Autoerotique has gone from being Toronto's local love affair to international superstars in what feels to be no time at all. After coining the term 'lazer funk' to describe their own unique sound and signing to Dim Mak, Autoerotique generated support from high-profile names like Tiesto and Benny Bennassi, sending them on a whirlwind tour of almost every festival and club of note around the world. Their release "Go!", with Marc Noir and Out of Sync, just dropped on Dim Mak Records the other day, which you should check out here. Keith, the more visible half of the duo, took some time after their Toronto show at the Hoxton to share a little about their life as Autoerotique.THUMP: You guys have an interesting working relationship, in that Keith tours and performs, while Dave remains working in Toronto as the primary producer. How did that working dynamic develop?
Keith: Dave stopped flying for personal reasons, which we are both ok with—Dave's disposition towards flying actually lightens the load on our expense account. [Laughs]You've been friends for a long time—were you always into the same sound? When did the decision to turn the friendship into a working partnership happen?
We grew up together, going back as far as kindergarten, and yeah, we've always sort of been into the same trends and sounds. The events, which brought about our working relationship, are completely random. If I explained them in more detail it wouldn't do justice to the amount of luck and sheer opportunity we fell into early on.You mentioned once that you've never really had a proper studio session with any of the people that you've worked with. Has that changed? Would you work more with people one-on-one in the studio if geography wasn't an issue or do you prefer to work on things remotely?
Living in Canada and choosing to continue to live in Canada has for sure had its positives and negatives, but no more than any other city of equal distance from say, Los Angeles for example. We started off very weary of collaborations—but right now I feel like 2014-15 will be the high tide of super collabs.How has it been working on a label like Dim Mak? Are you close with the other members?
Dim Mak has been fantastic. We were early signees to the label before the surge of 'EDM'—hate that term. It's been interesting to watch the rise of dance music from a rare 'eye of the storm' position. We remain close with most of the original signees and after taking up a role in A&R we continue to develop close ties with up comers, future and current 'super star DJs'. [Laughs]What was your first Dim Mak show like?
We were very drunk, and do not recall in the slightest.What is the worst airport you've been to, or most frustrating border crossing situation you've had?
I was returning home from Europe and the first question customs asked was "are you a DJ?"—off to a great start. The follow-up question was "do you know Joel Zimmerman?" Which is Deadmau5's legal name, for anyone who is living under a rock. From there, the conversation spiraled on and on. Suddenly 20 minutes has gone by, and this elderly customs officer lectured me on everything there was to know about DJs, music, "after parties" and how to live my life—it all felt very in depth and educational after an 18 hour flight from Ibiza or wherever…What was the biggest highlight from the past two years of your career?
I think headlining our first main stage in Mexico, charting number two on Beatport overall, charting number one with "Asphyxiation" in our own genre, finding a great agent and generally staying alive are all pretty big highlights.Canadian electronic musicians are steadily becoming more and more prominent on the international scene, what is the perception of Canada's music scene abroad?
I think it's the same it's always been: quality music. Up north we're always on point, and if were not in the immediate spotlight—it's because we're cooking up the next thing. I will say though, that the global electronic community hasn't felt this close together since the days of Justice and Ed Banger invaded America by storm.Your music videos are great, they have this awesome tongue-in-cheek quality to them, which keeps you watching the whole way through—how do you find your teams to create your music videos and your art work? Do you have a very active role in their development?
While we always give the directors complete creative control, we usually have a mental picture of how we want things to be and express our aesthetic without trying to be annoying. Special thanks to Amos, Derek, and Miles! But generally we don't like to limit creativity, especially with the talented guys behind our videos.Where do you want to see yourselves by this time next year? Are there places you haven't travelled to yet that you want to bring the Autoerotique sound to?
I think we're more focused on where the sound will be—things are moving really quickly in electronic dance music, and I'm not too fixated on where my body travels, I'm following the music.What are you working on at the moment?
We're wrapping up a series of collaborations including one with Major Lazer! Looking forward, we'll be using the time before the next set of tour dates to do a little creative digging and find what's next. Using our findings to create our annual conceptual release, which is a follow-up to "Asphyxiation." We might even do a little more laser funk and bass in between.
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Keith: Dave stopped flying for personal reasons, which we are both ok with—Dave's disposition towards flying actually lightens the load on our expense account. [Laughs]You've been friends for a long time—were you always into the same sound? When did the decision to turn the friendship into a working partnership happen?
We grew up together, going back as far as kindergarten, and yeah, we've always sort of been into the same trends and sounds. The events, which brought about our working relationship, are completely random. If I explained them in more detail it wouldn't do justice to the amount of luck and sheer opportunity we fell into early on.You mentioned once that you've never really had a proper studio session with any of the people that you've worked with. Has that changed? Would you work more with people one-on-one in the studio if geography wasn't an issue or do you prefer to work on things remotely?
Living in Canada and choosing to continue to live in Canada has for sure had its positives and negatives, but no more than any other city of equal distance from say, Los Angeles for example. We started off very weary of collaborations—but right now I feel like 2014-15 will be the high tide of super collabs.
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Dim Mak has been fantastic. We were early signees to the label before the surge of 'EDM'—hate that term. It's been interesting to watch the rise of dance music from a rare 'eye of the storm' position. We remain close with most of the original signees and after taking up a role in A&R we continue to develop close ties with up comers, future and current 'super star DJs'. [Laughs]What was your first Dim Mak show like?
We were very drunk, and do not recall in the slightest.What is the worst airport you've been to, or most frustrating border crossing situation you've had?
I was returning home from Europe and the first question customs asked was "are you a DJ?"—off to a great start. The follow-up question was "do you know Joel Zimmerman?" Which is Deadmau5's legal name, for anyone who is living under a rock. From there, the conversation spiraled on and on. Suddenly 20 minutes has gone by, and this elderly customs officer lectured me on everything there was to know about DJs, music, "after parties" and how to live my life—it all felt very in depth and educational after an 18 hour flight from Ibiza or wherever…What was the biggest highlight from the past two years of your career?
I think headlining our first main stage in Mexico, charting number two on Beatport overall, charting number one with "Asphyxiation" in our own genre, finding a great agent and generally staying alive are all pretty big highlights.
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I think it's the same it's always been: quality music. Up north we're always on point, and if were not in the immediate spotlight—it's because we're cooking up the next thing. I will say though, that the global electronic community hasn't felt this close together since the days of Justice and Ed Banger invaded America by storm.Your music videos are great, they have this awesome tongue-in-cheek quality to them, which keeps you watching the whole way through—how do you find your teams to create your music videos and your art work? Do you have a very active role in their development?
While we always give the directors complete creative control, we usually have a mental picture of how we want things to be and express our aesthetic without trying to be annoying. Special thanks to Amos, Derek, and Miles! But generally we don't like to limit creativity, especially with the talented guys behind our videos.Where do you want to see yourselves by this time next year? Are there places you haven't travelled to yet that you want to bring the Autoerotique sound to?
I think we're more focused on where the sound will be—things are moving really quickly in electronic dance music, and I'm not too fixated on where my body travels, I'm following the music.What are you working on at the moment?
We're wrapping up a series of collaborations including one with Major Lazer! Looking forward, we'll be using the time before the next set of tour dates to do a little creative digging and find what's next. Using our findings to create our annual conceptual release, which is a follow-up to "Asphyxiation." We might even do a little more laser funk and bass in between.