Last month we unleashed this massive remix…
With Protohype on the remix, Dirtyphonics and Modestep’s LA welcome has finally come full circle…
“We’re so excited about this Protohype remix,” exclaims Charly. “What’s funny is that we’re French, Modestep are English and we’ve written a track called Los Angeles. So to have Protohype from LA putting his own touch on it has been great closure. He’s killed it! We’re so happy about this.”
In fact they’re so happy, they’re giving this one away!
And we know a way to get more free Dirtyphonics stuff… Exclusive tracks, tickets, merchandise.
Interested? Then join their DIRTY Army.
We checked, it is actually a proper army. But without any of the serious things like guns and fighting and war.
“Of course it is a proper army!” says Charly. “A lot of our fans wanted to help out and spread the love for the Dirtyphonics so we wanted to open the door to them… Without them we’d be nothing! You can sign up and be part of our street team and spread the word. It goes from talking about the gigs when we come to town to handing out flyers and promoting online. In return you get free tickets and exclusive content that no one else will ever get.”
When you’re touring, sometimes all you see is an airport, a restaurant, a club and a hotel. That’s no way to explore a new country!
If you’re already a fan of the French trio – Thomas has left the band to pursue a career in painting in case you hadn’t heard – then it’s a no brainer. But street teams and promotions aren’t new… The really interesting story is how keen the band are to engage, meet and interact with their fans. This is a level you seldom see, even in underground DJ culture.
“We don’t want a ‘them and us’ we want to be together,” explains Pitchin. “It’s a different way to share what we do every day. It makes me very happy to have people join us on this crazy trip! When you’re touring, sometimes all you see is an airport, a restaurant, a club and a hotel. That’s no way to explore a new country! The best way to explore is sharing experiences with people.”
As a result Charly and Pitchin have ended up in all sorts of crazy scenarios with their fans while on tour. Interacting with their fans and the DIRTY Army before they arrive at a show has given them a real understanding of the places they’re performing and the people they’re performing to. From ending up at an afterparty in an apartment mixing old school hip-hop vinyls to being whisked off to go skydiving, via tours of cities best kept secrets… Dirtyphonics are getting stuck in.
There’s only really obvious question. What happens when a fan gets a bit too intense?
“Some people get intense sometimes, but that’s cool,” grins Charly. “We get intense sometimes too! We’ve been so lucky to have our music take us around the world so it would be crazy not to see things through the eyes of the people who take us there.”
It would also be crazy not to continue their now established tradition of writing new material in-between these wild shows and fan gatherings. Last year saw the release of their debut album Irreverence… The culmination of a year and a half’s work, they wrote almost all of it while touring.
We’ve been feeling trap, we’ve been feeling deep house
“Right now we’re working on our next EP and it’s happening the very same way,” says Charly. “We’ve got some kit on the bus and we’re coming up with ideas as often as we can. Right this minute we’re in LA so obviously a lot of friends are here and we’ve spent time in different studios. That’s what is cool about writing on the road.”
In classic DJ style they refused to tell us who they were working with or what they’re working on. But you know it’s going to be heavy. And genre-smeltingly unpredictable. We’ll leave you with some thoughts on which direction they may take…
“We’ve been feeling trap, we’ve been feeling deep house. Going to parties and hearing those sounds is definitely inspiring,” admits Charly. “We’re always soaking up everything we hear. That’s not to say we’re going to release a deep house record any time soon, but there is always something to take from every genre and put it into the sound that we love making. We never wanted any boundaries and we’ll keep it like that. We’re not playing any games: we write the music we love, we love meeting new people. That’s us!”
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