Spotlight is chuffed to premiere the lead single off the latest EP from Montreal duo Blond:ish, Endless Games, the first official taste of their forthcoming album. Hypnotic, dark, beautiful and mysterious, the dramatic synth drops and haunting vocals hint at the mystical and adventurous leanings of the producers, who take great care to express and reflect their outside surroundings from within the studio. In this case, Tulum, Mexico, provides the locational inspiration - and the result is all class.
We spoke to the girls on the eve of their latest release...
What do you think are the combining factors that have allowed you to succeed in pursuing music as a career? Talent is crucial but we know that's no guarantee in the creative industry…
"There are soo many factors needed in succeeding a music career. It's a combination of talent, of course, mixed with perseverance, networking and business skills, and ALOT of positive manifestation. You have to eat, drink, think and dream music...You also have to remain professional as much as possible and keep a smile on your face whatever the situation :)"
In what ways do you support each other that those going creative solo might miss out on?
"Well it's always great to have an outside perspective on things - especially when you're creating music. We both have our different fortés and weaknesses so we seem to compliment each other pretty well. Also it's great to have someone to talk to and bounce ideas with on the road, and in the moment."
What was the inspiration behind going to the Mayan temples to create your new EP?
"The single is a club version of a track off our first album that we recorded in Tulum, Mexico, which is home in our little piece of paradise. We're comfortable there, we feel like locals. Everything there inspires us from the jungle, rich Mayan history, the beaches, the sunsets, and all the interesting talented people you meet along the way in the most random of ways. It was the perfect place to create this album... Really perfect."
How does the environment you're in affect your mind state and in turn the music you make/play?
"We're a product of our surroundings. Being a DJ is about adapting to all sorts of different situations. With our productions, the album (and this EP) was made surrounded by the jungle and all the magic that comes with it. Throughout our travels to Mexico, South America and India, we were also exploring sounds in more ways than we ever have before. We were greatly influenced by the natives, their vocals, a lot of percussion, sound meditations, drums and homemade instruments."
What are the fundamental inspirations for the new EP, where does it take you when you close your eyes and you just sit back and listen?
"The EP is little tiny dancefloor excerpt of one track from the album. We really feel the album as a whole is THE voice. We're going to leave it up to you to tell us what you feel after you've heard the whole album... We think we know the answer, and it's been nice to hear the different ways the very few people who have heard it, explain it! One thing for sure is we really wanted the listener to catch a glimpse of all those special moments we experienced along our album making journey."
How far do you think live samples create a different texture to the music you create? Why is it important? Is it important?
ANS: "Having live samples in our music is really important to us. On the album we were making snares out of the blue jays chirping outside our window or running after the coconut vendor on the beach to catch a sample. We carry our zoom field recorder and like this we have a little piece recorded of everywhere we go; all our travels are in our music. It's like an audible diary (ish)... some keep memories with photographs and, we keep a little audible memory in all our tracks. It adds a different dimension to music - something you can't completely recreate with computers."
VIV: "The other night I had this conga loop and it was a bit too straight and in your face for me. We could have thrown a convolution reverb (digitally simulating the ambiance of a certain room or space) on the track, but instead I decided to play the conga loop out of my speakers and record it through the mic. I recorded not only the conga loop with the natural room ambience but also flirted with the microphone feedback that was being produced by moving the mic closer to the speaker, but taking it away just in time so it doesn't go into a crazy loop. Then I detuned it a bit, layered it with the straight conga loop, and it gelled nicely with the rest of the parts."
This year sees the first Kompakt takeover in Ibiza, what do you think were the factors that made it the right time for such a move?
"Kompakt is on FIRE right now (well always has been). Ibiza has always been a tricky island to start a new party, but it seems that the stars aligned for Kompakt's Ibiza take over..."
Blond:ish play the Kompakt takeover of Kehakuma at Space on Saturday the 18th of July alongside Gui Boratto.
