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Tough Love are going back to basics this year
Tough Love are one of the biggest UK house success stories in recent years.
They've not only struck it big in the mainstream charts with anthems like, 'So Freakin Tight' and 'Pony', this London based duo have kept themselves credible in the underground though a string of beefy records and their imprint 'Get Twisted'. Despite all their previous success, the guys are going one step further this year.
They've sorted a number of high profile parties for 'Get Twisted', fitting as it's the labels 5th birthday, and are releasing an album, Past, Present, Future that aims to school you lot on exactly what Tough Love is, taking us beyond 'So Frickin Tight'. I recently spoke with Alex from Tough Love who shared the duo's plans for this year, told us how to survive manic summer seasons and the current state of clubbing in London.
What's motivating you guys at the moment?
We've gone back to basics this year. We wanted to go back to just enjoying our music. We were pretty lucky a few years ago to have quite a lot of success and that's meant we've been on the road constantly and chasing our tails a bit!
We made the decision at the end of last year that this year would be about making music that we wanted to make. So that's kind of what we've been doing and obviously, the album is a big part of that and gives us more musical freedom.
So when you hit the commercial success, did you feel a pressure?
Yeah, it wasn't so much a pressure in doing stuff that we didn't want to do. But there's a pressure from the label and your peers to get the same level of success, which is obviously what you want for your music, though so much depends on the time and the market and a bit of luck as well.
We went on a good srun and I think actually some of our productions afterwards have been stronger than the ones that really took off, but not everything aligned every time. This year has definitely been about musical freedom, which has been about letting us take back more control again. So that's where we're at and we're enjoying ourselves. We're getting to work with people that we've always wanted to work with.
That's what it's all about though really, just enjoying life.
Definitely, you gotta love your art or there's no point.
That's good that you're focussing on what you want to do, I'm guessing this is a major part of the album?
Yeah, definitely. We've split it into three parts so people can get an understanding of where we're at. The first part was just re-releasing the old stuff so people could have a look at it. We've sorted the first single from the second EP, 'Like A Drug'. It's pretty much just a classic 90s house record - but in our own way. Then there's, 'Animals' where if you take the vocal off it's a really bassy/chuggy record that we've been playing for a little while. The next two to come sit in that same element of club world really nicely.
Everything that we put out, we play in our shows. It's really important for us that we're putting out records that we play in our sets. There's stuff to come, we've got a record with A*M*E, which is a full on 2 step record, proper garage. That's our heritage, where we came from and what we grew up on.
Then there's some lighter, more melodic stuff that we really enjoy to make aswell, because we're also songwriters. A lot of people see us as DJs but we're songwriters too and write for a lot of other people. This is something that we really wanted to put out there.
So there's records on there that we've produced, even sung on. It's about letting people know who we really are, we're more than just those guys who made 'So Frickin Tight', there's a lot more to us.
It must be hard as an artist in that when people pigeon hole you it's hard to break out?
Yeah man! We're totally not about pigeon holing. People ask us what we are as an act, we're just a dance act. We love all forms of dance, especially house but we're broader than that. There's a few that'll probably wake a few people up in the next year. Some might go down well, some not so well, but as long as we're happy that's all that matters.
For real! Why are you releasing it in separate parts?
We could put everything out in a 16 tracked album, but nowadays people digest music differently. With the way Spotify runs, it's nice to give something new every four weeks.
People's attention spans are quite short now and if we just chucked everything out at once I reckon a month down the line some of it will be forgotten. So for us, it was about putting it out consistently, rebundling it with nice bonus records that no one has heard before. People would digest it better and their ears might prick up more than if it was just released as a full-length album.
I think when you're a massive artist you can put an album out and you'll have millions of people listen to it on Spotify, for us it was really important to focus on each record and give it a fair amount of space in the market.
Letting it trickle through slowly.
Yeah, exactly. A few other artists are doing it, Gorgon City did it last year really well. They had a new record out I think every two weeks.
Are all the album parts coming out on your Get Twisted label?
Yeah, it's all coming on our label.
What's the inspiration behind the name 'Get Twisted', sounds like a party we need to go to!
It was a party, that's how it all started! As a party, we're like six or seven years old. We started in London, originally called Twisted Disco. We've moved around different locations and loads down. We wanted to set up our own label and it just made sense to keep the name, but we didn't want the 'Disco' because it's broader than that. The label turns five years, though the parties are older and it's been great fun!
You mentioned the label turns five, have you got any big plans for that?
Loads! We've celebrated at Egg last Friday on the 2nd June. We had MJ Cole down as a special guest as he's just sick. We've always loved him growing up. We're also taking Get Twisted to Ibiza for the first time, taking over Eden. We'll probably do a special five-year anniversary EP with some of our biggest hits remixed, though that's a working progress at the moment.
For you, what are the labels highlights over the past five years?
For me the first release was really special. A lot of work went into that release and all the guys and girls involved were just so ahead of their time. I think it was just a monster EP that was way ahead of its time. The over the years having guys like Roger Sanchez and Todd Terry coming through on the label has been pretty special.
Get tickets for Get Twisted's takeover of Eden, Ibiza
We've talked about your parties coming at Egg and Ibiza, pretty sure you've got some more in calendar as well?
Summer's always great for us, loads of festivals. Ibiza, we're playing with Tinie Temper at Ushisia, back at Sankey's for Redlight. We'll be at Marbella with all the Kiss FM crew, playing with Majestic over at BCM in Majorca. Zante, Ayia Napa, all the usual spots.
How do you survive your summers with some much going on?
A few years ago we did it and burnt out big time. In about a ten day space we did 23/24 flights and that really hit us hard. We're a bit more careful now, we've got a routine going on. We try to get at least one decent night sleep when we're over there rather than being in and out. But man, it's the best part of the job!
You must come back and sleep for a week?
Yeah man, sometimes you need rest afterwards. That's why we cram in the studio time in winter as in the summer, we don't get much time to work on new records.
It's almost like a hibernation, with all these parties - has there been one that's changed your life?
Yeah, for me personally I use to go to Ibiza every summer from the age of 13. I remember going to see Roger Sanchez play like 6 to 8-hour sets. I think that's when I really feel in love with house music and thought that it was what I really wanted to do. More recently in the emergence of house, tech, and disco in London, there was a party called Lowkey which was amazing.
There were a few parties back in the day in London and I dunno, they were just... I wish house music still had those vibes now in London. Where people were just purely there for good times. It felt different playing in a club then, compared to now. It's great now you've got so many people coming, and they're interested - but sometimes it's missing that extra element of genuine love for the music.
So what, in your mind, has changed between then and now for that to disappear?
I think people are just into different things now and there's so much choice. There isn't an underground like people say there is. Dance music and house has really taken off, it's global now and if you've got an underground rave with 3/4,000 people then it's really not underground, is it?
That's the difference, some of the spots that were big six or seven years ago were intimate parties with 200 people - they just felt really special. Maybe it was just a different time in our lives but they just felt really organic.
Would you agree that London's scene has had a boost in the past few months, with Printworks opening and Fabric re-opening?
Totally! It needs it, it really needed it as well. Parties in London are great now and the clubs are starting to get back to where they were and having a little more musical freedom. What's popular is ever-shifting, there's a huge run of tech & techno at the moment, which is great. It'll be an interesting few years I think.
What would Tough Love do to change the world?
Stop the violence man! We were talking about this in the studio the other day; maybe it's cos it's on our doorstep at the moment - the amount of kids killing each other at the moment over ignorant things like turf wars is ridiculous and the media aren't helping. They keep pushing too many images that are almost glorifying this violence on the streets. I know it's not just here, it's all over the world but for us it happens on our doorstep in East & West London.
We're seeing it on a daily basis, it's such a waste of life. There needs to be more positive role models and images shown in the media to give these kids a chance.
It's something we're really passionate about, we're always talking about ways we could do something to help the situation cos it's bad and needs to be dealt with!
What ideas have you come up with?
Making donations through records, maybe getting involved in a trust where we could help kids find a passion for art. Any reason to get them off the streets, give them a reason to wake up, do something positive and realise that there are other options out there! These guys have opportunities on their doorstep, they just need to know about them and get the help they need.
If Tough Love had a swimming pool, what would you fill it with?
Just happiness and good people. Let's just throw a party in the pool and have fun. You only live once, gotta enjoy it!
Tough Love
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