RCRD LBL

Yeah it’s a good way to travel. You just pretty much zonk out.

How many beds do you have in there?

Well, official beds, we have 12.

How are you influenced by MSTRKRFT and other DJs you’ve been touring with?

We really look up to those guys and they really teach us a lot. A lot of people we look up to, like Tommy sunshine and Crystal Method, are giving us advice and everything…

Did Tommy give you lessons on haircuts?

Nah he didn’t but I saw him without his sunglasses once, which was weird.

But [since forming LA Riots,] you’ve picked up pretty fast….

True. We’re not even an year old yet and we are on a pimping tourbus with MSTRKRFT playing sold out shows everywhere. (laughs, grins). But we aren’t new to making music. We are both old drum and bass heads in the late 90s… producing and DJing.

What was your background - your life before you quit your dayjob?

Me and my partner lived in North Carolina…we were friends and drum and bass DJs…we did that for about 10 years and then right around 2000, I quit music all together. Then about a year and a half ago, there was this big drum and bass festival in North Carolina so I bought turntables and Serato. I went on all these blogs and downloaded all these MP3s…and found out who MSTRKRFT was and all these ppl..and made a mix tape.

Wait- So when you say you left music- you didn’t listen at all…even to MSTRKRFT?

Yeah I mean I listened to rock and hip hop and just kinda did my own thing. And then I got my partner to move out [to LA]…We both worked in casting, casting a lot of commercials….He [was finishing] a down-tempo project and I was like “yo, when can we make beats?”…so we did…and that’s where we are now.

How would you describe the [music] that you are putting out right now?

Right now we are into this bouncy dirty south, vandalism from Australia sound. We are trying to go a little bit more electro housey and a little less indie electro- like F*ing banger… I am kinda really tired of going out and seeing all the F*ing “Blog house” DJs play the same 12 bangers over and over again…they’re letting their tunes speak for them but their mixing leaves nothing to be desired.

Are you pleased with [how your music is being received?]

I think it is really good. We haven’t really put anything [original] out yet so I feel like everyone is watching us….For now, we’ve just been inundated with remixes- we just worked with Weezer on their new album- on their first single- and it’s gonna be the opening music for the new Gran Turismo Videogame…

So alongside Fool’s Gold, MSTKRT, Flosstradamus, Steve Aoki, do you feel like you are part of a movement?

Yeah definitely- it’s taking electronic music and merging it with indie rock and making it more accessible.

Why is it different than say, the 90s?

B/c our rock remixes are being played on radio…

And according to my sky miles, we’re doing something right.