Loud Luxury low-key about recent success

DJ duo Loud Luxury seemed unphased by the 90-degree heat at Syracuse University’s Juice Jam last weekend, putting on a performance that was packed full of energy. Andrew Fedyk and Joe Depace, co-founders of Loud Luxury, encouraged the hundreds of music-obsessed students to dance and sing along to their dynamic remixes. The pair were professional and entertaining, earning cheers of approval from the crowd as they closed out their 30 minute set.

The moment Fedyk and Depace left the stage, their demeanors changed. Dressed in jeans and T-shirts, drenched in sweat and grinning widely, they could’ve easily been mistaken for two SU students. Backstage, the laid-back and polite pair seemed thankful for the chance to speak about their music to student reporters–perhaps unaware of how prominent they’ve become.

“Body,” the duo’s chart-topping single, recently reached 240 million plays on Spotify and won the IHeartRadio MMVA (MuchMusic Video Award) for ‘Best Song Of The Summer.’ The DJs, whose quick come-up mirrors the early successes of Syracuse’s own The Chainsmokers, said they were excited for the next phase of their career. The NewsHouse caught up with Loud Luxury via a press conference after their set to talk college concerts, party-vibes and what the future holds.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you guys started out making music together?

Joe Depace: Well we met in university and we pretty much just grinded. We moved to LA, spent like two and a half years eating oatmeal, had no money, not really knowing what we were doing, just kind of throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what stuck. And then we started to make some new stuff that had a sound.

Andrew Fedyk: Yeah, moral of the story, just keep at it. You never know what can happen.

How long did it take you to feel comfortable with the music making process?

Fedyk: [Laughs] Oh, we’re still getting comfortable with it for sure.

How would you define your musical sound?

Depace: We try to keep a party in mind, so something you can have for a pre-drink or an after party with all of your friends.

Fedyk: When our manager first heard it, he described it as “deep house with a shot of tequila,” which I guess is catchy. But for us it’s just about making really fun, party-minded music that feels cool, you know? It doesn’t feel lame. That’s important to us.

What’s been your most surreal moment as an artist?

Depace: I mean, we just won a MMVA which was pretty cool.

Fedyk: It’s like the Canadian equivalent of the VMA’s. And in Canada, “Body” was the number one most played song on the radio period. Ahead of Drake, ahead of The Weeknd, ahead of any of those people. So just being two random kids from the small town that we went to school in it’s a crazy feeling to be up there with those people.

Since you two met and started collaborating in college, how does it feel to now be playing college shows to college kids?

Depace: I love it!

Fedyk: It’s a lot of fun. I graduated three years ago, I’m not too far out of college, so I get it, you know? It’s cool just coming back and partying with a bunch of people where it’s like “yo I literally would’ve turned up with you when I went to university.”

Depace: It’s the best, we did a hometown show, like, two days ago and that was absolutely bonkers.

Fedyk: Yeah, it was right at our old college so that made it super fun.

Your song ‘Body’ has really taken off and seen a lot of success, so where do you see your careers going now?

Depace: We’re gonna be doing a lot more touring.

Fedyk: Yeah this is actually our 19 show in two weeks.

Depace: We haven’t really slept very much at all.

Fedyk: I’ve got big bags under my eyes, they’re designer though!

Depace: We’re gonna be making a lot more music and we have new releases on the way.

Fedyk: Honestly, ‘Body’ just gave us an amazing platform that we’re trying to build on and let people know who we are. We feel like we have a great story to tell so we just want to keep doing that.