When did you start Production and Djing, and what or who were your early passions and influences?
Thank you, we've both been into electronic music for a long time, and djing almost as long.
James has been playing for nearly twenty five years and Ben over fifteen, we've had a lot of experience from playing at house parties for friends to some of the most renowned stadiums worldwide. But most importantly we learnt on vinyl and both still have the majority of our record collections.
James - I learnt my production techniques whilst living in Spain, I was taught by a legendary sound engineer
Ben - I used to work in the record shop BPM in Brighton, James used to be in there a lot buying tracks. I knew he was producing music as his track 'Pass The Funk' was doing the business in the shop. I'd always wanted to get into production, so I had a chat with him about re-doing 'Outro Lugar' - he was also a big fan of the track, so the next step was the studio.
You have your Koh Phangan Debut set coming up on the 2nd of January, what should people expect from your set and why do you use four CDJ's during your DJ sets?
Yeah can’t wait to make our debut on Koh Phangan, we’ve heard some great things about the party scene.
Expect a unique set, lots of own unreleased tracks and edits, constant energy and a special atmosphere. We never plan a set so four decks gives us the space to be creative, and one step ahead.
2015 has been a massive year for Prok & Fitch with some amazing gigs around the globe. Can you tell us what was your stand out event / gig and why?
Tough call there’s been a lot of stand out gigs this year, would probably have to be our first time playing at the legendary Spy Bar in Chicago. We’d been wanting to play there for a long time but dates weren’t working out, we love playing more intimate darker rooms, amazing house party vibe from start to finish.
In a short space of time you have collaborated with some of the top names in House music including Roger Sanchez, Todd Terry and Superstar Moby.
What would you say makes your sound stand out from other producers in the scene?
Yeah we’ve been lucky enough to work with some of our biggest inspirations in the scene. Its been amazing to work with such iconic people, we’ve learnt a lot from them. Perhaps our drums, we always spend a lot of time on grooves and rarely recycle parts, always searching for new sounds which keeps our music ever evolving, giving our productions a unique vibe,
Jet setting around the world and playing in different cities has its drawbacks as well as its pluses, can you tell us your flight plan for the last few weeks and do you like the travelling side of your career?
Exactly that, lots of pluses and a few negatives, seeing different places, experiencing new cultures, meeting new people and eating new food is hands down the best part of our job.
The negative would be tight schedules with very little time for sleep.
The next few weeks are pretty crazy, first of all we have a Christmas gig in our hometown Brighton. We’re then off to Singapore to see the New Year in then January 1st a beach in Bali, the 2nd we’re off to Thailand to party with you guys.
Back to Bali on the 3rd, then home on the 4th for a few days rest then off to Mexico on the 8th for the legendary BPM festival.
What do you think will be (or has been) that moment when you would be able to say “That’s it, we made it!”?
It hasn’t happened yet, but that’s 100% our aim, not sure what the defining moment would be, but we’re certainly having a good time trying to get there.
Your Track "Tears" on Suara is currently Number One in the Beatport Tech House Charts, can you give any upcoming producers a few tips in breaking into house music production?
It’s been great to see all of the support we’ve received on tears, across the board BBC Radio 1 Support, Hot Since 82 to Axwel. Our tip to any new producers would be, stay true to yourself make what you want to make , not what you think you need to make. Take inspiration from other producers and different styles of music, but you have to give it your own spin, and most of all don’t follow music fads.
What's in store for 2016 and beyond production wise for Prok & Fitch and what artists will you be working with in the future?
Carrying on from 2015, we’ve got lots of music that’s either finished or nearly finished, we can’t wait for you guys to hear. As far as artists we’re currently working on an EP with Mendo, a follow up record with Mark Knight & we’ve just started something new with Dosem.
www.prokandfitch.com
Big thanks to Aaron Fevah for the connection.
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