Phew. Well it’s fair to say that you two are setting dancefloors alight just about everywhere at the moment. Where did it all begin for the pair of you in your disco boots?
James – “I was living in Spain at the time of the acid house explosion. I was 12 at the time and my brother used to go to all these clubs in Madrid bringing tapes back the DJ had given him. I used to nick them off him when he wasn’t around and record them, then spend hours in my room with my headphones on wondering what it would be like to hear the music in a club. I became obsessed with the music and have craved it ever since. I fortunately had my bike stolen when I was 16… the insurance money paid for my first set of decks. That said, I’d been wiring up my dad’s CD decks to a cheap mixer since I was 14.”
Ben – “I’ve been into dance music from a very young age, apparently raving it up to the sounds of madness in my highchair. Getting into house music through the legendary Sterns, then started putting on a few parties in and around where I grew up, renting village halls & blagging marquees. It was all a little time consuming so the next step was getting behind the decks.”
Tell us about ‘The Chant’, how did you get together and come up with that monster? You have Eric Prydz, Coxy, Van Dyk and Guetta all kicking the shit out of your new ‘Outro Lugar’ single – a real diverse selection of DJs – what’s the story behind the tune?
Ben – “I used to work in the record shop BPM in Brighton, James used to be in their a lot buying tracks. I knew he was producing music as his track ‘Pass The Funk’ was doing the business in the shop. I’d always wanted to get into production, so had a chat with him about re-doing ‘Outro Lugar’ – he was also a big fan of the track, so the next step was the studio. Three months of hard work & the track was finished, called ‘The Chant’. We were both playing the track and the reaction we were getting from the crowd was much better than we had expected. Soon after we had finished ‘The Chant’ I was playing after Roger Sanchez, so I gave him a copy with my number scribbled on. Two days later out of the blue Roger called me saying how much he liked the track and that he wanted to put the track out on his Stealth Label. From the initial call, it took two years to clear the publishing and put the track out. In that time we had finished a more slamming ‘Smashdown Mix’, we also decided to re-do the original mix, keeping the arrangement the same but updating the sounds. Due to publishing we changed the name to ‘Prok & Fitch Presents Salome De Bahia- Outro Lugar’.”
Roger Sanchez zipping up his boots and spinning your mixes of Cevin Fisher’s ‘Burnin Up’ and ‘Flash Republic Star’ on his Radio 1 Essential Mix show – owe him a pint then?
Ben – “Yeah – guess a pint is a bit of an understatement! He was responsible for us signing ‘Outro Lugar’ and constantly supported our tracks both in his live sets and his radio show. He’s a top guy and always supports fresh talent. We’re extremely lucky to have such a good relationship with his label Stealth.”
You got together spinning back to back sets together – what nights’ stand out down in Brighton?
Ben – “Shortly after we finished ‘Outro Lugar’, we began spinning together. Musically we were completely on the same wavelength and had a lot of fun behind the decks. Fortunately we were able to pull a really good local crowd and began putting on after-hours parties where we could play longer sets. There are so many nights in Brighton it’s hard to pick out one that stands out from the rest though.”
You have remixed and brought out your own tunes on such classic labels as Stealth, Whore House, SUME, Odyssey Music and Noir – what records fill your hearts with pride when you’re lying in the bath looking back at the happiness you have brought to club land?
Ben – ‘Outro Lugar’ is definitely one of them, with the diversity of mixes it seems to work on any floor. Next up two original tracks we were both really happy with, ‘The New Wave’ – a track we did with Daley Padley and our Floorplay debut track ‘Camping’.”
What’s the story with your seriously wicked Floorplay nights in Brighton?
Ben – “There was a real gap in the market for a monthly house night. Brighton had got a little stale, all the nights seemed to be either moody or really commercial. We decided to throw everything in and create a real party atmosphere. Our Floorplay night in Brighton has taken clubbing back to what it’s all about good music, friendly people and an atmosphere that leaves you talking about the night ’till next month’s instalment! Combining our years playing in clubs around the world has meant we are both fully aware of what the ingredients are for the perfect party. We like to see our crowd as our guests – not our punters, and make sure they have such a good time they have no option but to come back next month. We carefully select every DJ on their music style and their ability to rock a crowd.Past and future guests have included Chris Lake, Jonathan Ulysses, Sean Hughes, Paul Harris, Noir and Paul Jackson. We also decided to give up our other long standing Brighton residencies and give Brighton their monthly dose of rocking tunes. We spend considerable time and money every month making the club look different from all other nights and even have our own lighting set up as another ingredient to the success of their night. Let’s not forget the lovely Floorplay Girls who are shipped in from surrounding areas to add lots of friendly smiles to the glammed up crowd. Rumour has it that Floorplay is better than sex!!”
You spun at the Gatecrasher Summer Sound System. What the one ‘special moment’?
Ben – “Gatecrasher Summer Sound System was the first major dance festival we played at. We were playing on an outside stage – unfortunately it pissed down all day! An awesome party nevertheless, with the highlight of the day seeing our track ‘Camping’ destroying the dance floor. We were also booked to play at Global Gathering on the same stage as Roger Sanchez, Axwell, Fedde Le Grande, Dirty South & Tom Novy, but unfortunately were cancelled as we’d already played at Gatecrasher – gutted is an understatement!”
Best overseas club you’ve rocked the joint at?
Ben – “Without doubt Bora Bora Ibiza. We went on mid afternoon and there were a few people dancing, we quickly got into the zone and within half an hour the place was rocking. What followed for us was one of the most memorable sets we’ve ever played.”
What’s coming up in the future release wise for us all from you?
Ben – “For the past couple of months we’ve taken a break from remixing and concentrating on new material for our Floorplay label. We’ve spent a lot of time creating new ideas and sounds and are both really happy with the results. A track we did with Daley Padley called the ‘New Wave’ is our next release – immediately snapped up by Stealth Records. ‘New Wave’ has been our biggest track in the box since finishing it, so we’re looking forward to the October release. Stealth are fully behind the track and have commissioned several big mixes.”
