INTERVIEW: Bondax

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As dance music continues to expand out of clubs and warehouses and into the global consciousness, something interesting (and particularly welcome) is happening. While the simplistic, stimulation-heavy EDM sounds that broke the mainstream a few years ago remain big draws at festivals, most of the recent breakthrough artists are crafting something far deeper than an aggressive synthline over a 4/4 signature- more specifically with a focus on live instrumentation instead of simple jockeying. While the monumental success of Odesza’s breezy indietronica and Porter Robinson’s J-Pop-influenced synthpop have made for some of the biggest stories in recent memory, the overwhelmingly warm reception to Gorgon City, not to mention megastars Disclosure, has proven a rabid interest in fresh takes on tried-and-true house music. With a infectious and original sound, Bondax seem poised to be the next true stars in that scene.

Bondax is a collaboration between Adam Kaye and George Townsend. Friends long before they were bandmates, the lads met at secondary school in the fairly rural English town of Lancaster. Bonding over music, the two would discover that they made a formidable duo, with Townsend’s production skills matched by Kaye’s impressive multi-instrumental work. Finishing their last year at school in 2012 as some early singles caught fire in the blogsphere, the two fully committed to the project, with Townsend even skipping his final exams to focus on music. The following years have seen a steady stream of excellent singles, as well as several worldwide tours.

Bondax’s easiest comparison, in terms of a youthful British duo finding newfound success with garage house, would be Disclosure. However, while the Lawrence brothers craft poppy earworms, Kaye and Townsend aim for a more soulful sound. Melodic and laid back, the two give their lush synths and playful key work plenty of room to breath, each meticulously placed sonic element getting its chance to shine. The lads also have a knack for finding great singers, with almost every original song featuring an excellent, R&B-tinged vocal performance that often dazzles but never overshadows the rest of the track. With an oeuvre as well-suited to a romantic summer evening as a late night dancefloor, they are a must-listen for house heads as well as an easy recommendation for those just dipping their toes into dance music.

Bondax will be making its first appearance in Boston tonight, playing a DJ set at The Sinclair. We caught up with Kaye before the show, who told us about what goes into finding a vocalist, the influence of LCD Soundsystem, and album plans, as well as gushing about American snack food.

Allston Pudding: You guys were still in secondary school when Bondax started picking up steam. How was the experience of coming up in the global electronic scene while still finishing your studies?

Adam Kaye: It was pretty surreal to be honest, man! We never expected it to happen, so it was a lovely surprise. We didn’t really understand what was happening; didn’t accept it straight away. Well, I didn’t anyway! It sort of hit me all at once later on.

AP: You and George had been friends for years before Bondax. When you started playing and producing together were you aiming for this kind of soulful dance sound?

AK: Not really, no. When we first started making music we were making heavier stuff. We were listening to a lot of Ed Banger [Justice’s label] vibes, French electronic music that’s quite heavy and quite intense like DJ Mehdi and stuff. Our tastes changed over time and that’s how we got to where we are.

AP: How would you say your approach to songwriting and production changed since, say, “You’re So” and “Gold”?

AK: It’s changed a lot because we’ve got the means now. George has learned keys in the meantime and I’ve gotten better at production; it used to just be that I’d play the instruments and George would produce it. It’s changed a lot in that we both cross over a bit more nowadays. Also now we have the equipment to record a lot more real instruments and experiment with a lot more different sounds. Earlier on we were just bound to the laptop! All we had was a copy of Logic. Now we have a full studio so we can record guitars and bass and we have actual synths. You can find much more fun ways of making music when you’re not just confined to a computer.

AP: What do you look for in a vocalist?

AK: The main thing that we look for is character. There are a lot of people who can sing really well, and it’s like “great man, you’ve got an amazing voice”. A lot of people sound the same though, and when you find that special someone that has a certain quality to their voice you have to go with it. You can find it with some singers, where one might be a lot better technically- might hit the notes better- but when it comes down to the final recording, if someone sounds more interesting on it then we’ll always go for that one over the technically better one. You can always just find the right takes, you know?

AP: If you could score a feature from anyone, who would you like to work with?

AK: I mean, we always say D’Angelo but I’m not gonna say that this time because I’ve said it so many times! I personally (and I know George loves him as well) would want Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. He’s got a really interesting voice and i think he’d add a lot more than just his vocals, because he can do anything!

AP: I’m sure you’ve gotten this comparison in the past, but Disclosure really blew up as you guys were starting to come up. Did seeing that kind of similarly garagey music make such an impact worldwide have an impact of how you foresaw your own growth or planned out releases?

AK: It was very strange when they got so big. We always expected them to get big, since they made really interesting and accessible music, but it was weird for us. We were friends with them from the start and when we were first mates they were supporting SBTRKT and played in Lancaster, the tiny town where we’re from. They were traveling around on trains, carrying their keyboards and stuff around with them. That was when we first properly hung out, at KFC in their travel lodge. It’s changed a lot since then! You see everyone about at festivals and stuff, but when you see those guys it’s amazing – they have so much crazy production! It’s mad to see the change.

How that relates to us? I think it gave us hope that our music could travel further than we’d ever thought. It was also good for us because it made us think “that’s their thing, we need to do our own thing.” It shaped how we made music and how we tried to strive for our own sound; sticking to different BPMs and using different synths. All that jazz. It was good for making us individual.

AP: Moving onto this US tour, I couldn’t find anything in the press release about this: are these going to be Bondax live sets or DJ sets?

AK: It’s DJ sets. We need to tell people that, because I’ve had a few people think it’s live. It’s a DJ tour but it’s different this time because we’ve got Karma Kid, loads of friends we’re bringing to different cities, and there’s gonna be a lot more production with us. We’re bringing a lighting guy and some visuals. On the past US tours we’ve been bound by whatever the venue had. Now we’re bringing all our own stuff to make it more visually interesting as well.

AP: What was your most standout experience playing live over the past year?

AK: One of the most surprising was when we went to Indonesia- we’re going there again on this tour actually! This was the first time we’d been and we just had no real expectations of what the shows would be like. We headlined this jazz festival way out in the mountains in this town called Bandung. There were thousands and thousands of people there just going crazy and who knew all the words. That was a big moment for us because we were pretty much as far away as you can get from home and yet there are all these people who know our music!

AP: Do you have a favorite tour snack?

AK: Depends on the country! In America, you guys have got some good snacks. I’m a big fan of Bugles personally. We both love Sour Skittles. I do like a Butterfinger and also I’d be silly for not mentioning Reese’s.

Also you’ve got great cereal out there, man! Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, Reese’s Puffs. The list goes on! You guys know your snacks. You have my snack respect.

AP: So far the only full length release we’ve gotten from you guys is the Bondax and Friends compilation. Are you looking into a full Bondax LP or more interested in continuing with the singles format that’s worked so far?

AK: No, we’re really up for doing an album! We’ve almost finished; been putting it together for a long, long time. It’s been a lengthy experience with a few hiccups along the way. We started when we were 15 and I think a lot of growing up had to be done to make this record good. We’ve changed, delved a lot deeper into the history of music, and adapted how we make music; tried to incorporate new instruments and new sounds. Through the development it still sounds like us, though.

We’ve also got a few tracks that we’ve finished recently, two that we actually sent out to get mixed this week to play out on the tour. The album will be out towards the end of the year but we’ll have a few singles out before then.

AP: I read in an old Guardian piece that LCD Soundsystem was an influence of yours. Any thoughts on the reunion?

AK: They’re my favorite band! They’re definitely a big influence of ours and we’ve always tried to look to how they make music; how they compose and work with their synths. It’s been a huge inspiration to us making this record.

I’m really happy about the reunion. I know some fans were upset about it, since they spent a lot of money going to the final show at Madison Square Garden. But any new music by LCD is a blessing for me. It’s James Murphy making more music. Can’t be sad by that.

Plus the chance to see them live again! I only saw them play once and they only really played This Is Happening stuff. I love that record, but I would also love to hear a lot of the older stuff live. Hopefully I’ll get to see some new things on the upcoming tour.

AP: A few years now into working with George, what would you say makes the duo work?

AK: I think it’s the fact that we’re very different people. George is a very clinically minded guy; a technically-able person who thinks about things in a logical way. I’m the opposite. I don’t really know what I’m doing when I get in the studio, it just kind of comes out of me. I’m good at just getting on the guitar or some keys and just noodling around until I find the right thing, whereas George will be, like, “we need to this, and we need to do that.” He’s good at directing what we’re doing.

But yeah, very different people so we don’t cross over that much. He does what he does and I do what I do and we put it together instead of arguing about who does what since we already know what’s going to happen.

Bondax will be playing the Sinclair tonight, 2/25, with labelmate Karma Kid opening up. With a showtime of 10:45, this is going to be a late one, but if you’re looking to groove grab a ticket here.