Keeping your enemies closer than your friends is life advice I would normally dismiss in a heartbeat—unless, of course, it’s in regard to the always-reliable duo My Digital Enemy. Backed by Brighton boys Kieron and Serg, the project has seen them slamming down exceptional grooves that vacillate between the various house subgenres.
The latest job pulled off by the MDE arrives in the shape of “Inside of Me,” an incendiary four-floor weapon that you may have gotten an inside look at when Pasquale premiered it in last week’s Night Owl Radio episode. It shows them dipping into an old-school rave aesthetic with its throwback piano stabs and a larger-than-life vocal delivery. Lyrical mastermind MNEK had his hands in writing the topline, so you already know it’s the real deal.
With the single hitting shelves today by way of Insomniac Records, we cornered My Digital Enemy to grab some insight on them and of the release itself. Stream this bad boy below, and make sure to check out our chat.
My Digital Enemy’s “Inside of Me” is available here .
Your newest single, “Inside of Me,” is a mega tune. What do you love most about it?
Thanks. A big part of it, for me, is the vocal! It was written by MNEK, who we absolutely love. It was such a great feeling getting to actually sit down with the guy and see him work his magic.
If you were to close your eyes while listening to it now, what would come to mind and why?
Probably would think back to EDC Vegas, when we dropped it at Stage 7. It went off big time!
MNEK wrote the vocals for the piece, which turned out to be so powerful that you had to make tweaks to the track afterward to match the intensity. What changes were made, exactly?
Before, the backing track was a lot deeper, with less pace and with a somber feel. As soon as MNEK wrote the vocal over it, we decided to make the track more club-friendly and gave it a bit more of a ‘90s vibe, by adding chord stabs and beefing up the drums to make it kick harder on the dancefloor.
When was the last time you felt the fire inside of yourself? What tends to fuel it?
I did have a vindaloo curry last night, haha! But seriously, I love the feeling of playing our original tracks out live and seeing the dancefloor react well—there is no better feeling to fuel the inner fires!
On the other hand, what can extinguish those flames?
People that come up to the DJ booth with stupid requests like, “Hi, I know this is a house night, but you got any Rihanna?” Instant vibe killer! Haha.
Having a strong hook seems to be on the top of your list of priorities. How would you characterize the perfect hook?
If it makes you move on the dancefloor—but you can also listen to the track in the kitchen or car with someone older than 60 years of age without them saying, “This just sounds like the same beat going on and on; there’s no melody”—then you’re onto a winner!
You’ve been friends since college, when you played in bands together before the producing career took off. What sort of music were you performing back then, and how did it influence your current sound?
Believe it or not, we were playing in a death metal band! We were into bands like Brutal Truth, Carcass, Napalm Death, and loads of other weird and wonderful names. I’m not sure that it directly influenced anything we do now, but it certainly allowed us to get into the harder end of dance music, like hard house and gabba techno. Then we mellowed and eventually got into house music!
Why do you believe you vibe so well with one another? What’s the glue holding your partnership together?
We both grew up together listening to the same music and studied together at music school, so I think that’s a big part of it. Also, we both like having a beer or 10!
When things are going so smoothly between the two of you, how do you typically defuse a bad situation?
Over a pint or a punch!
Who is the biggest enemy of MDE, and why?
I would have to say time! There’s never enough of it when you want it, or too much of it when you’re waiting for something good!
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