Interview: Jump Jump Dance Dance 1

by Hila • Interviews • Tags: ,

Photo Credit: Cybele Malinowski

The Los Angeles-based electro-pop band JUMP JUMP DANCE DANCE are Chris Carter and Simon Lewicki, DJs/producers when they’re not performing as a band. Already a big hit in Australia, JUMP JUMP DANCE DANCE are beginning to make waves here in the U.S. Their full-length, self-titled studio album is being released on January 30th, 2012 in North America; the first single from the album, “2.0,” has been oft talked about amongst bar/club DJs and heatseekers, particularly the Laidback Luke remix. BeatDreams.com had the chance to speak with Carter and Lewicki on the eve of the release of their album’s second single, “Show Me The Night.”

Many of our readers are serious electronic music heads, and while many of them are familiar with your “2.0″ remixes, they may not be familiar with your other work. Let’s step away from that for a second and focus on who Jump Jump Dance Dance is. How did the band come together and what’s one thing our readers should know about you?

CHRIS CARTER: Simon and I first started hanging out at a rock ‘n roll electro party where I used to DJ in Hollywood. He’d turn me on to music coming out of Australia and swipe my drink tickets. [laughs] We started making tunes in the studio soon after.

 

What about the name, Jump Jump Dance Dance? How did that come about?

CARTER: Simon came up with the name. We used it as a working name when we were starting out, and it just kind of stuck.

 

You guys have a Jane’s Addiction meets The Killers vibe going on. Who are some of your influences?

CARTER: Jane’s was one of my favorite bands growing up! I’ll humbly take that as a huge compliment. Both being DJs, I’m sure so many things have influenced us that we weren’t even aware of at the time. I remember us vibing on Alan Braxe and Fred Falke stuff, and things like Bloc Party, LCD Soundsystem, DFA 1979, Cut Copy, Presets, as well as classics like, The Clash, Duran Duran, early Chic records and such. But when it came down to writing, we just did our thing, let the songs go where they wanted to go and tried to make music that we want to listen to.

 
Jump Jump Dance Dance – Show Me the Night

Though you guys are a full band, a lot of your songs have an EDM aesthetic. Is that on purpose or just a result of wanting to create indie electro-pop-rock-awesomeness?

CARTER: Well, thanks for that compliment! [laughs] Clearly, we want to spread the awesomeness. [laughs] But since it was mostly just the two of us, a lot of our sound came from having to stretch ourselves and use all of the instruments, talents, software and inspiration we could find in the room, even if we hadn’t done it before.

 

Speaking of the band, you’re actually five musicians, but on your website you’re described as a duo. What role does the rest of the band play in Jump Jump Dance Dance?

SIMON LEWICKI: When we’re in the studio, it’s usually just Carter and me, but for live shows we need a bass player and a drummer, and sometimes an extra guitar player.

 

Recording music as a band is very different from a producer locked in a studio alone. How do you handle disagreements and creative differences?

CARTER: Yelling followed by apologizing is always a sound strategy. [laughs] Collaborating means that you don’t get your way all the time.

 

Take us through the songwriting process. Do you guys collaborate or are your songs usually written by one person?

CARTER: Everything’s a collaboration and we’ve written a lot of different ways. When it’s just Simon and me, the process is pretty organic. It could be me coming in with a lyric or chord progression, or Simon having a beat or riff idea. We just kind of work it out, hit “record,” and play with it ‘til something grabs us. Sometimes lyrics happen right on the spot. Often, I like to take it home and come back with ideas, which we then shape. We’ve brought in some friends to write with us on a few tracks as well, and we tend to be a bit more structured when we write that way.

 

Photo Credit: Cybele Malinowski

Simon, you made a name for yourself as a DJ in Australia. Would you say your fans today–the ones who know you from JJDD–are different from the ones who first followed you Down Under?

LEWICKI: I think some people who know me from DJing are hopefully into Jump Jump Dance Dance, as well.

 

Do you think your experiences as DJs contributed to your success with Jump Jump Dance Dance today, and if so, how?

LEWICKI: I consider myself a DJ first and foremost always. Everything I do starts and ends with the dancefloor in mind! That’s how I reference everything I work on.

 

The Laidback Luke remix of “2.0″ has garnered some serious attention from the EDM world. How did Laidback Luke get in the picture, and how do you feel about the attention the remix has been getting?

CARTER: Laidback Luke was at the top of our wish list for remixers and we couldn’t be happier that he loved the track and wanted to get involved! He’s an absolute champion. The response from fans and radio has been great so far. We’re really fired up to see where it goes.

 
Jump Jump Dance Dance – 2.0 (Laidback Luke Remix)

Where do you see your success lying in the future – in EDM or the more mainstream, radio-friendly electro-pop/rock area?

LEWICKI: I don’t think that’s up to us. Whoever connects with the music is by whom we want to be liked.

 

You’re known as huge synthesizer nerds. If you had to pick one synthesizer to work with and play with for the rest of your lives, which would it be and why?

CARTER: [laughs] True! We got some good mileage out of the Arturia and iZotope Ozone soft synths on the record, I remember. But my baby is the Moog Prodigy. It was my first analog synth and it took me months to really figure out. But when I did, it was like I found the guitar again. Give me that and a delay pedal and I’m happy.

 

If you guys had to play a genre of music other than EDM, rock, or pop, what would it be and why?

CARTER: I’d be out there with just an acoustic guitar. More and more I find myself loving the simplicity of lyrics and vocals, with just enough underneath.

 

Let’s say you had to play at a formal ball, would you prefer your fans dance the foxtrot, the lambada, the waltz, or the cha-cha-cha?

LEWICKI: Which one is the forbidden dance? That’s the one I’d want! [laughs]

 

What can we expect to see from Jump Jump Dance Dance in 2012?

CARTER: The U.S. release of our record, more remixing and touring after the New Year. Also, we hope to get down to Miami for WMC (Winter Music Conference) 2012 in March, so watch this space and we’ll see you on a dancefloor real soon!

 

For more information, visit www.jumpjumpdancedance.com