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Fresh faced dance collective MDNGHT tell us about their music industry journey
House | Monday 12th October 2015 | Annalisa
Will and Jordon from the fresh faced dance collective, MDNGHT, tell us a little about their youthful journey in the music industry, their highlights so far and the creative process behind their single 'Into The Night'.
So you formed back in 2011, how did you guys meet and decide to form a dance collective?
Will: Anthony’s family moved in next door to my grandparents when I was about five and he drew a picture of Batman for me. I thought he was pretty sweet from then on. I had some sort of weird man/kid crush on Jay when I first saw him at the local basketball centre when I was around 10, he just looked so cool and was awesome at b ball. I didn't meet him till around four years later when introduced by a mutual friend. I wasted no time in stealing him from my friend Ryan and haven't looked back since.
Jordon: I met Will through friends when I was 14 and apparently he thought I was cool, so I was like “yeah we can be friends”, and then we became best friends. I met Ant through Will and we all really got on well. We then all started going out to places like Sankeys, Warehouse Project and Ibiza… I think MDNGHT was created from a mix of our mutual love for that kind of scene/music added with our individual tastes and backgrounds and it really worked.
There seems to be a lot of dance collectives out there, and with the popularity of house music nowadays, what does it take to stand out from the rest and get noticed?
Jordon: Although there are a lot of dance collectives out there at the moment I think we always kept making our music the way we wanted to make it and keeping it MDNGHT, rather than just having a DJ make a track and then getting a guest vocal on there. And we’ve had quite a lot of freedom from our label (MUK Records). I think sometimes when there are too many ideas from different people it can get a bit messy.
Will: Also, a nice shirt can go a long way.
Since forming, what has been the hardest stage of your career and how did you overcome this?
Will: Perhaps the times when you question yourself and wonder if things will work out the way you hope. The reality is though that this is the only thing I've ever wanted to do, so you have no choice but to pull yourself together and carry on.
Jordon: I think the hardest thing for any person or band is getting knock backs and making hard decisions that maybe will hurt other people’s feelings. I think it’s important to always believe in what you are doing and stay true to your roots and remember why you started the journey in the first place… For the love of making music.
What was the creative process behind the video for 'Into The Night'?
Will: A lot of different ideas got thrown about for the ‘Into The Night' video but we went with the one we did because it really fit the song and the lyrics. The story of the video is a guy coming out of prison and he has to decide if he wants to go back to the bad life with no hope or leave that life behind to start a good life with his girl. One of the lyrics in the song is “For you I’d leave it all” and that really fit with the story.
What kind of feedback have you been receiving from the new single?
Will: It’s been great, someone messaged us a couple of days ago telling us he planned to propose to his girlfriend to ‘Into The Night' which was amazing to hear. It's one of the best parts of being in a band I'd say, when you finally get to hear feedback on something you've hidden away and spend so much time on.
When you lads were growing up, what genre of music did you all like to go out and party too?
Will: I’ve been through nearly every type of phase growing up, but the big one was definitely hip-hop, that's probably what also go me into the idea that you can write your own lyrics and songs.
Jordon: When I was growing up I was really into RnB, soul and hip-hop. When I started to go out and party I really got into house music! There’s just nothing better than going to a good rave to places like Ibiza, Sankeys and Warehouse Project! Everyone is on the same vibe and the music its just an awesome feeling.
So what are your favourite DJs out there then?
Will: For me it'd have to be Tale Of Us. I just love how dark and menacing some of their sounds are.
Jordon: One of my favorite DJs has to be Carl Cox, every time I have seen him play he has been amazing. One time in particular I saw him at DC-10 in Ibiza and it was crazy! There was such a buzz in the room, so much energy and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand!
What have been your highlights this year so far and why?
Will: It would have to be Manchester Pride, we've been focusing a lot on finishing our album this year so it was great to get out there in front of thousands of people and just let loose. We played a three brand new songs too and it was awesome to see them being received so well.
Jordon: Yeah, Manchester Pride was amazing! Playing on the main stage in front of thousands of people all getting into our music… there’s no better feeling than that! Finishing the album and shooting the music video in LA was pretty sweet too!
I hear that you recently played at Man City vs Chelsea game, are you guys fans of football, and if so, what teams do you all support?
Jordon: I’m a massive Arsenal fan! I go to Arsenal games on my own sometimes because none of my friend’s support Arsenal haha! Actually Will came to Wembley with me to watch The FA cup semi-final… fair play to him for that!
Will: I actually support Manchester City, I went to watch the game afterwards which was great as we won. The last few home games I've been to we got beat so I was starting to think I was some sort of jinx.
What was it like playing the main stage at the Manchester Pride Big Weekender, did any of you get nervous before hitting the stage?
Will: I think we get more excited than nervous really, I'd say it's more nerve wracking when you're playing an intimate gig to 50 people than it is to 5000, it's kind of a numbers game, the more people there, the more people will like you!
Jordon: It was amazing playing Manchester Pride as it was last year when we played as well! We always seem to go down really well there and the crowd really enjoy themselves when we are playing so that always a good feeling. I don’t think we were nervous at all, we all just wanted to get on stage and get going.
We hear that you lads will be releasing a new album soon, when can we expect this to be released?
Will: Yeah, as much as we can't wait to release it we still want to get another single or two out first so probably looking at early next year.
Jordon: We can’t wait to release our album so everyone can hear what we’ve been working day and night on! The album is a mix of different MDNGHT sounds, house, disco, sexy guitars and more… Keep your eye out for that towards the end of this year.
So lastly, you're all individually stranded on a desert island, which three people would you want to take with you, dead or alive?
Will: I'm really into a show called Survivor Man at the moment which features a harmonica welding Canadian by the name of Les Stroud, he's basically a more realistic version of Bear Grylls, he'd definitely be handy to have around.
Jordon: I’d take Kevin Hart because he could just make me laugh all the time, even if things got serious I’d just be laughing. The second person I’d take is David Blaine so he could do one of his magic tricks and make a TV appear with Sky so I didn’t miss the football. My final choice would be Gordon Ramsay so I’m well fat. My favourite album of all time is probably They Never Saw Me Coming by TQ, so I wouldn't mind having him there for some songs around the camp fire.
Will: And finally, my favourite vocal of all time is probably by Carla Werner on Paul Oakenfold's 'Southern Sun' so I'd probably take her too for the same reason.
Follow MDNGHT on Twitter. MDNGHT’s ‘Into The Night’ is out now on MUK records. Download it here. The debut album is out next year.
