Brothers From Down Under Rising To The Top
Matt and Chris, welcome to the DMC World. You are over in Canada at the moment, a long way from Australia – what’s going on over there?
“We have been doing a load of shows all over the country and also getting some snowboarding in as well which we love to do.”
We don’t usually hear about DJs who have actually gone through school and then progressed into the music world. Judge Jules I suppose is one of the few with his Law Degree, in the UK but you both hold University Degrees in Business Studies and sport background’s – how did the music career kick in?
“We always played instruments growing up and had a massive love of music, and actually landed our first DJing gigs while in our first year at university. We used to play at different venues on certain nights and then would play together on a Saturday and the more we did that, the more we enjoyed playing together. It basically was just more fun so we slowly tried to do more and more shows together and that is how the Stafford Brothers were formed.”
December saw you release the brilliant ‘Come My Way’ on Toolroom Records with Tom Neville. Where and when did you first meet, probably over a beer?
“There was a lot of beer! We met Tom at a club called The Monastery in Brisbane. We were on before him, it ended up an extremely large night and we became great friends over the years. We then decided to make a track together and “Come my Way” was what happened. We have been working on another track together and will probably finish that when we are over in March.”
Some great remixes on the track, which one did you really punch the air to?
“The Jerome Isma-Ae remix is what I would play if we didnt play our original version, I really like that mix.”
What are the big ten tunes you are playing at the moment?
1 Stafford Brothers – ‘Come My Way’
2 Stafford Brothers – ‘Speaker Freakers’
3 Veerus – ‘Clockism’ (Combed mix)
4 Jay santi – Game of Love (Olav Basoski remix)
5 Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – ‘Dance The Way I Feel’ (Armand van Helden)
6 Steve Angello – ‘Monday’
7 Bingo Players – ‘I Will Follow’
8 De Bos – ‘On the Run’ (Ralvero get down)
9 Chris Lake & LYS – ‘Humanica’
10 Skitzofrenix – ‘Hype and Funk’
Best and worst thing about living in Australia?
The weather and beaches are the best, the worst, Australia being so far away from everywhere is the worst – 24 hours flights to the UK!”
I have managed DJs who have been sisters and brothers in the past – how does your working relationship work – who brings what to the table?
“Chris is definitely more the music man. He is the engineer in the studio when working on tracks and he sorts through all the new music. I look after the management/business side of things a lot more. Its great because we have each side of the business covered.”
What are the big ten tunes you are playing at the moment?
1 Stafford Brothers – ‘Come My Way’
2 Stafford Brothers – ‘Speaker Freakers’
3 Veerus – ‘Clockism’ (Combed mix)
4 Jay santi – Game of Love (Olav Basoski remix)
5 Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – ‘Dance The Way I Feel’ (Armand van Helden)
6 Steve Angello – ‘Monday’
7 Bingo Players – ‘I Will Follow’
8 De Bos – ‘On the Run’ (Ralvero get down)
9 Chris Lake & LYS – ‘Humanica’
10 Skitzofrenix – ‘Hype and Funk’
What other Oz DJs do you rate?
“Tommy Trash is great, Timmy Trumpet and Tenzin as well. There are a lot of talented DJs down here. Dirty South is the guy who has really got the next level and is smashing it all over the world.”
Tell us about Timmy Trumpet…
“Timmy is someone who we met playing a show in a regional area of NSW in Australia, a total chance meeting. We could see he was extremely talented so we asked him if he wanted to do a few festival shows with us. He just seemed to fit in perfectly with what we were doing plus he is a great guy. He is now DJing solo and playing trumpet so has his own thing going on but still plays with us at all the festivals. When playing the big festivals I think it’s great to have him on stage with us. We also add our cousin who sings and plays guitar so we create quite a show.”
Best club you have ever played at in your home country and around the world?
“I would say Platinum nightclub on the Gold Coast is where we have had some of our greatest nights. It’s our home club so love it. Worldwide, I would say Matter in London was very impressive, and we also love to play The Paradise Club in Mykonos, they seem to be able to keep the club open forever – I think we played until about 10 am this year, we did about 1000 one mores’!”
Is there a club you have never played at yet, that you would love to hit?
“I would love to play on the Space terrace in Ibiza or Pacha in Ibiza, they are pretty much the ultimates for us.”
You are originally from New Zealand, your press guy admits you came from humble beginnings – what sort of musicians / albums were you listening to back then – how did you gain access to the music that inspired you to where you are now?
“I was listening to a lot of rock and roll growing up, Led Zep, ACDC that sort of thing. We were also subjected to a lot of Country when stuck in the car with our Dad! The big change was moving to Australia when we started going to big raves with Ultrasonic etc. We basically wanted to become the guys on stage so that’s what started us DJing. We were DJing a harder sound to what we play now, but a trip to Ibiza very early in our careers (we won a competition to get to ibiza) moved us onto the sound we are now playing. Going to Ibiza really changed our sound.”
What did you make of Ibiza last year?
“Really had a great time, it’s definitely a magical place. There was quite a few changes and new nights’ happening and I think it was all needed to keep the island moving forward. I think we will go there for the rest of our lives!”
Okay, favourite…
DJ in the world
“Axwell”
Label in the world
“Love the sound from Toolroom, and loved having a release on there!”
Producers in the world
“Enjoy all the tracks coming out of the Sweedish House Mafia camp.”
A DJ/artist who is going to hit the top in 2010
“Sidney Samson”
Who is the better DJ out of you two?
“Me (Matt), glad I am doing this interview!”
Are we gonna see you in the UK this festival season – you rocked some amazing shows back in 2008…
“Lets hope so, its all being sorted at the moment.”
Tell us about the forthcoming Defected, Ministry of Sound and We Play releases in 2010…
“We have a track on Defected with Juan Kidd called “I Gave you Everything” with vocalist Rae, our latest single “Speaker Freaker ” Is just out in Oz on Hussle/MOS and just entered the club charts at 18, so should hopefully head to the top! On We Play we have a track called “Sing for Me” with German artist Jean Elan and are doing some tracks with Dabruck and Klein for that label as well. So plenty of tracks coming out this year.”
And finally, which out of the brothers has the smelliest socks on tour?
“Chris, they reek!