PREMIERE & INTERVIEW: WALKER & ROYCE

New York DJ and production duo, Walker & Royce, know a great tune when they hear one. Their camaraderie behind the decks has seen them skyrocket from local club heroes to in-demand globe trotters, thanks to a consistent selection of chunky emotive house and dirty nightclub bass. 

It's their swag of well received remixes and originals — released via Crosstown Rebels, Pets Records and Moda Black — that have really sent them skyward, the latest of which, 'Over feat. Steven Klavier’, is set to drop on underground NYC imprint Safer At Night on 24th Feburary. 

DJ Mag has nabbed an exclusive stream of the EP, featuring two originals 'Over' and 'Tell Me Now', both with vocals from soul daddy and regular Walker & Royce collaborator, Steven Klavier. On the B side, mysterious UK two piece 12 Stories drop their first remix of 2015, offering up a heady slice of hammering tech house – look out for them on Hot Creations later this year.

DJ Mag caught up with Walker & Royce - AKA Sam Walker and Gavin Royce – this week, to talk the story of 'Over', their plans for the summer, and whether two heads are really better than one. 

You've drafted in Steven Klavier on vocals after working with him on ‘Follow’. What's the story with Steven?

Gavin: "I have known Steven for quite some time through parties and mutual friends in Brooklyn. I knew that he had been performing with MNDR and that he was also an aspiring singer, so when Sam and I were chatting about vocalists he popped into my mind. At the time, I hadn't really heard anything he had done so it was a bit of a gamble, but as soon as we first met about collaborating it I had a really good feeling. As soon as we started recording with him I knew it was going to be a relationship that would last. His lyrics are well thought out and very cool, he also has an incredibly soulful voice and an attitude to match it. It’s great to have him on this EP with Safer At Night since we are all friends here in Brooklyn - this EP is really a family affair for us."

You’ve been a DJ and production duo for several years now, do you think two heads are better than one?

Sam: "Absolutely. We're both good at very specific and very different things and we can both safely say that neither of us would be where we are without the other."

Gavin: "When we first started we spent more time trying to do everything evenly but as time has gone on we both started assuming specific roles. It becomes a lot more like a well oiled machine, we work more efficiently that way."

You're set to drop a new track on Moda Black soon and it's a remix of someone pretty special. Spill the beans?

Gavin: "Yes! The legends Groove Armada are doing the next Little Black Book for Moda Black which is an album/compilation celebrating their career. There is going to be some new tunes, some old ones and a bunch of remixes." 

Sam: "We had the opportunity to remix 'Get Down' which is one of their classics. It was a huge honour and we had a lot of fun doing it. On top of that, the remix has been going over really well in our sets and we think people are going to be really into it."

When and where can we catch you in the UK in the next few months?

Gavin: "We will  be over in the UK and Europe quite a bit this summer and have some really great gigs in the works. A few that we are really excited about are Lost Village in Lincoln and Gottwood Festival in Wales. We will also be playing Ministry Of Sound too, which is legendary to us. We have just done Fabric which was amazing!”

So, any final things we should know about?

Sam: "We just finished a track for an upcoming EP for Pets, be on the lookout for that! Also a remix of Worthy's track 'Luna'.”

Gavin: "In the US my shoe size is 11, however in the UK it's a 10."

'Over feat. Steven Klavier’ is out on Safer at Night on 24th February. More on Walker & Royce here.