Norwegian duo De Fantastiske To have been breathing new life into the scene with their exquisitely fresh and eclectically quirky shades of dance music. DMCWORLD check in as the return to Midnight Riot’s sister label Black Riot Records with their brilliant new ‘Saharaball EP’.
A huge welcome to DMCWORLD De Fantastiske To, where on planet earth are you today?
Thank you! We are both on planet earth, which is nice and all. More specifically we’re in Oslo, Norway.
How has your summer been so far and where have you been playing?
Great! We’ve played in Sweden, Germany and Norway over the past few months. We’ve met some really inspiring and funny people on our travels.
What is the best piece of new music you have heard recently?
Ravi: Jimi Tenor – ‘Mysteria’ is among my favourite at the moment, its a great track!
Marius: Right now it has to be Joakim – ‘Samurai’ (Red Axes remix) such a perfect summer vibe!
Tell us bit about how you first got into making dance music as a duo?
Ravi: Marius and I were both DJing in a lot of the same clubs here in Oslo and we got to talking about making some music together. We had a session at my flat and we’ve continued making music together ever since.
Norway has spawned top electronic music artists such as Lindstrøm, Todd Terje among others, who or what inspires your sound?
There are so many things that inspire us be it other artists and their incredible music, new pieces of technology, or just life itself.
When making a new track, who does what in the studio and what’s your favourite piece of kit?
We tend to push some buttons and twist some knobs. Our process is improvisational in nature, we’re open to seeing where things go and we both enjoy being surprised by happy accidents. We don’t have any specific favourites, however the invention of MIDI saves us… every time.
Are 2 heads better than one, what do you like a dislike most about working together?
Marius: I dislike the constant struggle of having to come up with bad song titles.
Ravi: I enjoy the above.
You’ve returned to the Black Riot label with your new ‘SaharaBall EP’ what can we expect to hear?
‘Lettbeint’ picks up the happiness of a jolly good night out under the Disco ball and ‘Saharaball’ is more of a sleazy bottom-heavy basement club burner. Yam Who? did this excellent 80´s sounding proto-house remix and Alinka went full frontal with a Berghain-style version of ‘Hardtstlående’.
Who would you most like to make a collaboration with or a remix for?
Ravi: For me it would have to be Matthew Herbert or The Maghreban. They both resonate deeply with me and are nothing short of brilliant.
Marius : Hot Chip or Masters At Work.
What’s been your most successful release to date?
In a way we feel that every release so far has been successful in its own right, and that’s a pretty great feeling.
Any plans to set up your own record label at all?
We’ve been considering it, though it seems to take up a lot of time. Maybe!
First record every bought?
Marius : Blaze – When I Fall In Love. I think it had an Antiloop remix and Quentin Harris on the flipside. ACE!
Ravi: I don’t actually remember as it’s nearly 20 years ago and part of a collection I lost. Something house-y by someone making house music!
You’re self confessed vinyl hunters, how do you go about finding your music?
Marius: Well, vinyl or digital actually doesn’t matter that much. Let’s rephrase by saying that we like to hunt for good music.
Ravi: We’ve done a lot of crate digging in second hand stores, as well as diving into the sea of madness (in terms of quantity) that is digital. I prefer the atmosphere of record stores over the convenience of checking out tunes at home or on the move.
We come to raid your record collection, which embarrassing record do you chuck out the window before we arrive?
Marius: I have a Bruce Willis track on 7”. (Yes. The actor.)
Ravi: It would have to be my copy of Joe Dolce – Shaddap You face.
What record makes you say ‘damn, I wish I made that’?
Marius: There are too many to mention, but Masters At Work feat India – ‘To Be In Love’ might be one of them…..
Ravi: It would’ve been incredibly cool to be present during one of Logg’s studio sessions.
Which parties or festivals are you most looking forward to playing at this year?
The residency at our favourite club in Berlin, Bohnengold. The set is 8 hours and the vibe is just amazing. Genre-wise it feels like you can play anything there and people are into it.
Three big tunes in your record box this weekend…
Native Cruise – Space, Time & A Manual
Hot Chocolate – I Just Love What You Are Doing (Kon edit)
Victor Simonelli & Z.A.M – Africa Freedom (Johannesburg dub mix)
Finally what’s coming next from you?
Our new ‘Rett På Sak EP’ is dropping soon on Paper Recordings and Ravi’s got his ‘Full fres EP’ out there under his Rave-enka moniker right now.
De Fantastiske To ‘Saharaball EP’ (incl. Yam Who? and Alinka Remixes) is out now on both digital and vinyl on Black Riot Records.
https://www.facebook.com/defantastisketo/
https://soundcloud.com/de-fantastiske-to
