we jumped on it. We love the freedom they give us on the mixes so we can push unheard artists as well as delicious bootlegs in our mixes.
Working with a partner can be rewarding but also challenging. How do you find a balance to put out works you’re both happy with? What do you compromise for the benefit of one another?
Being best friends makes it easy as we have similar tastes in a lot of things such as Anime, Dirty Basslines, Extreme sports and it’s the same music.
Tell me about Ola your vocalist – where do you find the ideal voices for your productions?
A mutual friend got her number from a taxi driver and Max reached out to her. Finding ideal voices is usually on social media or hearing from a friend of a friend.
What are the releases that you are most proud of to date and has there been a progression in your sound over the time you have been releasing?
From Hold Me Tight to Keep You Closer the progression in our sound is due to Luke Papenfus departing after Hold Me Tight to start a new group Menrva with his brother who we love and still support. So, what you’re hearing now reflects more to who we are as a duo. We are really proud of Keep You Closer as every part of it is us and our circle including the artwork….shout out Declan at Guerilla.international for that.
We are all on lock down, this is an extraordinary moment in time that we will all remember, how has it effected your work?
The lockdown has given us time to focus more on stuff but unfortunately Danny got stuck in Ireland so we can’t produce in the same room and feed off each other’s energy. Been weird producing over the phone as the studio is in my house but we made it work and have some tasty tracks for everyone.
