When Foamo and Rack 'N Ruin teamed up two years ago for a couple of club tracks, who knew it would've developed into the musical powerhouse that is Gorgon City? Having been stood in the studio watching when Matt, Kye, and Yasmin performed "Real" for a simple live session—which, due to the popularity of the track, quickly became their official video—it was clear at that moment, this was more than a simple crossover track. They had something that could translate to your average listener, not just the clubbers shuffling their limbs away of a weekend; these were songs you could also sing your lungs out to. The Black Butter Records-signees have carved out their own place in the UK's house music arena—following in the footsteps of their label-mates, Rudimental, and the super-talented Disclosure.
Focused on staying true to their sound, the developing artists have managed to draw in a mainstream audience that has resulted in chart hits, whilst simultaneously keeping the ravers on their toes with underground bangers and playing DJ sets across the world over. The dance duo also managed to slip in time to provide sick remixes for the likes of Jessie Ware, Clean Bandit and Santigold—plus, they produced comeback and breakout singles for The Klaxons and Jess Glynne, respectively. Having just released their debut album, Sirens, Complex UK caught up with one half of Gorgon City, Kye (aka Foamo), to talk growth, partying, splashing out, the injection of soul in dance music, and taking risks.
Interview by Nardene Scott (@NardeneScott)
The last 18 months have been crazy for you guys. Taking it back to the epic drop on "Real", what were your hopes and thoughts for the future from that point?
When Matt and I started Gorgon City, it was just like a side project and we linked up with Yasmin and made "Real". It was just meant to be an underground house track—we weren't really thinking of who would pick up on it, so it came as a massive surprise that it got so much radio play and crossed over. We performed it on Jools Holland the other day and we were saying it's amazing what has happened.
Have you had that moment where it all just hits you? You've achieved so much in a short space of time.
Yeah, it's crazy! We're always so busy that you don't get a chance to take it in but you do get moments—especially when we play a gig. In the summer, when we played at Hard Festival in LA, just the amount of people that came to see our set and knew the music was a real eye opener. It's been nice to see moments like that.
Especially in the US, too; they've finally caught onto the fact that there is more than your standard "EDM."
Yes, you're right. America's really getting up to speed with UK dance music; everyone is getting into what is going on over here. It's definitely a good time for UK music right now.
Looking through the sleeve collage of your Sirens album gives a pretty good impression of what you guys have been up to over the past year: touring non-stop. What has been the craziest party you've experienced so far?
We had a tour around March in Australia. It was a festival tour that went to every city with the same line-up and everyone travelling together. There were some pretty crazy after-parties; we were mainly hanging out with the Rudimental guys, Sub Focus and Chase & Status. The last night of the tour things got pretty messy in Adelaide. We stayed up all night and pretty much everyone was as bad as each other, that night was pretty epic. Straight after that, we went to Chicago and then to SXSW Festival, Miami, and Coachella so it was just like a proper round the world trip, flying everyday. It was fun, but pretty painful at the same time [laughs].
For an album with so many artists, some established and some emerging, was there ever a point when you were scared the songs wouldn't mesh together so seamlessly?
We didn't over-think it. When we do a session, we get into the studio with the vocalist and just start a tune from scratch without thinking too much about what we're trying to aim with it. You get the best out of the artists that way. We wanted each track to have its own vibe. We wanted it to be quite varied on the album: we've got some dirty club rollers like "6AM" then something more R&B, like "FTPA" or something a bit more downtempo like "Hard On Me". That's one of my favourites on the album, because Maverick Sabre proper went in on that; it was so honest and heartfelt.
Who would you say have been your favourite three artists to collaborate with on Sirens?
Katy B, just because I've been a massive fan of hers from the start. She's a proper underground hero! She started off with the whole Rinse crew making UK funky and house tracks, went on to do the whole dubstep thing with Magnetic Man and now she’s doing her own thing. It's good to see her journey and get in the studio with her. MNEK is just a crazy-talented writer and so young! We worked on "Ready For Your Love" and "Here For You" with him, which was great fun. And I'd have to say Yasmin, too, because she's been with us for the whole journey.
Do you feel like you took risks on this album?
I think we did. You might expect to do something really electronic and clubby, but all the tracks are songs that. We could've alienated our fanbase, but we just wanted to make an album that would last a while. I think if we made our normal club bangers, then they might get out-of-date quite quickly. We still like making stuff like that for our DJ sets and EPs but, with this album, hopefully it will reach people that wouldn't normally listen to this kind of stuff.
R&B star Jennifer Hudson also features on Sirens. How did you react when you first heard her vocals, as you weren't in the studio together?
I think that is one of the first times where we've made a track where we weren't in the studio with the singer. We wrote the track with Kiesza and we knew that Jennifer Hudson wanted to vocal it, but we just forgot about it because she just never came back to us. Two days before the album was due to be mastered, she just sent this vocal over and it was proper sick. We were like, "Oh shit! We've got to get in the studio and finish off this track." She just smashed it! I think she gives it that classic vibe that it needed.
What three albums would you say have influenced Gorgon City's sound?
Getting into D&B was a massive moment. Matt and I always talk about the old Ray Keith compilation that we both had, called Vintage Dread 2000. Chemical Brothers' Dig Your Own Hole was one of the first records that got me into electronic music, and also The Streets' first album—which I still think was so ahead of its time.
You're not wrong there. Okay, so lastly, what have you splashed out on over the past year?
After signing the deal, I bought a BMW car—but it wasn't crazily expensive. I actually haven't driven that car in a while [laughs]. I've got it in a parking lot! It costs like £20 a day to park there and I've left it for like a month, so it costs about a grand. But what I do is, when I get there, I press the buzzer and say I've lost my parking ticket and they go, "Oh! We're going have to charge you for the whole day now", and then they just charge you for one day. That's my little cheeky tip [laughs]. I bought a new watch as well, but it's weird because we haven't really had the time to treat ourselves; we're just always on tour. It's good, though, because you end up saving your money instead of buying ridiculous things. I don't think our management will let us go away. We're already starting album two in a month and getting the sessions in again. But I'm itching to start work work again.
Gorgon City's 'Sirens' LP is out now.
They play Outbreak Festival in Coventry on October 31.
