Features Interview with Filo and Peri
We chat to NYC Trance Rockers about their meteoric rise to the top and ask them about their newly released 'Drops of Jupiter' EP.
Filo and Peri's rise to the upper tier of Trance music DJ's and producers is nothing short of amazing. From meeting in 2003 to the current day they have played all over the world and released music on some of the world's most repected label's. Hailing from New York and coming from very different musical backgrounds their sound has been described as a house electro hybrid. Producers of the tune 'Anthem' which went straight in at number in US Billboard charts and into the UK top 40, they have also had consecutive listings in the DJ Mag top 100 DJ's. These guys are hot property at the moment but still took time out to speak to us.
Tell us how you met, and how Filo and Peri came to be?
We actually met through a mutual friend on trance.nu. We spoke a bit and finally decided to get together in the studio and see if the chemistry was right. We finished two songs in a weekend and had them signed by Armada Music the following week! So for us that was a really amazing experience and we knew the partnership was meant to work out.
Growing up in New York. What were you early experiences of music/clubbing scenes in general?
Our introduction to trance music came from the legendary club twilo where Paul Van Dyk, Sasha, and other now world renowned DJs would come spin once a month before they were actually the names we know them as today. It was still a very underground thing at the time.
How did you both get into music production/performance?
Bo: My dad was/is a huge fan of electronic music and I grew up listening to the likes of Jean Michelle Jarre and Tangerene dream so that was deifnately a heavy influence . As far as the production end, it all started out with my passion for playing piano. When I was in first grade I recieved my first real keyboard that was part of a nintendo game known as the "Miracle". Basically, you hooked up the piano to Nintendo and played mini games to teach you notes, etc. It also had a really primative sequencer that I became obsesed with and I've been hooked ever since! I feel really lucky to have discovered my passion at such a young age.
Filo, you were a 'rock guru' and Peri you were a dance music fanatic, so musically you were both very different. From that combination of different tastes, how did you manage to carve your sound out and agree which direction you were going to take your music?
Dom: That’s definetly one of the driving forces behind our unique sound. It’s actually been both a help and hindrance at the same time. Early on in our careers we took a while to develop our sound. We discovered that we were really great at creating all styles of EDM including house, trance, electro, and breakbeats. So we combined all elements of EDM and actually created tracks of all different genres. We eventually discovered that trance music was our favorite type of EDM and settled in on that.
You have had a meteoric rise to the top end of the Trance spectrum that most artists could only dream of. From meeting in 2003 to remixing one of the biggest DJ's in the world, Paul Van Dyk's best known tune (For an Angel, out 12th June) in 5 years is great for you guys. What do you think sets you apart from the thousands of other wannabe DJ's/Producers?
Well I think one of the things that separate’s us is the unique creative chemistry between the two of us. It’s a huge factor in creating our sound. We do not try to follow a standard when we create our music, and even when we try to, it never seems to come out like a lot of the other stuff out there at the moment.
Trance music in general has definitely been riding a surge in popularity over the last few years with Armin Van Buuren and Paul both being crowned greatest DJ's in various polls and awards and trance DJ's covering the top 4 of DJ Mag's best DJ's in the world 2008. Do you think this has added to your relatively quick success?
To an extent. It’s helped in ways such as bringing music more into the mainstream but building your own brand and career is something that you need to do on your own. The pioneers can open the doors, but the upcoming artist needs to walk through them.
Armin Van Buuren signed your first big release 'Elevation' How did you come to his attention?
Armin came to town one week and so we decided that he would be the first trance DJ to hand our music too. At that time Bo was not even old enough to get into the club, so I went solo. The night was packed and it was really difficult to get near the booth because at that time I did not know anyone involved in the scene. After standing in the crowd for about 20 mins holding a CD up, I think Armin finally saw it and took it from me. Sure enough he personally contacted us the week after and told us that he loved what we gave him, and from there we’ve always maintained a great relationship with him.
How did you end up on Vandit?
When we first started out in our careers, you could say we were both a little impatient. We thought that becoming a superstar DJ was an overnight thing. Of course its 5 years later and we were very wrong in that matter! We bounced around quite a bit early on in our careers trying to find the right fit for our ever changing styles of production. It happened that I had a demo of Ordinary Moment and sent it to Paul. I noticed he played it on his radio show and then asked if he wanted to sign it.
You have been working together for five years now. Tell us a bit about the creative process between you both?
There's really no distinct process per se. It's just about going with the flow and making music that comes naturally to us. Sometimes one of us will come in with a concrete idea and we'll develop it, or we'll make something from scratch. Luckily we are equally inclined in the studio so the workload is split evenly.
Where is your studio? What equipment do you use in your set up?
Our studio is in New York and we just upgraded to a Mac Pro and Logic 8!
Having played all over the world, tell us about some of your most memorable gigs?
A recent gig that comes to memory is a show we played in Los Angeles called Fresh. There were nine thousand clubbers strong with their hands in the air. The really cool thing about the show was that the audience was on the younger side and it was amazing to see how much of the new music they were aware of.
Tell about the summer you have planned? Any exciting gigs, remixes or releases?
This summer we will play at Cream Amnesia in Ibiza as well as various destinations in the US and other parts of the world. We’ve also just finished the remix for Paul Van Dyk of the classic “For an Angel”. Our first artist album will be out right after the summer and we are really excited for that!
Your style has been described as a hybrid of many types of house music. How would you describe your sound?
As I had mentioned in the prior question , it took Bo and I a while to find out sound and style which is why we experimented so much early in our careers. But its safe to say that we will never release another house or electro record under the name Filo and Peri.
Tell us about your live act? Are you purely DJ's or do you/are you planning to add a live element to the show like Van Dyk? 
We did it once at the global gathering in Poland where I played guitar and Bo played the keyboard. For our first time it was quite successful and got a great reaction but we also realized that to pull the live element off the way we want to, it has to be part of a tour or something. Our concept of "Live" is a 5 member band, pyrotechnics, lasers, etc - we want to do it properly so we’ve decided this is something we will save for later in our careers. We don’t want to twiddle away on a laptop and call it a live show. Paul Van Dyk has got the right concept with bringing in the guitars and live drums!
Music is your first love clearly, but what do you guys get up to when you are relaxing?
Bo: I love to drive - fast! There are a lot of winding roads where I live and I make great use of them! I guess most people wouldnt consider that relaxing but I do. For the faint of heart, give me a good beach any day and I'm happy. I love the sea and my next mission is to learn how to sail.
As you mentioned, you have your new album coming out in September. How long did it take you make/have you finished it yet? Tell us about the process of making the album?
This album has definetly been nothing short of an amazing experience albeit a long and hard road. Its taken over 40 different productions to narrow down to 15 or so. Its also been a two year process to finish. And to this day we are still working on some final ideas and tracks to be considered for the final list. All in all we think it will be the very best product we could offer.
Tell us a bit about what we can expect from the new album, are there any interesting collaborations?
Other than Eric Lumiere and Fisher I think most of the vocalists will be new to the dance community.
Your house is burning down, you can run in and get one record what is it?
I can always buy more records but I cant save the music concepts I have on my hard drive. Im taking my computer!
Well, there have it. Two of trance musics hottest talent. Grab yourself a copy of the new EP, watch out for their 'For an angel remix' and their album which is being released in September.
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