English electronic music team Gorgon City made up of Kye "Foamo" Gibbon and Matt "RackNRuin" Robson-Scott are ready to make a big splash Stateside.
This year, their song "Ready for Your Love" has already reached number four in the UK, and last year were teamed with hit makers Clean Bandit on the track "Intentions."
Their first album, Sirens, has them featuring singers Jennifer Hudson and Katy B along with songwriters Emeli Sande and Kiesza. Hudson performed her track with them on the finale of Dancing With the Stars recently.
Windy City Times went backstage before a sold-out show at the Double Door to learn more about the dynamically handsome duo.
Windy City Times: First, tell me where you are from.
Matt Robinson-Scott: I grew up just outside of London. Now I live in West London. Our studio is based in North London. That is where we spend a lot of our time.
WCT: How did you meet?
Kye Gibbon: Just from a DJ. We had the same DJ with a one off collaboration. We finished off music rather quickly and it turned into a regular thing eventually.
WCT: Did you bring similar styles to the table?
Matt Robinson-Scott: I think it is similar styles with bass-heavy stuff. That was what we were both doing before we started Gorgon City. Maybe our styles were a bit harder before we stated together but we used the same production techniques. We used house music and making songs with club music with heavy tracks to make songs with. That is what a lot of the album is about.
WCT: Did you study music in school?
Kye Gibbon: No, not really. I think I did a really short music-production course when I was 18. We are really self-taught using programs and computers.
Matt Robinson-Scott: I am the same. I never did a course. I taught myself over the years. It took years to get any good at it. I started making music when I was about 14. I didn't get anything I was happy with until about 20. It took me a good six years.
WCT: There is a learning curve. Where did the name come from?
Kye Gibbon: It was random at first. The name "Gorgon" had references to Greek mythology and also music references as well. We stuck with it. Now it has taken its own identity. We now use it as a way of developing visual content on the creative side of the project. It is useful now.
WCT: You can use a lot of cool images with it now.
Matt Robinson-Scott: Exactly.
WCT: You worked with Clean Bandit recently?
Matt Robinson-Scott: We worked with them a while ago. We remixed one of their tracks for their first EPs. We were just big fans of theirs and they were fans of ours as well. We hooked up and collaborated. They are smashing at the moment. It is great to see them out here and see how well they are doing is pretty cool.
Kye Gibbon: The have been around for ages. They have been releasing quirky music and cool videos. They do it all themselves. Only after "Rather Be" have they become mainstream. They have been around for at least five years or something.
WCT: What kind of vibe are you going for with this album?
Kye Gibbon: We have not really had a plan with it. It sort of happened in the studio. We didn't really have an agenda. We had fun, made music and worked with really cool people. It was experimenting really. It came about in a cohesive way.
WCT: Was it tricky working with different singers?
Matt Robinson-Scott: Yes, but I think it's cool though. When we are in the studio we are spontaneous. When we work with singers in the studio we have nothing preplanned. I never produce a track and give it to a singer. I like to get in the studio with them. I think that you then get their vibe on a song. It creates a space that is interesting that we can work in and you can listen to the results.
WCT: So you were in the studio with Jennifer Hudson?
Matt Robinson-Scott: Actually, that one was the only one we didn't! That track we produced and wrote it with Kiesza. We were in the studio with her and we wrote that track from scratch. We had Kiesza singing on it. She had a running thing going on and working on another album so we gave it to Jennifer.
WCT: They have different voices so it would be a new take on the song.
Matt Robinson-Scott: Yeah, I like the way Jennifer sounds classic on it. She has an old-school diva style.
WCT: She's a Chicago girl, too. Explain who MNKE is who sings on your track "Ready for Your Love."
Kye Gibbon: He's a writing powerhouse. He's only 19 but has been writing hits since he was 14. He's a really amazing pop writer.
WCT: "Unmissable," with Zak Abel, is another good song.
Kye Gibbon: He's only 19, too.
WCT: These kids are coming up in the world! Are you compared to Disclosure often?
Matt Robinson-Scott: I suppose because we are from the UK, a duo, play house music and came out around the same time—but we are not that similar.
Kye Gibbon: Their sound is quite different than us. On the surface we might look similar but if you actually listen to the music with even the drum beats and bass we use it is different than theirs. We are big fans of Disclosure though. They are friends of ours. They are cool guys so it is a nice thing to be compared to.
WCT: It is a sound that is really hot right now.
Matt Robinson-Scott: It is crazy coming out here and on the radio here there is so much UK music now. It is the good UK music and something to be proud of.
WCT: Do you write all of the lyrics?
Kye Gibbon: We co-write the lyrics with the songwriters and singers. Sometimes they will have an idea and go with it. They will write the lyrics and we will write the music behind it, maybe help with the melody a bit but we do it all together. They will write at first then we change it a bit so we rethink it. It is really cool that way. I think we get some of the best ideas when there are three of you in the room.
WCT: The video for the Laura Welsh song "Here for You" seemed scary, like a Halloween video.
Kye Gibbon: That was the one with a possessed look at the end. When we saw the treatment for that video it seemed kind of obvious and solid but when they went in and made it then it was hard to follow. It didn't make much sense but in the treatment it did.
Matt Robinson-Scott: I think with our videos we don't try to be like many dance videos that are generic or a novelty. We tried to do something a bit different or weird.
WCT: Is there a LGBT angle to your music?
Kye Gibbon: With the Jennifer Hudson track, we are filming the video in New York next week. We are bringing the early '90s voguing vibe to it. It will have that and some drag queens in there.
Jennifer will be coming to the shoot to perform and hang out. We have actually never met her.
WCT: She did our Pride Fest here in Chicago and was really good live.
Kye Gibbon: She has a powerful voice.
Matt Robinson-Scott: We can hopefully get her to perform at Coachella with us.
WCT: Your music is available on vinyl we should tell our readers about that.
Matt Robinson-Scott: It is so cool for us because we grew up collecting vinyl. We played drum and bass and garage music that is heavily vinyl.
Kye Gibbon: It looks really nice as well. We should have brought some out with us on tour. I only have one.
WCT: You start a European tour soon?
Kye Gibbon: Yes, that will be more live with a drummer. We play synths and will have singers with us. That will be a big thing with us. We have played live before but we have never done a proper tour of it. This will be a big operation and lot of fun.
Matt Robinson-Scott: During our tour we go to the MOBO Awards, which stands for Music of Black Origin, to perform live. We then hop a plane for the first Transatlantic flight to have DJs on it. We will be on a flight from London to Atlanta.
Kye Gibbon: It is called Flight Decks on Virgin Atlantic. It sounds a bit scary.
WCT: It could be. If something goes wrong, you can't pull over the Boeing 787 and pick up batteries!
Visit Gorgon City's official site at www.gorgoncity.com to follow the English blokes' exploits .
