Metronome #121: Love & Logic

Insomniac’s Metronome series features mixes from some of today’s fastest-rising electronic stars, as well as championed legends. It takes listeners deep across a wide range of genres, movements, cultures, producers, artists and sounds that make up the diverse world of electronic music.

Two names that go without repeating in the house and techno scenes of New York are Chris Love and AB Logic. Since the very beginning, these veterans have seen it all and done it all. From Love’s creation of the legendary SOUP party and founding the Stuck on Earth production company, through to Logic’s work as half of Hoodfellas and his involvement with the Smoke City Music label, there isn’t an aspect of the dance music world they haven’t touched.

With all of that in mind, it only makes sense for them to combine forces as the skilled juggernaut that is Love & Logic. While keeping sharp at the still active and stronger than ever SOUP party, the duo has also hammered out fiery productions for the likes of King Street Sounds, Snatch! Recordings, and Guesthouse Music. More recently, they’ve started their own SOUP Music label, which has seen not only the release of their own sounds, but also works from Renegade Masters, Tekla, and even Japan’s Namy & Akio Hara. It’s not surprising that Love & Logic’s success and reputation have taken off like a rocket. There’s no telling how far they will go.

Would you mind briefly giving the audience a rundown of how Love & Logic came to be and what led to your residency at Cielo?
AB Logic: Chris and I met after he had already restarted SOUP. I think we started working together in 2009/2010… Chris had booked me a few times to play SOUP when it was happening at STAY, here in NYC. After a few events, we decided to do a b2b set at STAY one night, and it went really well. Other promoters around the city noticed us doing b2bs on our own flyers and started asking us to do them at their parties. We realized after a year or so that we needed a name, and Love & Logic came to fruition. We decided to partner on the SOUP brand, as well, and gained momentum fast. We took on a SOUP residency at the legendary NYC venue Sullivan Room, and when they closed their doors, we were looking for a new home. NYC nightlife staple Benny Soto set up a meeting for us with Cielo, and it has been our monthly home ever since!

You’ve both been DJing since the early days of the scene, and SOUP has been a huge part of that. What are some things you’ve noticed that have changed between the early days and your more recent, post-hiatus return?
Chris Love: In the early days, SOUP (Supporting Our Underground Properly) encompassed all types of underground dance music, including early jungle/drum & bass, West Coast breaks, trip-hop, hip-hop, and more. Even Andy Smith of Portishead dropped by for a special set in SOUP’s early years.

AL: Another thing that has changed, for sure, is the record store experience. I think that was a major thread in connecting DJs. Besides being our music supply, record shops were a gathering place where everyone in the scene could convene and chop it up a bit. Now, if you’re a busy DJ, you may not see friends who do other parties, etc. as often, because everyone is working different clubs or playing different cities at different times. It was really cool bumping into fellow DJs midweek at the record shops and catching up. That said, it’s pretty nice carrying USB sticks to the club instead of back-breaking record bags, haha.

As a duo, you play all manner of venues, from the big room of Cielo to the smaller, up-and-coming Tilt, to even boat parties. Is there a different approach you take to get bodies moving for each type of space, or is there a more singular attitude you use for every party?
CL: We always play to the crowd. As DJs, our job is to make people dance. We focus on the floor and do our best to give them what they need to keep moving all night. The music we play translates well in both larger and smaller rooms, so we just vibe off the crowd and use our instincts.

How do you both approach production for Love & Logic tracks? Is it a different process than your previous work (say, AB Logic’s time in Hoodfellas)?
AL: We are constantly scouring all different media for little sample bits and things, and when we find a good idea, we normally build around it with drums and a bassline and go from there. The workflow is really similar, actually, to what I was doing in the Hoodfellas era. Having a collective of people in the studio throwing ideas into the pot makes for fun sessions. There is loads of trial and error, up until the point when we’re like, “That’s it!”—and we build from there.

You work with a very diverse crew of people, both live and in the studio. How does your involvement with someone such as vocalist/MC Born I Music come about?
AL: I have known Born since we met in college at American University in Washington, D.C., back in 2000. I was playing drum & bass at the time, and he was a really well-known MC in the underground hip-hop circle in D.C. Born and I became fast friends, and he became our MC when we played D&B sets. I also DJd for Born and the variety of groups he was involved with through the years at hip-hop shows. Around 2005, when I had made the full-time switch to house music, it was really important to keep Born in the fray. Since house doesn’t generally have an “MC” like D&B, we did lots of experimenting early on to find the most effective ways of incorporating him into DJ performances. As SOUP and Love & Logic evolved, Chris and Born got really tight, and Chris was also really into working with Born, both live at shows and in the studio. We have tons of work in the pipes, including a new project that includes Born, SOUP resident Chris Patrick, and of course, Chris and me. It’s going to be big!

How did you link up with Namy and Akio Hara and come to release their You Make Me EP?
AL: We met Namy and Akio through the Wig (one half of Renegade Masters, who regularly release on the SOUP label and A&R at King Street). We spoke to him online, and when he came here to NYC, we had him play at our SOUP night at TBA in Brooklyn. We hit it off in a big way. I was in Japan last summer, and Namy gave me a copy of some tracks to bring home for the crew to check out. Everyone agreed they were a great fit for SOUP. The You Make Me EP was born! They are very talented and are doing solid house nights regularly in Tokyo. There will be lots more coming via our NYC to Tokyo pipeline.

“Hot Business” was a solid hit for you guys and featured the mighty Derrick Carter, as well as work from Joe Pompeo. How did that collaboration come about, and why did a formal release take so long?
CL: It’s pretty funny, actually, how that record came to be! Joe Pompeo and I were making some loops after-hours in our condo after a SOUP party during Miami Music Week. We came home with a really cool loop. We got in the lab with AB and were flipping through vocal ideas and stumbled upon some vocals from a mix recording of Derrick Carter playing at one of our SOUP nights—where he started speaking mid-set on the mic, saying, “This is hot business.” We laid his vox on our track, and we loved it! The next time we played with Derrick, we played “Hot Business” as the last tune before he went on. He looked at us suspiciously, and we all died laughing. He liked it and agreed to formal use of his voice on the record. Solardo, who were well on the road to house music fame at the time, agreed to remix it, in addition to our good friend Atnarko, who we have long history with, and who also has been making some big noise lately. The project did really well and remains our biggest seller to date on the label.

What artists inspire each of you, and what about them do you strive to achieve?
AL: I’ve drawn from so many different influences over the years. I always look to guys we’ve worked closely with—like Derrick Carter, Sneak, and Stacey Pullen, who have made long careers playing internationally and managed to remain relevant through all the eras—for inspiration and motivation. It’s also been really inspiring seeing good friends who I came up in music with—like Sonny Fodera, and Hugh and Bryan from Golf Clap—making big waves right now. Most importantly, I draw from our own crew. Chris Love, Born, Chris Patrick, Joe Pompeo, Zenbi, and Lady Cherelle all work hard every day in every aspect of what we do, and having inspiring people around all the time definitely helps me keep my axe to the wheel.

CL: Hands down, Derrick Carter is God!

What’s something you feel a lot of artists miss in the studio, and what do you both do to correct that in your own productions?
AL: My biggest pet peeve is when people make awesome songs with some unnecessary element that is not DJ-friendly. Measure changes at random times, or short intros and outros that make it difficult to rinse the record for nice, long mixes, are a big pain. If the song is worth it, we’ll find ourselves spending time making edits to accommodate our style of play—none of that riffraff from Love & Logic, haha.

You’ve got another big boat party coming up on July 22, but what exciting things are in store after? What do you see as the ideal trajectory for Love & Logic?
CL: We are dialed in at the label in a big way. Our Zenbi x Love & Logic “After Hours” single, with a badass remix from Supernova (it’s on the mix here for Insomniac), drops next week on Beatport. We have some great music in the pipes from Sydney Blu, Pirupa, Eskuche, Ciszak, Joe Pompeo, Matchy & Bot, Greco, Return of the Jaded, Renegade Masters, Ant LaRock & Kleinfeld, and more. We are planning some awesome SOUP label events for the fall, with really solid guest talent. Oh yeah… We have been handing out SOUP keys at all our shows since March. Soon enough, those keys will gain people entry into some special parties! Don’t lose them!

Track List:: Vanilla Ace “Whistle Blower”
Shy FX, Shingai “We Just Don’t Care” (DK S.K.T. Remix)
Skapes “Rippin Up Wax”
Vangelis Kostoxenakis “Vogue”
ANOTR “Cultural Decline”
Chris IDH, Dennis Cruz “About You” (Dennis Cruz Remix)
Matt Tolfrey “No Hands
Eskuche “Fire Up”
Claptone ft. George Kranz “The Drums (Dinn Daa Daa)” (Latmun Remix)
Zenbi x Love & Logic “After Hours” (Supernova Remix)
Riaz Dhanani, Herry Ley “No Added Sugar”
Eskuche “Movement”
ZDS “Bang”
James Barnsley “Black Ice” (Nightdrivers Rmx)
DJ Club 123 “Constant