Production duo Rave Radio had an absolutely epic 2017, to say the least. Known for taking the ‘DJ Set’ stereotype and absolutely blowing it out of the water, these guys combine live drums, live sampling and live vocals with their energetic mix of some sweet bass heavy genres. After taking a look at Rave Radio’s notorious tour videos, you’ll start to understand the hype. Racking up a combined 18 MILLION plays of Facebook, they’ve established themselves as serious international crowd pleasers. Having performed north of 100 shows in 2017 across 11 countries, Rave Radio have gained a loyal social media fan base along the way. Since Rave Radio released ‘Rumble’ back in 2015, they’ve attracted widespread support from industry heavyweights Martin Garrix, Hardwell, David Guetta, Dyro & Laidback Luke. Soaring high with the 2 million Spotify plays from previous single ‘Turn Me Out’ and another 1 million Soundcloud plays on their unofficial Drake, The Weeknd & Disclosure remixes, their synth heavy, quirky bass driven sound is quickly becoming their trademark sound. 2017 saw their music progress with singles ‘Rock It’ and ‘Carry You’ both passing 1 million YouTube views, following with ‘Morning Light’ and ‘Make It Better’ in 2018. Both singles also surpassed 1 million views and landed high rotation on Channel V & MTV Australia, displaying their musical talent and musical progression into legitimate song writers. Continuing a strong release schedule into 2018, on top of an electric tour schedule across Asia, Europe & Australia, Rave Radio will keep you entertained for every second of their adrenaline filled story, and we can’t wait.
Welcome, James Todman & Brett Allen (aka Rave Radio). It’s a pleasure to have you here! What a name Rave Radio. How did the name come about?
Yea its a bit deceiving isn’t it! We don’t play rave music and we’re not a radio station haha. We were young and thought it sounded cool and catchy. We stuck with it so have given the name its own identity.
You’re both Australian. How did you guys meet & what made you guys decided to team up?
Don’t hold it against us, we’re not all alcoholic kangaroo riding animals. We met in the most cliche way in the music industry, both studying music at SAE. I think we were the only ones into house music, the rest of the class were set on becoming the next Metalica or Arctic Monkeys.
With numerous singles, an EP, a few compilation albums under your belts, is there any new material coming out? Another EP, a studio album, etc in the works?
We’re still trying to establish our sound so we’ve got 3 singles all done in the pipeline, we’ll send them over as soon as they’re out! The days of an artist album are numbered with a changing music consumer market, so no plans yet for an album.
With such a monumental career to date, what has been some of the biggest accomplishments so far?
Haha we feel like we’re only getting started, but we have done alot looking back! Traveling is definitely the biggest highlight, experiencing other cultures. Eating Acai in Brazil, checking out New York’s art galleries, meeting Monk’s in a Yangon Tempel or driving around the Scottish highlands all make for a nice Instagram memory haha.
After the success from your previous music, were you any nervous while working on this newest single?
It’s more of a challenge than a feeling of nervousness, to create the strongest single that our fans will relate to and something we can stand by. It’s all a journey as we expand our musical direction, so excited to have it out there!
Do you tend to take a different approach when you are collaborating with someone else than when you are writing in your own?
Yea normally when we write club tracks it’s all about the sound design and synths, tweaking them for hours to get the drop as loud and phat as possibly. This process was that of feeling and getting the best vocal takes as the track is built around the vocal from MANBN.
Getting back to my video questions – how do you try to capture awesomeness of your live performances in the studio?
Yea its tricky. We’re sort of this this two faced, bipolar DJ act, that rages at night and calms down during the day to write about clearing your mind and getting lost during the day. I hope our fans can make the connection and understand what we’re trying make Rave Radio stand for.
Does your new single mean we can expect a new album – how’s that coming along?
An artist album has changed its purpose from what it used to be, used as a flyer for the artists upcoming tour or show, rather than a showcase of where that artist is musically. For us, we’re trying to put out singles that we can stand next to and be proud of it. With music having such short life cycles an album isn’t on the cards right now.
https://soundcloud.com/rave-radio/sets/originals-1
What do you love most about what you do?
We have this amazing opportunity to travel the world, get paid and play our music to strangers. Dream come true.
What’s next for Rave Radio?
After this single, we’ve got our next 2 singles done, so shooting music videos and getting those ready. European summer tour is what’s on our horizon and we couldn’t be more excited.