Interview | Questions & Answers With Drunken Kong

Directly from Japan, Drunken Kong are breaking paradigms as a male-female duo. The global Techno scene now graces with the talents of D. Singh and DJ Kyoko. Initially, these guys rapidly made a name for themselves while playing at the best clubs in Tokyo. Today, they are taking their music careers as something serious and in this exclusive interview they reveal all about this project!

1 – When exactly did you decide to work together as a duo? Do you have separate roles?

We started working together back in 2011, and at first, we just started to make music for fun, as we enjoy spending time in the studio and being creative. We actually don’t have separate roles, whether producing or playing at gigs – we just work together on everything, as we feel it flows better.

2 – How did you choose the name Drunken Kong for this project?

Drunken Kong came from combining our initials D and K. At the time, we never imagined releasing music or playing together at gigs under the name, we were just having fun in the studio. When we completed the first track we had to name it, and who we were going to be known as. We asked ourselves if “D&K” was a good name? It wasn’t that memorable, so we came up with Drunken Kong and it stuck.

3 – What music style or genre do you want to focus? Why?

We don’t have a specific focus on genre or style. Whatever sounds good – is good! Whatever we produce, the main focus we have is to keep a groove to all the tracks. Energy and groove are very important to us.

4 – How big is the Techno scene in Tokyo? Is there any good club we can visit?

Tokyo has such a great club scene. Many parties happen all over the city, sometimes on weekdays and also the weekends. Clubs in Tokyo which are really doing well at the moment and have some international recognition are Womb, Vent, Sankeys and Ageha. There is also another really good spot called Oath, it’s like a bar but it has a great sound system and the vibe is so cool.

5 – So, what’s the name of your debut album? When is the release date? How many tracks does it contain?

The album is called ‘The Signs Within’. The release date is set for the 19th June and we are really excited about it. The album has 12 tracks in total, which are all original mixes, with a couple of collaborations in the mix with Christian Smith and Victor Ruiz.

6 – What was the inspiration behind this album? Is it intended only for clubs?

Well, since this is our first album, we wanted to focus more on dance floor material. We wanted the album to have different elements for each of the dance tracks, so they can work at different venues, and also at certain times of the night. So, some are groovier, and others are more peak time. It’s really important for us to have a selection of tracks which suit a number of scenarios, so we can play at any time slot during a show, whether it’s daytime, at night, in a club or at a festival.

7 – Is the first single coming soon? Have you collaborated with other producers for some remixes?

Yes, we are launching an EP on the 29th May which is acting as a teaser release for the album. It has 3 tracks on it, which all feature on the album too, so you can get a taste of what’s to come in June. These are 3 original tracks, and no remixes on this one, but hopefully we have some of those in the near future, which we are working on now.

8 – We know you have toured outside Japan. What has been your favorite international venue? Why?

Honestly, we enjoy every gig we have. But if we have to give a mention about one in particular, then our favorite and most memorable venue was Barraca in Valencia, Spain. The DJ booth is really cool, a great sound system and the crowd was just amazing. The energy on the dancefloor was just electric, everyone had their hands in the air from start to finish. We cannot wait to play there again!

9 – Which one of you prefer, DJ’ing than producing new stuff?

We actually like the combination of both. Producing new stuff is, of course, exciting and you can really get creative and experimental in the studio. But when you have worked on a project for such a long time, and you take it to the club to test it out – the reaction from the crowd is everything. It’s amazing when you can see everyone in the club dancing along, and enjoying something you have produced – it’s a very special feeling.

10 – What plans do you have for the rest of 2017?

We have a tour in Europe to start with this summer, which we are really looking forward to, and we are working on some other regions around the world for later this year. We can’t wait to experience some new cities and venues along the way.

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