The Chainsmokers

LiveMusicDaily | Interview

with The Chainsmokers

The Chainsmokers have hit #1 on Dance Billboard Charts with their viral track Selfie, but what some may not know is that their viral hit only scratches the surface of their production skills and techniques. They have been releasing very solid remixes & originals prior to their international stardom, having gained the support of such as Tiesto, Afrojack, Steve Aoki, and Nicky Romero among others. They are currently on tour in Europe hitting some of the most prestigious venues and festivals including TomorrowLand in Belgium. Alex Pall spoke with LiveMusicDaily’s founder, Andrew McConnell to discuss their rise to international acclaim, their philosophy on production, how they make themselves standout on the electronic music scene, and more.

You guys have been killing it in the live DJ scene in New York City and have obviously begun to make a name for yourselves around the country. With that in mind, how would you describe the evolution of your sound from the early club days to the present?

Alex: I mean, it’s just been a natural progression. Drew and I have just been working together, and you just find the artist that you are going to be and you use that and do your best to feel it out. And you do stuff you think is cool and interests you and get better along the way, obviously, and, you know, just grow as artists. Our vision of what we wanted to be hasn’t changed that much.

Tell us a little bit about song selection. You all definitely read a crowd well, but not all DJs change up their song selection very much. But you can totally read and take in a crowd, like at ULTRA this past spring, you played a set that fit a particular crowd. How do you gauge the crowd and make those game-time decisions? Also, what is your calculation for song selection at an inside club versus a big festival?

Alex: I mean, it’s hard to distinguish. Like you know they are different and you just feel it. A festival is like thousands of people there, usually just watching and it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the DJ, you know. Whereas, a club is a lot different. You have to distinguish while you are there. Festivals kinda have that vibe to it. They have big crowds and the energy. Yeah, they are just very different.It was incredible. I mean its ULTRA. I’m glad we had a lot of performing. And you know the opportunity came to us and it was exciting. It’s the biggest stage in the world. It was really exciting because it was fucking huge.

What is your philosophy in remixing a track? Where do you start from? What makes you want to remix a song?

Alex: For us, we definitely have to like the song. We don’t make songs we don’t believe in or don’t enjoy. With that said, you always want to be able to offer a song a, uh, different experience, I guess. You know, you don’t want to try to do the same thing as whatever is on it. And ya know, we work with different vocalists and bands, and that’s a big factor for us. We love when the top lines are unique and authentic but kinda stating obvious topics indirectly in a cool way. Also, money… (laughs).

There are a lot of solo DJs, but y’all work in tandem. Generally speaking, what is the production process like when you two collaborate together?

Alex: When it comes to production, Drew is a wizard. I’ve literally seen no one better at producing. Coming up with melodies and really just making enjoyable music—it’s not very mechanical for him at all. For me, I think I bring a different sense to the partnership, like marketing, branding. Ya know, it’s weird how this all works and realizing how difficult it is to establish yourself and to do everything. It’s really a crazy experience. And for us, the partnership really just comes down to balance. There are things in the relationship that just benefit us both.

What do you do to differentiate yourselves from other artists that are a part of this larger Electronic culture?

Alex: Yeah, it’s important to just be yourself, and hopefully we are unique. You know what I mean. For us, we wanna have our own sound, and we don’t try to do what everyone else is doing, but at the same time, we wanna reach as many people as possible with our music– good music. You know what I mean.

The Chromeo remix is really sick. What made that track one of y’all’s better works?

Alex: As producers, it was always about adding things to a song, making it fuller and bigger. But now that we have kinda understood that and pushed it off the beat, it feels like a perfect balance of that. And those lyrics are fucking dope.

“Selfie” hit #1 on the Billboard Dance charts. I gotta ask… Definitely not a typical Chainsmokers release, honestly I pictured you two making that somewhat as a satirical piece of social commentary about how much we take social media perhaps too seriously in this day and age. This certainly gives you more exposure to a larger audience outside just the EDM scene. What would you say to people who have only heard Selfie? What was the story?

Alex: We had no idea it was going to blow up. We thought it was funny, and we wanted to put it out. And everyone was just really, like, into it. I can’t lie (laughs). And we both agree that it’s an annoying song. But it’s fun and it is entertaining. You’re right, and it isn’t our traditional sound, but it is consistent with our personalities as far as the fact that we are all involved in it. For people who haven’t heard any of our past stuff, we are going to try to do as much of that as possible and make sure our songs are more like the Chainsmokers sound, but in some way also touches some of the things that “Selfie” has, like the interactive factor or mobile factor, which we are still figuring out. And make sure it’s cool and we like it. The video is definitely a trip. And everyone has been so supportive.