D&M is the epitome of indie rock and after asking them a couple of questions I came to realize that this duo is not only talented, but seem like they’d be the best pair to travel with. They recently went on a World Tour and from the looks of it they had so many memories from it that can last them a lifetime. Read the interview below to find out more about their upcoming album as well as what the World Tour was like.
Melisa Baykent: Hello! Thank you for doing this interview. So first off when you guys started D&M did you always have the image of it as a duo or did it just fall into place that way?
D&M: We originally started as just a duo, but through the years have had a few different incarnations with more players. However, creatively and musically its always been just Matt and I creating the music so we soon realized it was easier to exist as a duo and just add more players in the live band when playing bigger shows. We toured all of summer 2012 with singer/songwriter Carter Hulsey playing as a duo around North America, and this summer we played throughout Europe as just the duo. Its much cheaper and mobile for the smaller shows and way easier in terms of making creative decisions. All the best groups nowadays are duos. Look at Daft Punk, The Black Keys, Macklemore x Ryan Lewis, Kanye and Jay Z. We want to be on that list as soon as possible!
MB: I see that you played a couple of shows out of the states this summer. Was this your first time performing out of the states?
D&M: This was our first time playing in the UK and Europe and it was an amazing experience! Definitely something on our bucket list that we were pumped to go out and conquer on our own. We met some great artists in London and it was an incredible creative experience to help us finish our debut LP.
MB: How were the out of state shows? Is there a significant difference between international shows and shows that are in the states?
D&M: The out of state shows were great! The international shows were unique because most nights we were the only American artists playing. This definitely helped get the crowd excited and made it easy to befriend the other bands. They loved to talk about how dumb the Tea Party is, and quite possibly had more knowledge of American politics than us! BBC is clearly getting the important news to them a bit better than America’s Kardashian obsessed news channels…
MB: I heard that there’s a full-length album that’s to come out soon. What was the recording process like and what can we expect from it?
D&M: We’re still finishing up the record, but we hope to really define the sound of D&M on our debut full length album. We’ve really been honing our sound on the road the last two years touring across America and throughout Europe and we think this album will be the complete package. Recording so far has been amazing, working with spectacular producers like Erica Glyn and Brandon Bost. Our second single from the LP “Ask Me To Stay” will be out in the coming month or so!
MB: Was there a specific reason that the video for “Dirty Love” was filmed in Greece? Also, how was Greece?
D&M: (Laughs) yes the specific reason was… We were in Greece and wanted to take full advantage of it! The scenery and sights in Stoupa, Greece were unlike anything we’d ever seen and since we had our good friend and filmmaker Miles Mueller with us on tour, we brainstormed over some ouzo and made a movie! The song “Dirty Love” is about a man who’s lost in the world, so having an American in a foreign land really made sense to us for the music video. Greece itself was amazing. We made some true friends there and hope to go back every year until we can retire and live there permanently. So yeah, it was awesome!
MB: Are all the instruments that you hear in the studio version of songs played by you guys?
D&M: It depends on the song. We have a lot of recordings where its just me and Matt (Matt plays drums and bass). However, we’re very lucky to be friends with great producers and musicians who have played on some of our most recent tracks. For example on “Dirty Love” Sean Donaghy plays drums and Paul Impellizeri played bass in the studio and killed it. They were fantastic and we’ll continue to try and get them on as many tracks as possible. Brandon Bost who has coproduced many of our songs adds a ton of cool synth stuff and always does something uniquely “Dr. Rock” on the recordings.
MB: Was there any tomfoolery on the World Tour? If so anything specific?
D&M: There was nothing but tomfoolery. We got two bottle of Beefeater Gin duty free on the flight to London. Unfortunately, we had our alcohol situation figured out a lot better than the hotel situation… We checked into our hotel only to find out it was a hostel (no wonder it was so cheap!) So next thing we knew we were all sharing one big bed for three nights. Luckily it all got better from there and we had an absolute blast playing Cannes, France and partying with a lovely Irish couple we met at our show (if you’re reading this thanks for the drinks!). Greece was a tomfoolery hot spot, which you can pretty much figure out from the music video. We made a lot of memories and can’t wait to go to some other foreign land to make more! If anyone has any contacts in Asia, send us an email!
MB: Would you say that popular music of today lack something that music from the past had? Like message and instrument wise. Or would you say that it has changed because the times have changed and it’s just evolving with the times?
D&M: Yes, modern music lacks the integrity music from the past had. Of course, there are a ton of great skilled artists making real genuine music nowadays, but unfortunately most of that gets covered up by the Disney channel actor/singer/dancers of the world. While the hit songs on the radio in the past might have been written by an artist, the songs on the radio now are made by a bunch of businessmen in a boardroom and sold to the best looking person they could get to sing it. Its a real shame but what can you do! Luckily, a lot of music lovers realize this and go out and seek the good stuff. So to everyone that still likes guitar solos and love songs, don’t worry we got you!
MB: What has been the highlight of this year thus far?
D&M: The highlight of 2013 has definitely been the “World Tour”! Definitely going to be a hard one to top!
MB: Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
D&M: Love you guys, and always listening to you! Tweet us at @dandmmusic on Twitter as soon as you read this and we’ll send you a secret song right now!
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