You might know them as the duo who created 'Roses,' 'Don't Let Me Down' and 'Closer' but there's so much more. Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, a.k.a The Chainsmokers kindly shared their time with us during their mere 50-hour stay in Tokyo and Osaka for SUMMER SONIC, and now we shared what we learned with you.
iFLYER: "You've released so many tracks there is too much to talk about! So, instead, we'd like to dive into your roots. How did you get started into pursuing a musical career?"
Andrew: "Great question! I lived in Argentina at the age of 16, for a year. So I went to clubs before that was a thing for everyone in the US.
Those three songs really hit me and as soon as I got back to the US I bought them and started producing on my Ableton."
Alex: "In my case it was a different but similar experience. I visited my sister who lived in Bristol in the UK. It's famous for being a big electronic dance music scene.
I had been used to the club world of bottles, drinks etc and not to the communal vibe. But in England it was different. It was all out dance party. It didn't matter if you were a hot girl or not good lucking girl or guy.
I just fell in love with that stuff and you start devouring it more."
iFLYER: "Getting into music, what was the first music festival you went to?"
Alex: For me oddly enough it was Ultra Music Festival Miami. I never went to music festivals. It's because I didn't care going to them because I wanted to play at them.
I don't love standing around big crowds although we play a lot of festivals. So in that sense, going to Ultra and playing main stage was a weird experience but it was super dope.
Andrew: I think I went to HARD fest in LA. Saw deadmau5.
Speaking of festivals, you debuted at Coachella this year! You even brought a bunch of artists including Third Eye Blind! They are actually here at SUMMER SONIC too!
Alex: We gotta hit em up!
(Alex starts texting)
Andrew: It was really cool. We live in LA now and Coachella is like THE festival. They are really picky about who they have come play and it's almost like they only pick people who are cool. So having them validate us like that was pretty cool. Our show was fun, exciting and nerveracking and we build a whole new stage and stuff. We also brought in Tiësto, G-Eazy, Third Eye Blind, Walk The Moon, Rozes, Daya, Big Gigantic. It was really cool.
How much are you involved in the stage designs?
Alex: We love doing that kind of stuff. It's such a fun part of the process. Expensive... but fun.
We have a great team of light, designers, production managers, visualists and they bring our shows to a different life. But, we don't acually get to see it in real life so you put your trust into someone when implementing what you've designed. After the show you see all these videos and you're like holy shit that looked awesome.
*For more in-depth process on their stage design involvement check out the iFLYER article here.
We can't not talk about 'Closer'. It's invading charts all over the world. Please tell us what the lyric making process and working with Halsey was like.
Andrew: I wrote it like last fall. We all stayed up late one night when we were on tour.
So we decided to write a song about hooking up with an ex-girlfriend. You're attracted to her but there's all these things you hate about her. I went to a school with all these rich spoilt girls in New York and it's basically about my indifference towards them.
She made the song complete with the guy and girl conversation in it too.
Alex:
You guys also joined Halsey at her Madison Square Garden gig. How was that?
Alex: It was awesome. We are basically from New York. That's where we more or less got started so the garden (Madison Square Garden) is probably the most iconic venue around the world. Although it wasn't our show, to even come out with Halsey and perform the new song ('Closer') was amazing. It was a SOLD OUT gig too.
Currently on your tour, any crazy fan experiences so far?
Andrew: To our surprise, we are very popular in the Philippines. The fandom is really intense there than it is anywhere else. Basically when we landed, the entire airport staff was trying to take photos with us and we even had people waiting outside our hotel rooms. That was crazy since it doesn't usually happen anywhere else. That was just like a great thing to experience in general being like Justin Bieber ya know. It was mad crazy!
Check out how the Philippines crowd does The Chainsmokers show. One word: INCREDIBLE.
The entire crowd in unison singing 'Closer' with Andrew.
iFLYER: "You've released so many tracks there is too much to talk about! So, instead, we'd like to dive into your roots. How did you get started into pursuing a musical career?"
Andrew: "Great question! I lived in Argentina at the age of 16, for a year. So I went to clubs before that was a thing for everyone in the US.
I remember I heard Daft Punk 'Around The World,'
David Guetta VS The Egg 'Love Don't Let Me Go' (Walking Away) and Yoshimoto 'Do What You Do' Trentemøller Remix.
Those three songs really hit me and as soon as I got back to the US I bought them and started producing on my Ableton."
Alex: "In my case it was a different but similar experience. I visited my sister who lived in Bristol in the UK. It's famous for being a big electronic dance music scene.
I had been used to the club world of bottles, drinks etc and not to the communal vibe. But in England it was different. It was all out dance party. It didn't matter if you were a hot girl or not good lucking girl or guy.
Everyone was raging and just having a good time. With that communical aspect in mind and listening to Alex Gofer, Stanton Warriors etc it was such a change of pace for me.
I just fell in love with that stuff and you start devouring it more."
iFLYER: "Getting into music, what was the first music festival you went to?"
Alex: For me oddly enough it was Ultra Music Festival Miami. I never went to music festivals. It's because I didn't care going to them because I wanted to play at them.
I didn't want to go to them and waste my time when I could work hard and put all the time into making myself stand on those stages one day.
I don't love standing around big crowds although we play a lot of festivals. So in that sense, going to Ultra and playing main stage was a weird experience but it was super dope.
Andrew: I think I went to HARD fest in LA. Saw deadmau5.
Speaking of festivals, you debuted at Coachella this year! You even brought a bunch of artists including Third Eye Blind! They are actually here at SUMMER SONIC too!
Alex: We gotta hit em up!
(Alex starts texting)
Andrew: It was really cool. We live in LA now and Coachella is like THE festival. They are really picky about who they have come play and it's almost like they only pick people who are cool. So having them validate us like that was pretty cool. Our show was fun, exciting and nerveracking and we build a whole new stage and stuff. We also brought in Tiësto, G-Eazy, Third Eye Blind, Walk The Moon, Rozes, Daya, Big Gigantic. It was really cool.
How much are you involved in the stage designs?
Alex: We love doing that kind of stuff. It's such a fun part of the process. Expensive... but fun.
It's just a great way to express yourself in a different way than the other artists.
We have a great team of light, designers, production managers, visualists and they bring our shows to a different life. But, we don't acually get to see it in real life so you put your trust into someone when implementing what you've designed. After the show you see all these videos and you're like holy shit that looked awesome.
*For more in-depth process on their stage design involvement check out the iFLYER article here.
We can't not talk about 'Closer'. It's invading charts all over the world. Please tell us what the lyric making process and working with Halsey was like.
Andrew: I wrote it like last fall. We all stayed up late one night when we were on tour.
We were listenting to Taking Back Sunday and Blink 182, all these old punk rock emo bands.
The next day we were like let’s just write a song thats literally tells things how they are and are happening to them.
So we decided to write a song about hooking up with an ex-girlfriend. You're attracted to her but there's all these things you hate about her. I went to a school with all these rich spoilt girls in New York and it's basically about my indifference towards them.
And Halsey added a whole new dynamic to it because I mean she's Halsey. One of the realest chics making music and she’s super authentic and amazing.
She made the song complete with the guy and girl conversation in it too.
Alex:
I think that’s the first duet music that successfully achieves what a duet is.
Its not just like a "dude vs chic verse" but
it's like a conversation which is interesting.
You guys also joined Halsey at her Madison Square Garden gig. How was that?
Alex: It was awesome. We are basically from New York. That's where we more or less got started so the garden (Madison Square Garden) is probably the most iconic venue around the world. Although it wasn't our show, to even come out with Halsey and perform the new song ('Closer') was amazing. It was a SOLD OUT gig too.
On another end, it was like a learning experience for us in the sense that it's cool to see a show that's so different to what we do on a daily basis. It inspires you to push yourself further with what you want to do.
Currently on your tour, any crazy fan experiences so far?
Andrew: To our surprise, we are very popular in the Philippines. The fandom is really intense there than it is anywhere else. Basically when we landed, the entire airport staff was trying to take photos with us and we even had people waiting outside our hotel rooms. That was crazy since it doesn't usually happen anywhere else. That was just like a great thing to experience in general being like Justin Bieber ya know. It was mad crazy!
Check out how the Philippines crowd does The Chainsmokers show. One word: INCREDIBLE.
The entire crowd in unison singing 'Closer' with Andrew.
REMEMBER TO GRAB THEIR JAPANESE EDITION ALBUM TOO!! CAUSE IT'S AWESOME.
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