Interview With Peking Duk!

Australia’s burgeoning Electronic Dance Music culture can be credited to a host of genre defining artists over the years. And one duo that have quickly ascertained their position as a definitive act in the glistening scene Down under, Peking Duk have undoubtedly become one of the most talked about artists over the last few seasons. The exciting Australian electronic music duo made up of disc jockey and music producers Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles, first garnered attention in 2012 with the release of their Passion Pit bootleg remix. Since then they have opened for artists such as Example and The Bloody Beetroots and played numerous festivals around Australia. The iconic duo will be heading to India for the iconic NH7 Weekender Festivals that will be held on Kolkata on 1-2nd November and Bangalore on 8-9th November, as well as doing a special Aussie BBQ in New Delhi and Mumbai. Slated to perform at both weekends, the duo will bring their unique and emotive-driven sound to Dance-music-hungry-Indian audiences. We got the chance to speak with the duo before their exciting tour begins and we’re proud to welcome one of the most noteworthy names charging the Australian Electronic Music dimension – Peking Duk!

TBB: Hi Guys! Welcome to thebanginbeats.com, thank you for taking time out to speak with us. To get the ball rolling, we’re rather intrigued about how you’ll arrive at a career in music and what inspired you to produce electronic music?

Peking Duk: We were both making and writing music in high school. Adam was a rapper and I was in a band so we were mostly experimenting with all types of music. We knew about electronic music but only knew about the pop dance music of the time like ‘Baby Get Shaky’ by Ian Carey. We were still only really interested in rock and hip hop. In early 2008 our good friend introduced Adam and I to Bloody Beetroots, Stupid Fresh, Crookers and all the fidget dudes of the era. Immediately we were hooked, finding our own new favourites and in general buzzed for exploring this whole new world of electronic music. It was the most exciting time in our lives musically, it felt like music and the world had all of a sudden flipped on its head and everything was different. All of this had us inspired our heads and immediately we bought production software and synths and just started jamming for days, if not weeks, on end. In 2011, songs started emerging from the sounds and we put out our first record, ‘Bingo Trippin’.

TBB: We learned that Reuben was part of the band Rubycon. Would you credit that perhaps that as your starting point in your career? What would Adam consider his starting point in his career?

Peking Duk: [Rueben] Rubycon was a great part of my life. It definitely had me always thinking outside the box melodically and still inspires me today when starting songs. Adam’s would have to be with the hip hop he was making. It was truly dope stuff. Lyrics, rhythms and dope beats… His earlier hip hop instincts really show when we write slower jams at hip hop tempos, which is pretty much mostly what we are making these days.

TBB: Having had a background in performing live instruments, how much would you say it influence Electronic music production?

Peking Duk: It is always useful when writing. We start almost every single chord progression on a guitar then program in the notes to a synth patch. Leads are either written with a guitar, synth or voice and basslines are written on a bass guitar. I would be useless without my live instruments handy or close by when writing.

TBB: The Electronic music genre has exploded worldwide in the past few years. Where do you think Australia stands at the global scale and how do you think the scene has evolved since the time you’ll started producing/DJing?

Peking Duk: The scene seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Australia is very fortunate in the fact that we have Triple J, a radio station committed to playing music based on nothing but the music itself. No one is afraid to try something different in Australia because if the music is different, and sounds good, Triple J will play it.

TBB: You have found consistent support through your compatriot Tommy Trash. How would you best describe your relationship with him?

Peking Duk: We first met Tommy Trash at our very first show in Adelaide in 2011. He is and will always be a godfather to us. To be honest we have only met him a few times over the years at shows we have played together. Each time though he has proven to be the funniest, happiest and most down to earth bloke on the planet.

TBB: You’ll have three massive releases this year with ‘Mufasa’, ‘High’& ‘Take me over’. Having collaborated with Laidback Luke, Nicole Miller & SAFIA on each of the three tracks respectively, tell us about your approach towards each of the distinct tracks.

Peking Duk: ‘Mufasa’ was a fun track to make. It literally started in my bedroom as an attempt of making a ‘big kick’ tune… before I knew it Adam and I were jumping around the house like lunatics screaming and dancing to that main groove. We worked on a breakdown and in a couple of hours had the resemblance of a breakdown and a drop that we loved.. Immediately we thought of Luke and reached out to him. The following week Luke had finished the breakdown, the drop rinse and the entire song. He is a wizard at working quickly and professionally. We put the song out a week or two after that.

‘High’ had been in the works for a while, starting off in Adam’s bedroom. It was 128bpm at first, then when we slowed it down to 100bpm, we knew it was going to work. We reached out to Nicole on Facebook – having known her song with Cosmo’s Midnight – and she was keen to work on it. Lyrically we wanted it to represent any single individual, could be a bloke stuck at his job, a girl stuck in a bad relationship, a drug addict stuck in their cycle of work, buy, use, sleep repeat sort of thing. We made sure anyone could feel something from the lyrics and take a look at where they are and what they want to change in their lives.

‘Take Me Over’ started off as a remix for an LA rock band. We simply ditched the vocals from the remix and made our own vocal line with Ben from SAFIA. It is an exciting song for us right now as it has just cracked the Top 40 in Australia and we have just dropped the video on Facebook.

TBB: What’s been great about Peking Duk is that you have been experimenting with a lot of sound styles, trying to avoid being cornered or pigeonholed into a single style. Given the plethora of talent and producers out there, how important do you think it is to keep reinventing yourselves?

Peking Duk: It is always important to make sure you don’t sound like everything else, we do our thing and do what we love. We experiment and have fun and in turn it works out way better for us and our music.

TBB: How did you’ll arrive to the name ‘Peking Duk’ for your collaborative act?

Peking Duk:  Let’s just say it involves a lot of partying!

TBB: What have you’ll heard about India and the Electronic Music scene here? Alternatively, since you’ll are coming to India, we’d suggest the alter-alias “Butter Chicken”! It’s an absolute delicacy and crowd favorite here!

Peking Duk: Well to be honest, we are coming to India on Monday. Doing NH7 weekender in Kolkata and Bangalore and doing Aussie BBQ in New Delhi and Mumbai over the next 2-3 weeks. Really excited to finally be touring over there! I heard butter chicken wasn’t a popular dish in India!?!?

TBB: Having had so much of experience with live instruments, hip-hop or rapping, it’s hard to imagine you guys as anything else but musicians. However, if you had to imagine yourselves having an alternate career, what would it be?

Peking Duk: Alternatively I would be a professional food eater. It is literally my favourite thing to do!

TBB: Australian producers, such as Tommy Trash, Stafford Brothers & Bass Kleph have now moved to the United States in order to expand their careers. Do you’ll also have such plans in the near future?

Peking Duk: Potentially, but for now we can go there for 4 week blocks and still be there enough to be having a solid crack at their market.

TBB: To round things up, time for a few rapid-fire questions! (You have to answer these in a few seconds)

The best lesser known track of 2014 until now?

‘Nara’ by Alt-J

Your favorite Australian dish?

Pavlova

“Take a Walk” or “High”?

‘High’

Your personal favorite party destination?

Melbourne / New York

Your ultimate dream party destination?

Morocco

The best crowd you’ve ever played for?

Will be all our shows in India next week!

Three essentials you always carry with you on stage?

Vodka, Water and Towels

TBB: To conclude, would you like to give any message to your fans in India and all across the world?

Peking Duk: Peking Duk loves you!

TBB: Thank you so much for taking time out and speaking with us. We are thebanginbeats.com. It’s been a pleasure! 

Peking Duk: Thanks for having us!