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chromeo likes business casual Described jokingly as the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture, if you’ve been near a dancefloor in the last year you’ll be well acquainted with Chromeo. This Canadian electrofunk duo, P-Thugg and Dave 1, have been on a steady climb to the top since their second album Fancy Footwork exploded in popularity – and with good reason. Will Seal talks to P-Thugg (aka Patrick) about their new album Business Casual.
The electrofunk movement has seen a massive resurgence of late after a brief hiatus. It’s hard to pin down exactly what defines it given the club-banging yet funkadelic mishmash of sounds and the way it pops up every few years around the world, and to be honest, Patrick isn’t much help. He describes the Chromeo sound as pure electrofunk, but in pointing out their influences lays claim to an eclectic mix. ‘We do it really from a mashup in our heads – we draw from hiphop, playing instruments, learning guitar, listening to Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles – it’s hard to say, but everything you listen to has some influence. It all stays in your head and all gets used.’ And on the rise of electrofunk itself? ‘It’s great, it’s going for it – but the genre is hard to push when you’re the only one as you’ve got no references. We’re making a new sound – but we love new bands coming through as it gives you inspiration and a bit of friendly competition.’ Which is an interesting point to raise when the biggest competition comes from within the family (sort of). As it turns out Dave 1 (aka Dave’s) younger brother is none other than international turntablist legend A-Trak – the first DJ to win five World Championships (including DMC’s World DJ Championship at 15). It wouldn’t be surprising to discover some sibling rivalry, but Patrick assures me this isn’t the case. ‘We all grew up together, we exchanged ideas, fed off each other, mixed up music and ideas – at a certain point you don’t even know where the ideas came from. We’re family and we share everything. But A-Trak keeps
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