Cure” with which they had somemoderate success until they fizzled out — only to have their musical passions reignited again when they heard a copy of Erlend Øye’s ‘DJ Kicks’ mix. “Most people probably didn’t think it was very disco at the time, but it had a super laid-back groove that really inspired us,” Michael explains. “From that, we were really influenced by DFA, and that turned us on to Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage and music played during that era, and also more modern stuff like Metro Area.” It didn’t really fit their idea of ‘dance music’ though, which Tyler says just meant ‘horrible stuff like Eiffel 65’ in America at that time. Similarly, they feel little affinity with the current definition of ‘Electronic Dance Music’ currently sweeping the States. “I don’t see how that’s really dance music, because there’s no space to actually dance when everyone’s just pumping their fists or throwing their hands in the air,” Michael laughs. “It doesn’t have a huge effect on what we do — in fact people over here who hear our music on the radio probably think it sounds even more foreign than before, because they’re now comparing us to LMFAO or something.” “It’s hardly a shock that EDM is super-popular in the States, though,” Tyler reasons. “Hard rock has always been huge here and that carries the same sort of emotion — this is just kids getting their hands on computers and making a futuristic version of that.”
In fact, although their music has been baked in the Californian sunshine, Classixx have long looked further afield for their inspiration since ditching the rock and turning to the disco instead. Most obviously to France, swooning over the filtered disco-house of Alan Braxe and Fred Falke — with the French returning the affection when the Parisian Kitsuné label released Classixx’s first track ‘I’ll Get You’ in 2009. As Tyler puts it, “House music always had a certain romance, but the French took that romance and heightened it”. But if there’s one group that really won their hearts it’s Daft Punk, and when DJ Mag speaks to Classixx a week
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"We have a lot of respect for pop music and certainly don’t think it’s trite to make a good pop song. If you listen to the record, there are moments where it’s more interesting than just a good club groove with shiny synthesizers." MICHAEL DAVID
or so before the release of ‘Random Access Memories’, Michael and Tyler sound even more excited about that coming out than their own album. “The day ‘Get Lucky’ was released we opened and closed our DJ sets with it just out of respect,” Tyler reveals. “Although they created the sound that we and a lot of similar DJs and artists fit into, they’re almost too grand to aspire to.” So we shouldn’t be expecting Classixx to be donning their own robot helmets any time soon, then? “I think it’s cool when people have a uniform — like Daft Punk or Soulwax with their white tuxedos,” Michael says. “But I don’t think we’re theatrical enough to really pull that
NO WORRIES They might not be taking a giant pyramid with them, but Michael and David will soon be following in the footsteps of their heroes by setting out on their first live tour after years of DJing across the world, plugging in their guitars and vintage synths in support of friends and fellow nu-disco troubadours The Presets and Holy Ghost. It also seems to be something of a first in being the one time — during our conversation at least — the perma-relaxed Classixx display something akin to what other people might call ‘worries’. “This is a bit of an experiment because we’re going to be playing an hour of our own music, so there’s no ‘eject’ seat,” Tyler states. “When you’re playing your own music it’s not like you’ve got this song where you can press ‘play’ and know it’s going to kill it. But we’ve been working hard on the show and we’re feeling pretty good about it.” “We don’t like to play a ton of our own material in DJ sets so I think it will be very different, with very different anxieties,” says Michael. “I have a feeling that we’ll gain an appreciation for DJing after this live tour. There have been moments when we’re DJing where the whole world can unite on a song, but then there are others when it seems like the most lonely and depressing exercise of all time.” “In some ways touring is the worst part of what we do because you don’t get enough sleep, so your job is literally making you sick,” Tyler continues. “But then on another level it’s super-amazing because you’re out there making people happy and helping them to escape all the mundane things in their lives.” And who could really get angry about that?
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