Gotta Be Big: Filthy Dukes
We interviewed electro-rock DJ duo Filthy Dukes to talk punk funk and glowsticks...
It's difficult to imagine the dark dungeons of London's Fabric full of glowstick-toting clubbers, but that's exactly what happened when the Filthy Dukes held their recent Kill Em All bash.
"It was insane," said Olly Dixon, one half of the Dukes.
"I know it's not very original but seeing 2000 glowsticks in the club looked cool, with The Klaxons DJing and our other residents Simian Mobile Disco rocking it."
Kill Em All
The Filthy Dukes first started their Kill Em All club night at Barfly in Camden Town, London, which they still run monthly.
"We were sick of indie clubs. We fell in love with The Rapture and DFA, and wanted to create a club that had the same energy and sound," continued the Dukes' Tim Lawton.
Since then the boys have carved themselves a reputation for putting on raucous rave-ups that have the energy of a dance club and the vibe of a rock gig.
"In the last 12 months we've had Justice, Erol Alkan, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Jackson And His Computer Band, and Para One play for us.
"They are just such exciting nights it's hard to contain myself sometimes."
Razzmatazz
The pair also play regularly in Barcelona's Razzmatazz.
Despite starting off as indie DJs, the Dukes can mix records properly and use Ableton Live to create special edits for their sets, which sit somewhere in between electro and rock.
"Our sets are absurdly fun and energetic, but we don't tend to plan our sets," said Olly.
"We start in one place but end up somewhere totally different by the end.
"We work hard to find great records and make sure that people have a great time dancing and jumping around."
Eager DJs
So far the Dukes have released some cool remixes, most notably a version of The Maccabees 'X Ray', which the boys still get about 20 emails a week from eager DJs hoping for an MP3.
"Even though it was only released on promo, it's gained a sort of cult status," reckoned Tim.
Filthy Dukes could become big stars in 2007, not least because they've toured with both Mylo and Hot Chip.