New York-based musical duo Chainsmokers got their share of fame when they featured alongside Priyanka Chopra in her video Erase. Member Alex Paul chats with Shrabasti Mallik about the concept of their single hit, their struggles and the duo's experience of performing in India for the first time
You made a hit with your single Selfie. Why you decided to compose a song based on the selfie trendIJ
Selfie was a phenomenon that captured a global trend. We talk about selfies and it’s the center piece of the song. That is what makes it super fun. But it’s not about taking selfies in the literal sense. It was a funny idea, actually. We composed the song in an hour. We showed it to a few people who felt it was unique. Not everyone loved it but we still went ahead and recorded it. It was a fun song that most people could relate to and that made it popular. But we definitely didn’t expect it to become this big.
How was Chainsmokers formedIJ
We were both homeless at that time and our music careers were in a terrible state. A common friend of ours thought it would be a good idea for us to meet and that together we might become successful. And that was exactly what happened. We got along well and really hit it off. That was the start to a great journey. Drew (Andrew Taggart, band member) was asked to work on a song for Priyanka Chopra’s album. We really worked hard in the beginning and had no idea what we were doing, but gradually we figured it out. Erase was our first song. The song was liked but RedOne had already done her album. They still wanted to release it, so they suggested that we make it a Chainsmokers’ song featuring Priyanka. We went ahead with it. Working with a superstar like her was a real honour.
Did you have any specific reason to choose such a name — do you both smokeIJ
The Chainsmokers has nothing to do with smoking. We actually don’t smoke. I wish there was a really great story about how we got the name, but honestly, it’s just that all the domain names on the Web were available for ‘The Chainsmokers’. After saying it to ourselves a couple of times, it started to sound very familiar and we both liked the feeling. We thought it was a really cool name so we went ahead with it.
How do you come up with your musicIJ What inspires youIJ
Everything around us influences our music. It could be a new rap song, the food we just ate, a city we visited or the night we just experienced. Our music is a reflection of our mood and memories and it constantly evolves and grows along with us.
What are the instruments that you work withIJ
Andrew has been playing music all his life, he plays almost every instrument. We work on laptops, DJ turntables et al.
Was this your first time in IndiaIJ
Yes this was our first trip ever, that, too as part of the Vh1 Supersonic Arcade. We were so excited about everything. The food, the culture, to meet our Indian fans for the first time, to dance, to play new music to the people, to visit the historic landmarks and make new friends.
Do you find any difference in your audiences in India and other parts of the worldIJ
We had such a great time performing in Mumbai earlier, the fans were so energetic. Indian fans are awesome. We probably have more fans here in India than in the US.
What similarities and differences do you guys shareIJ
We both love music and share a lot of the same ambitions and passions. We both went through different phases in terms of our musical tastes and sounds. For instance, Drew loves Death Cab For Cutie (a band) and I went was a Tupac Shakur (rapper) fan. He loved lil’ Wayne and I really dug the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. We’ve discussed this a bunch of times before and we think it’s amazing because between the two of us, we’ve loved practically every music genre. I guess, this has really helped us shape our abilities to be flexible in the music that we create.
Do you have plans to collaborate with any Indian musician in futureIJ
Why notIJ We are open to exploring new options. We can’t lie and say we know much about Indian musicians. I looked up for a few Indian artists and they seemed very interesting. We love Bollywood and admire its artistic element. It was great working with Priyanka Chopra and it really helped us get acquainted with a lot of people.