COVER
Loud Luxury
Strikes While It's Hot
By Gabby Sgherri
Publishing date: Oct 06, 2021
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It’s one of those things, strike when it’s hot,” says Joe De Pace of Loud Luxury referring to how he and Andrew Fedyk jumped on the Bama Rush TikTok trend by remixing the Zeta sorority anthem. Their ability to be fluid, take something that’s trending, and make it their own is one of the reasons why the dance electronic duo is where they are today. Where is that exactly? In L.A. chatting with me over Zoom about their trajectory from meeting at a DJ club at University to performing at sold-out shows and festivals worldwide.
Their energetic lifestyle can be summed up by the viral TikTok audio from a Lady Gaga interview that goes “no sleep, bus, club, another club, another club, another club, plane, next place.” The 24/7 tour schedule sounds exhausting to most but Fedyk insists they have no complaints, “The vacation for us is just the privilege of getting to play every weekend, throw these incredible parties and meet all these wonderful people, that’s the real joy.”
When COVID hit last year, they were forced to stop all live performances cutting their IRL connection to fans. What did they do? They took a page out of the Gen Z playbook and pivoted to TikTok. Reformatting their offline energy and entertainment into online content that taps into a new dimension of their identity.
It’s one of those things, strike when it’s hot,” says Joe De Pace of Loud Luxury referring to how he and Andrew Fedyk jumped on the Bama Rush TikTok trend by remixing the Zeta sorority anthem. Their ability to be fluid, take something that’s trending, and make it their own is one of the reasons why the dance electronic duo is where they are today. Where is that exactly? In L.A. chatting with me over Zoom about their trajectory from meeting at a DJ club at University to performing at sold-out shows and festivals worldwide.
Their energetic lifestyle can be summed up by the viral TikTok audio from a Lady Gaga interview that goes “no sleep, bus, club, another club, another club, another club, plane, next place.” The 24/7 tour schedule sounds exhausting to most but Fedyk insists they have no complaints, “The vacation for us is just the privilege of getting to play every weekend, throw these incredible parties and meet all these wonderful people, that’s the real joy.”
When COVID hit last year, they were forced to stop all live performances cutting their IRL connection to fans. What did they do? They took a page out of the Gen Z playbook and pivoted to TikTok. Reformatting their offline energy and entertainment into online content that taps into a new dimension of their identity.
The vacation for us is just the privilege of getting to play every weekend, throw these incredible parties and meet all these wonderful people, that’s the real joy.”
The vacation for us is just the privilege of getting to play every weekend, throw these incredible parties and meet all these wonderful people, that’s the real joy.”
“At first, we were so nervous because TikTok requires you to give a lot more of yourself and your personality than a lot of other social media platforms,” says Fedyk reflecting on their crazy TikTok journey. They joined the platform pre-covid, posting their first video in late 2019 but the frequency of videos increased during the pandemic as did their viewership. “We had a hard time putting ourselves out there and figuring out what our voice was and then it really just came down to not taking ourselves so seriously and being like ‘yo we’re just going to have fun with this and if people think we’re corny for it whatever.’” Fedyk’s honesty came as a surprise because he and De Pace make it look effortless posting videos of themselves djing poolside for series like “Songs You Didn’t Know Were Samples” or “Mashup Mondays.” The duo saw an opportunity as TikTok’s popularity rose and successfully figured out how to utilize the viral sounds and trends before they become outdated or “cheugy.”
At first glance, #BamaRush doesn’t seem like a trend that would fit the Loud Luxury brand—potential new sorority members showing off their #OOTD—but De Pace and Fedyk joined the conversation in an organic and unique way by remixing the sorority Zeta’s anthem. The remix went viral and they were asked to play at University of Alabama’s Bama Rush, it was a quick decision De Pace says “we booked it all and decided less than a week before, it was very impromptu we were like ‘oh this is a thing now, I guess we’re doing it.’” An opportunity that would have never come about if they didn’t strike while the iron is hot. They recently did it again remixing the eerie theme song to the viral Korean show Squid Games—kicks, hi-hats, claps, and all.
De Pace and Fedyk have a similar approach to music, collaborating with artists from different genres and taking something that doesn’t sound electronic but making it their own. This thinking outside the box mentality is what led them to collaborate with hip-hop artist Brando and create the 2018 hit “Body” that is now multi-platinum in North America and countries around the world like Switzerland and Denmark. While talking about past collaborations, De Pace candidly tells me that it’s not a one size fits all formula “a lot of the time you’re dealing with so many different sounds, stories, and artists that it’s hard to have one idea for things. So we always go with a good topline, a good melody and we take it and make it into something that would sound more like us”.
The privilege of getting to eat the best hot sauces on the planet and do it on film would be the highest honor I can think of.”
“Body” was such a success it was playing everywhere in the summer of 2018, inspiring DJs to not only include it in their sets but make their own one-of-a-kind bootleg edits. Fedyk remembers all the edits as a stand-out moment saying “we heard people across the globe from Tiësto to even Diplo at a country music festival making their edits of this and it was like damn everyone wants to hear this song and that’s so special and important to us.” Their relationship with electronic veteran Tiësto extends far beyond a DJ edit, crediting him as a mentor who’s been supportive since day one. “We met him and then just became instant friends, we talk all the time and he’s really helped us along the way and been there for us. So that’s somebody we’re very grateful for” says De Pace on the full-circle moment of having a role model turn into a friend. Fedyk humorously chimes in adding “we definitely learned how to party from him.”
After successfully figuring out their voice on TikTok, De Pace and Fedyk came out of lockdown ready to get back to the two P’s of electronic music—performing and partying. It’s such an integral part of their careers that a good drinking game would have been to take a shot every time one of us said the word “party” during the call (it was nine times in total). Their 2021 tour schedule so far has included Bama rush, Beyond Wonderland, Îlesoniq, Electric Zoo, and the Calgary Stampede. One of the most memorable of the aforementioned shows was none other than the Stampede, taking place right as Alberta started to reopen. Fedyk described the energy saying “it was like a forcefield just seeing Canada back in action doing what it does best which is partying hard at the stampede and we loved it. That show will always be tattooed in my mind.”
Following in Tiësto’s footsteps, De Pace and Fedyk also added the holy grail of DJ gigs to their schedule—a Las Vegas residency. Yes, that means they travel to sin city every or every other weekend to perform amidst the tequila-hazed partygoers and glittering lights. “What we love about it is people come from all over the world to party there so being in the heartbeat of that is really exciting, fun, and keeps it fresh,” Fedyk avidly says before telling me they specifically welcome fellow Canadians with open arms. Part of De Pace and Fedyk’s setlist for shows includes their recently released EP Holiday Hills which is best described as the soundtrack to chaos. Not the chaos of thrillers and horror movies but the all too relatable Project X style chaos that wreaks havoc on white picket fence houses in suburban towns. It’s also the perfect sound to accompany the widespread partying that broke the stillness of lockdown as the world tries to reclaim some sense of normalcy.
For De Pace and Fedyk, normal has less to do with what’s expected and more to do with spontaneity. Whether it’s squeezing in a last-minute show at Bama Rush, hiding TikTok sounds like “I like you, have a cupcake” in their next set, or working on music in-between shows, they make it happen. The ability to evolve while keeping a recognizable sound and brand is what keeps artists relevant for years to come. But despite finding their sonic signature, a quality De Pace describes as “when you hear one of our songs, you can recognize it’s us,” there’s still room for change. “We’re always growing and it’s one of those things, today we make one thing and tomorrow we can make something completely different, you never know” continues De Pace clarifying that their sound isn’t static.
It’s clear there’s always that flexibility to make use of opportunities as they come but striking while the iron is hot isn’t the only heat Fedyk likes “it’s my personal dream to be on the show Hot Ones and eat the hottest sauce possible, I love hot sauce, I think Joe is with me on this one too.” I can’t help but laugh at how unexpected and amazing that fun fact is before Fedyk continues “I don’t care if I’m crying on national television the privilege of getting to eat the best hot sauces on the planet and do it on film would be the highest honor I can think of.” With the trajectory that De Pace and Fedyk are on, I don’t doubt their Hot Ones dream will be achieved and added to the many accolades already under their belt.
Photographer: Nikko LaMere, Tristan Giguère, and Clay Price.
