Get to know hot house duo Project 46

Published: December 4, 2013

Interview by: Jordan Calvano

Few acts have had the sort of meteoric success of Canadian house, electro, trance, and whatever-they-want duo Project 46. Whether it's dishing out pancakes, or dropping huge productions with big name acts, the aways puts the fans first. Music is all that matters to these guys. Let's get to know them a bit.

2013 has been a huge year for you so far. Big collaborations and a free EP, but let’s start with the recent single. What emotions are you hoping to instill in listeners when they dive into “Motionless?”

"Motionless" was really inspired from our collaboration with Soundwell, "Waiting" which was on the free EP was such an exciting track for us. We did ‘Motionless’ shortly after but spent a long time looking for the right vocal until we got Seri’s.

Some serious goosebumps forming from the combination of your melodies and SERi’s vocals. How did you initially react after hearing her vocal takes for the first time?

Actually we worked with Matt and Hannah who helped write the final vocal for the track. Once we had the vocal in place we looked to find a vocalist for it. Matt recommended Seri and she nailed it. We were quite happy with the result.

What inspired you to release a free EP when so many of your releases have charted over the years? And is this something you would consider doing again?

We love releasing music for free. We actually prefer it. We had some music we wanted to get out there and the label process was really taking a long time. So we asked Monstercat if they would do a free EP release and they ended being as excited as we were. Our upcoming album won’t be a free release but we are investing a lot of money into the album including music videos and things like that. The album will also be coming out on a big label. We are excited for the new partnership, as it will really help bring our music to a new audience

Recently you’ve collaborated with legendary electronic artists like Kaskade and Paul Oakenfold. Could you have ever imagined working with these producers when you formed Project 46?

How can you possibly imagine that you’re going to work with people like Kaskade? It’s just something you do not see coming. We have now done three large collaborations and each one has taught us so much! By the way, the third one does not come out until January 27 and is still a secret.

Pretty bold move to release the acapellas for tracks you haven’t even released yet, but we truly commend the decision. How important is the art of collaboration to you guys, and was this decision inspired by the collaboration opportunities you’ve received in the past?

We write a lot of vocals and sometimes we end up not using them. There’s nothing worse than having good music that is not heard. I don’t know if anything will come of the actual acapellas we released but I can tell you it has opened the door to a new collaboration that we have just started with someone that sent us something he did with the ‘Words’ vocal. Also, I think it is cool to give up-and-coming producers a chance to work with a new vocal with no benchmark production in place for it. Really allows them to practice and be creative! We couldn’t find stuff like that when we were starting out, so I guess this is our trying to give back as well as find new talent.

Streaming through your remixes on soundcloud is like taking a walking down memory lane. Artists in all kinds of genres like Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Usher, Dirty South, and The Killers. Have you guys always possessed such a broad taste in music?

Yeah we really like all types of music. Thomas started making alternative music and was even in the choir. I personally have guilty pleasures like listening to Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift etc. Good music is good music and we don’t really narrow ourselves to one genre when indulging in it.

We love that you guys serve pancakes every Friday. Pancakes are awesome. What was your initial goal when creating the recently founded “Pancake Radio?”

We wanted to share the music from the artists we loved that we may not have been able to otherwise. Our sets are pretty swamped with original material and we will never play most songs on our radio show live. This just gives us a chance to share a wider selection of music and support talented artists by introducing them to our listeners.

PANTyRAiD just started throwing bags of panties out at shows. Any chance you guys will start throwing pancakes out? Have fans bring their own maple syrup or something.

Maybe….

What do you guys love most about living in Canada, and what challenges have you overcome while living on different sides of the country? We assume Dropbox has become your best friend by now.

Dropbox, Skype screen share and things like that used to be a big go-to. We really spend more time together than apart now so that dynamic has changed. Canada is just home. I think everyone prefers the feeling of being home no matter where that is.

What is the most breathtaking country or specific city you’ve experienced throughout your time on the road?

There have been so many that have been amazing for all different reasons. I mean Brazil was beautiful; India was so different, Hong Kong felt like a huge Vancouver. It is just too hard to narrow it down to one place.

Thanks for the interview guys. Any details you would like to share with us regarding the future of Project 46? We’ve heard some talk regarding a debut album.

Well we have a remix coming out for Headhunterz & Krewella soon, then a remix for Kaskade. We also have a big collaboration coming on January 27. Besides that yes, we have an album coming out next year and you’re probably going to hear two or three lead singles leading up to its release in 2014.