AndDrop!
Origin: None
AndDrop! is the brainchild of Joe and brothers Harris and Sylvain. The crew recently relocated to LA after making a name for themselves in the SF/Bay Area with their fusion of hard-hitting electro, big builds, and melodic breakdowns. Deriving their name from that pivotal moment in every banger dance track, AndDrop!’s original mixes and sets revolve around just that – the “drop.”
After holding a residency in Cape Town, South Africa at the historic Assembly, AndDrop! returned to the Bay Area to finish up their Degrees at UC Berkeley. In January they saw their debut EP ‘Boogaloo’ hit #1 on the Beatport top 100 release chart across all genres and sit there for well over a week (remaining on the Electro House charts as late as May). Chuckie then featured ‘Miles’s Song (Original Mix)’ on his BBC Radio 1 residency dropping it during primetime in the UK. They have gone on to light up dance floors with the likes of Sander Van Doorn (L.A. Exchange), Thomas Gold (Ruby Skye), Bassjackers, Mord Fustang, Le Castle Vania, Project 46, GRiZ, Figure, LA Riots, Haezer, and many other high profile acts. They recently finished up their official remix of ‘Dagger’ for The Cataracts which will come out later this summer. With support coming from the likes of Krewella, Deorro, Diplo, Munchi, Haezer, and others there is little doubt left about what these kids can do.
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We’ve all been involved with music for a long time. Syl’s been writing and recording piano compositions since he was a youngster. Joe’s been DJing and performing since he was fifteen. Harris has been making computer music for about eight years. It’s a collaborative process, and we each bring a range of skills and influences to the table. When asked, we like to describe our sound as party music. It’s a fusion of hard-hitting electro, big builds and melodic breakdowns. Our name is derived from that pivotal moment in every banger dance track when the tension is released and the beat kicks in. Our sets and original productions revolve around just that-the “drop.” After a few years of exploring our sound and improving our production and live skills, we were able to top the Beatport charts with our debut EP “Boogaloo” and get airplay on Chuckie’s BBC Radio 1 show. A few months later, we had our biggest release through ThisSongIsSick with our funky electro track “Pow Wow.” Now, to our great honor, we find ourselves landing a spot at the EDC Discovery Stage with our new track “Basic Instinct.”
Interview
Home Town: Fresno, CA & Washington, D.C.
Currently Living: Los Angeles, CA
Origin Of Name: It’s kind of a long story but basically we wrote out some of the parts to a track on a napkin one night in Berkeley. When it got to where the drop was supposed to go Harris wrote Annnnnnnd…Drop! as a placeholder. Harris’ girlfriend saw that days later and suggested it when we were brainstorming ideas and it stuck.
Weapon of Choice: Malstrom. Massive. Sylenth.
Source of Power: Melbourne, Dutch, jungle, hardstyle, electro house, minimal, fidget. We’re all over the map.
Was there one particular moment in the recording or mixing process for your Discovery Project entry that made you feel like you were creating something pretty damn special?
We were juggling between a few tracks in the studio, but “Basic Instinct” stood out to us as having a really unique, dance-y flavor. We were jamming to a lot of jackin’ house and Moda Black stuff, and wanted to do our own spinoff incorporating our electro vibe. We were pretty pleased with the outcome—a fusion of fidget, electro and house music. There was a moment when we had the track on repeat in the final mix down stages when it suddenly struck us how sick it’d be to get a vocalist on the track. We reached out to MC Shantie (UK) via Facebook message and he said he was game! We couldn’t have been more stoked on the final product.
What is your ultimate career dream?
A headliner set at Fabric London would be epic. Such an awesome club. So many talented acts that we admire and respect have played there.
What do you remember about your first DJ gig?
Our first gig together as “AndDrop!” was a stripper party at a student co-op in Berkeley called Casa Zimbabwe. We were spinning and people we’re getting naked. This chick was using a lot of whip cream and this dude was doing backflips.
What sound or noise do you love?
We love house-y wobbles and midrange Melbourne Dutch. That woooohwoh and the “baw-dawh-dawh!” And occasionally some “deet ta deet deet!”
How, if at all, does listening to music figure into your creative process? What’s the last song you heard that made you drop what you were doing and go into the studio?
Styles and genres of dance music change so quickly. Sometimes the best thing for our creative process is hearing one of those oldies but goodies play on shuffle to bring us back down to earth. For us, the best dance tunes are timeless. “Blau” by Laidback Luke and Lee Mortimer came on the other day and we were like “Oh shit…let’s produce!”
Tell me about your most memorable night out as an artist or as a fan.
EDC 2010 in Los Angeles was an eye opener. Before then, we’d been listening to electronic dance music in a bit of a bubble up in Berkeley. We got to EDC and realized how truly massive the scene was, and obviously craved to hear our tunes being played on those speakers. Three years later, we can’t believe how far the culture and music has come, how far our own music sets and productions have come, and that we had the opportunity to be on stage to contribute to the EDC experience.
What gets you excited when you think about the future of electronic music and club culture?
A lot of people are under the impression that this EDM scene is a bubble that’s about to burst. We don’t think those people realize how infinite the possibilities of computer music and sound design are. There will always be an underground and there will always be a mainstream. For the future, we’re just stoked to hear more weird synths, ravey drops and genre-bending dance music.
What advice would you offer someone thinking about entering the Discovery Project competition?
“Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. Just be who you are. That’s what’s really cool.” –Starsky & Hutch
Winning Track:
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