The Mix 118: deBasement

Not all artists’ music belongs where they're based. When Los Angeles duo deBasement were put in touch through their shared music publisher, it was a serendipitous coming together of two people who say they approach dance music through more of a European lens. One half of the duo, Alli Logout , was already making industrial music as the lead vocalist of punk band Special Interest , occasionally performing at sticky-floored pubs in the UK. Margo XS, the group’s other member, was also taking her eclectic and UK-leaning bass music selections to Europe while working behind-the-scenes as a producer for the likes of Zara Larsson and Kim Petras.

"Our music is received so much better here," Margo laughs as the pair call in from Berlin, a place they seem to feel at home in, looking relaxed as Margo draws from a cigarette next to graffiti-clad streets. "That was kind of the point with this project, because we don't really align too much with the American dance scene," she explains. "One of the goals was to take this overseas, knowing that it would be received better here."

Though they agree that their singular sound, a blend of Alli’s hardcore sensibilities and Margo’s high-energy, club-focused style, seems to gauge more interest in Europe, the duo began working together and playing shows at home in LA just two years ago, quickly piquing the interest of their bass-adjacent peers like Nikki Nair and DJ ADHD. A short run of singles and a titular EP came in quick succession, followed by their most recent release, ‘ HARDBODY ’, an exploration of tension, isolation, heathenism and decay.

With features from Miss Bashful and the aforementioned Nikki Nair and DJ ADHD, ‘HARDBODY’ is a chaotic and unruly display of punk-meets-bass over seven tracks, a record that sees them emerge through a saturated ecosystem of hard-and-fast dance music at a pivotal moment for the sound, which is having its moment back home in Los Angeles .

In this instalment of The Mix, deBasement deliver a set made almost entirely of their own productions, and chat about their deceptively maximalist style, the creation of ‘HARDBODY’, and why they just feel much more at home in Europe. Check it out below.

Margo XS: We have a joke that we started as an industry plant, because Alli and I moved to LA around the same time and we both had the same publisher, so we got set up for a session together. We made ‘FRONT LEFT SPEAKER’ in that first session. It had a very different form and vibe, but we really liked making music together so we decided to turn it into an actual project.

You have distinct individual styles, how did you visualise the project when you brought those together? Did you have a plan?

Margo XS: No, we kind of discovered it along the way. It's still evolving, and I think that the main thing that we bonded over was a real love for dance music. We're from Los Angeles , and I feel like dance music can get a bit lost there, there's not as strong of a community for it as there is in other cities and places that we’ve enjoyed living and being. So it was really just a mutual love of rave culture and dance music.

You’ve come up at a really interesting time in the LA dance music scene, when it feels like a lot of the music is getting harder and heavier. What has your experience been like on the ground there?

Margo XS: I think when I first moved there, there was a lot of really hard and distorted, fast music. I don't think that Alli and I relate to a lot of that sound, that current LA or New York sound. We're really inspired by a lot of UK rave music , and so we decided to form our own path within that. Our sets feel hard and intense, but they're actually a lot slower than a lot of the other shows in LA right now.

So you feel like your sets differ from the stuff that you're making?

Margo XS: No, it's just that in LA, It's like 160 BPM a lot of the time, almost like gabber ! I would say that we lean a bit more into body music.

You make a lot of maximalist music, it’s a trend we’re seeing more of at the moment. What does this style of music represent for the future of dance music, and where do you see it going from here?

Alli Logout: Yeah, stripping things back a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised by that.

Margo XS: I really enjoy that we make music that is deceptively maximal. If you look at the project, it's basically just one massive synth, and then drums. It's not very complicated, there's not a lot of layers. It’s mostly really simple and straightforward production, and that way, each sound can be the biggest sound in the mix, like having one massive synth as opposed to having a bunch of different synths and ideas fighting for space. The more simple you get, the louder you can be, and the more that impacts the dancefloor.

Alli Logout: We also really love to work within the confines of a drop. There was a moment where the drop was always too much. But there's something really fun about deBasement where we’re structurally based around a drop, but because there are far fewer elements, moving towards the drop feels really big and fun.

As a duo, what’s your production process when working together on music? Do the vocals come first, or the instrumentals and production?

Alli Logout: I think we go into the studio and we do the classic thing of showing each other what we're really into right now. Sometimes I'll come with an idea, sometimes I'll come with lyrics, but mainly, the way we’ve been working is coming in and talking, and seeing how things play out.

Your new EP ‘HARDBODY’ landed earlier this month. What was the reception like when that landed?

Margo XS: It’s been good! I always say that we're such a live act, so we get instant feedback from our shows. The new music has been really well received, and it's been fun to play it out. Compared to the first EP we did, we were road-testing those songs for a very long time, and ‘HARDBODY’ was a little bit different. We’re getting to hear them out for the first time over the past few months, so it's been great.

You said ahead of its release that ‘HARDBODY’ is “a state of being, one we are molded into in order to survive”. Can you tell me a bit about that?

Are there any other themes you explore throughout the record?

Margo XS: Yeah, as well as heathenism, nature, and a state of decay. Like how everything is collapsing around us, but still finding solace in the dancefloor and the community that it brings.

You’ve worked with artists like Nikki Nair and Miss Bashful on this project. How did those collaborations come about?

Margo XS: We’re huge Nikki Nair fans, and he was definitely a big influence on our production and our style. We found out that he was a fan, and was playing ‘FRONT LEFT SPEAKER’ out. When we met him, we instantly clicked. He's like the coolest, the best person.

Alli Logout: It was such a special night too, because we were playing with Marie Davidson and he was there to see her. But also that night, we met u.r.trax , so we met two people who we really love. We have something coming in the future with u.r.trax that we're really excited about. But it was a really pivotal, really special night. I feel so grateful with this project, we keep meeting all these people along the way to collaborate with who we align with in a really major way. Being such big fans of Nikki, we found he’s so down to earth and always trying to jam, always!

Margo XS: And Miss Bashful, we're also big fans of. Since the beginning of the project, we wanted to do something with her, and it finally lined up. It was so fun, and we’re really proud of that track too.

You’re playing all over Europe soon, is that going to be your first European tour? How are you feeling about it?

Alli Logout: I guess it’s the first legit-ish one, but we've been coming over a lot. That was kind of the point with this project, because we don't really align too much with the American dance scene. Whenever we started this, one of the goals was to take this overseas knowing that it would be received better there.

Margo XS: It was just immediately received so much better. It's actually crazy.

Alli Logout: That's why we keep up the ongoing joke of like, ‘this is the hottest track in all of the UK right now’. When we played in London for the first time, it just made sense.

Margo XS: I always feel like, when I'm DJing in Europe, there's less resistance to whatever we're trying to do. There's more of a willingness to let the selector take you places, and I feel like in America currently, there's a lot of fight for attention when DJing. If I don't play something that's familiar, there's not as much of a willingness to trust the DJ. I feel like that's a culture that's been developed more in Europe and in the UK, whereas in America, it's really hard to fight for survival.

Margo XS: We’re very inspired by traditional DJ and MC dynamics and the art of that, and so I think it's always a mix of our own stuff and whatever we're into. We like to have a few tracks over a period that Alli and I are both really obsessed with, and so we just mix those in and create variations of those.

Alli Logout: We’re heading to Sweden, then back to LA, and back to Europe. The way this tour is set up is new for me, because I play in a band where you can perform every night of the week when you're on tour. But with an electronic or club act, you’re locked into a weekend. So every weekend we've been doing a lot of traveling.

Alli Logout: I’m really looking forward to all of our new music. There's some more melodic sounds that we're playing with that’s really fun. There's going to be a lot of different sounds that come from deBasement in the future, which I think is really exciting.

Most of the mixes that we've done so far have been a resemblance of our live shows, or where we're exploring our influences and the things that aren’t necessarily dance music that really inspire us. With this one, it’s a hard showcase of all of our music and all of the edits that we play out, but with the energy of our live sets.

Tracklist: DJ Mike B - Feel My Energy deBasement - F.F.F.T.D.J COIDO & HRTLY - 2222 deBasement - Aperol Spritz (Ibiza’d) deBasement - FRONT LEFT SPEAKER (Ibiza’d) deBasement feat. Marie Davidson - Juicy Juice deBasement - No Thots (Margo XS Edit) deBasement feat. DJ ADHD & Nikki Nair - Cut The Line COIDO & HRTLY - ODISO deBasement feat. Nikki Nair - AFTERMARKET BASS deBasement - The Situation deBasement - The Fit deBasement feat. Miss Bashful - PRESS ON ME deBasement - HARDBODY deBasement - STAY IN UR LANE deBasement - FRONT LEFT SPEAKER (Edit) deBasement - NO THOughTS Prince - Private Joy