Blond:ish VS Blond:ish

Everybody loves blondes right? Well In the last few years we’ve become even more of a fan of the fair, well ish as Canadian born duo Blond:ish have captured our attention with their unique production recipe which focuses on the art of creating music that is organic and multi-dimensional. Provocative basslines contrast with smooth textures and haunting vocals to defy categorization as anything other than cool.

Tony Montana may have said the only person he trusts is himself in cult gangster film Scarface but here at DT we have a slightly bigger circle of friends we have faith in and musically we couldn’t have any more confidence in anyone than we do Blond:ish. Put simply they just don’t put out rubbish; their love of music shining through whether it be through their releases like last years stunning EP on German institution Kompakt Records or their performances at the likes of Audiofly’s Flying Circus night in Ibiza we love what they do. Thus you can imagine our excitement at receiving news that the duo had embarked on mixing a new Flying Circus compilation alongside fellow DT favourites Audiofly.

Capturing the energy of the events of the same name, Audiofly and Blond:ish have exceeded expectations in what is fast becoming the summer where we see the much maligned mix compilation format enjoy a resurgence and with mixes like this on offer it’s not difficult to see why. So with  us been unable to get their new compilation get off the office playlist for the past couple of weeks we thought we’d invite the talented twosome to DT HQ for an interview with a difference as they asked the questions as well as gave the answers. Here’s what went down…

Viv: What’s one thing that I does that you wish you could change? 

Anstascia: Well I think its something that I do a lot too but probably constantly being on the phone. It’s definitely super addictive and necessary for work, but moderation is key! I feel like we’re missing a lot of the world especially all the beautiful places we get to visit and deep conversations with people around us as we’re glued to our phones. Maybe something to ponder…

Anstascia: If you had to pick only 3 things to bring to a deserted island what would they be? 

This deserted island will be more for like super princesses like me right?

It would have grape vines that make themselves into wine and endless amounts of coconut trees, and a man with a machete to open them?

1) Minirig speaker.

2) 10000000000000000000000000000099999TB sized iPod of music.

3) And last but not least, an amazing kisser

Viv: You signed your life away to BLOND:ISH 6 years ago. Do you remember the 3 things we promised each other when we signed the Blond:ish contract? 

[Laughs] Yes. 1. Never get married (oops) 2. Never dye your hair any other colour but blonde 3. I actually don’t remember the third one! Am I a bad friend? Or in trouble now…

Anstascia: Tell us something super weird about you that I might not know yet? 

I don’t know if it’s weird, but I collect little cute rubber duckies and animals on our travels. I pretty much have a farm with my friends and we take turns babysitting them. We give all the animals names; the newest addition is Margaret from Russia. I fell in love with her in Berlin at Philipp M.A.N.D.Y.’s flat. She’s super mischievous like her mom.

Viv: We’re always talking about the fact we have no time to do anything, and that in an ideal world we’d love some more time! If you had all the time in the world, what are some of the things you would like to discover or do? 

Anstascia: Wow, soo much! I would love to be spending more time with my family, get back into painting and learn Photoshop and  Illustrator. I’d also like to improve my Spanish, visit Thailand, Peru, India, Colombia and many more places, learn everything there is about making raw food, gardening, and learn how to play a new instrument!

Anstascia: What is the most challenging thing about touring / DJing for you? What is the most rewarding? 

Viv: I’m missing being at home and having a routine BIG TIME! Nothing beats the feeling of coming home after the weekend, or in the summer it’s more like a week or 10 days of touring. Simple things like going grocery shopping, reorganizing my closet, getting into my Brazilian butt lift routine and doing things around the house. Everything is great in moderation, so since my life is super not moderate in anyway the coming home bit is what I value most. 

Most rewarding? There’s just too much. All the cultural things to learn are endless and obviously the breathtaking views around the world that remind us how lucky we are to be doing our passion as a career. The people we meet along the way, super duper friends for life, and so many lessons learned. Ooh and the fooood!  Foodgasms happen a LOT on TOUR! My answer might be bit cliché, but they are all up there.

If I had to say one most rewarding thing that is simple is when non-native English speakers try to translate their sentence into English. I love the way some languages translate, and hearing the promoter, whoever in that country say it in a different way to what I’m used to. I try to adopt all these odd ways of expressing things. The sentence totally makes sense, but its not a way I would ever say it, makes me laugh every time. I’m totally losing my English in the process  but I have lots of new material yo make up for it.

Viv: Definitely. We’ve been gifted with the chance to be doing our passion with music and making a career out of it. What other things do you see yourself doing in the coming years that do no involve DJing in a club?   

Anstascia: Well other than the things I answered in the last question, I definitely would love to start a family but only when I feel the time is right. My husband and I would love to also build a holistic wellness center somewhere in Mexico, so that is definitely on the list!

Anstascia: What are some new nerdy toys or skills that you want to implement in the studio / DJing? 

Viv: Nerdy skills… hmm, I mean I recorded my nephew’s laugh this morning, and started toying around with it to make it into a snare and a hiccup on the ‘2 and’ basically I want to just do some field recordings of anything really and sculpt them into sounds that can act as snares, hi-hats, all the percs in the track. I have my gapichonga that I found at a Colombian market, there are only a few of these made in the world, since it’s only made by this one tribe in Colombia apparently. I want to experiment with it more, it has a nice detuned sound that sustains nicely.

I really enjoyed field recording in Tulum earlier this year, I def want to keep exploring that. I’m super shy in general to go up to strangers, but I discovered that with the recorder it sort of gets rid of that shyness I have, and it helps me talk to stranger musicians. It kind of helps my introverted side and really just double the fun / challenge.

Viv: Our sound is constantly evolving – or at least we hope it is – Name some producers that you’d like to collaborate with on a track and DJs you would love to play with? 

Anstascia: Hmm. Wow. OK. Well there are so many… Robag Whrume, Minilogue, Thomas Melchior, Butane, Damien K Sahri, and Rhythm & Sound are a few that come to mind.

Anstascia: What are some artists that you have newly discovered and love?

Viv: Not necessarily all newly discovered but… Bodj, Damien K Sahri, Edward from White Music, Jamahr, Varoslav Lenzyak, Mr Tophat & Art Alfie, and Thomas Melchior.

Viv: What’s in your weekend suitcase? 

Anstascia: Cables, fresh socks, tampons, a Minirig speaker and ginger in case of getting carsick!

Anstascia: I heard we’re staring a label. Please elaborate!

Viv: [Laughs] Yes, didn’t you get the memo? Its’ called +++++ :ISH +++++ and we’re going to be doing about 4 EP’s next year. We’re going to use it as a platform for some of our unreleased bits as well as putting out of some the absolute gems we get in our inbox, a lot of them unsigned. Hopefully giving these talented new artists a little voice and/or push in this huge saturated scene we’re all in.

We’re going to be asking the DJ’s to challenge themselves a bit by delivering a different expression on the b-side, more ambient / chill out vibes since we’re super into both sides of the spectrum, techno and chill out. Life is about balance… so a record should be too! I think our first release will be in the next 3 months or so.

Flying Circus Ibiza #01 Compiled & Mixed by Audiofly & Blond:ish is out now. Check out the preview below or buy your copy here: itunes.apple.com/gb/album/flying-…l.-1/id897966746