Gorgon City interview: "Electro death metal? Why not!?"

Kye Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott started out as producers in their own right before joining together to form Gorgon City; something they originally intended to be nothing more than a "side project".

Fast-forward three years and the duo have scored a string of hits - including Ready For Your Love and Here For You - and this week, release their debut album Sirens.

Your debut album Sirens is out this week – congratulations! It’s been three years in the making; how are you feeling now it’s out?

“Me and Matt have been producing for years but this is actually our debut album. It’s mad! Honestly, we thought Gorgon City would be a side project thing. Things suddenly kicked off when we released Real last year, which we didn’t think anyone would pay attention to, especially on radio. That was when we saw an opportunity to write actual songs rather than just club tracks. The whole thing is a massive experiment for us, because songwriting and working with singers is very new to us. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Have you thought about chart positions? Do you have a placing in your head?

“We’re just relieved it’s out and pleased it’s had good feedback. Saying that, it would be great if we could go Top 20… maybe the Top 10. You’ve got to be ambitious haven’t you!? [laughs]”

What’s the best song on the album?

“There’s a huge variety of sounds on there, but my personal favourite is 6 A.M. It’s a nod to our housier vibe. We love DJing in proper underground clubs and that track comes from that place – it’s deep and dirty. My other favourite is Hard On Me. Maverick [Sabre] really put his heart into that song and it just felt like a special moment in the studio.”

At a recent live show we noticed Matt’s parents were in attendance… what do they make of your music?

“They love it! My parents came to our recent show in Brixton as well. They love to party and they’re really proud of it. They love all kinds of music and they were what got me into producing in the first place.”

You’ve collaborated  with a lot of up and coming acts on the album, with the exception of Jennifer Hudson. How different was it working with an established artist?

“We actually wrote Go All Night with Kiesza ages ago, and it originally featured her, but we all – including Kiesza – decided to ask someone else to record it. We wanted a big, classic-sounding diva vocal and she just nailed it. She actually sent the vocal over only two days before the final mastering of the album. I loved how spontaneous the whole thing was – as if we have an Academy award winner on our album?!”

Has it encouraged you to approach more big names in the future?

“I haven’t really thought about it. For this album all we wanted was fresh and unique vocals and the Jennifer thing was a bonus. I’d love to get more and more into producing for other acts, though. I’d say we wouldn’t actively seek out the biggest names for album two, but then as with Jennifer, you never know what can happen! We’re open to anyone and seeing what happens.

Sirens has a very melancholic vibe to it; have you thought about where you want to take you sound for album two?

I’ve always loved that happy-sad, light-dark thing with music. My favourite music from artists are generally in that vibe as well, so I think it’s a sound we’ll continue to explore. We’re really keen to get back in the studio and work out where to go with it – it’d be good to experiment with electronics, song structures and completely different sounds.”

A bit of electro death metal perhaps?

"That sounds like an amazing idea! Why not? I might have to steal that one."

This summer has seen a lot of dance music, particularly from brand new acts. What do you make of it all?

“I think it’s great to have a lot of UK acts making good dance music – it’s really flying the flag for the UK around the world. At the same time there is stuff out there simply riding the wave and looking for a chart hit. I think people can tell when you’re not making music for yourself any more. That’s when it’s bad for the scene and movement. I think on Sirens we’ve tried to be different rather than following the trend. We want to be making music for a long time yet!”

Gorgon City's Sirens is out now. Click here to download the album now.