Drunken Kong is the project of D. Singh and DJ Kyoko. In 2010, the two started their project when one day, they suddenly decided to make a track together.
They have been releasing music on major international labels such as Christian Smith’s Tronic, Monika Kruse’s Terminal M, Transmit Recordings, Loose Records,!Organism, and Unity Records. All 7 tracks of their newest EPs on Tronic and Terminal M have entered Beatport Top 100 Techno chart at the same time, which has made an impact on the Asian and global techno scene. The duo has also been active with domestic label such as Session WOMB and Plus Record.
Their music has gained attention/support from international top artists and DJs such as Adam Beyer, Christian Smith, Monika Kruse, Pan-Pot, Umek, Boris, 2000 and One, Uto Karem, Karotte, Filterheadz, Dosem, Stephan Hinz, Wehbba Wally Lopez, and Deadmau5 just to name a few.
We had the chance to talk to Drunken Kong as they just released their new album ‘Where We Start’ via Tronic Music.
Electronic Groove: Hi Drunken Kong, thanks for chatting with us today. Can you mention some of your favorite moments in 2019?
Drunken Kong: Hello, thank you for having us. In 2019, there were many great moments for us. First, the opportunity to work on our new album, ‘Where We Start’. We really enjoyed every moment of it. We also had some great gigs and tours. I also had the amazing opportunity to play in Ibiza for Tronic. This was an outstanding moment for me. 2019 was a very special year, having the chance to travel around the world and to play in many different cities. I really enjoyed every single gig!
EG: You just released your second album ‘Where We Start’ via Tronic Music. Where did the idea come to produce this LP come from?
Drunken Kong: We felt it was a good timing for an LP. Our daughter was the idea and inspiration behind it. We focused on expressing our inspiration and emotions living our new life as parents. This was something new to us and we had such special moments that we have never experienced before. We directly reflected this feeling into our music. We wanted to make something that we just felt.
EG: Can you explain what the title meaning is?
Drunken Kong: ‘Where We Start’ basically comes from the idea that we are at a new starting point in our life and so this title just naturally came to us.
EG: ‘Where We Start’ includes 16 tracks. Can you elaborate on the production process? Where it was recorded and what kind of gear did you use?
Drunken Kong: Besides the collaboration tracks with Teenage Mutants, we produced and recorded everything in our studio here in Tokyo. I worked on the collaboration track with Christian (Smith) the last time he was here touring. With Teenage Mutants, we worked by exchanging flies.
For all our productions, we use Logic. We also use a bunch of plugins, mainly from Native Instruments, Arturia, Synapse Audio and more. We also use hardware synthesizers such as Moog Sub 37, Roland Juno 106, King Korg and few other synthesizers. For mixdown, we use UAD plugins along with some hardware compressors.
“This was something new to us and we had such special moments that we have never experienced before”
EG: Can you describe the album in three words?
Drunken Kong: Groovy, melodic and original!
EG: Also, you collaborated with Teenage Mutants and Christian Smith on three different tracks. How was the experience to work with them?
Drunken Kong: Collaboration tracks are always great! With Christian Smith, we are always in the studio together so we are able to exchange ideas right at the spot. We always have great fun working together.
With Teenage Mutants, it was file sharing since we were far away geographically. Things went very smoothly. I think the musical direction we had really kind of matched. We are all very happy with the results!
Collaborations are great. You always learn something new which is amazing to improve our knowledge and skills.
EG: Are you planning a tour to promote ‘Where We Start’? Do you have any confirmed dates?
Drunken Kong: We have some tours coming up starting in Spring. More info coming soon!
EG: What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Drunken Kong: We are working on some remixes and also some more collaboration tracks. We will also be playing in different places and once again for Tronic Ibiza in the summer. We are quite excited about this!
“Collaborations are great. You always learn something new”
EG: Which are some of the benefits of working as a duo?
Drunken Kong: I think the benefit is that you have someone that is sharing the same musical journey with you all away from zero. There are so many things I couldn’t have done without my partner Kyoko. Also having different views and opinions also help to improve yourself in many ways.
EG: You both come from Tokyo, Japan. If we visit that city which places you would recommend visiting?
Drunken Kong: There are many places to visit in Tokyo. You should definitely visit the clubs here. They have parties every weekend and even weekdays. Its a really nice, active scene here. Also, one place we recommend going is the Meiji Shrine. Its located in a very central location and its a very beautiful historical shrine with a very special energy. We always take people there when they visit the city. There are many other choices of course, and many many amazing restaurants!
Drunken Kong’s ‘Where We Start’ is now available. Buy and stream the album here.
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