The Moda pair switch to the dark side...
Jaymo and Andy George have been one of electronic music’s recent success stories. A remarkably sudden rise in popularity saw their Moda parties go from intimate basement affairs in Lincoln to thousand strong warehouse raves within a matter of mere months, securing the pair residencies at Space, Fabric, and their own Radio 1 show.
It was their passion for uncovering and sharing new tunes which inspired the decision to set up Moda Music, a home for their own productions as well as material from the likes of electropop band Fenech Soler and Toy Tigers.
This year saw Moda Music expand and give birth to Moda Black, an outlet for darker, house and tech driven beats. The imprint has already set the bar high with an excellent compilation album released this summer, featuring exclusive tracks from the cutting edge of underground electronic music including Dusky, Disclosure and The 2 Bears. We had a chat with Jaymo and Andy to discuss their new venture.
What motivated you to start Moda Black? Did you start approaching producers for suitable material or were they coming to you with tracks?
It’s the same with both Moda Music and Moda Black: we spend a huge amount of time looking for new music, whether it’s for gigs, radio or with the specific intention of looking for artists. We also meet a lot of artists when we’re playing out.
The reason we decided to open a new arm to the label was to keep things focused. We had quite a wide range of artists on board and we realized there was a simple way to split them into two catagories, it’s a ying and yang kinda situation really. Moda Music is lighter stuff, maybe more major keys, disco, uplifting kinda vibes – whereas Moda Black is darker, maybe more twister club stuff, house and techno mainly. There’s definitely times when the lines will blur, especially if an artists makes an eclectic EP with various sounds.
How do you feel your own sound has changed or developed as producers over the last few years?
I don’t really think we’ve ever been that prolific as producers until the past year. We've always done some stuff, but we’ve never spent as much time as we do right now. It was frustrating not having time, it was like having a mad itch that you couldn’t reach. Once we realized this we changed a load of things in our schedule and really started to give ourselves proper time in the studio – time to experiment more. If it’s just a couple of days a month you always feel like you never really went as far as you could. That’s changed now and we can safely say that we’ve never been happier.
We got an email the other day from a pretty legendary name, saying he loved the remix we did for him. Stuff like that makes you realise you’re doing something right.
Where did you pick the Celsius track up from? It’s huge.
Celsius is a friend of ours actually. It’s mad how big that track’s been, you know. Claude Von Stroke has been smashing it – and it’s not really an obvious pick for him. The big chord part in the main break is really not something you expect from a track like that – I think that’s why people love it.
How’s the album release tour going? Any highlights so far?
Just the sheer amount of support really, won't bore you with a list but it’s been incredible. Really diverse. I think people have picked up on the love that went into it, not just from us but from all the artists involved, the design elements and so on.
Pete Tong made tracks from the comp Essential Contenders for three weeks running, which was pretty sick.
What track of the last 6 months do you wish you’d got to first?
Maybe 'Jesse Perez – Kiss Jesse On The Dick'. It’s one of the most unsung bombs on 2012.
Which WWF theme tune would make the best Moda Black remix and/or release?
Haha, you came to the right guy… Razor Ramon – his entrance music was a total vibe!
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