They Don’t Know? We do now! World watch out, future superstars alert
Interview by Dan Prince
Hey guys welcome to DMCWORLD, where in the world are you today?
“LONDON, Shoreditch to be exact.”
Well before we start talking to the most exciting artists of 2014, let’s kick off for a moment. Where did all this begin…
“Hard to answer, Disciples started 2 years ago, but our journey started many years before. Gavin and I (Duvall) have produced together since college. Luke was a later addition and its through this connection, Disciples was formed.”
Early musical influences?
“The spectrum is broad being that there are 3 of us. We take inspiration from all sorts, Hip Hop & RnB, Garage, progressive, Tech House, Pop. Our individual tastes allow us to explore further and be experimental with our own music.”
First massive break into the music industry?
“As Disciples, Our latest release ‘They Don’t Know’ was Pete Tong’s Essential New Tune which meant a lot to us and has helped a lot. Playing alongside the likes of MK, Robin Schulz and Duke Dumont have also been amazing…”
So…a massive week for you with the release of the tune on everyone’s lips that you just mentioned. ‘They Don’t Know’ swinging our way through FFRR, please talk us through the sound and history of the tune…
“’They Don’t Know’ was a very quick process. I created the bass line, Gavin created the drums, we then came up with a hook melody and sent it to Luke who wrote the lyric and developed it more. Luke is also the vocalist on this track. We then all got together and finished it in the studio.”
Where were you when Tongy first dropped it for the first time on BBC Towers?
“We were in the studio and we missed it coz we were deep in our zone. We had to catch it on BBC iPlayer. I think we cracked open a few beers after though. Shout out to Sir Pete Tong!”
We clocked you last year playing for Adidas…this year you were bigging up Reebok for their supplies. Dudes? The boks or the stripes?
“Well…we also went to Puma last week. We don’t like to discriminate!”
I live in Ibiza, it is fair to say the island was in shock after your 5 hour set at Sankeys! Tell us about the experience…
“That was insane! What started as a 2 hour warm-up set, turned into us taking over the room for the whole night. The owner of Sankeys came up to us half way through our set – we initially thought he was going to tell us we were going too deep, but it was the opposite. ‘You guys have to play all night’ he shouted. So we dug deep into the vaults and took everyone on a journey of what got us into raving…Shout out Gavin on the decks that night.”
The Ibiza Boat Party Massive. Eats Everything, Annie Mac, El Tong…you all had your armbands on. Favourite moment from that little party?
“This was the first time we dropped ‘They Don’t Know’. We didn’t intro it at all, just dropped it, it turned the boat inside out. People really embraced it without knowing it was us. A close second were the models and free bar!”
Tell us about studio set up…
“It’s humble. We are in the basement of a huge building in Shoreditch. It’s very spacious, we don’t really use outboard gear, everything is in the box. So there’s lots of room for Cartwheels.”
How does it working when making a tune…who is great at what?
“Gavin & Duvall will be hands on with production. Gavin is great with percussion and bass, as a DJ his knowledge of house music is extensive, he can always find a good reference to help inspire the session. Duvall tends to handle the music, chord progressions etc. Duvall also handles all the vocal recordings and is involved in the lyric and melody. As a vocalist, he can offer a lot of melodic options. Luke is great with arrangement and lyrics. He’ll often find the missing pieces to the puzzle. But this format can often rotate. Gavin may bring an idea that’s 80% finished and Luke and Duvall will help give it the full Disciples touch. Or Duvall might get a remix finished 80% and the guys will come in and ruin it. Lol. There are no rules. But this is definitely a 1-stop shop. Writing/ production/ arranging/ vocals – it’s all done in house.”
The Secret Solstice Festival in Iceland. 3 days of sunshine with Massive Attack and Disclosure. What was that all about?
“We’re still trying to figure it out. Ha. Three days of daylight, great music, a broad range of acts and some of the most beautiful people in the world. You’re there, traipsing through mud with the sun beaming down at 2am. We almost missed our 10am flight home because we found a group of girls who fancied an outdoor swim at 8 in the morning. We couldn’t say no.”
We loved your remix of MK ‘Always’…how did you approach reworking such a massive track?
“Thanks! This had been out for a while before we got our hands on it. We felt the vocal was very calming in a way, so musically we wanted to create a chilled vibe with big percussion. Our goal was to give people the feeling of being on a beach with a cold beverage starring out at the sunset.”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
(LUKE) Faithless – Insomnia Maxi Jazz inspired his vocal
…always get you dancing?
(DUVALL) Night Crawlers – Push the Feeling On (MK EDIT)
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
(ALL) Everything But The Girl – Missing You
…you wish you would have made?
(GAVIN) Dr Dre – Nothing But A G Thang
A shout out to an up and coming producer we should be checking next year…
“I think Grades is a great producer.”
2014 has been a major year for you…skip forward 12 months… What do you want to have achieved this time next year?
“This time next year we’d like to have played at great festivals with our peers in Europe and the US, and had a few more releases that hit home both in the club and commercial world. We really appreciate the concept of a slow build. Any progress is good progress to us. We’re really appreciating our journey.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“We’re working new original material now. A follow up record for ‘They Don’t Know’ and we’ve got some great songs coming up with featured vocalists we’re excited about showing you guys.”
https://www.facebook.com/DisciplesLDN
