Massive new ‘I Wanna Fixation EP’ from the deadly duo
Leftwing & Kody’s fresh – and much lauded – take on house and techno has so far won them champions like Loco Dice, Jimmy Edgar, Huxley, Laurent Garnier, Dusky, Sasha and Bicep. The pair now caps a whirlwind year with their final release of 2014, the 4 track ‘I Wanna Fixation EP’, featuring legendary house vocalist, Robert Owens. Dan Prince checks in…
Guys welcome to DMCWORLD – congratulations on an incredible 2014. So where are you today?
“Thanks Dan it has been a great year! Today we are in the studio which is where you can find us every weekday between 10pm-6pm.”
An exciting few weeks for you as you prepare for the release of your brand new EP ‘I Wanna Fixation’ which is swinging our way on Lost Records on December 1st. Please talk us through the sounds and history of the release…
“This release came about after discussing vocalists with our management who also look after Robert Owens. We sent Robert some of our tracks and he came down to our studio to record some vocals a few days later. Once we had the vocals we wrote different tracks around the acapellas we had from the session and came up with the 3 tracks on the EP Robert was really into them and we were thinking of shopping them around to other labels but were also conscious that we hadn’t had a release out on our own label yet. We thought this was a good opportunity to debut on Lost as the package was strong with Robert Owens on vocals and we decided to make the track stronger by getting a wAFF remix to make the EP a real weapon! wAFF’s a really cool guy and we are massively into the stuff he’s been releasing so was great to get him on board with our first release (and wAFF”s) on Lost!”
Robert Owens is one of dance music’s finest ever vocalists. His sultry tones have delighted our dancefloors with such classics as ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’, ‘Tears’ and ‘Changes’…when did you first fall in love with Mr Owens?
“’I’ll Be Your Friend’ was a vocal that I always remember hearing since discovering dance music. It seemed to cross genres so well and showed up on many a bootleg I had purchased.”
What can you tell us about this sneaky collab with Cera Alba?
“We met Cera for the first time at a gig we played at this summer. We were always into his stuff and ended up asking him to do a remix for Lost and what he turned in was amazing. We subsequently asked him for an EP and again he turned in some absolute bangers! We discussed working on some music together and started on a track a couple of weeks ago which is not complete and started a new track yesterday which hopefully we’ll wrap up next week, so if any labels are reading this and want to sign an L&K&CA EP, get in touch….”
What are the big 5 tunes in your box this weekend?
“OK big tunes this weekend are…
Groover by wAFF
Insane (Luca M & JUST2 Remix) by Stefano Noferini
So Wet by Supernova
Rendezvous (Nathan Barato Remix) by Filthy Rich
I Want You (Alan Fitzpatrick Remix) by Trus’me
Right let’s get down to the shit we really want to know. Last year saw you storm Watergate in Berlin, a fabulous7am-midday set that saw the crowd baying for more but you had a 2pmflight to catch back to Blighty. Two questions…1) Had you been to bed before the set and 2) What was your biggest tune of the experience?
“HAHA! There have been lots of weekends like that since then. Yes we were sensible and went to sleep pretty much soon after we landed in Berlin the night before and got to the club about 6am. We were even smart enough to pick up some all day breakfast sandwiches in the airport in the UK so that we had something to eat before going to the club. The real stories are when we haven’t been sensible like the time we…………nah we’ll save that for next time – lol. Biggest tune of the experience was playing Nathan Fake ‘The Sky Was Pink’ and the dancefloor almost melted that was fun!”
Loved your remix of the S-Man/GTO monster ‘Too Close’. How do you approach a remix when first sitting down in the studio? Some producers strip everything back and leave only a vocal, some are just hell bent on leaving ‘their sound’ ingrained on the finish article…how do you see each project – surely there must be a connection to the record in the first place for you?
“For sure there has to be a connection with the track you have to feel the music before you can put your own spin on it. Generally we would just take the vocal and maybe the main riff and create the drums, bass line and other element of the tracks ourselves.”
DJ Mag very nicely nominated you for Best British Newcomer in their publication last year. A couple of weeks ago it was the annual DJ Top100 Poll and boy has it come in for some criticism yet again: “It is not a DJ contest it is a producer contest”, “it is all about buying votes”, “it is all about how big your PR machine is these days”, “there are too many genres of DJs nowadays and unfair on the real DJs” etc. etc. – just some of the comments flying around. What is your take on what was once a real important part of our club culture?
“The build up to the Top100 announcement and the list itself has been open to ridicule for years now. In their defense it’s not DJ Mag’s fault, they are giving the opportunity to the fans to vote for their favourite DJ. I do think it’s open to abuse now since dance music has taken the world by storm and the machines behind certain acts realized that being on the list helps to get bookings in certain territories around the world and made the poll more of a poll that is won by the people who have the best marketing teams.”
Where will you be on New Years Eve this year…and any idea what you’ll be spinning at midnight?
“We will be playing at Egg in London on NYE which will be awesome. Every time we’ve played there this year it had been better and better. So we are really looking forward to seeing what the vibes like on such a big night like NYE..if we are on at midnight it will have to be something way different to what we normally play so we’ll be keeping it as a surprise…sorry Dan.”
An album we would be surprised to find in your collection?
K: The Bones Of What You Believe – CHVRCHES
LW: Lets Get Free – Dead Prez
What is the next studio project you’ll be getting your teeth stuck into?
“We’ll be finishing off this collab with Cera Alba and then getting our heads down for the rest of the year and trying to get EP’s lined up for the first quarter of 2015.”
How does the studio set up work between yourselves…who is shit hot at what?
K: “Jon is in charge of the mouse when we are in the studio he is shit hot at controlling that. I am shit hot at humming stuff and saying play that. I also excel at sending the best emails.”
LW: “I agree with this.”
The latest studio toy you treated yourselves to?
“A new Yamaha MX 49 and Roland TB3 were the last thing we splashed out on.”
A singer you would love to have in the studio for a day? Money no problem…
K: “Frank Ocean the guy is able to put so much emotion into his voice and he has a great way of telling a story.”
LW: “Lauren Hill she has an amazing voice.”
Your record of the year?
K: “Groover by wAFF.”
LW: “Hoodlum – Traumer.”
Your nickname for each other?
K: “- *Insert expletive here*.”
LW: “Full Size Gnome.”
You’re loving your Rinse FM show huh?
“Yes the Rinse show is great it allows us to play music that we wouldnt necessarily play in a club environment. Theres a certain amount of pressure when playing in a club because your audience is there in front of you waiting to be entertained where as with the radio theres no pressure at all as you are in a tiny room talking into a mic.“
We have loved your sets down at Sankeys. Proper heads down house brilliance. Who are the producers/DJs you are giving props to at the moment?
“People we are feeling at the moment are Cera Alba great tracks and a wicked DJ. PAWSA has some amazing material lined up. 2015 is going to be a big year for him. Max has been relentless with his releases this year and is a fantastic DJ also.”
What are the next plans for Lost Records…?
“Next plans for Lost in 2015 is to keep the solid releases coming. we have stuff lined up for release untill May next year. Some Lost regulars will be releasing again and we will also be starting reqular Lost Records parties in th UK to start with then moving out into Europe…”
And finally, as you sit in your rocking chairs drinking a glass of mulled wine by the fire at Christmas looking back at 2014…what has been your biggest achievement of the year
K: “Going B2B with Roger Sanchez in Ibiza this year is a lifetime achievement for me not just for 2014. The guy is my hero so to be working with him on tracks and then DJing with him has been something to tick off the bucketlist this year.”
LW: “Seeing videos of one of my heros Carl Cox playing our track Holographic Universe to thousands of people at a festival in Europe was amazing!”
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Leftwing & Kody feat. Robert Owens ‘I Wanna Fixation EP’ is out on December 1st on Lost Records.
