The Beat Kidz
Origin: None
Music is our lifeblood. We couldn’t see ourselves doing anything else besides music. For Duncan it is the whole reason he came to the US. It is what he lives for. For Nico it’s literally in his blood, from generation after generation of musicians.
Interview
Home Town: Duncan: I was born in Salisbury, England and moved to the US. around 2006 to work at an internship at Drive Thru Records. Nico: I’m originally from Azusa, CA. It’s about twenty-five minutes outside of LA.
Currently Living: Nico & Duncan: We currently live together in Huntington Beach, CA. It works out pretty well because it gives us good flexibility to work both in LA and Orange County.
Origin of Name: Duncan: We wanted a name that could define who we are. Playing drums has been a passion of mine ever since I was nine-years old and Nico has been making beats for years now. It seemed like a really good fit. Nico: Right, we also wanted to name to give people a feeling of community. I have been fortunate enough to experience the rave scene in LA and the best thing that came from it was the sense of family and belonging. I think the name “The Beat Kidz” is also like an invitation to those who also want that sense of community
Weapon of Choice: Nico: As far productions, my go to DAW is Ableton Live. It works well and is pretty user friendly. I also use a wide arrange of VST’s but mainly stick with Massive and Nexus. I really like all the versatility of Massive and Nexus has some great presets. I also like to rewire Reason into Ableton for different synths or effects. For Live shows I like to use Serato Scratch Live.
Source of Power: Nico: I got pretty wide range of influences, but the group that really immersed me to the world of EDM, well it wasn’t called that yet at the time, was The Prodigy. I was blown away when I first heard “Firestarter.” The mix of punk attitude with intense heavy beats just got my heart racing. I knew then that this was something that I wanted to be apart of. With that said, inspiration can come from anywhere or anything. It can be a chord progression in a pop song or a strange sample in a hip-hop track. Sometimes its just finding the pieces that feel right and making music that you enjoy. Duncan: The EDM scene is still something new to me, but I feel that the attitude is very similar to my background in the punk scene. I was inspired to become a drummer when I saw Travis Barker as a kid back in England. His style and skill resonated with me. When I meet Nico he introduced me to a lot of different electronic music and I loved it. It gave me the same great feeling punk music did. The raw energy of the music has inspired me to add a human element to EDM.
Weapon of Choice: Acoustically I use Orange County drum and percussion drums, and Zildjian cymbals! I just got a Roland V drum set for when I’m on tour to rehearse on and record beats with on my days off. It rules; it breaks down in to one small case and takes me minutes to set up and break down.
What do your parents think of what you are doing?
Nico: The first time I told my dad about being a DJ he really couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept. He is a self taught musician, he can play the piano, drums and guitar quite well, so when I told him about DJing he kept saying that he couldn’t believe that. In his words, I got paid for playing other peoples music. We had a good laugh about it and I explained that it’s much more than just pressing play and how it’s about setting the mood of the night with great music.
Do you have any memorable moments from past EDC’s or any other insomniac parties?
Nico: I will never forget my first EDC. At the time I was mainly going to small underground warehouse parties. These events usually had really simple lights, a decent sound system and a bunch of like-minded people who just needed to get away and party it up for a bit. When I got the chance to go to EDC I was blown away by the massive scale of the event. The amount of great music that was pumping from the various areas really excited me. The amount of attendees was insane! It was really astonishing for me to see so many like-minded people. The really memorable moment was when the circling helicopters started dropping daisies from the sky. I was like “WTF, are those daisies?” Some might say that it was excessive and not necessary, but I think differently. I really felt the care and precision that went into the event and felt proud of the electronic music culture.
How does what you do for a living affect you on a day-to-day basis?
Duncan: It can be quite difficult sometimes. I left England when I was eighteen to work in the music industry in the US so it gets hard to stay connected with my family back home, but I try to get back their to see them whenever I can. I currently work as a tour manager, it’s good money, but it keeps me on the road constantly. Luckily most of our music we make is on our laptops so whenever I have free time I’m working on beats and sending them back and forth between Nico and me.
Are you impulsive with your work or do you sketch in your mind before you start?
Duncan: We sort of have a “Ying and Yang” quality to us. Nico can work for hours on a particular melody, or synth and he’ll take it to the studio and I’ll usually drum out patterns that feel right.
Nico: Ya, it always amazes me when we get in the studio with a new track and it usually only takes him like a couple minutes to get a track down.
How If at all, does listening to music figure into your creative process?
Nico: Listening to music is a necessity; I feel the more music you listen to the more you expand your musical palette. The last song that stopped me in my tracks is “Groove” by Oiki. I never heard anything like that before nor since. This cat might be onto a whole new genre.
What’s the most important piece of gear in your studio?
Nico: hands down my laptop. It serves as my source of inspiration and infinite music toolbox. I know that there is a lot of good hardware out there and for some people that’s what they are all about, but for me I love software. As technology advances, music software programs are just going to get better and better.
What gets you excited about the future of electronic music and club culture?
Electronic music amazes us because electronic artists are constantly trying to one up each other. The music is a constant evolution of sounds, synths and melodies. Genre’s are created and recreated on what almost feels like a daily basis. We’re excited to be part of such a progressive movement in music!
What advice would you offer someone thinking about entering the Discovery Project competition?
If someone is thinking about it, the best advice we can give is to just do the damn thing. It has been an amazing experience playing on the same bill as the worlds best DJs and electronic artists. The only thing that can be said is to follow your passion and trust your gut.
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Winning Mix:
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