Chromeo Exclusive

I don't know if you know this, but Chromeo is a pretty big deal. With only two albums under their belt, this Montreal duo has single-handedly conquered the dance music scene in a manner that can only be described as revolutionary. Their tongue-in-cheek electro boogie sound has devastated not only dancefloors around the world, but the charts as well. Now they're in Vancouver for the Cultural Olympiad and V-Rag got to sit down with the boys Dave One and Pee Thug for an exclusive interview!

IT'S CHROMEO
Interview by Cole Johnston

You're in the studio recording your third album now. How is this one going to be different from the last two?

Dave: It's a little more sophisticated. More arrangements, vocal harmonies, more piano-based tunes. Sort of a night time disco feel on a couple of songs, too. So I guess somewhat of a natural progression from our last record.

When can we expect its release?

Dave: August.

Why release Night By Night for free? Is it a teaser from the new album?

Dave: Yes, it's like a pre-single. We hadn't released a original song in so long...we just wanted to see how it would feel. It'll be on the album. I like the idea of free music in general.

You guys spent quite a while touring Fancy Footwork; what do you enjoy about touring? What could you do without?

Pee: Seeing the fans and spending quality time with them at shows will always be my favorite part of touring. I also enjoy doing road trips "on-a-mission", early in the morning driving to another city and have greasy breakfast on the side of the road. I could really do without the whole flying experience though... You schlep luggage, you sweat, you're always worried there's a problem with your flight, they tell you to take stuff out of your bag because it's too heavy, you end up with an extra jacket and a pair of shoes to carry on, which makes you sweat more. Then you get to security where you have to unpack all your bags. By that time you're only wearing socks, a sweaty t-shirt, holding your pants up and your face is all red from the effort so you look like you're 12 years old while going through the metal detector (for those who have hair, taking off your sweater or hoodie also reinforces the 12 year-old look). After that, you can put your clothes back on and pretend nothing happened. But you're getting hungry and you're about to spend $25 at Nathan's hot dog stand, or the "healthy" alternative, get a dry turkey wrap. I don't think I need to go on... We all know what's next: get in the plane, get a middle seat between to big guys like me, there's a baby crying behind you, your laptop battery is dead, you get to the other side, your luggage doesn't make it, nobody's going to pay for it, blah blah blah...

The Cultural Olympiad is a pretty big deal, how did your upcoming performances come about? Who will you be playing alongside?

Dave: No idea how this came about. We just said yes. I know Team Canada DJs are there...those are longtime pals from Montreal.

Are your Vancouver/Whistler shows a one-off or part of a larger tour?

Pee: This is just a one off show. We're really busy with the new album right now, but we had to do this gig. It's a great opportunity and maybe it will inspire me to get in shape in 2010 and start skiing...

Where do you see the Canadian music scene being at right now? Do you think it's improving since your rise to international fame?

Dave: We don't really know. Arcade Fire came out at the same time as our first album, so Canadian music was already on the forefront then. I mean, we don't really look at it like Canada's got this distinct musical identity. The next biggest rapper in the universe is Canadian though; Drake.

How long have the two of you been making music together?

Pee: We've been making music together since high school. We were about 15-16 years old and we met while forming a band. We were playing live funk, Parliament-style, back then... We became best friends and always stuck together through different bands since that first week we met. I didn't like Dave at first, but my opinion changed in one week. Throughout the years, even when we weren't in bands together, we were always helping each other on different projects. So when decided to get together to form Chromeo it was a great occasion to be back and work on a common project.

You guys come from pretty different musical backgrounds. Who do you both respect and admire musically?

Pee: The obvious, of course Hall & Oates, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Rick James, Phil Collins, and the list goes on with all the older generation of 70s and 80s music that inspires us. But also our peers today, that we're seeing evolve and achieve great things. Phoenix, with their great success in the US with the last album. Vampire Weekend another great success story.

Dave: Daft Punk too, let's not forget them. They laid the blueprint for what we're still doing now on 'Discovery'. I'm really into hip hop as well.

Anyone you're dying to do a collaboration with?

Dave: Not really. Daryl Hall was pretty much it for us. We make our music in a vacuum...so the only challenges we set are for ourselves.

In the past, you've produced beats for hip-hop bands like Shades of Culture and Dubmatique. Any plans to return to hip-hop in the future?

Dave: Haha, thanks for remembering that! That era means a lot to me. Don't know if I'll return to hip hop though. My brother's now has that angle covered. Chromeo's the main objective for us at the moment..

It's every music fan's dream to make a mixtape. How fun was it compiling last year's DJ Kicks CD?

Pee: It was really fun, especially because we were allowed to change up the concept a little bit and have a mix that changes tempos and musical styles. We were able to insert slower songs that we could never put on any other mixtape and represent Quebec and French funk/soul. The cover songs was also a good addition to the mix.

Chromeo plays February 20 at 10:00 pm at CODE Live 1 at Great Northern Way Campus, 577 Great Northern Way, Vancouver.


"Night By Night" - Chromeo


"Nice N Clean" - Chromeo on Yo Gabba Gabba