The most famous sisters in dance music are back with another huge dancefloor smash teaming up with EDM boy wonder Nicky Romero with ‘Like Home’. Dan Prince speaks to the two of the most in demand writers, producers and DJs on the planet as they put the final touches to their new album and look forward to another summer headlining the biggest festivals in the world and their Ibiza residency at Ushuaia…
Mim welcome to DMCWORLD. A brand new tune out now ‘Like Home’ which is the collaborative single with Nicky Romero – which we will come to later. So…sisters, co-writers to the hierarchy of dance music, DJs, singers, presenters, models – you just seem to have such a handle on what you are doing 100% career wise. But let’s rewind to when music first came into your life – what are your early music memories, who was blasting out of the stereo that first caught your attention and how much did your parents push you towards music?
“Music was always playing in our family home. Our folks would listen to everything from Gypsy Kings to The Beatles to Nat King Cole. My first personal memory of loving music was when I heard Nirvana. I went from Seattle grunge to Armand Van Halden (because that’s when I could actually sneak out and go to clubs lol).”
You have just played at the mighty Future Festival with the likes of Avicii, Richie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Rita Ora and The Prodigy. What though was the first really big show you performed at in your home country where your friends and family all came along and checked you out for the first time. What was that like?
“It was Summerdayze Festival in Melbourne. Our brother and all our best friends came. We announced our upcoming single ‘We’re All No One’ and played it for the first time in front of a live crowd. Amazing.”
You were resident at Ushuaia in Ibiza last year which must have been a dream come true. I know you love Ibiza. A quote from you from last year before your Ushuaia residency…”Ibiza is basically our spiritual homeland, it’s somewhere we’ve really wanted to be for a long time. Everything about it, the air smells different. The culture in Ibiza is second to none.” So…how was the residency? How did a big stage in the middle of a hotel complex go down with you..?
“Our Ushuaia residency was definitely a highlight of 2012. We really can’t wait to get back there this year. The guys at Ushuaia take their music seriously and you can see that from the artists they book to the level of production. It was an honour to be part of the best day time party on the island. We’ve been going to Ibiza for many years – first as clubbers and then as DJs. It’s definitely a magical island.”
Fact or fiction? DJing on the main stage at Ultra was your 10th professional gig for your agent William Morris?
“Three years ago – yes it was Dan. We had been DJing for a few years before that but yes, it was around the 10th gig that was booked through WME!”
Who taught you how to DJ?
“We have a lot of friends in the UK that DJ so we just started mucking around with them at private house parties. Then bit by bit we got hooked, we bought the equipment ourselves and the rest is history.”
So the new single, ‘Like Home’, a collab with Nicky. Talk us through the history of the tune and what each other’s input was…
“We were in Holland for Energy and decided to take the next day two days off to get in the studio with Nicky. We had been trying to work together for a while so this was the perfect opportunity. Whilst in his studio we jammed out the main hook melody with the basic chords. From there we went away, finished the melodies, recorded them, delivered it to Nicky and he beefed up the drop. The initial ideas came together whilst we were all in the room and then there was some back and forth via the internet before we finished it.”
What is the top 10 you are currently spinning?
“A lot of our own material…so…
1) Reason (Vicetone remix) – NERVO & Hook N Sling
2) Mammoth – Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike and Moguai
3) Like Home – Nicky Romero & NERVO
4) Crunch – MAKJ
5) A Million Atoms To Apologize – Hardwell’s mash up
6) 1000 Years – GIna Turner
7) The Way We See The World – Afrojack, Dimitri Vegas & Like MIke & NERVO
8) Cannonball – Showtek and Justin Prime
9) NYMSN – Jewelz & Scott Sparks
10) Hold On (Extended Mix) – NERVO
When was the last time you were starstruck when meeting someone?
“Azealia Banks…”
A quote from you…”some of our greatest ideas have come on the road when we had no sleep.” What one song springs to mind…
“Loads of ideas. I would say we are tired for at least half of our studio days these days. We’re always coming back from a tour. We recently finished a record for our album, it’s called Rainham Road. Well, hopefully it makes the album because it’s quite different for us.”
You have written with/for the likes of David Guetta, Kelly Rowland, Keisha, Kylie, Pussycat Dolls, Armin Van, Afrojack, Avicci and Steve Aoki. Who has been the biggest inspiration to work with – who did you enjoy working with the most?
“We learn a little bit from everybody. Everybody works so differently. I think Afrojack was one of the most impressive when it comes to his programming skills. He was working so quickly I could hardly keep up with what he was doing on his laptop. #wizkid.”
And finally, what is coming out next studio wise…?
“We’re working on our album which will hopefully show different layers to our writing and producing. We don’t want an album full of 128 dance floor bangers. We want to go deeper and quirkier…even more disco. We’re also finishing up a few collabs which will hopefully keep the dance floor peeps happy and our sets fresh. Really excited about some of the upcoming releases…”
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