Blokes45 Debut EP: ‘Devils Arch’
After recently premiering their debut ‘Devils Arch’ EP over on Four Four Magazine, Irish DJ duo Blokes45 don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Based between Barcelona and Ireland, the electronic alliance who were both raised in Boyle, Roscommon, have curated a eight-track collective featuring extraterrestrial melodies, deep breaks, and kicking snares, with additional remixes from some of Ireland’s finest talent.
Tell us a little bit about your background, how did you both meet?
Matty: We actually met in primary school. We were a year apart and were both nominated by our classes to work on an art project for St. Patrick’s day together. That’s pretty much our earliest memories of one another - pretty cute when you think about it. Shortly after that, we ended up becoming neighbours, and we’ve been best mates ever since.
What motivated you both as artists to form a duo?
Andre: I actualy started DJing and messing about a few years ago whilst Matty was living in Poland. I went over to surprise him for his 21st Birthday and had already told him about my growing interest in production & DJing. We started comparing playlists, sharing ideas and mastering the mechanics of FL studio, soon realising our now shared interest could actually turn to something kind of cool.
Where did the name Blokes45 derive from?
Matty: So the name originated from when we moved to Barcelona together. We had a mate from England who used to BMX with every day and he used to call us both “blokes” and it just ended up embedding itself into our vocabulary. The building number we lived in was 45 and seen as we had started to pull a shitload of inspiration from living in Barcelona, we thought the match was fitting.
How would you describe your style of music? What would you say influenced it the most?
Andre: I think our style is best described as fast, gritty and heavy. We love making edits because they continuously fill out dancefloors, but our original tracks take influence from various artists such as: FJAAK, 9x9 & Hadone Bjarki, IHateModels and of course Irish born Riot Code. We try not to limit ourselves though; it’s possible to pull inspiration from multiple genres which we try to do regularly, adding a lot of variety to our original tracks. Attending raves at an early age influenced our style of tracks massively too.
Tell us about your new six-track EP Devils Arch. What was the process of creating and delivering this project?
Matty: With this EP we really pushed our boundaries and explored new styles and techniques, which naturally was challenging in parts. We combined our gritty sound and choppy sample style to create a unique style of techno.
There are remixes on the track list from Irish breakout artists such as Flores and 666CMG. How did these collaborations come about?
Andre: All the artists we asked to remix our title track for us are really just family from around the Emerald Isle. We wanted to showcase the talent our amazing friends have and we chose these specific artists, as we felt their distinct styles would recreate and encapsulate our productions in a really sick way, which they absolutely did. They’re also a refreshing representation of what our country has to offer throughout the electronic circuit.
When you are structuring a track, where do you start? What software / equipment would be your preference to work with?
Matty: When structuring a track depending on what we’re doing, it varies. If it’s a remix, we chop it up and discuss ideas with one another on how best to restructure it. We mainly use FL studio but recently we have been producing a lot of our sounds on hardware such as the MPC and a range of drum and bass machines. When we’re together, our workflow is pretty seamless. Bouncing ideas off each other has become second nature and it’s super easy to incorporate both of our styles, into our tracks.
Are there any moments of your career so far that you feel are still surreal? If there was one festival that you could play, where would it be?
Andre: So many moments have felt surreal so far. From playing our first headline show with the d2al crew in The Cellar in Galway, the stack of shows we’ve been lucky enough to play up and down Ireland have all been a dream come true.
It’s also been pretty sick to see our tracks being supported and downloaded by some massive names in the game. It really is mind blowing to see a track we made together in the back arse of Boyle being played across the globe. Getting support from different fans all over the world is really a blessing and we forever will be grateful for it.
One festival we would love to play is Life fest for sure, that’s where it all began for us a few years back. My first camping festival and the total love buzz that Life festival creates; it’s a real feeling of home. Super familiar in a lot of ways.
Another festival we would love to play is AVA. The production quality of the entire festival is just off the chart. And finally: Glitch fest, that would be a dream come true. Being half Maltese it’d be next level playing on a stage there, especially alongside some of the most talented names in the industry.
You're based between Barcelona and Ireland! Tell us about the club scene Barcelona? Are there any artists there that you plan to work with?
Matty: The club scene over here is mental, there’s always something going on in one of the many banging venues in the city, such as: MOOG or Razzmatazz; most stay open for the entire night. There are loads of raves and outdoor parties happening throughout the summer which we’ve had the chance to play at. Running a rave/party over here is definitely a big aim of ours; we’re hoping to gather a team of us and bring them oversees to make it happen. To be continued!
What's the most played track on your Soundcloud at the moment? What are you listening to lately?
Andre: Our most played track recently is our destiny’s child edit “JUMPIN”. Our free edit series has really blown up with support on SoundCloud lately which we are endlessly grateful for!
Lately we’ve been listening to a lot from Decadance, Rowdiboi, Infiltrator and Doubt. We’ve had XClub ft. Pretty Girl - Only If U on repeat too. We made a Pretty Girl remix which has been doing ridiculously well on SoundCloud. Thank you all, once again!
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