High Voltage

Initially pairing up after a man-date set by their manager, Alex Pall recalls meeting Andrew Taggart as a swipe right waiting to happen. “I thought he was pretty good looking,” Alex quips. “And we like to drink beer, so I thought we would get along very well.” Following harmonious sessions of getting to know each other, the DJ duo first took a shot at the game by experimenting with an ubiquitous idea centered around pop culture footnote: the #selfie. “We were just messing around with an idea for a song and thought it was funny, and it was,” explains Alex. Perfectly capturing people’s obsession with unabashed narcissism and fist-pumping beats, the two catapulted to fame with a viral hit under their belts.

Out to prove that they’re more than a novelty act, The Chainsmokers have been collecting fire emojis thanks to their downtempo originals “Roses” and “Don’t Let Me Down.” Though they’ve successfully dipped their toes in the mainstream, the boys have always found themselves gearing towards the indie side. Working with the likes of ROZES and Daya, their knack for picking out great talent is truly the backbone of their feat. “Sometimes, we have a singer in mind when we’re writing a song that we think would be great for them, and sometimes, we write a song and try to think who would be a cool fit for the song,” shares Alex. “There are so many great but unknown artists out there that you know just make awesome music but don’t really have a lot of notoriety.”

The explosion of electronic dance music over the last few years has given us an electric feel–one can say that it’s quite a shock. Though we’ve seen a few DJs come and go, there are some who swim across the waves of the new electronic movement. As the real challenge lies in relativity, The Chainsmokers hold on to that fast-paced current and dares to amplify the scene with anthemic builds and blasts of authenticity. “We just feel like we’re making music that feels real. You know, we’re better musicians now that have a better confidence, and we’re just really excited about that as well,” admits Alex. “And the best part is when you get to release it. We’re really most excited about the next collaboration.”

Q: You guys seem to have always expressed your fondness of collaborating with Blink-182. Is this just a running joke or is this actually true?

Alex: No, we love Blink-182! They’re sick. I mean, they’re such a cool band; they have such a huge influence on our lives growing up. But I just don’t know if that song would be a good song; you never really know. You never really want to meet your idols [laughs].

Q: Have you guys tried reaching out to them?

A: Yeah. Actually, our agent is really good friends with their agent. We told them we’re fans, and apparently, they like us too. We were gonna try to get in the studio at one point, but I think the timing wasn’t just right.

Q: At the top of your head, what would the song be about if you were to collaborate?

A: That’s hard to say. We hope it’d be something stupid and meaningless but very relevant, you know what I mean? Like if you were to go out or like after a fight with your girlfriend or something like that; like one of those trivial moments. They do such a good job in taking the mundane activities in life and making a really interesting, fun song about it.

Q: Aside from them, who else have you been dreaming of collaborating with?

A: We’re really huge Kanye West fans, Imogen Heap, Jónsi from Sigur Rós, Sia would be amazing, Bieber would be huge. There are so many talented people out there. You just have to hope for the best and maybe one of these people will want to work with us.

Q: Going into your live shows, what elements do you think go into a good DJ set?

A: Just the crowd interaction. You can always tell when the crowd is involved with you and excited to see you, so that’s really important to us. Having a crazy lights, effects, and everything is super important and help the story of the show, but to us, it just really comes down to having a group of fans that are excited about good music, and we’re equally excited to see them.

Q: What do you like rewarding yourself with after a good show?

A: That’s a good question. Uh, beer [laughs].

To us, it just really comes down to having a group of fans that are excited about good music, and we're equally excited to see them"

Have confidence in what you do and take risks. Push yourself as an artist to become really good at what it is you want to do."

We write about things that are real to us and our lives, and no one else could replicate that.”

Q: Do you think that the EDM market is saturated right now?

A: I don’t know if saturated is the best word to describe it, but I do think that there are a lot of bad dance music and a lot of people that are copying other people who have found success, and I don’t think that’s good for the genre. There are some guys who do a really good job of challenging themselves and exploring great music, and then there are guys who can make music and just have no real interest in doing that. They just want to capitalize in what other people do. But at the end of the day, there are a lot of great creative people out there and there are more fans than ever; the shows are bigger and better.

Q: Where do you think EDM is heading?

A: I don’t know. I mean, we’re big fans of EDM, but I don’t think it’s going down. Whenever you see something negative about dance music, it’s just an isolated incident for the most part. Yeah, there’s a business side in it too, and that can appear like a negative thing. But it doesn’t reflect the interest in dance music; it’s very technical. As long as there are producers that keep pushing the genre forward, there’ll always be dance music and there’ll be exciting things happening.

Q: What advice can you give to young artists out there?

A: They should work on creating their own identity, that’s the most important thing. Have confidence in what you do and take risks. Push yourself as an artist to become really good at what it is you want to do. Also, it takes time, so have patience.

Q: With all these new artists popping out of nowhere, how do you keep yourself original and different from the others?

A: We’re always working in the studio; we find new instruments and listen to tons of other artists that we admire and find inspiration in that. We also write and produce everything on our tracks; that’s pretty unique to us. We write about things that are real to us and our lives, and no one else could replicate that.

thechainsmokers.com @TheChainsmokers

By Pola Beronilla