|
 In anticipation of their debut artist album 'Night Play' which is out right now on Vandit Records we caught up with the New Yorkers for their thoughts on their debut LP...
With New York's extravagant nightlife and culture for inspiration two residents who quite liked their Trance music started knocking together tracks in the earlier part of this millennium. The duo of Domenick Filopei & Bo Pericic, as they are known to their friends, has been on fire for the past two years with one huge production after the other. It's a long time since 2003 when their first release got signed to 'A State Of Trance' and they were very much the new boys on the Trance scene pushing out early hits like '1999' and 'Spectrum'. They have moved on since those days and become two of the most well known faces on the electronic music scene.
Their first breakthrough vocal track was 'Closer Now', with female vocalist Fisher putting some stunning vocals over a very uplifting trance record. The single that has pushed their career into the spotlight more than any other came in 2007 and was another vocal track. This time, a male vocal took the lead with the pair trusting an old school friend 'Eric Lumiere' to provide the vocal magic for their huge hit 'Anthem'. That track was pushed into the mainstream and even made it into the charts around various countries all over the globe. Vandit provided the original exposure but it was a track that just gained instant appeal for its big uplifting vocal and main room aroma.
The evolution of Filo & Peri continues to gather pace and the blood, sweat and tears they have poured into their music over the years has finally come to a debut artist album, It's another debut release for Vandit who have had a habit of breaking through new talents and their debut production efforts. The album is an example of the musical style that the pair have been fine tuning over the past few years with a collection featuring Fisher and Eric Lumiere on vocal duty once more. The album is very fresh with all new tracks including their latest single 'Ashley' with the gorgeous vocals of 'Aruna'. It's a mixture of finely balanced vocal and instrumentals records incorporating a modern electronic dance style but has something the hardcore Trance addicts will enjoy.
The album is out right now; it was released on Friday and really does mark the arrival of two of the most talented producers on the scene at the moment. It's only right then that we went to have a word.
i:Vibes: Hi guys, thanks for taking some time to talk to ivibes. I had to look over and over again to make sure I didn´t miss something in the DJ Mag top 100 list, but I did not see the name Filo & Peri. I am very surprised about this. I guess you guys are too? How can you guys not be in the TOP 100? You should at least be in the top 30.
Filo & Peri: Actually we are not surprised at all! We did not do any campaigning and we did not ask people to vote for us. In 2006 we placed at number 77 and our tour schedule was nearly empty. These days, we are playing some very big festivals and playing in more events than ever! As Einstein always stressed, look at things relatively! We would rather focus our energy into making the music that we love – leave the campaigning for politicians!
i:Vibes: What was the coolist Filo & Peri experience in 2009 that you wont forget so quickly?
Filo & Peri: One of the coolest experiences was the day we finished the last few notes of our debut artist album. The feeling is hard to describe. A sense of finishing one of the most important things in your life and getting the opportunity to present it to the world! It really is hard to beat that!!
i:Vibes: Before we start talking about the long awaited Filo & Peri debut album, let me go back a bit. I remember hearing one of your first productions “Juicy” in 2004 in Paul van Dyk´s radio show Soundgarden. When you look back to your beginnings, how has the Filo & Peri sound developed since Juicy?
Filo & Peri: Our sound has taken quite a long time to develop while taking quite a few turns along the way. It stems from the fact that as a production team we were literally “thrown into it.” Within one week of meeting each other and working together, we signed our first release with Armada and within 2 months of making music together, we signed over 7 more. Because we signed music so quickly we decided to experiment with our sound and try different genres of music. Eventually, we found the style of music which we enjoyed making most and that is what you have heard over the last few years.
i:Vibes: You guys produced many hits in the past with Ordinary Moment, Shine or Anthem, but didn´t add them to the debut album. Why did you guys do that? I guess we will see these hits on the best of Filo & Peri sometime.
Filo & Peri: We actually created so much new music for the album that we decided it was not necessary to include our previous releases.
i:Vibes: You guys like using vocals from men and women. You guys showed how well Eric Lumiere works with “Anthem”. What makes male voices in general in trance music special in comparison to the more frequent female voices?
Filo & Peri: The use of male vocals stems from the fact that both Eric and I come from a very rock oriented background and we all decided together that it would be a great idea to explore a combination of the two genres.
i:Vibes: You guys are now one of the main acts releasing on Vandit. What makes this label standout to other labels in trance music?
Filo & Peri: Vandit has been a staple in dance music for so many years. They have released a ton of classic dance records and Paul van Dyk is one of the most recognized names in the business. The combination of those two elements is what makes Vandit a very special label. With “Anthem” they were able to take an underground trance record and bring it into the UK Top 40 and #1 Billboard Dance spot. That hasn’t been done in years with trance!
i:Vibes: How is the New York Filo & Peri sound unique compared to other trance sounds world wide?
Filo & Peri: We actually do not compare our sound to the other trance sounds in the world. Bo and I do what we do and it turns out the way it does! It’s just that simple. We’ve been told by many respected people and many fans that the result of that is something very different from the other producers! If we had to single out one unique quality in our music, it’s the combination of good song writing and strong production supporting it.
i:Vibes: How long did you guys work on Nightplay and what was the Filo & Peri goal behind making the debut album the way it is?
Filo & Peri: It represents about two years of work and covers all our favorite styles of trance and progressive music. We've worked very hard to find the perfect balance of trance vocals, melodic trance numnbers, and hard hitting club thumpers! Musically, its the best work we have done to date and after speaking to lots of fans on tour throughout the world, they seem to agree!
i:Vibes: The title Nightplay seems very straight forward, but was their a specific reason why you named the album like this?
Filo & Peri: It's just that simple! When we go out to the clubs and DJ, we’re all out there to have a great time and have fun!
i:Vibes: You start the album with a low tempo track “Back into our lives”, which gets one into a relaxed mood. What was your inspiration behind this track?
Filo & Peri: Back into our lives is a true house/trance anthem. Its a club record that lyrically focuses on relationships and about bringing the sparks that originally ignited them back into people's lives. It’s a very special song to us and its why we chose to lead the album off with it.
i:Vibes: With “Off the hook”, you created a bizarre sounding piece of music with a dreamy break and with Eric Lumiere on vocals. You have worked a few years with Eric Lumiere. What is it like working with him?
Filo & Peri: Working with Eric is a very interesting experience. We are constantly challenging each other in the sessions! We’ve come up with a lot of different ideas and songs. The greatest aspect of working with Eric is that we can lay down a simple kick and bassline and he is able to hear a whole vocal concept from a small amount of music. From there, we really work off each other. I think its why our work with Eric is the best both vocally and musically.
i:Vibes: guess you guys were inspired by Caicos bay when making the track Caicos bay. What made this place so special to make a track for your
debut album?
Filo & Peri: I actually came up with the melodic concept for this track while Bo was on a well needed holiday in Turks and Caicos. When he came back, we molded the track from the melody and decided that Caicos Bay would be a
very appropriate title for the track!
i:Vibes: You made “Let you know” with Linnea Handberg. It’s a very beautiful track. The vocalist from Denmark is a newcomer. How did you find her and what was it like working with her?
Filo & Peri: One of the things we try really hard to do with our music is work with singers and songwriters that have not been discovered in dance music. Linnea is a talented writer and singer in her own right and a total sweetheart! We just sent her over a new round of concepts to write over for the next round of songs!
i:Vibes: On “You”, you work together with an old friend Fischer. What makes her voice so special that you guys always come back to her for support on
your tracks?
Filo & Peri: Her voice is just so unique! I can’t think of another singer who sounds like Fisher and we are honoured to be the first producers in dance music to have ever worked with her.
i:Vibes: I can imagine “Soul and the sun” becoming a single later. This is a powerful track. How difficult was it making this track so it would be perfect?
Filo & Peri: The chord progressions in the breakdown is a really cool concept that Bo showed to Eric and I and the melody of the song came together effortlessly! Once we built the melodic foundation we put our heads together for a few days in the studio to write the lyrics with Eric. “Soul & the Sun” is one of our favourite songs on the entire album. We looked very deep within ourselves and at some of the biggest issues the world faces today and just started writing. It’s a deep track and hopefully something everyone can relate with. Im sure it will touch a lot of people and it will be the next single of the album after “Ashley”.
i:Vibes: “All I ask” is a beautiful song that puts Fisher into the spotlight. This is a very radio friendly track. Here we see another side to the Filo & Peri producing. How much fun was it making this track and how different is it making a track like this compared to the standard trance track?
Filo & Peri: It’s always refreshing and fun to work on songs in a different style--especially when you have Fisher’s beautiful voice to work with. Musically, it gives us a chance to do something completely different from everything else and allows us to explore areas we rarely get to show the fans! She never ceases to amaze us and we both think she has one of the best voices in music period. It’s nice to hear a down tempo song every once in a while and it has been getting great feedback!
i:Vibes: “Bright Lights” begins with a lot of energy and then follows with a pretty break and a breathtaking bassline. I could imagine this being a single as well. Were you guys thinking about the bright lights of New York or what?
Filo & Peri: Actually, we were! Bo was in Manhattan coming back from a club, driving through Times Square and the idea popped into my head. Instead of going to sleep like a normal person does at 5 a.m, he recorded the idea and we finished the song later that week! Sometimes visual things can be very inspiring.
i:Vibes: Your first release will be “Ashley” featuring Aruna. How has the early feedback been with this track?
Filo & Peri: The feedback has been amazing! Paul van Dyk and Armin have been hammering it literally in every set! Armin even messeged us online to tell us it was one of his favourite new tracks! Sales are going very well and we couldn’t be happier. Big thanks to Alex M.O.R.P.H., First State, and Andy Dugoid for the great remixes!
i:Vibes: “Majestic” was produced with Nick Stufano. How did you guys meet and what special quality did he give to this track in the studio?
Filo & Peri: Nick is a long time friend of mine. We’ve known each other for twelve years and really became best friends! Since Bo and I began working
together, he has always shown a little interest in the music making process, but it was not until last year that he really got himself deep into learning Logic 8! He always has me there to help him when he has a question and we both thought it would be a great idea to work on some tracks together. Nick is also a classically trained musician and bringing his background along with ours into the studio brought about a very complex melodic trancer! You can expect more collaborative efforts with Nick in some of the album bonus material!
i:Vibes: “Air and Phase”is another catchy uplifting track. What are your duties in the studio? Is it always the same or does it change from track to track?
Filo & Peri: As far as duties go, things always end up equally split. But it wouldn’t be right to say that every single track we make starts or finishes from both of us working at the same time. This was actually a really great melodic concept that Bo was working with and showed to me. Needless to say, once we started working on the concept together, things usually come together very quickly and this was not any different! Sometimes one of us will work more on a given track, sometimes less, but at the end of the day it balances out. We aren’t the typical duo in the sense that one is a producer, while the other DJ’s – we both do it all!
i:Vibes: The second track with Nick Stufano is “Music matters”. The title really says it all. How does music matter the most to Filo & Peri?
Filo & Peri: Music has been a staple in both of our lives and the thing we are both most passionate about. It’s really as simple as that – music is what we were put on the planet to do!
i:Vibes: I love Mike Saint Jules. He is also from New York. He has really made a big jump onto the scene in the last few years. What was it like working with him in the studio?
Filo & Peri: We’ve known Mike for a long time (even before he started producing) so we’ve built a great friendship over time. Working with him in the studio feels more like boys night out than a studio session to be honest!. There’s a unique chemistry between us - we joke around, tease each other, give suggestions and before we know it we have a finished track to show for it! You can expect more Filo & Peri and Mike Saint-Jules collaborations in the future.
i:Vibes: “Black Ice is another up tempo track with a break. You guys really stay faithful to the standard baseline and break with a nice melody. Thanks for that. But then you surprised me completely with a harder sound. How important is keeping the listener always off guard?
Filo & Peri: It’s very important to keep doing fresh things and not getting stuck on the same sound. As we grow as artists, we want our music to reflect that – simple as that. What’s the point of making different tracks if they all use the same elements and sound exactly the same?
i:Vibes: You close out the album with Amp´d up”. Why did you close the album with this type of track?
Filo & Peri: It’s the hardest tracks on the album that fits into the sound of what we play in our DJ sets. We tried to build the energy throughout the album’s progression and Amp’d up just seemed like the best fit for last!
i:Vibes: You are playing in Berlin with Paul Van Dyk on Halloween. What does it mean to you to playing with Paul Van Dyk?
Filo & Peri: Bo: It’s an honour for sure! “For an Angel” was one of the first tracks I ever listened to in dance music and I’ve looked up to Paul my whole career. It puts a smile on my face to be playing with him in Berlin on Halloween for MTV!
Guys thanks for the chat! Good luck with the album!
|
![[i:Vibes]](i_pic/ivibes_new.jpg)
Frontpage
News
Reviews
Interviews
Party Reports
Artist Profiles
Label profiles
Diaries
What is...
Tutorials
Links
Radio-info
Forum
Chat
User Stats
Crew-info
i:Vibes Info
Related Links
Tell a friend
