As you know a while back Arcade Pony and Discobelle ran a competition giving anyone the chance to remix the latest release from Arveene and Misk 10K Favour. Recently, the winner was announced as the brilliant Italian duo Dogmen. We caught up with them to find out what they do and who they are.
1) Congratulations on winning the Arveene & Misk remix competition, what does winning mean for you?
Thanks! It means a lot because it's a great opportunity to show off our music and because of the caliber of the people involved. Arveene and Misk are both top notch producers, Arcade Pony is an excellent label, and the people at Discobelle are running an awesome blog - it's an honor to be part of this.
2) How did you hear about the competition?
Through Discobelle. They posted the competition details in their blog and we were interested straight away.
3) Is your remix of 10K Favour your first release?
Yes, it is.
4) How do you feel about Arcade Pony signing you to the label?
We're happy about it, it's a huge opportunity. Everyone has been extremely cool with us, and we look forward to seeing how our work will be received: we're bringing some different vibes to the label, and it's always interesting when different styles come together.
5) Do you play out live much?
Not really, we spend a lot more time in the studio. We went through some changes recently, Greg relocated to Milan, while Tommy stayed back in Pavia. This past year was a "preparation" period for big things to come, and hopefully it's starting to pay off. Through the birth of RUN BVS we have some very cool projects coming up, one of them being a regular night called Please Please Please at Sacrestia in Milan. So right now we're preparing for a longer run of DJ sets.
6) How would you describe your style as artists?
It's hard to find the words. We're not against labeling music, we just have no idea what to call ours! It's somewhere between techno, tropical and house, with a major focus on throbbing bass and catchy melodies. So, to quote Botnek, Technopical Basshouse?
7) Where do you hope winning the comp will take you?
We hope we will get opportunities to be more heard. It's hard to get people's attention, and even harder to involve them, both those who organize and the public.
8) Where do you see yourselves in a year's time?
Possibly DJing in a sweaty club wearing nothing but caribbean-themed underpants. And we want to release our debut EP and get more gigs out and about.
9) You guys used to be called Dogma, what prompted you to change to Dogmen?
Well, the origin of the first name dates back to high school times. We changed it because of marketing and legal reasons: there are at least a million metal groups called Dogma, and already quite a few electronic acts with a similar name. Dogmen appealed to us because it reconnects with the old name and gives us the chance of refreshing our image and our style. It's an empty container ready to be filled!
10)Have you been getting a lot of press for winning the competition?
Not very much.
11)Have there been any big names hyping you up?
Not yet.
12)How long have you guys been making music?
Greg's been making music on his computer for about 5 years, and he played in a band before that. Tommy got into it about 3 years ago when Dogma started.
13)What inspires you during your creative process?
Our creative process is usually not straightforward, but it always gets to the point where we are on a roll, where things just fit. We get inspiration from movies, or music we listen to while we're relaxing in the studio. One of us might come up with a little melody or drum fill, and we work from there, adding things as we see fit. Sometimes, we lay down certain rules, and that's what happened while we were remixing 10 K Favour: it had to have a flute with an oriental feel to it. That gets our creative juices flowing, because it gives us a clear direction.
14)What do you take influence from?
Firstly, other musicians. We have lots of respect for those electronic musicians we consider game-changers, people who are creative enough to take things to the next level. We both listen to all kinds of music, so that influences us constantly. We are also influenced by artists and designers we consider ingenious, and obviously by the inspiring people - music related or not - we meet during our everyday lives.
15)What's on your playlist at the moment?
Canblaster's "Totem EP" and generally lots of stuff by the Club Cheval guys - they are taking things forward at such an incredible pace. Melé is on fire right now, both his Mugged EP (of which "Trappin" is our favorite) and some of his remixes are mind-boggling roller coaster rides. Also, we have Zombies For Money, Botnek, Slap In The Bass and Savage Skulls constantly somewhere in our playlist.
Dogmen are an awesome duo of music making genius and Arcade Pony are really happy to be working with them. You can check them out on their Soundcloud page http://soundcloud.com/dogmen
and you can like them on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/dogmenmusic
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