Yuksek has done it again with his most recent album Living on the Edge of Time. This talented French electronic producer will playing in New York City on April 5^th at Santos House Party. See you there.

The sound from Away from the Sea heavily changed from Living on the Edge of Time. What inspired you to change the sound of the second album?  Did you initially want to make a record that’s a different sound? Or did it just happen naturally through the process?

No, it’s just that I spend most of my time in the studio doing music, and doing the same for 4 years would have been a nightmare… I mean I try, experiment with things, and what I initially wanted was to sing the songs myself and not have features. 

I read in an old interview that you described Away from the Sea as “Sex and sun, love, happiness in the world.” How would you describe Living on the Edge of Time?

Sunset, friendship, journey, and tender lovin’.

How has pairing with Brodinsky changed your approach to music?

To be honest, I didn’t think it changed anything in my approach of music except putting more fun into it, and personally he helps me with “being in society.”

I love the “Always on a Run” music video.  How did you get the idea for the theme?

Most of the time we ask movie production companies to send us projects, and this one was the best! I’m not too much into violence into music videos but their vision was different, more poetic.

In terms of your remixes, do you approach the artists, or do they approach you?

They approach me, or their management or label.

Before you remix a song, are there certain features in the track which you look for that go well with your beats?  For example, tempos, bass, pitch…certain elements in a song that you look for?

Vocals, vocals and vocals… Most of the time that’s the only element I keep from the original track.

What do you like better-live or set DJ?

I’m more into doing live, really playing and singing on stage, and I’m doing 90% of live performances. But I like DJing in clubs sometimes, it’s fun and relaxing.

Any new remixes coming up?

First Serve featuring De La Soul – Must Be The Music, Katy Perry – Peacock, Gold Fields – Moves and The Young Professionals – DISCO.

Who would you want to work with?

The next interesting person I’ll meet. The last one was Stephen “The Magician” Fasano, we released few tracks on Kitsuné and we have new things coming in the next months under the name “PETER & The MAGICIAN”.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

Playing kitsch love songs on piano.

Hailing from North Wales, The Joy Formidable has won the hearts of rock music lovers with their album, The Big Roar. Thankfully, they will be playing at New York City’s Terminal 5 on March 28^th.  I spoke with lead vocalist/guitarist, Ritzy Bryan.

I love the band’s name. How did you choose it?

It appeared in the first few weeks of writing back in North Wales; it could have been a lyric or a song title, but it felt like it captured more of the spirit in general.

You have some remarkable characteristics in your music (thick and textured melodies, riffs, pop hooks etc) that make you guys truly unique. Did you have any particular influences that helped inspire your sound?

We’ve always written in a bubble, we’ve never analyzed or referenced it to anything else. We’re passionate about music and we’re very open to all styles and genres, there’s only good or bad music ultimately. We’re inspired by artists that are themselves, that are dynamic, that have something to say, and that show a bit of heart.

I know you guys put a lot of emphasis on being a really good live band , over the past couple years, how do you think playing live has changed with the evolution of technology? Is it ever frustrating when people are fidgeting with their iPhones taking pictures?

Technology has to be embraced, it’s exciting and it has the ability to enhance the live shows if you strike a decent balance. We welcome what technology brings to our stage, but it can’t take the place of the soul and the sweat and the spontaneity.

How has coming from Wales made an impact?  Do the music trends differ in Wales compared to the U.S.?

We’re from North Wales. We had rural upbringings and music was a retreat. It’s a quiet area… There’s a lot of talent, but not a huge legacy of bands who have broken through to wider audiences. We didn’t have a lot of references, nothing to compare ourselves to and I think that brings a greater sense of creative freedom and a tenacity to shake things up. We don’t really pay attention to music trends on either side of the pond.

You have several sold out shows throughout the U.S. and plenty of major music festivals under your belt, all within a couple of years.. Did you initially anticipate any of these exciting things when you first started the band?

We didn’t give it any thought to be honest.  From the start, we were driven by the chemistry of the songwriting and the connection we had as a band. None of us were having an easy time.  This band was and still is our sanctuary and our distraction.

What are you listening to these days?

Not very much, we’ve been finishing our second album and that usually silences our listening habits.

What are your future plans?

We’ll be releasing our second record this year, that bodes to keep us busy.

For more information, check out www.thejoyformidable.com

It’s very simple; no one can get enough of Brad Oberhofer. He broke out with the fresh sound that everyone had been craving to hear. Now, this Tacoma bred-Brooklyn based artist is rollin’ with the core music crowd and gaining notoriety by the day. Luckily, you can catch him at the Bowery Ballroom March 21^st. Every one of your pennies would be worth it.

What’s the difference between Washington State’s versus Brooklyn’s music scene?

Oberhofer: I think Brooklyn’s music scene is just more expansive! There are so many places to play, so many neighborhoods to hang out in, and more potential friends!

You blew up after the release of o0Oo0Oo.  Were you surprised at how quickly everything evolved?

Oberhofer: I don’t think I really noticed!

So you play all the instruments separately on your album?

Oberhofer: Mostly. The rest of the band plays on the record too! Matt Scheiner plays some guitar parts, Dylan Treleven plays some bass, and Pete Sustarsic plays drums.  I also had my friend Kristine Kruta play cello, my friend Tessa Sacramone play violin, my friend Cicourel Hanly play Oboe, and my friend Natalie Young play flute. (Steve Lillywhite played a percussion track here and there.  They’re all super talented.

I read you started playing music in 4th grade.  From that point on, did you always know you wanted to be a professional musician?

Oberhofer: No, it took a while!

I also read you used to freestyle rap. Would you ever incorporate any freestyling/hip-hop elements into future tracks?

Oberhofer: Maybe, I haven’t tried yet!

You have recorded some beautiful love songs. Is that one of the main themes present in your music?

Oberhofer: I love a lot of things, I figure it must.

My friend told me about the epic time when you performed a cover of Kanye’s Runaway at Spotify’s show at Mercury Lounge. Are you ever going to release that version?

Oberhofer: That sounds fun!

Congrats on Coachella! What an honor….On a scale from 1-10, how excited are you to perform at the festival?

Oberhofer: 10!

I always ask a random question, do you have a favorite karaoke song? 

Oberhofer: I don’t pick favorites, but I did Space Oddity the other night and it felt really nice.

The Darcy’s, the Toronto rock quartet, recently released their new album, AJA and are starting their first U.S. tour. I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Jason Couse, the day before they headed to their first stop in California.

So how’s the touring circuit been?

Couse: It’s good. We haven’t really done this much year. We had one night off in Montreal, we then drove all the way through there and back, which was a nice taste for what was to come in the next two weeks. We’re just getting started for the season, and it’s going to be action adventure for sure.

Do you guys have a favorite song to play during shows?

Couse: Recently, we’ve been playing Home at Last off of AJA. It seems to be a good mood setter for the set.  Also, for us it helps us all connect to each other and feel warmed up and ready to cook for the rest of the time. That’s kind of the top track right now. 

Is Steely Dan one of your band’s main inspirations?

Couse: Yeah, in an indirect way. It’s kind of the music that we all grew up with our father’s playing in the car and they were like, “Listen to this! You will learn to love this one day.” The interesting thing about Steely Dan is there is a very lustrous shine to it that people find it hard to break through. It’s kind of mischievous sometimes. Learning it as kids, we kind of took it for granted.  It hasn’t necessarily influenced all the music we have made but it comes down to their attention to detail, and their constant reinvention we respect in a big way. 

What was your decision to release your album for free?

Couse: There are a lot of bands that are trying to put up music right now. Us, as a relatively young and new band, it’s really important that we try to maximize our exposure and grow as much as we can in our own way.  We try to have as many people as we can hear us, rather than make a couple dollars off a record. This way, we will be exposed to more people which is important to us because we didn’t work on AJA thinking about how much money we can make. Rather, it was us pouring ourselves into a creative project and trying to realize it was fully possible. After working that hard, you want people to hear it. You want it to be accessible to them. That’s what it’s made for, made for sharing. 

The tough thing about that is there’s a lot of resources going into a rock band including touring, traveling. You need a van with lots of equipment, time off work, etc. It’s gets tricky at a certain point, but it’s all with a greater purpose in mind. 

How does the crowd differ come Canada to the US?

Couse: We have yet to play a show in the US. Our first show will be in San Diego at the Casbah. Most of us have never been there at all, so we have four days to drive down from Ontario to San Diego. 

So is your name inspired by Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice?

Couse: Yes and no. We kind of stumbled into the name.  There was a point when we were all in English Literature class together and we were reading that book at the same time. Alot of the work that we were reading for that time period was kind of dry, but when we ended up reading that book, we found him as an interesting character. That’s something that kind of fell into place and all of a sudden, we had a different artistic idea and different lineup and aesthetic. It has been with us a long time.

How is his character present in your music?

Couse: I guess you could say it in that way. In general, his demeanor and aesthetic is aloof and cryptic.  He was well-dressed, chose his words cautiously, but yet quite the cutting guy.  He’s a cool dude. He knows that he has something to offer and the way he carries him self through that, although he comes across as arrogant, he is still modest in a way. I think all those are interesting qualities. We are similar in that we don’t want to give too much away. 

I love your music video, Don’t Bleed Me.  How did you guys come up with that?

Couse: Mike, the guy who directed it, had an apocalyptic scenario in the works for a while. He had been sitting on this idea and originally wanted to do it for a different song of ours. It was more fitting for Don’t Bleed Me and kind of through the process of us scouting locations and brainstorming different ideas to include in the video, there was a lot of discussion. Sometimes you have a video in mind when producing a song but there seems to be a massive gulf between what you write and when you work on the idea.

What’s the future for you guys?

Couse: Well AJA is fairly fresh, considering it just came out a couple weeks ago. We are going to be preparing for tour for a while, and also keeping busy with using our spare time for writing another album that’s coming along. We got a ton of ideas.

Pretty Good Dance Moves are about to release their new full length album, Limo, on February 7, which is divided between 8 different magical Movements.  Luckily, they have residency in New York City’s venue, Pianos, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to check them out.

Are you excited for the touring circuit?

PGDM: We are excited to get on the road and out of NYC for a minute. You know the best part about leaving is coming back. I’ve been locked in the studio all winter working a few different projects so it will be fun getting out with some PGDM tracks again.

What’s your favorite thing about being on tour?

PGDM: Meeting new people and playing every night. Good combo.

Can you talk about the 8 individual Movements in the album? 

PGDM: The record was originally supposed to be 1 track with no breaks but we decided we should give the option to skip around.

Did you ever have the urge to title the songs differently? 

PGDM: TNo, not at all actually. If we break the record up into “tracks” we can’t title them because then it would be defeat the purpose of what we are going for. We didn’t want to release singles but a full record to be listened to from cover to cover.

What are the main differences between Limo and PGDM EP? 

PGDM: The EP was just a handful of tracks we  picked from about a dozen that we recorded one winter.  The tracks all had there own thing and it was more synth popped. Limo has it’s own vibe. Originally, it was going to be an instrumental record (till Sabina blew us away). We didn’t go in trying to make songs, but just surrounded ourselves with Moogs, a prophet, Wurlitzer, bass guitar, drum set, sequencer, Juno etc… And whatever we had after weeks of tracking is what we would go with. Just experimented.

I love the playful theme of your video “Dancing Demons.” Do you have any ideas for upcoming videos?

PGDM: A 32 minute long music video directed by Antoine Wagner that’s shot here (in NYC) and in Paris. It’s the first video we didn’t do completely ourselves. It’s in the editing phase now, and it looks good.

What are the perks of being an electronic based band? 

PGDM: Hmmm, probably the best stuff we have ever recorded we have never released because it’s too “out.” We are saving it for a different project I guess. This band is great because it’s a collaborative project and we get to work with different people. My favorite artist/record is probably Edan’s “Primitive Plus.” We would love to step in that world next. That would be sick. Growing and getting better.

I have to ask, what would you say is your favorite dance move? 

PDGM: Copter.

Dallas Green aka City and Colour came through Terminal 5 in New York on his latest tour. This was the first City and Colour tour since the Alexisonfire breakup announcement, and also probably the biggest City and Colour US tour yet. Last time I spoke to Dallas Green was on Warped Tour 2009 when Alexisonfire was still going strong and they were touring in support of what would become their last record, Old Crows/Young Cardinals. Since then, City and Colour has blown up in America and they’ve played a variety of big shows including the big FYF Fest MWTX show at SXSW and Coachella. It was evident that night at Terminal 5 that City and Colour has come a long way since the acoustic tunes that Dallas Green used to put out and play on the side from his original post-hardcore band.

When I first saw you play as City and Colour, you were supporting Tegan and Sara at the Music Box sometime around 2008. What’s changed for City and Colour in America since then?

Something that would be completely different would be that we have a band. I’ve also put out another record. Quit another band, got older, got a little grey hair, haha but that’s ok.

Do you have any plans or desire to do something more with Tegan and Sara in the future? Maybe a record?

I desire to be with them every day of my life because they are two of the best people I’ve ever met. But, I can’t.

The set you played at Coachella this year was much different than what I originally saw at the Music Box. The new album is much more full sounding than Bring Me Your Love was. What brought on the change?

There were definitely songs that I heard as a full band. When I demoed them, I demoed them without instruments and I listened to it and thought, “Yeah, I like that.” I didn’t want to make a record folk because that’s what people thought it should be. That’s not what I do. I write songs that I want to hear and make me happy first and hopefully people can listen to them and enjoy them as well.

Tell me about the decision to end Alexisonfire and do City and Colour full time.

It was not my decision to end Alexisonfire. I quit Alexisonfire and subsequently, they decided to break up because another member had an opportunity to do something else and the other guys just decided not to continue. Well I spent 10 years doing that and 5 of those years I was doing this at the same time. It just got to be too much for me. My heart was leaning more towards writing and touring on these songs, rather than it was trying to find new ways to be in a genre of music that I didn’t want to be in. I was struggling to find ideas for new songs and I wasn’t enjoying the touring because I knew I had this and wanted to try to fully put everything I had into this. So many things were happening with City and Colour without me putting all of my efforts. I thought, if I don’t do this now, then ill resent everything that I’ve done looking back on it now. Now I can appreciate the 10 years of being in that band.

Are you going to miss playing loud and energetic shows?

Occasionally, yeah. There are some pretty loud moments in the City and Colour show. Right now, this is where I need to be. Especially, with my voice; I feel like this is how I should be singing. When I was screaming at the top of my lungs of for an hour and a half it just didn’t feel that’s what I should be doing. I was always worried and it was always a struggle. Whereas now when I go out, I can just enjoy it.

The breakup announcement on the Alexisonfire website mentioned the possibility of a round of 10th anniversary farewell shows. Any possibility of an epic Gallows/City and Colour/Alexisonfire tour bill?

I would 100% be a part of it, and no I don’t see it happening.

Do you prefer the frontman role or the supporting role you had previously?

Well, if you notice, I don’t stand in the middle I stand out to the side. I have no desire in the middle and be a frontman. I know the band is my thing, but I don’t ever see it in that way. Some musicians love being in the middle and having that limelight. We actually tried it on this tour in Detroit. I stood in the middle and we were going to change everything around. Next night, we were like “That was pretty good, right?” Then I was like, “I’m going to go back to the right,” and everyone was like, “Yeah, get back to the right, it’s way cooler. I think of guys like Ryan Adams or Ray LaMontagne where they always stand out to the side too. I know it’s mainly my songs, but I have this band of my friends and I have been standing on stage right for 10 years.

From what I’ve been told, Canadian artists can get money from the government to tour and make music videos. Do you think this plays a big role in helping out smaller bands? How has it helped you throughout your career?

It helped Alexisonfire because one of the main things is called VideoFact that apply to make a video. We made a video in 2002 and it got played on so MuchMusic,(Canada’s MTV) and it got on this fan-voted show and reached number one. This was back when that genre of music was not even remotely popular. The fact that we were able to do that on this mainstream television show where we got to make this video of these screaming kids running around, was amazing. That was a huge development for us and our fan base in Canada. It allowed for so many kids across Canada to see what we were doing. We made tons and tons of videos now and it was helped payed for by the government. They also helped us tour. Alexis was huge touring band and toured everywhere. That’s why on alot of Canadian records that come out, you will see a note that says “Funded by the Canadian Government.” It’s a lot easier for us to do that because our population is 33 million which is the size of California. It’s great to able to come from a society where they help the arts. It is probably most of the reason why I can sit here in this interview with you.

Why do you think America has never created some sort of program like this?

American has so many people to take care. In Canada, there’s only 30 million of us in a giant country. That’s why Canadians are so nice, because there’s not enough of us to get on each other’s nerves hah.

What’s in the future for City and Colour? New album? More touring?

I’m going to go tour Canada in the Winter. The cold weather and snow don’t bother me because I’ve grown up there. It can get tough because shows get canceled and things like that just happen.

Paper Diamond is the multi-talented artist who runs a label, design firm, and clothing store (Elm and Oak).  This Colorado based DJ is mostly well known for his energetic beats, high synths, and rich vocals.  I caught up with him before be played at New York City’s Webster Hall.

Tell me about Elm and Oak.

PD: The start of it means Exclusive Limited Merchandise and One of A Kinds. My friend started it in Virginia back in the day and it was his art company and design firm.  As a musician I was always repping the clothes and everything.  I’m a designer as well, and do a lot of typography and set of type design.  We decided instead of starting a new company, we would make Elm and Oak the hub for everything. Now, Elm and Oak is a design firm, a record label, a clothing store, and we have a boutique on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado. We design clothing, manage bands, make videos, and do photography.

To me, all those things are interconnected.  If you play guitar, you might as well play bass and drums. If you take pictures, you do editing and video.  For us, Elm and Oak is a community of people supporting each other to be able to live as artists and support themselves. 

I love the symbol representing Elm and Oak…

PD: Yeah, it’s the two axes. We are cutting down the tree with the axes and it represents the rise of being hard working, sharp, and on point. Not only is it a company, but people treat it like a family. People even have Elm and Oak tattoos. It’s our crew. 

How do you scout out the artists on the label?

PD: A lot of the artists are close friends of mine. The band Two Fresh is on my label and the band Charub is one I’m working hard on. The people I put on are the people I’m passionate about and the people I believe in.  Its been really cool to help these artists develop their careers.

I know you are on Pretty Lights Music label as well. Do you ever find it hard keeping them (Elm and Oak/PLM) divided?

PD: It’s not hard because it’s two musical families and groups. I support PLM as much as I support those on Elm and Oak. Everyone on PLM are Derek’s friends. He cares about the music and it all makes sense, but at the same time there are people around me that I want to have.  He has his friends in his circle, and I have my friends in my circle. We all just cross pollinate. It’s great for everyone.

What’s the electronic scene like in Colorado compared to LA and New York?

PD: It’s crazy in Colorado just as much as NYC and LA.  In CO, thousands of people are coming out to see acts and it rivals the other music scenes. As far as the electronic scene goes, Denver is a mecca for electronic music. The mainstream press is just starting to catch on and many monumental things are coming along with it. There are many musicians that want to express themselves from CO and if you have real talent, you are able to establish yourself.

What are your thoughts behind free music? I downloaded your album for free!

PD: Moving forward with technology and embracing it is how people stick with the times if you are going to continue being a musician.  I embrace it and encourage people on my label to put out free music because I know how my friends and I get music.  It’s about spreading happiness, expressing myself artistically, and making myself happy through doing shows.  I don’t care if people get it for free, or if they steal it, or if they pay for it. 

Speaking of technology, I noticed you play on an iPad during your shows…

PD: I can control on my computer wirelessly from an iPad from a layout I designed and it makes it so I can get more involved. When people are getting hyped up, I can get hyped up and I don’t have to stand hunched over the tables. I’m able to control the different parts of my show from the drums, to the bass to the synths, and it’s all multi-tracks so I can mix different parts of different songs.  I never know where I’m going to go with it, so it makes it fun for me every night.

I know where it’s going to start, but I follow the crowd and see what’s going to happen. I have every song I ever made in my files so I can go wherever I want.  If I think a crowd is feeling more dubstep, I can play another one of my songs, then move into some hip-hop tempo stuff or moombahton, or electro-house.  I’m able to play a wide array of tracks with different people because I have so much music and I’m inspired by all things. 

Sometimes I’ll write a song and that hasn’t been released yet and test it out on the crowd.  If it doesn’t work with the crowd, I’ll go back and literally change it before the record is out. My new record I’m working on is Paragon, and I’m about 6 out of 8 tracks done. I’ve been able to play alot of these tracks and go back and work on them after a show, so the record is almost road tested.

What are you listening to these days?

PD: Little Dragon, I would love to work with her someday. I’ve also been listening to a lot of electronic music like Feed Me, Porter Robinson, Zed, and Cherub.  I listen to records all the time too.  I’m a record collector so I still go digging for music and keep it open. I love all kinds of music.

Did you ever sample from any of the records you have?

PD: I didn’t much on the newest record (Levitate).  The one I’m currently working on is mostly synth work. I spend so many years doing the Alex B thing, which was kind of hip-hop sample based stuff.  For me, I’m just trying to keep it open, and not get locked in certain things.

Anything we should know about your future plans?

PD: I have a new album, new singles, and new videos in the works.  There are some new releases from Cherub and Two Fresh. The clothing line constantly has new clothes that are coming out and our store is open 7 days a week.  Music, art, and traveling is what I do all the time. I’m just going to keep grinding and making new music and making new art. Keepin’ it fresh. 

Well said Paper Diamond, well said.

Chuckie, the internationally known DJ hailing from Holland, is blowin’ up the speakers with his new track, “Who is ready to jump,” and is quickly carving a wide avenue in the city of the electronic industry.  Chuckie’s self-made label, event company, iPhone App, and musical movement, Dirty Dutch Music is now a staple within the industry.

Want to talk about Dirty Dutch music?

Chuckie: I wanted to do my own club tour with like 300 gigs a year and I kind of got bored by the way the promotors set up things. I wanted to decide how I set my own entertainment and how the DJ’s play and the line up. So I started to do this DD party, then I did a tour with like 50 dates in total. I basically did it and it succeeded.  Infact, it got sold out three years in a row.

Now Dirty Dutch has propelled into a new genre with a Dutch-esque flare…

Chuckie: It was successful because it had a different feel in the compared to whatever was happening within the whole dance industry at that moment. It got started in the right direction. So before you knew it there was a whole movement that started globally. That’s the best thing you could have. Then people started seeing it as a new musical genre. That’s unbelievable.

Dirty Dutch even has it’s own iPhone App called Blackout…

Chuckie: Everywhere I have a theme for the DD parties and this year I’ve decided to take it more Blackout, all black everything, inspired by Jay-Z’s wise words. Also, in the wintertime, if you throw a party, it’s hard to find clothes in white. I know, when I wear all black I feel a little bit more dark, mysterious, and sharp.  It’s going to be really awesome.  Also, the line up is kind of different than we normally do. There is a different international line-up and we will have artists like Knife Party and more.  Every year I have set my game up as far as the party and I have to keep the people interested. It’s hard to keep people interested so I always try to find something different or at least try different angle.

The new track, “Who’s Ready to Jump?” is an ode to all those wild U.S. electo-lovers.  What are your thoughts when a new song releases?

Chuckie: I made that record and sampled my own voice from EDC Las Vegas. I wanted to do something with that phrase because every time a beat drops, if you are playing in a U.S. festival, they always jump like crazy.  I wanted to do a record made for that kind of crowd.  It’s really a special record to me.  As for working on remixes, I have one from Dillon Francis, Skrillex, and 12^th Planet who are already playing, so that’s really good to see. They kind of accepted it. That’s really good for me because I saw alot of people were talking about it on the blogs.  The moment it came out, I got so much love from the blogs and everybody was supporting it so I was really happy about that.

I noticed you always wear hats, do you have a favorite or lucky hat?

Chuckie: No, I don’t have a favorite hat because I keep on losing my hats all the time so every time I get a chance to buy a new hat, I buy a new hat. Right now it’s all about the snapbacks! It’s the hip-hop in me.  I used to be a hip-hop DJ in Holland. At certain point, I converted from a Hip-Hop DJ to a House crowd.  People in the hip-hop scene were not as accepting and my managers suggested I take my cap off when I play at a house party.  But that makes me, me. Finally, they accepted me with my hat. I think it would be weird if I DJ’ed without a hat. 

I was reading your touring schedule and basically you are performing every night. How do you do it?

Chuckie: I like DJing alot so the more better. The time when I’m behind the decks, even when I’m tired, it’s just adrenaline and this is what really keeps me alive and going. I could be tired right before a set but the moment I get on, adrenaline takes over and it’s pure energy. That’s how I do it. Also, you have to know when to take your rest and no where my limits are so I don’t go too crazy.

I’ve seen you play and your opening act is quite the theatrical spectacle.  Did you come up with that?

Chuckie: You always do your research and a little homework. You try to find something that makes a big entrance. It’s always a preparation and something you give extra thought, especially if it’s a big show. When I prepare something, there’s like a 1000 kids filming on YouTube, so it better be good.  Every year when I do the DD event as well, I’ve got 30,000 people in front of me and I do the intro and half the room is filming it and I know that it’s going to end up on YouTube. 

What are the craziest shows you’ve been to?

Chuckie: It’s all so different but I like the festivals. I enjoyed this and last year’s EDC. Last year, it was in LA and 100,000 people were in front of me. I literally just came off a flight and it was my birthday so it was a special day for me. Also, this year in Vegas, 30 minutes before I started, there was nobody in that area I had to play at. Then 5 minutes before I got on, it just filled up over the place and I had a really good crowd. Generally I like to play the stage. It’s so diverse everywhere I go. 

What do you think is next for electronic music?

Chuckie: It’s evolving so fast. I think right now, the direction is going off course. Alot of people get introduced to dance music in a different way. Some people discover it by the internet, some by a record Pit Bull did, or a record Usher did. Every one has their own experience with discovering electronic music. At the end of the day, 5 years from now, there will be many of people exposed to our music. Then, if you are really interested in music, you are going to look for more underground unknown stuff.  All music genres goes through this process and then goes back to the original form.  People are going to try and discover something new about the music, so it will continue to become strong and stronger. Normally what happens is, when the music crosses over to pop and people get tired of it, people don’t want to deal with the commercial house anymore.  In general, we have a strong background as far as electronic underground music goes, so it’s here to stay.

The rest of this year (as well as in 2012) Chuckie has residency at NYC’s Lavo. Check him out!