Exclusive Interview: Young Bombs

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In 2019, Young Bombs made the bold leap from sought-after remixers to artists. That leap remains driven by a personal and creative chemistry forged way back in the Vancouver high school where they became best friends. With nearly 100 million streams clocked in just four years, the duo has become one of the biggest artists in electronic music, attracting the support of luminaries such as Tiësto, Oliver Heldens, and Don Diablo. They have graced the stages of blockbuster festivals such as Lollapalooza, Firefly Music Festival, and the Billboard Hot 100 Festival; supported The Chainsmokers, Galantis, R3hab, and Adventure Club on tour around the globe; and launched a coveted residency at Drai’s Beachclub in Las Vegas. Following the recent release of their well received single ‘We Own The Night’, we caught up with the guys to find out more.

Hey guys, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us a little bit about your musical journey and how you started DJing?

We sorta got thrown into DJing very quickly. After releasing a couple of remixes on SoundCloud, we got offered to open for The Chainsmokers at New City Gas in Montreal. It was our third show ever and we had no idea what we were doing. There were 4500 people in the crowd so to calm down our nerves, we did 5 shots of vodka each then hit the stage with all the liquid confidence in the world. It was the scariest show of our lives but ever since, we’ve pretty much felt confident in any live show situation.

What inspired you to pursue a career in electronic music? What or who are some musical influences on your production technique and mixing style?

There are too many artists from the past to the present who continually inspire us but Daft Punk have always been a huge inspiration from their music to their branding and and so on. Production wise we try to marry the sounds we loved growing up with the the music we’re influenced by currently. We Own The Night, for example, has elements of Eric Prydz and Avicii in it but the drums are much more tech house influenced.

Can you tell me a little bit about what your creative process looks like and how has it evolved since the beginning of your career?

Every song is completely different but usually one of us cooks up an instrumental first. Often, we will bring it to a studio session with an artist we are working with and if they vibe with it, we will write lyrics and vocal melodies. Afterwards, we fine tune it, add some production magic and voila: a song is made!

Where did you guys come up with the idea for We Own The Night? Is there a story behind it?

We did this one in the studio with our friends JOKI and Ken Fleetwood. The music was sounding anthemic and uplifting so we thought a simple, four word catchphrase was what the track needed. Originally there was a whole verse written but in the end, we felt one simple hook suited the song perfectly.

You collaborated with JOKI and Ken Fleetword on the track, what was it like working with them?

Both are insanely talented. JOKI is a Nordic musical wizard who grew up on a lot of the same music we did so we really see eye to eye on a lot of things. Ken is an amazing singer and songwriter who blew us away when he stepped into the vocal booth and started belting. We’re happy to call them both friends.

You guys have been touring recently? What does the rest of 2022 have in store for you?

We have a Halloween show run this weekend (Vancouver, New York, Ann Arbor) as well as a few more college shows and a New Years Eve show in Charleston, SC. 

What are some skills that have helped your musical career?

Hard work and persistence. Without those two traits it’s incredibly hard to make a career doing this. Luckily we love what we do so the work put in is always rewarding.

If you could go back in time what would you tell your younger self when first beginning to pursue a musical career?

Don’t worry about having everything perfected before going full speed. If you want to do it, just start and you can learn the things you don’t know along the way.

You’ve collaborated with numerous vocalists and songwriters, who is someone you hope to collaborate with in the future?

There are so many but we’d love to especially collaborate with people who aren’t typically associated with dance music. Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Matt Healy (The 1975), Damon Albarn (Gorillaz), Lana Del Rey and FKA twigs are all artists we love and would collaborate with in a heartbeat.

Where do you see yourself heading next with your music?

We have a bunch of records we made recently in London and Amsterdam that we’re super proud of. Hopefully we release them all soon!

Young Bombs – We Own The Night is out now: https://youngbombs.lnk.to/WeOwnTheNight

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