In my recent years of inhabiting the electronic dance music scene, I’ve come across and followed a vast amount of DJ’s/producers who’ve come to blossom into house hold names in this industry. One duo that have left an impression on me are the Designer Drugs. Stationed in New York city, the boys (Michael and Theodore) have experienced large-scale success since entering the big, expanding bubble of EDM. Seeing them play is always a pleasure because they hold a naturally raw, jaw- dropping DJ set that always seems to get everyone’s skin itching with sweaty excitement. This high octane energy they bring to the enthusiasts of electronic dance music also resides in the music they fabricate and release. Be it a remix duty or an original track of theirs, you can come to expect consistent work from the two. Their hefty touring schedule, long hours in the studio, and continuous efforts on their datamix series have gained them quite the popular fan-base all across the globe. The two have certainly showed that they can be a steady power-house in a industry that constantly overflows with immense talent each and every day. I had the chance of interviewing them and hearing what they had to say about a collection of things. Check it down below!
First off, How did you and Theodore come together to form this group?
We met because we live close and both went to raves and were into the same fun things per say.
Some months back you guys released your album “Hardcore/Softcore”.. The album did really well.. Are you guys genuinely happy with the outcome and how much love and support you’ve gained from everyone?
Yeah we wanted to do something different then the remixes we were known for doing so we were happy to achieve that. We got a lot of creativity out that we couldn’t put into remixes. The album was on the iTunes top 10 or something the week it came out so we were happy about that too.
HARDCORE / SOFTCORE (ALBUM 1) by Designer Drugs Official
You guys are constantly touring the world and playing gigs everywhere. Do you find traveling opens up your diversity and music?
Traveling is very hard and strenuous work on the level we do it, especially after 4 or 5 years of doing it non stop, but it’s a priceless experience because of all the cultural experiences we have get exposed to. It really opens your mind to different ideas.
How has your sound changed since your initial efforts?
Went from underground to main stream so the initial vibe from when we started is totally washed out right and melded with generic main stream dance music which we weren’t feeling. That’s why we went a bit left field with our album… There are shogaze/italo tracks, psychedelic rap songs, punk, indie, classical etc. I’m surprised we did something that weird and it worked so successfully. It was a challenge but it also happened naturally.
Do you prefer to bang out a remix or create your own original work and why so?
Remixes are fun and way more easy but writing original stuff is way more fun but takes more time because you feel artistically tied to it… Remixes are more like design work than art.
Mission Control – Innerspace (Designer Drugs Remix) by Designer Drugs Official
Do you see an evolution in what crowds are looking for?
Definitely, like i mentioned before.. 5 years ago kids wanted indie rock remixes now they want tiesto and generic shit.
Is there a stand out moment in your career thus far?
Being selected by americas top dj and pioneer at the 10th best Dj in the USA was super cool. We made it into some other top tens and had our songs in Tv shows which we think is awesome and hilarious. Getting to tour the world several times over is awesome too. We are not rich kids that get to go outside the USA and shit like that so we are extremely grateful of the situation we are in.
Who would you collaborate with if you could (top 3) ?
HTRK
My Bloody Valentine
Black Flag
IAMX – Spit It Out (Designer Drugs Remix) by Designer Drugs Official
What’s coming up for you guys.. in terms of releases? remixes? collaborations? Any information you can give the fans?
We are working on an album so hopefully soon we’ll have some singles done soon… We are releasing a lot of stuff with our label Sex Cult. It’s a cool little project with mostly friends and people we share the same aesthetic with. It’s all about being societies little derelicts… It’s more of a FUCK DANCE MUSIC label than a dance music label…
Lastly, I’d like to thank you for the time. It was certainly a pleasure, do you have any final message to the fans and readers?
Party on
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