This week edmsauce.com focused on up and coming artists CLMD, Carl Louis and Martin Danielle. This slick duo out of Norway struck gold with their recent track “Black Eyes and Blue” which is tearing up Beatport and Sirius BPM. Here they share how they met and what's next.
edmsauce: You're a duo – can you explain how you guys met?
CLMD: We have basically known each other since the age of six. We grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools, had the same friends, played the same sports, and been best friends since day 1.
edmsauce: And how did you get into collaborating on music?
CLMD: In high school we had a friend who was really in to sound systems and always brought big PA to all the home alone parties we used to go to. We were always very interested in music so we always brought some CDs… Then we got more and more into the idea of mixing tracks. So instead of partying with the rest, we started turning knobs. That sparked the interest for dj’ing and soon enough we got into the production part of it.
edmsauce: I love the song Black Eyes and Blue, can you tell our readers about the inspiration for the song and the background of producing it?
CLMD: First of all, thank you! We actually made the first version of the instrumental right after we made “The Message” in 2009, but felt we weren’t good enough producers then to bring the best out of those amazing chords.
edmsauce: 2009?
CLMD: Yea, so we kept it on the hard drive for almost 2 years until winter/spring 2011. That’s when we realized that it was time to make this track! One year and 11 versions later we were finally happy with it… For us it was about making a big room track that could hold the intensity of an anthem but at the same time keep tremendous amount of soul. It has always been important to us to create tracks that, not only holds high energy, but also has a lot of emotion. You are not only supposed to hear it, you’re supposed to feel it! The songs melody has the abilities to be both sad and happy, which in our opinion gives the song the depth to become something more than just a simple house track. Maybe this is why it has worked so well with listeners?
edmsauce: It must be surreal to have other djs remixing your original.
edmsauce: I did some pretty intense googling and turned up zilch about the two of you other than you're from Norway. So….for the curious, what were your backgrounds before going into music?
CLMD: Well, as we mentioned we been close since we were kids. We both grew up in happy homes in the suburbs of Oslo and we were both really into sports. Carl played soccer on one of the best youth teams in Norway and Martin used to be among the best alpine skiers for his age.. Then girls, going out, and friends stole our focus away from the sports. But may also have been what LED us into the path of music!
edmsauce: And how old are you?
CLMD: 24 years going on 25.. (dun dun dun) maybe its time to do something serious with our lives?
edmsauce: Nah.
CLMD: Not just yet.
edmsauce: Well speaking of doing something with your lives, I see you two have also created your own label, called UpNorth. What's that all about?
CLMD: UpNorth is a little dream we have had for a long time. It takes so long for your tracks to be released through other labels.. And sometimes your songs end up being outdated by the time they do get released. (some tracks we waited up to a year for them to come out). With UpNorth, we’re in charge and we can release music when we feel the time is just right. We have also been fortunate to get Sony Music involved as distributor. When you have one of the biggest labels in the game behind you, you know you have the chance to reach the masses… even though UpNorth only is a five man operation. But in the bigger picture we want UpNorth to become more then us. As we grow, we want to bring new talent to the light and give them a chance to show their work. We want it to become a family where artists help each other and everyone can grow.
edmsauce: That is awesome. I also saw that you're performing for Hurricane Sandy relief in NYC. Were you guys affected by the storm?
CLMD: Well we lost power for 5 days, other than that we were lucky. No damages and no one got hurt. Plus, we have a fireplace so we manage not to freeze too much either!
edmsauce: What's your upcoming tour and travel schedule look like?
CLMD: Getting hectic.But it's all in the works so go in to to find out more!
edmsauce: Any releases upcoming you want to talk about/share?
CLMD: We have a new track called “Falling Like Angels” out this Friday, Nov 30th!! Super exited for this one! We’re not really big on dubstep, but for this one, we let us selves be inspired by the movement and made something completely different when it comes to house! Check out a preview here: http://soundcloud.com/clmdmusic/clmd-falling-like-angels
edmsauce: As Scandinavians you're from an impressive bunch. Do you feel your sound is influenced by your regional rockstars like Avicii?
CLMD: Honestly, we have always been huge fans of Axwell. He has always been our biggest inspiration within the genre. But we also let ourselves become more influenced by other genres of music too, especially electronica, indie rock and the fusion of them both. Royksopp, Miike Snow, Foster The People are all bands we look to for inspiration.
edmsauce: Last question…to what would you attribute your success lately? Persistence? Hard work? Or luck? Mentors?
CLMD: Patience, hard work, patience, hard work, patience, hard work, patience…. and the trying for quality over quantity, always.
edmsauce: Well thank you guys so much for interviewing, I hope the next track is a huge success.
Check out CLMD on Beatport for their latest release.
