You can argue about what it is; house, electro-pop, or something else entirely, but Human Life aren’t really interested in being catagorised. With ‘In It Together’ they shattered the genre-spilicing game, creating something entirely original and utterly mesmerizing. And that, as we find out here, is only the beginning...
In the week that sees the release of the ‘In It Together’ remix package – featuring reimaginings from Frankie Knuckles & Eric Kupper, The Shapeshifters and Louie Fresco – we caught up with the groups Matt Wasley to discuss the remix package, comparisons to other groups and why embracing both pop and the underground is not necessarily a bad idea.
How’s your week been so far..?
Really rad actually! We've been in the studio non-stop working on tracks for our album and catching some sun out here in LA during breaks.
Have you been pleased with the reaction to the re-release of ‘In It Together’ so far? Do you feel it’s opened you up to a new audience?
Definitely. With all the social media sites we use we've been able to see really specifically when a certain DJ supports the track or we get press from someplace. We can wake up in the morning and all of a sudden have 200 fans from Indonesia or wherever. It’s eye-opening and really interesting as well! But also just signing with Defected has opened us up to their huge fanbase, which has been great.
The three of you spent close to a year making music before showing the fruits of your labour to anyone else – do you think that patience is an important part of making an impact with your music?
When you work in a group patience is a must or the relationship won’t last long! We have some tracks that we spent months on and I'm sure not all of them will make the album, but that is all part of the process. In our experience if you sit down and try to force yourself to write a great single under a strict timeframe then it’s not going to work. We prefer to make music because we want to rather than trying too hard to fit in a specific niche.
In the past you’ve been compared to acts like Chromeo and Azari & III…do you think these are fair comparisons? What else do you think you bring to the table that sets you apart?
Both Chromeo and Azari & III are great acts that we respect so those comparisons are fine if it helps to give people an idea of what we do. In the end though I don’t think there's any group out there exactly like us. We try to create real dance music and that ranges from more accessible vocal songs to darker & deeper instrumentals or remixes. Our goal is that whether you are obsessed with electronic music or never listen to it, that something grabs you when you hear Human Life. Most acts I think are either pop or underground. whereas we wouldn’t mind being both.
You latest track ‘Uptown’ is pretty different in style to ‘In It Together’ and some of your previous tracks…are you making a conscience effort not to be labeled as a ‘one-genre’ act?
‘Uptown’ [which the group are giving away as a free download from the Soundcloud link below] is actually one of the first tracks we did together and it's made in the tradition of classic French-Touch and the Chicago House sound that preceded it. Josh grew up in Chicago making this sort of music and we all grew up listening to it so for us it made sense that this sort of an idea came together. It's understandable that to some people it’s going to sound a lot different to our other singles but for better or for worse, there will be more unexpected twists and turns to come from us! We don’t put any sort of genre restrictions on the music we make, its all about whatever moves us at the time. When you hear our new album there will be more than a few surprises, we can promise.
Human Life - Uptown (Free download) by Defected Records
‘In It Together’ has recently been remixed by a fairly diverse group of producers…are you happy with how they’ve turned out?
Oh wow...we are honored to have had so many amazing artists remix this track! It's been really great to have a range of different artists involved. The Shapeshifters delivered a real big room mix while Louie Fresco made something deep and dark that's just amazing. And then of course we couldn’t be more excited that the godfather of house, Frankie Knuckles took out time to put together a really next level rework!
You’ve previously identified Daft Punk as a strong influence…is there a particular track of theirs that you would like to have the opportunity to cover or re-imagine?
That’s one of the hardest questions we've ever had to answer. The reason we love Daft Punk is because they don’t just have one sound. Even just looking at one of their albums.. take 'Discovery', you've got what would be considered pop songs like 'One More Time' and 'Digital Love', but then you've got really underground dance tracks like 'High Life'. That’s exactly what we hope to accomplish with our album. In terms of picking a song to rework, maybe the most fun would be to take a really well known song like ‘One More Time’ and try to re-sing the vocals really different and do it a completely different genre.
You’ve all been successful in your own right before forming the band…are you still pursuing solo careers at the moment, or is the focus all on Human Life for the time being?
Our focus is definitely on Human Life right now because we've had great momentum with this project, but we'll probably all continue to release solo work when we have ideas that don’t seem to fit with the group.
What are the group’s plans for the rest of the year?
We’re currently giving away a free download of the ‘Uptown’ track I mentioned earlier, so there’s a little mid-summer present for you! In terms of our schedule, the number one focus is finishing our album...that comes first, which is why we've been doing a little less touring than usual this year. That said we are doing a US DJ tour in August and then more touring overseas in the fall assuming our album is on track!
Anything else you’d like to tell us about...?
Yes, we would encourage everyone to get out there and follow your dream of whatever it is that you're passionate about. There is some very powerful energy available as we approach 2012 and there is no better time than now…but that’s a conversation for another day!
In It Together Remixes are available now from Beatport, Traxsource and D Store
