LAMP Mix #320 feat. No Pants Party
Whats up LAMP Fam! We have a new guest mix for you this week from LA Based No Pants Party. We are super excited to have the girls on the series so we can share their music with you. Coming from Seattle Jamie and Kiraleigh have settled here in LA and are making quite the splash. Having performed at all the top venues here in LA including Exchange, Academy , and my favorite Sound Nightclub the duo's love of kick ass basslines and infectious grooves have helped them garner all the right attention as they build their reputation and grow their fan base.
Outside of being kickass DJ's they are also gaining reputation with their production skills. Recently they had a major release with Toolroom Records arguably one of the top labels in the world for House and Techno music. In partnership with one of our favorites and another recent guest mix artist here on LAMP Vanilla Ace. Additionally they have had some killer releases with Wyldcard, Krafted, Late Night Munchies and OFDM. With two of their releases for Wyldcard charting on beatport, it makes these ladies and act to keep your eye on. Especially if you are a fan of in your face, unapologetic, booty shaking house music.
With a slew of unreleased material and a forthcoming remix on WyldCard in the pipeline, No Pants Party promises to make music lovers dance their pants off, whether that’s in the safety of their own homes or - finally - unleashed back onto the dance floors we all know, love and miss. Check back here in this space soon to learn more about the duo and their process. We were able to ask NPP a few questions to get more insight into their process. You will definitely want to check that out down below. As always thanks for tuning in and enjoy the mix and some of their recent releases above and below.
Interview
PZB: Hello No Pants Party. We are excited to have you featured on our mix series. Before we jump into things can you please tell our listeners what they are in store for with your mix?
No Pants Party: Hi there! Thanks for having us! You can expect an hour of our signature “party tech” sound - high energy tech house with driving bass lines and lots of throwback vocal samples. There’s a few of our own tracks and remixes, plus music from a mix of up-and-coming artists and labels, as well as some more established names. We hope you’re ready to dance your pants off!
PZB: Congrats on your new release with Vanilla Ace and Toolroom. That’s huge. We recently had Vanilla Ace as a featured guest here at LAMP as well. How did you connect with him for this track and what was it like working with him?
NPP: Thank you! We’ve been fans of Vanilla Ace for a long time and we often play his music in our sets and mixes, so we were stoked when we got to open for him here in LA. We had a chance to chat at the show and he was really nice and down to earth so we stayed in touch. Eventually, he signed two of our tracks (Concentration and Out of Control) to his label, WyldCard Records. At that time we also had some projects started that seemed like they could use his magic touch. Never Knew was his favorite and the collab was born! Our styles mesh well, and he really knows how to bring a track to the next level, so he’s been great to work with!
PZB: If you wouldn’t mind can you please give us some background on No Pants Party? How long have you been a duo and how did the two of you meet and what made you decide to get into the world of house music?
NPP: We were actually friends for years before we became a DJ duo! Back when we lived in Seattle, we used to work retail together and were both just getting into house music. There’s an incredible dance music radio station there, C89.5 (which is run out of a high school!), and they would play ALL the best stuff. We started going to shows, traveling up to Vancouver, BC a lot of the time since Seattle didn’t book many of the artists we liked yet. At some point, we realized that we rarely saw female DJs and started thinking “Hey, maybe we could do that too!” Once we moved to LA and were surrounded by so many creative people who are chasing their dreams we were inspired to finally go for it! We’ve officially been No Pants Party since 2015.
PZB: I have heard your name getting thrown around the LA music scene here and there over the last couple years as DJ’s. When did you start writing/producing music - and what or who were your early passions and influences? What is about music and/or sound that drew you to it?
NPP:We’ve been producing for about three years, but it’s been a lot more serious over the last year or so. We realized how exciting it was to be able to play our own music at our gigs and just wanted to make more! Despite being fans of all types of music, we’ve always felt that electronic music has a special element to it that feels like an escape from whatever other bullsh*t is going on. When you’re on the dance floor, nothing else matters. So to be able to create that feeling for other people is amazing! Some of our biggest influences were Eli Brown, Solardo, Gene Farris, and Green Velvet. When we were first getting into dance music, we bonded over Green Velvet’s classic “La La Land” and he’s still one of our absolute favorites all these years later! He was definitely our gateway into tech house.
PZB: For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and the transition towards your own voice? What is the relationship between copying, learning and your own creativity?
NPP: When we first started producing, we would always work with a reference track as a way to learn how to imitate whatever element drew us to it. For example, in the beginning we would try really hard to recreate Eli Brown’s hats. It’s been a process because tech house can be a bit formulaic, but the more we learn, the more creative we get! We’re still inspired by other music, but now we usually start from an interesting sample we found, or just an idea of the vibe we want. Creating and recording original vocals (rather than using samples) has been the new journey for us. We think it’s going to be the best way to give our tracks some personality and set them apart!
PZB: Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece or album that's particularly dear to you, please? Where did the ideas come from, how were they transformed in your mind, what did you start with and how do you refine these beginnings into the finished work of art?
NPP: The process we went through with a track we recently wrapped up is probably the most interesting so far! Over the winter, we were driving up to a gig in Mammoth and admiring the scenery and started having a discussion about geology in California (yes, this is how we entertain ourselves on road trips!). That conversation somehow turned into us making up rhymes that we thought would be funny to use as lyrics. Once lockdown started and we had some more time, we decided to circle back to the idea and hit up our friend who we thought would be perfect to record them for us. We spent an evening in a little studio in Topanga Canyon and laughed the entire time! Once we had the vocals down we built the rest of the track around it. Knocking kicks and lots of hats are always an easy start for us. We’re all about the energy, so we keep working and refining until we get it right! It’s not finished until it makes you want to party :)
PZB: Collaborations can take on many forms. What role do they play in your approach and what are your preferred ways of engaging with other creatives through, for example, file sharing, jamming or just talking about ideas?
NPP: Getting in the studio with other artists is always our favorite because, when the chemistry is right, it feels more like we’re just hanging out and having fun. We think the best, most creative ideas come out of that kind environment, plus it’s a great way to learn from each other!
PZB: Let’s say you’re working on a new tune and you’ve got the chance to program some remixes for the EP. If you could have your pick and money, time etc were no object who are some of you favorite producers right now that you’d want to have a go at reworking your tracks?
NPP: That’s a tough one! John Summit is a current favorite of ours, so getting him on a remix would be awesome! It’s been really exciting to see his rise over the last year. He’s a great producer and is probably the most entertaining person we follow on Twitter. We love everything he’s been putting out AND he knows how to party! Some of our other top choices right now would be Martin Ikin and Biscits.
PZB: Our industry is constantly going through changes, and we as artists are competing for ears with so many others out there. This has never been more prevalent than now during these great times of uncertainty and change dealing with Covid-19. Listeners are bombarded and overwhelmed with the amount of music out there, whether through Spotify, Soundcloud and now we can throw streaming platforms like Twitch and even Zoom. How do you try to connect with your audience, and what do you feel helps you stay relevant?
NPP: Feeling like music is a competition is never really conducive to creativity, or to happiness. So during these times especially, we’ve tried to just stick to doing what feels right and not putting too much pressure on ourselves. We originally started doing this because we wanted to have fun, and we never want to lose sight of that! Plus, if we’re having a great time, we believe our audience will too! We’ve kept up with our monthly mix series, Hangover Club Radio, because we love digging for new music and having that outlet to share what we find. And even though it seems like everyone is live streaming right now, we think it’s been a great way to connect with our fans and create new ones! Right now, electronic music enthusiasts everywhere can hop on and discover what all is out there at any time from so many different places. Before, people would often just end up at the club where all of their friends wanted to go on that particular night to see whichever headliner, so it does feel like there is more discovery happening, which is exciting!
PZB: Outside of music what other passions and creative outputs do you have? What are some that you’d love to add to your mental vocabulary?
NPP: We love camping! We realized that’s our favorite part of going to festivals, so we should just go explore since we already had all the gear! This summer we went to Zion National Park in Utah and had the best time!In general we just enjoy “making things,” whether it’s music or crafts or Halloween costumes or fancy cocktails when we couldn’t go to bars during quarantine. We’re very DIY! As far as some new skills, it would be great to get into more event planning, because once we’re able to have big gatherings again, we’d love to throw some epic, confetti-filled Hangover Club parties!
PZB: Is there anything else coming up in your world that we should know, or you want to tell us about that we should be keeping an eye/ ear out for?
NPP: We have a remix we’re working on with Vanilla Ace right now that’s out on WyldCard in October that we’re really excited about. We also finished a few tracks in the last couple months that will hopefully be out soon!
PZB: Cool we will definitely be keeping an eye out for that one. Thank you so much for your time and the incredible mix you put together. Please keep us posted on future releases and if we are ever allowed to do shows again (I’m sure we will it’s just a matter of when) I would love to see you the next time you play here in LA.
TRACKLIST:
1. Keena - Power To The People
2. Eric Mark - Sweat [Spoon Fed]
3. Jaksan - Dirty (No Pants Party Remix) [Rock Bottom]
4. FREAK ON - Booty Shake [Medium Rare]
5. Ali Story - Trippin' [Toolroom]
6. House Divided - ID
7. Alex Twitchy - No Parties [WyldCard]
8. No Pants Party - Concentration [WyldCard]
9. Casmalia & Johnny 2 Shots - Cookie Jar (Luxo Remix) [Rock Bottom]
10. Anicée - What You Want (Cele Remix) [Be One]
11. Mr. Kavalicious - Talking About [OneFold DGTL]
12. En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love) (M.F.S. Observatory Edit) [Hood Politics]
13. Tom Forester, No Hopes - It's Over [WyldCard]
14. Vanilla Ace & No Pants Party - Never Knew [Toolroom]
15. Mylo, Claptone - Drop The Pressure (MANT Remix Extended Version) [Different]
16. Bassani & Prayer Handz - Back [OFDM]
17. CASSIMM vs Robin S - Show Me Love (CASSIMM Extended Dub Mix) [Double-Up]
18. F-LIMA - This Is How We Do It [Hood Politics]
Follow: