Stand up: Ebony & Ivory

Second year medical students Finn Stevenson and Lex Le-Saint Grant have joined forces to bring a fresh musical palette to St Andrews. In anticipation for their huge debut in the […]

12 years ago

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Second year medical students Finn Stevenson and Lex Le-Saint Grant have joined forces to bring a fresh musical palette to St Andrews. In anticipation for their huge debut in the VIP tent at this year’s May Ball, I sat down with the duo to hear about their big plans as the new talent on the scene.

So how long have you been doing this?

Lex: I’ve sort of been DJing by myself for a while. I have relatives who are into music and DJing so I’ve been doing it formally for a few years now. I’ve had a few residencies back at home; I’m very interested in music generally.

Finn: I’ve only gotten into the whole thing in the last year, we both thought it would be a good idea get into it.

Lex: Yeah, there is obviously a good market in St Andrews, so we just want to do something a little different.

What kind of music would you be focusing on?

Lex: We’re both into really varied tastes in music. From electro swing all the way to very chilled out house, with big names like Avicii in the middle. We really try not to take ourselves seriously, it’s really important to us to be open to everyone and take requests during sets whilst not being gimmicky.

How do you think you compare to other DJs in St Andrews as the next generation?

Finn: With a lot of the big names graduating this year, we feel like we’re obligated to fill that space.

Lex: We’re not trying to emulate anyone that’s leaving or compete with anyone, we’re just trying to offer something different and it’s a bit more banter-full and chilled.

Finn: It’s all very tongue-in-cheek.

You’ve got a huge event, May Ball, coming up. What are you hoping to get from it?

Finn: We’re hoping it’ll be a good opportunity for more people to hear us. At the moment we’ve been playing at house parties and we’re playing at the Springboks Balgove Braii as well.

Once you start playing bigger events, do you think you’re going to move away from house parties?

Finn: No, house parties are so much fun and at the end of the day we’re doing it because we enjoy it and we want to keep that relaxed factor.

Lex: We’re not doing it in a way where we’re out there just for making money, we really love what we’re doing and we would do house parties for free because we have fun doing it.

Finn: With big events, we charge because there are costs with equipment.

What about niche genres of music, like reggae, hip-hop, R’n’B?

Lex: I like listening to different types of music but a lot of DJs feel they have to be a certain style.

Finn: The style is dependent on the situation, so it’s important to stay relevant.

Lex: We’re playing at the Braii and we’re going to play some R’n’B, some summer house and generally very chilled out music. At May Ball it will definitely be more upbeat.

Finn: I’m sure we’ll end up evolving.

Lex: Until you’re established, you have to play to the crowd that’s in front of you and you have to engage with the crowd. Sometimes if you’re nailing yourself down to a specific style not everyone is going to like it.

Can you see yourselves as having a regular night at any of the bars for next year?

Finn: We’re still in talks with different places, nothing is confirmed.

Lex: We’re in negotiations but The Stand will be the first to know.

The boys are pumped to show St Andrews what they’ve got at this year’s May Ball. Make sure you check out their page and keep your eyes peeled for the music styling’s of Ebony & Ivory. Watch this space…

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STAND