Q & A: Camo & Krooked

In the first of a three part dance music series, JOHN BARDSLEY gets to know Austrian Drum & Bass superstars Camo & Krooked.

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Camo & Krooked are probably the hottest act in the Drum & Bass scene right now.

They consistently push the boundaries of electronic music production and amaze crowds all over the world. I asked the guys a few questions in the first of a three part dance music interview series, exclusive to The Tab.

What three words best describe your music?

Uplifting, epic and energetic.

When did you guys first meet each other? Were you long term friends before you started to produce music together?

We met first on New Year’s eve 06/07 as we’d been chatting about music and production and figured out we could try to write a tune together. As it worked out great we worked together more and more until we decided to form a duo.

Has production and DJing always been the dream for you guys?

It has definitely always been a dream but we never did think about how far we can get, we just kept writing tune after tune and playing gig after gig until we suddenly noticed that we had come a long way.

Apart from yourselves, who are your favourite producers and why?

There are a couple of very good producers around that are raising the bar of the production like Knife Party, Wolfgang Gartner and Noisia, you never know what they’ve got planned next, but it’s always great.

Does the constant labelling of dance music annoy you? Does it limit creativity?

We won’t let ourselves get limited by the labelling of music, but it is a bit annoying that people sometimes act like they know more about everything than the producer who actually made the tune. Music should be free, not caged into boxes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtmwja_jIFQ

Camo & Krooked- Funk You

Is the increased commercial attention for dance music a good thing?

It brings new people to the scene and parties which is a good thing. Most of the fans nowadays get into underground genres by hearing more successful tunes first.

What are your plans for the future? I was at Hospitality at Fabric in January- was an amazing night.

We just came back from touring Australia and New Zealand. Now we’re playing now a couple of gigs in Europe and Russia and touring USA in March. Hospitality at Brixton Academy in April will be wicked as well!

Also, a remix album of Cross The Line will be released on 19th March called Between The Lines that features some of our favourite artists from the scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGtX7I_qHS8

Reinhard and Markus aka Camo & Krooked tearing up Brixton Academy last year

Do you ever see yourselves playing with a live band, or is DJing always going to be the way you perform?

Playing with a live band isn’t the way we think our music should be performed. We already have an awesome live show with a light cage and a good amount of controllers, MC and a singer which is exciting enough as it is!

Finally, on a lighter note, if you had to compare your music to an animal which one would you choose?

A tiger, fast and precise, beautiful and wild at the same time.