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Housing Corp: A New Yorker and New Zealander's Quest For Underground Takeover

Whether it's DJing the 'We Are Your Friends' after-party or making a banging mix for THUMP—Skyler and Nick are making it work.

Being a DJ can be hard work, especially if you're in a DJ duo, and one of you lives in NYC and the other in Sydney, Australia—two cities that physically couldn't be farther from each other. It's hard to go back-to-back when you're barely on the same planet.

Now, if said duo plans to go from DJ duo to production duo—shit isn't going to get any easier. Doesn't Ableton flush backwards down under? Luckily, the internet is here to connect the dots, and Skyler Gross and Nick van Tiel, otherwise known as Housing Corp, can make a name for themselves with original tracks, warehouse parties across Brooklyn, and even end up spinning the after-party for Zac Efron's new film We Are Your Friends.

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As Housing Corp locks in to a mini-tour across NYC, We caught up with Skyler and Nick to discuss just how they make the distance between them work, how they got their start, and which one of them will be the one to take Emily Ratajkowski home at the end of the night. (Hint, it's neither of them).

Oh yeah, they also made us a mix. Listen to it:

Being a DJ can be hard work, especially if you're in a DJ duo, and one of you lives in NYC and the other in Sydney, Australia—two cities that physically couldn't be farther from each other. It's hard to go back-to-back when you're barely on the same planet.

Now, if said duo plans to go from DJ duo to production duo—shit isn't going to get any easier. Doesn't Ableton flush backwards down under? Luckily, the internet is here to connect the dots, and Skyler Gross and Nick van Tiel, otherwise known as Housing Corp, can make a name for themselves with original tracks, warehouse parties across Brooklyn, and even end up spinning the after-party for Zac Efron's new film We Are Your Friends.

As Housing Corp locks in to a mini-tour across NYC, We caught up with Skyler and Nick to discuss just how they make the distance between them work, how they got their start, and which one of them will be the one to take Emily Ratajkowski home at the end of the night. (Hint, it's neither of them).

Oh yeah, they also made us a mix. Listen to it:


THUMP: You guys come from Australia and NYC, two places very far from each other. How did you guys meet?
Skyler: A couple years back, I was producing music videos and throwing parties. One night, I was organizing a bass-heavy UK night at the TriBeCa Grand, and a friend told me to book Nick, who was living in NYC at the time. We met up at my office to talk about the party, but ended up shooting the shit for a while. We were both really on the same page as to what we wanted to hear out in NYC at the time. We started DJing together, and after about 6 months, making tracks.

Nick: I'm actually from New Zealand by way of Sydney, London and a couple of other places. I've since moved down to Australia so we are truly an international collaboration, making tunes together via the wonderful world of the internet while DJing and throwing parties simultaneously in different hemispheres.

Tell us a bit about your first DJ gig.
N: Our first DJ gig together was actually the first party that we threw together, and the first time we collaborated as Housing Corp. It was about two years ago at Le Baron in NYC. We got a bunch of friends together and played some of our favorite tunes to a packed out, hazy basement.

S: It actually took a while of us playing gigs and throwing parties with mutual friends before we realized that we were each dabbling in music production. Eventually, and after a lot of YouTube tutorials, we sat down and threw some of our ideas and sketches together, resulting in our first EP 'Renovations,' which we put out ourselves about a year and a half ago. Definitely a big shout out to DubSpot, DJ Tech Tools and Point Blank for dropping some serious knowledge.

When was the first time you realized you could make a living from DJing? How did that feel at first?
S/N: This was a pretty recent realization, and it feels surreal. All our tracks have been available for free download as we try to build a following, so our sustainable income comes from booking mad gigs and organizing our own events. We have two main parties we help organize, Chromed, a roaming warehouse party and Might Get Weird, the best daytime Summer party... ever. Both have been huge for us and have helped us land major gigs, like opening for Route 94 at Output. It's been a really interesting Summer.

How do you guys manage being an act that lives so far from each other?

S: Communication is key, and thanks to the Internet for blessing us with unlimited methods of communication. We're constantly emailing, on Skype, Facebook chat, WhatsApp, you name it. Messages might not be read right away because of the time difference between NYC and Sydney, but it's better than snail mail.

N: We work very closely on what we are playing at gigs and when we get together and play even after a month or so apart, it's straight back in there, like we never left. What's cool about it is that it enables us to spread the Housing Corp brand and music ethos a lot farther than if we were based in the same place, and even more so than if Housing Corp was just one person. Working in two different countries at the same time means we can take over the world much faster, obviously.

What's your relationship with NYC? What are the things you love most, and least about being an artist here?

S: The opportunities and people you might run into every day make the nine months of bad weather and ridiculously high rent worth it. What I love least is the L train at 8AM.

N: The best thing about being here is definitely the strong nightlife community. There's so much mutual support here between the locals - we spend a lot of time with the guys from The Deep and a bunch of other amazing DJs who we throw parties with. A lot of the time the DJ booth is literally overrun with homies who are there to party, but also support and play b2b and help make sure the vibe is always the best it can be. It's actually a nice contrast to a lot of other cities we've played in.

For your upcoming gigs, what are five things that without a doubt, you know will go down.

1. Housing Corp playing some new original tracks
2. Someone will request a Drake song in the middle of our set at Marquee
3. Breaking Emily Ratajkowski's heart when she realizes neither of us are single
4. Guaranteed nudity at BangOn! NYC's Elements fest
5. Going b2b2b2b2b when The Deep crew shows up at our Verboten gig

You guys are playing the We Are Your Friends after party. There's been a lot of talk about the film. What's your take on the whole thing?

S: We haven't seen it yet, but I'm really interested to see how they show this kid going from a nobody to a huge DJ (I'm assuming that's the plot). There are so many young bedroom producers coming out with fire tracks. I think a lot of these really talented kids who have a similar dream will be able to relate to it. It also will also resonate with every girl ever, because...Zac Efron.

N: It's going to be a huge film this summer and we're happy to be part of all the hype that comes with it. At the end of the day, it's not a documentary about DJing, it's a fun, fictional movie with two of the best-looking people on the planet it in it. So what's not to like about it, really? Anything that gets people hyped on music and DJ culture is cool with us.

Tell us a bit about the mix you put together for us, how close is it to the sets you'll be dropping in the coming weeks.
S/N: The mix is a good representation of our live sets, with a couple unreleased originals (obviously). We debated making it a bit more chill, but since we were both going to be in NYC at the same time it was a good opportunity for us to get into the studio together and lay down a live mix, and we thought it would be good to show people what they can expect to hear at a HousingCorp show at the moment - which we have a ton of upcoming!


Housing Corp is on Facebook // SoundCloud

Check out Housing Corp on tour:

8/18 We Are Your Friends: Afterparty at Marquee
8/22 Elements Festival (BangOn!)
9/3 Shiba San / Huxley / Housing Corp at Verboten

THUMP: You guys come from Australia and NYC, two places very far from each other. How did you guys meet?
Skyler: A couple years back, I was producing music videos and throwing parties. One night, I was organizing a bass-heavy UK night at the TriBeCa Grand, and a friend told me to book Nick, who was living in NYC at the time. We met up at my office to talk about the party, but ended up shooting the shit for a while. We were both really on the same page as to what we wanted to hear out in NYC at the time. We started DJing together, and after about 6 months, making tracks.

Nick: I'm actually from New Zealand by way of Sydney, London and a couple of other places. I've since moved down to Australia so we are truly an international collaboration, making tunes together via the wonderful world of the internet while DJing and throwing parties simultaneously in different hemispheres.

Tell us a bit about your first DJ gig.
N: Our first DJ gig together was actually the first party that we threw together, and the first time we collaborated as Housing Corp. It was about two years ago at Le Baron in NYC. We got a bunch of friends together and played some of our favorite tunes to a packed out, hazy basement.

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S: It actually took a while of us playing gigs and throwing parties with mutual friends before we realized that we were each dabbling in music production. Eventually, and after a lot of YouTube tutorials, we sat down and threw some of our ideas and sketches together, resulting in our first EP 'Renovations,' which we put out ourselves about a year and a half ago. Definitely a big shout out to DubSpot, DJ Tech Tools and Point Blank for dropping some serious knowledge.

When was the first time you realized you could make a living from DJing? How did that feel at first?
S/N: This was a pretty recent realization, and it feels surreal. All our tracks have been available for free download as we try to build a following, so our sustainable income comes from booking mad gigs and organizing our own events. We have two main parties we help organize, Chromed, a roaming warehouse party and Might Get Weird, the best daytime Summer party… ever. Both have been huge for us and have helped us land major gigs, like opening for Route 94 at Output. It's been a really interesting Summer.

How do you guys manage being an act that lives so far from each other?

S: Communication is key, and thanks to the Internet for blessing us with unlimited methods of communication. We're constantly emailing, on Skype, Facebook chat, WhatsApp, you name it. Messages might not be read right away because of the time difference between NYC and Sydney, but it's better than snail mail.

Advertisement

N: We work very closely on what we are playing at gigs and when we get together and play even after a month or so apart, it's straight back in there, like we never left. What's cool about it is that it enables us to spread the Housing Corp brand and music ethos a lot farther than if we were based in the same place, and even more so than if Housing Corp was just one person. Working in two different countries at the same time means we can take over the world much faster, obviously.

Being a DJ can be hard work, especially if you're in a DJ duo, and one of you lives in NYC and the other in Sydney, Australia—two cities that physically couldn't be farther from each other. It's hard to go back-to-back when you're barely on the same planet.

Now, if said duo plans to go from DJ duo to production duo—shit isn't going to get any easier. Doesn't Ableton flush backwards down under? Luckily, the internet is here to connect the dots, and Skyler Gross and Nick van Tiel, otherwise known as Housing Corp, can make a name for themselves with original tracks, warehouse parties across Brooklyn, and even end up spinning the after-party for Zac Efron's new film We Are Your Friends.

As Housing Corp locks in to a mini-tour across NYC, We caught up with Skyler and Nick to discuss just how they make the distance between them work, how they got their start, and which one of them will be the one to take Emily Ratajkowski home at the end of the night. (Hint, it's neither of them).

Oh yeah, they also made us a mix. Listen to it:


THUMP: You guys come from Australia and NYC, two places very far from each other. How did you guys meet?
Skyler: A couple years back, I was producing music videos and throwing parties. One night, I was organizing a bass-heavy UK night at the TriBeCa Grand, and a friend told me to book Nick, who was living in NYC at the time. We met up at my office to talk about the party, but ended up shooting the shit for a while. We were both really on the same page as to what we wanted to hear out in NYC at the time. We started DJing together, and after about 6 months, making tracks.

Nick: I'm actually from New Zealand by way of Sydney, London and a couple of other places. I've since moved down to Australia so we are truly an international collaboration, making tunes together via the wonderful world of the internet while DJing and throwing parties simultaneously in different hemispheres.

Tell us a bit about your first DJ gig.
N: Our first DJ gig together was actually the first party that we threw together, and the first time we collaborated as Housing Corp. It was about two years ago at Le Baron in NYC. We got a bunch of friends together and played some of our favorite tunes to a packed out, hazy basement.

S: It actually took a while of us playing gigs and throwing parties with mutual friends before we realized that we were each dabbling in music production. Eventually, and after a lot of YouTube tutorials, we sat down and threw some of our ideas and sketches together, resulting in our first EP 'Renovations,' which we put out ourselves about a year and a half ago. Definitely a big shout out to DubSpot, DJ Tech Tools and Point Blank for dropping some serious knowledge.

When was the first time you realized you could make a living from DJing? How did that feel at first?
S/N: This was a pretty recent realization, and it feels surreal. All our tracks have been available for free download as we try to build a following, so our sustainable income comes from booking mad gigs and organizing our own events. We have two main parties we help organize, Chromed, a roaming warehouse party and Might Get Weird, the best daytime Summer party... ever. Both have been huge for us and have helped us land major gigs, like opening for Route 94 at Output. It's been a really interesting Summer.

How do you guys manage being an act that lives so far from each other?

S: Communication is key, and thanks to the Internet for blessing us with unlimited methods of communication. We're constantly emailing, on Skype, Facebook chat, WhatsApp, you name it. Messages might not be read right away because of the time difference between NYC and Sydney, but it's better than snail mail.

N: We work very closely on what we are playing at gigs and when we get together and play even after a month or so apart, it's straight back in there, like we never left. What's cool about it is that it enables us to spread the Housing Corp brand and music ethos a lot farther than if we were based in the same place, and even more so than if Housing Corp was just one person. Working in two different countries at the same time means we can take over the world much faster, obviously.

What's your relationship with NYC? What are the things you love most, and least about being an artist here?

S: The opportunities and people you might run into every day make the nine months of bad weather and ridiculously high rent worth it. What I love least is the L train at 8AM.

N: The best thing about being here is definitely the strong nightlife community. There's so much mutual support here between the locals - we spend a lot of time with the guys from The Deep and a bunch of other amazing DJs who we throw parties with. A lot of the time the DJ booth is literally overrun with homies who are there to party, but also support and play b2b and help make sure the vibe is always the best it can be. It's actually a nice contrast to a lot of other cities we've played in.

For your upcoming gigs, what are five things that without a doubt, you know will go down.

1. Housing Corp playing some new original tracks
2. Someone will request a Drake song in the middle of our set at Marquee
3. Breaking Emily Ratajkowski's heart when she realizes neither of us are single
4. Guaranteed nudity at BangOn! NYC's Elements fest
5. Going b2b2b2b2b when The Deep crew shows up at our Verboten gig

You guys are playing the We Are Your Friends after party. There's been a lot of talk about the film. What's your take on the whole thing?

S: We haven't seen it yet, but I'm really interested to see how they show this kid going from a nobody to a huge DJ (I'm assuming that's the plot). There are so many young bedroom producers coming out with fire tracks. I think a lot of these really talented kids who have a similar dream will be able to relate to it. It also will also resonate with every girl ever, because...Zac Efron.

N: It's going to be a huge film this summer and we're happy to be part of all the hype that comes with it. At the end of the day, it's not a documentary about DJing, it's a fun, fictional movie with two of the best-looking people on the planet it in it. So what's not to like about it, really? Anything that gets people hyped on music and DJ culture is cool with us.

Tell us a bit about the mix you put together for us, how close is it to the sets you'll be dropping in the coming weeks.
S/N: The mix is a good representation of our live sets, with a couple unreleased originals (obviously). We debated making it a bit more chill, but since we were both going to be in NYC at the same time it was a good opportunity for us to get into the studio together and lay down a live mix, and we thought it would be good to show people what they can expect to hear at a HousingCorp show at the moment - which we have a ton of upcoming!


Housing Corp is on Facebook // SoundCloud

Check out Housing Corp on tour:

8/18 We Are Your Friends: Afterparty at Marquee
8/22 Elements Festival (BangOn!)
9/3 Shiba San / Huxley / Housing Corp at Verboten

What's your relationship with NYC? What are the things you love most, and least about being an artist here?

S: The opportunities and people you might run into every day make the nine months of bad weather and ridiculously high rent worth it. What I love least is the L train at 8AM.

N: The best thing about being here is definitely the strong nightlife community. There's so much mutual support here between the locals - we spend a lot of time with the guys from The Deep and a bunch of other amazing DJs who we throw parties with. A lot of the time the DJ booth is literally overrun with homies who are there to party, but also support and play b2b and help make sure the vibe is always the best it can be. It's actually a nice contrast to a lot of other cities we've played in.

For your upcoming gigs, what are five things that without a doubt, you know will go down.

1. Housing Corp playing some new original tracks
2. Someone will request a Drake song in the middle of our set at Marquee
3. Breaking Emily Ratajkowski's heart when she realizes neither of us are single
4. Guaranteed nudity at BangOn! NYC's Elements fest
5. Going b2b2b2b2b when The Deep crew shows up at our Verboten gig

Advertisement

You guys are playing the We Are Your Friends after party. There's been a lot of talk about the film. What's your take on the whole thing?

S: We haven't seen it yet, but I'm really interested to see how they show this kid going from a nobody to a huge DJ (I'm assuming that's the plot). There are so many young bedroom producers coming out with fire tracks. I think a lot of these really talented kids who have a similar dream will be able to relate to it. It also will also resonate with every girl ever, because…Zac Efron.

N: It's going to be a huge film this summer and we're happy to be part of all the hype that comes with it. At the end of the day, it's not a documentary about DJing, it's a fun, fictional movie with two of the best-looking people on the planet it in it. So what's not to like about it, really? Anything that gets people hyped on music and DJ culture is cool with us.

Tell us a bit about the mix you put together for us, how close is it to the sets you'll be dropping in the coming weeks.
S/N: The mix is a good representation of our live sets, with a couple unreleased originals (obviously). We debated making it a bit more chill, but since we were both going to be in NYC at the same time it was a good opportunity for us to get into the studio together and lay down a live mix, and we thought it would be good to show people what they can expect to hear at a HousingCorp show at the moment - which we have a ton of upcoming!

Housing Corp is on Facebook // SoundCloud

Check out Housing Corp on tour:

8/18 We Are Your Friends: Afterparty at Marquee
8/22 Elements Festival (BangOn!)
9/3 Shiba San / Huxley / Housing Corp at Verboten