Written By Kylie Vesey

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Recently, I brought you a review of the world class mega-mash-up created by DJs From Mars as I felt that everyone needed to feel the joy I did listening to it. Today, I am beyond excited to bring to you our exclusive interview with the duo for your reading pleasure. So strap yourself into your seat as we take off, as this is a good one!

 

You may know DJs From Mars as the men with the cool looking boxes on their heads or the mashup kings, but these Italian DJs are proving to the world that they are so much more. Their style is a blend of musical genres with an added touch of what they like to call their “alien” basslines and beats. Having Dj’d together for 16 years they started creating remixes just for some fun and now are recognized as one of the biggest, and if not the best, mashup duo’s in the world. Having gained followings from some of the biggest names in EDM such as David Guetta and Tiësto; it's no wonder they are becoming a household name.The amount of energy and passion this Italian duo brings is “out of this world”.

 

Come with me as I step Behind The Decks with DJs From Mars.

 

Firstly big congratulations on signing with Musical Freedom Records which was founded by Tiesto and MMIX, that is such a huge achievement and I’m sure there will be big things to come! Any hints you can share with us on what we can expect?

Hi Kylie and Behind The Decks, thanks for reaching out! Yes the biggest news in the last months is definitely the release on Musical Freedom. At the moment we can’t share more details, but just so you know it’s far beyond our expectations and it’s going to change our lives in the next few months. We’re overly excited about it, so stay tuned to discover more details! 😊 
 

Your mega-mashup - The Best of EDM 2010-2020, has gone viral reaching over 1 million views on YouTube, well done. Take me through where the idea came from to create such an epic masterpiece incorporating all the greatest tracks and their videos? 

Yes, feedback has been great and it’s actually already at 2 million views in less than 2 months, we’re so happy about that. The idea came in the first days of lockdown, when we started receiving show cancelations and reading the news we saw all the big festivals being postponed to 2021. The first days of March were really sad for us (and probably for the whole world) so we wanted to bring back the good vibes of when we were allowed to party all together, go to festivals and clubs, and celebrate good times with friends. Since the last decade was really iconic for electronic dance music, we thought it was a good idea to mix the big anthems from the last 10 years to bring back good memories and help people going through these hard times. It was also very emotional working on this project, since we managed to listen to some classics we almost forgot! Every track we added was like opening a closet in our memory, so we were really hoping to share the emotions we felt while working on it with all the listeners, and  the comments are showing that this is really happening!

 

Following the previous question, how long does it take to create a mashup like this? Putting together tracks over a 10 year period must be very intricate work? 

Every year we create the Best Of Mashup with the best songs of the year, and have done so since 2011. It usually takes 2 weeks for the audio and 1 week for the video. But it’s usually 40 songs in 5 minutes or so. This time it took a bit longer since we really wanted to make something special. Selecting the tracks was hard since we didn’t want to forget about anything and so it turned out to be 10 minutes long - so yeah, studio work was like 3 weeks this time. Also considering that we always put all the tracks in the same key, and we always add some additional production to make it all sound smooth. So if you listen carefully, the beat is always made with the same drum kit, you can’t hear differences in the general sound, but tracks are just flowing on top without any dramatic changes. That was also a challenge this time cause EDM has strong beats and we needed to work a lot on filtering and sidechaining before adding our own beats and basslines. But it's’ getting too nerdy here! Let’s go to the next question!

 

One of our fans who has been smashing the megamashup -The Best of EDM 2010-2020 wanted to ask if we can get DJs From Mars to unleash a 1-hour mega-mix? We have all been doing in-home workouts in isolation and that would be the ultimate gift. 

Actually, we’re working on a longer edit for a big Australian brand who asked us about that to share it with their customers, so yeah there will definitely be a longer version (maybe not 1 hour but around 30 mins). For isolation workouts we also strongly suggest our weekly podcast on Mixcloud. It's called ‘Alien Selection’ and it’s bringing 60 minutes of fresh beats and bass every week! 

 

Prior to forming DJs from Mars forming in 2004, you were both producing songs for Bliss Corporation separately under different nicknames. What made you come together to form a duo together rather than remaining independent and how did you know working together was something you wanted to pursue? 

Yes, we met at Bliss in 2003 and that studio was working with a ‘factory’ mindset. 15 producers working on several one-shot projects every day, and 10 releases a week. So we were working together, alone, with other producers, with only one goal: making a hit. 

But since we believe music is not something you do in a factory, we started a parallel career with bootlegs and mashups that we played in our clubs (we were both resident djs back then). When we started uploading those mashups on YouTube, the reaction was great, so we worked more and more in that direction, and of course less in trying to make a hit track. After a few years the perspective was so different between us and the label, that we had to leave. So that meant being independent again, because working in that studio we had to follow their rules, and making music doesn’t really match with following rules!

 

You create an insane amount of remixes and bootlegs that when released skyrocket as hits.  Making remixes, is this where your passion lies or will we see more DJs From Mars exclusive tracks to come? 

Yes we love bootlegs and remixes because we really love music in all of it’s forms. Bootlegs and mashups allow us to work with some heavy metal tracks and add electro beats, or grabbing reggae samples and insert dubstep sounds, or using classical music progressions over a tech house groove. We love EVERY KIND of good music, and we listen to so many great artists, that bootlegs and mashups are our way to make a tribute to what we love. Just like hip hop producers use to do in the 90’s, sampling funk and soul tracks and bringing them to a new life. Over the last few years we definitely tried to work more on our own releases, but we needed some years of detox from the studio experience when we were basically forced to make a hit. Now after years of musical freedom (haha that’s tricky) we finally have the right mindset to work on original tracks again. Not expecting to make a hit, just making something that we love.  

 

David Guetta has been a huge inspiration to many remixes you have dropped, including the David Guetta megamashup which has had over 11 million views on YouTube. What does it mean to you both to have artists like David Guetta noticing your work? 

That was really unbelievable!! We sent David the mashup by email not even expecting a reply, and suddenly the inbox notified a new email inside saying: “Guys this is great!! Can we also add this and this and make this a bit longer and keep that part. I will send acapellas and let me know what you need!” 

We were like ‘WHAT really?’, instead of sending his lawyer, he’s replying that he loves it! 

So we started working with him on other mashups for his sets. We remixed his track 'Stay' last summer, and we were even invited to play at his F**K Me I’m Famous party in Ibiza, where we met him and discussed music in his beautiful house in Ibiza. That was really unbelievable for us, like a dream came true. He’s so passionate about music and we are learning a lot from him. It's definitely been one of the best things ever happened to us.

 

Each show we see you wear the iconic box heads which are so sick! I have to know what it is like performing with them. Can you share with me what they are like on the inside? I'm super curious. And will there be a moment where you remove them for the world? 

We tried to keep them very simple and basic. It’s plastic wrapped in a carton film, and inside we only have headphones, lights (for the eyes) and **SPOILER ALERT*** a boxing helmet to keep them firm on our heads!  

We have used those boxes for 10 years now, so we would probably not be able to perform without them. It’s a perfect idea cause we would probably be acting differently without boxes. It feels like “Ok now I’m going to perform, it’s not us anymore, it’s Djs From Mars” and the magic happens. We don't think we would ever do it without a mask, like jumping from the stage or going to dance in the middle of the crowd! It’s our trademark, we love it, and people love them too, so we’ll probably never get rid of them. 

 

The world looks very different to how we have ever seen it and our thoughts have been with you as it must have been a very trying one living in Italy. How have you coped with everything that has been happening in the world? Are there any tips you can share with us that have helped you through this time? 

Yeah, Italy has been hit hard, but also other countries around us are now living the early days that we had in Italy in March, so it probably was not the worst here, we were just the first to be hit after China. Since we live a double life, like almost every dj's (shows in the weekend, studio in the week), we tried to focus on music. Suddenly, we had more time in the studio, no flights, no jet lag, no stressful schedules. So we immediately decided: Ok let’s take advantage of this, let’s try to make the best out of the worst and here we go. Wake up early, eating healthy, daily workout, clear mind, and at least 8-9 hours a day making new music. Now lockdown is over here, but new shows are not going to happen shortly so we’re still keeping this daily routine. So expect lots of new music in the next few months!

 

Once the world gets back to some sort of normalcy and we see artists touring again, what can we expect from DJs From Mars? Can we hope to see you in Australia in the future? 

Haha yeah we can't wait for this emergency to end. We miss touring, so we promise the first shows after this lockdown will be FIRE haha. We have so much energy to give that we can assure you there will be great shows as soon as possible! And – we love Australia and hope to come back soon! One of the first tours we had back in 2010 was Australia. We played in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Gold Coast, Canberra and lots of other smaller cities and we have only great memories! So definitely hope to be back soon!! 
 

Let’s talk festivals, as our team regularly travels the globe attending some of the biggest and best in the world. Are there plans to see DJs From Mars touring more on the festival circuit? The big one that comes to mind is Tomorrowland without giving anything away too much, can we hold out for an appearance by DJs From Mars? 

We hope so of course! Hope with the next releases we’ll be going to take the next step and hopefully play mainstage at big festivals! Fingers crossed of course!

 

And finally, we ask everyone the same closing question. What is the craziest thing you have seen from behind the decks?

Hmm good question – we would have a lot to answer but that would probably cause some trouble so let’s finish here please 😊

Thanks for the interview and hope to see you soon!! (Haha)

 

If there ever was a star struck moment for me, I think that I have just had it. Not only do DJs From Mars create the best mashups known to man, they are generally all round down to “Earth” nice guys (pun intended). If you are looking for some production and mush-up tips that may help you break into the industry be sure to keep it locked to all the DJs From Mars socials. This is Kylie signing off for one of my favorite Behind The Decks moments yet! Peace!

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