Chromeo - When the Curtain Falls

Funking the world is the mission of Dave 1 and P-Thugg, collectively known as Chromeo. The electro funk loving Montreal duo have been blessing the world with their unique dancefloor-friendly, but complex sound via three full-length releases. Now, they have released a remix EP dedicated to the Business Casual cut “When the Night Falls” which is graced by its own tour that kicked off in Dallas, TX two weeks ago, and runs till November throughout North America. Prior to its launch, we sat down with the band in order to talk about the concept behind the remix EP, their tour, their special designed keyboards and much more.

What was the idea behind the When the Curtain Falls EP?

It is a single deluxe release dedicated to the Business Casual cut which encompasses a collection of reworks. Remix EP is just a nicer word for single with more than just two songs. “When the Night Falls” is the fourth single from the album. We usually collect remixes of our songs, so we decided to make an official release out of it. We also do have a special rendition of the song with our friend Mayer Hawthorne covering it. Through this rather personal interpretation of the song we switch it up from a typical remix. Our main intention was to make the piece as tight and logical of a package as a possible. The logic behind that was to have a package to make sense as a remix and to make sense as the tour. So it is only right that Mayer did a remix for us and opens for us on tour. Same goes for Breakbot and the others. It all just makes sense to us.

How did the lineup come across? Did the remix or the tour come first?

We talked to the artists for quite a while before we even planned this project. With Mayer Hawthorne and Breakbot, the musical collaboration came first. The chemistry between us and them was great, so we just decided to put this special energy live on tour. We already had big club remixes on this record – like a great Skream remix of “Night by Night,” Duck Sauce reworked “Hot Mess” and we had a big Aeroplane remix of “Don’t Turn the Lights On.” In terms of who we chose to remix “When the Night Falls,” we chose reworks that we could listen to in private rather than in a big club setting. Lifelike is an old friend of ours. He and Breakbot are two amazing producers that have a big electro funk sensibility as well. Hercules and The Love Affair have this retro disco house vibe.

What can the audience expect from your When the Night Falls tour compared to your previous live sets?

This should be the tightest one. We started touring for this album a year ago. We did countless shows but on this we will end up playing more Business Casual songs than ever. In addition, the show sounds even better regarding the engineering and acoustic aspects. The audience can expect more effects since we are working basically on bigger sounds scales than we ever had. Obviously with every tour, we add more features to the stage setup. This means there will be more keyboards and guitars, simply aiming to offer the tightest tour we have ever done.

A-Trak boasted a personalized live setup, which was conceptualized by himself and Kanye West. Do you have anything similar in store? Will we be seeing your trademark keyboard stands, shaped like female legs?

Actually, we had a personalized stage design before my brother (laughs). Obviously, we built a new design. We changed colors, the lighting is improved. Of course the legs will be there. You can’t have a Chromeo show without the legs.

Who came up with the concept for female legs-shaped keyboards?

It’s Surface to Air that first came up with the legs idea. They had the idea first for the Fancy Footwork cover. So the reaction to it was really impressive. This is such a powerful image, we have to take that one the road. So we built those stands which ultimately became our symbol.

Any specific place or location you are looking forward to the most?

Oxford, Missouri. Just because I have never been there before and I don’t know anything about it. It basically symbolizes all the small markets on the tour and hints at the effort that we are making in order to go above and beyond to any tour that we have done before to reach more people. We penetrate America before. This is a large penetration, a funkfornication of the continent. So Oxford, Missouri is a symbol of our gratefulness and dedication. It is also worth pointing out that this is likely to be the last Chromeo show you will see in a minute since we will hit the studio for the next couple of years.

What do you generally prefer? Stadium or intimate club atmosphere?

Intimate clubs. However, the stadium can also have an amazing feel to it. It gives you a thrill obviously that you cannot get from a small club. Just because we came up with small venues, they still feel very special to us.

Can we also expect to see your backing singers, the Chromettes, on this tour?

On select dates, yes.

Since the remix EP offers new and different approaches to your music, do you get inspired by some of it that could lead to let’s say different sounds from your future releases?

Absolutely. It’s an interesting sort of dialogue. We hear people reinterpreting chord progressions and tempos and we are like, “Man, we could have done that.” There is a lot of stuff, or simple production tricks that we hear on remix that motivate us to.

Any chance that you will abandon the talk box on your future releases?

That would be like Cam’ron growing dreadlocks, wearing a dashiki and making a conscious hip-hop album.

Well put. Dave, you are teaching French at Barnard and finishing your PhD in French literature. How do you balance your studies with your music?

Lots of planes and not a lot of sleep.

P Thugg, what are your activities outside of music?

I’m a family man. I spend as much time as possible with my family. I also count money because I am the band accountant.

Your tour runs till November. How will you conclude this year?

Starting December it’s new album o’clock!

Any last words?

Funk the world!

Check out the dates of Chromeo’s When the Night Falls tour here.

Photography: Harry Peccinotti