Interview | Krewella: “We became more confident people since we were faced with rejection every day.”

The “rendezvous” was confirmed and so we gathered all our questions and we now have before us the first interview of Krewella in Greece which is going to enlighten us about everything… their music, awards, their great success in the world charts, their members and of course their special bond with our country! Ladies and gentlemen tralala.gr and Feelgood Records proudly present to you… Krewella!

1) Krewella welcome to tralala.gr! You are a newly formed band, still on it’s very first steps in the music industry. What are you working on lately?

The three of us actually started making music together in 2007, but we had many years of developing our craft before we officially debuted our first two songs. We are currently touring off of our first full length album ‘Get Wet.’ Our producer Rain Man is already working on ideas for the second album on the bus during our free time.

2) How did Krewella come together?

We met Rain Man back in 2007 when he was the lead guitarist in a metal band. He was programming instruments on the computer for his band and that naturally transitioned into dance music. We were all in school and had after school jobs, so when we got together it was usually on weekends until we dedicate ourselves as full-artists on 6/8/10.

3) What does Krewella mean?

Fearless, powerful, urgent, and passionate

4) Recently you released your “Get Wet” album, which has received several positive reviews and has risen in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 200. How do you feel about it?

It’s an honor and truly a humbling experience. But the way we treat our job has not changed. We are still working and touring every day and feel like we have much more to prove as artists.

5) On your latest album we heard your new collaborations with Travis Barker, Patrick Stump and Pegboard Nerds. Please tell us about these collaborations included in the album.

The studio session with Patrick Stump was arranged by our management and Columbia. We happened to be in Los Angeles, CA at the same time as Patrick in the middle of tour. Writing with him was like a therapy session. We spent an hour writing down our angsty thoughts we were feeling and later placed melodies to those phrases.

6)What does “Get wet” really mean to you guys? Why did you choose this title for your album?

‘Get Wet’ feels like our baby. The title embodies an entire culture and movement we have created with our fans. We encourage people to ‘get wet’ at our shows by losing their inhibitions and any ridding themselves of any fear they have of getting completely drenched in sweat.

7)The style you combine in your creations are mainly house, dubstep and drum and bass. What are the personal sounds and influences of each one of you?

We’ve been digging into our teenage influences like Patrick Stump from Fallout Boy and Brandon Boyd from Incubus for writing and vocal styles. As far as production goes, we’ve been inspired by Linkin Park and their juxtaposition of rock and electronic sounds.

8)You have taken part in several festivals around the world since your beginning. What is your highlight” so far and why?

One of our all time favorite places to play is our home city Chicago, Illinois. The vibe there is unreal because the fans feel a certain feeling of ownership and loyalty since our core fan base started there. EDC Vegas this year was dreamlike for us too. The theme of the festival makes anyone adult feel youthful and crowd at our stage had so much energy to feed us despite how exhausted we were.

9) Your live performances earned you for the year 2012 the “Best Breakthrough Artist” award at International Dance Music Awards. How do you feel about it?

It’s our first award show we’ve received recognition for. It felt like a mini-Grammys, so it gave us insight into what it might be like to be awarded for greater achievements in the future, hopefully. It’s strange to think that 5 years ago, we fantasized about moments like this but they seemed so far away.

10) Please tell us a few things about the 55-date sold out “Get Wet Live” tour. What should people expect from this experience?

The show is extremely high energy and visually stimulating. We have custom stage production called ‘The Volcano’ with moving images across LED panels. We are DJing live and singing vocals to our original tracks, and pour out every bit of energy we have in us every single night.

11)Our interest was pulled by the grand glittering Volcano. Who had the idea for this and how was it created?

It was inspired by the artwork for our Play Hard EP. When we released the small body of work a couple years ago, we dreamed of having custom stage production that would mirror the EP artwork but we didn’t have the means or budget. Now that we have a large enough fan base and saved up money from touring, our management linked up with V-Squared Labs and Stefano Novelli to make our idea come into fruition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnfLJe_pTEc

12)How easy is it for three young people to get into “deep” the international music scene?

We’ve barely scraped the surface of other regions besides North America. We are hitting some markets in cities in America 3 or 4 times now, but we haven’t even visited other countries around the world. We have a lot of work to do. The future of touring will take us into those countries to promote our music in 2014.

13)Were there any sacrifices from your behalf?

Abandoning our social life, lack of sleep and leisure activities, and not being able to see our family much are some of the biggest sacrifices.

14)What were your lives like before the formation of Krewella? Did the band change them in any way?

Our lives consisted of trying to maintain good grades in school and working standard jobs to make money to pay for recording costs, and our schedules were pretty normal. The decision to dedicate ourselves full-time is when the tables turned. All three of us decided to live together and write and produce all day till 4AM. We became more confident people since we were faced with rejection every day.

15)Due to fact that you are still very young, what would be the professional choice for each one of you if you were not Krewella?

All three of us would have started a production/song-writing group and work behind the scenes for other artists if Krewella was not an option.

16)As we know you haven’t been in Greece for a concert yet. However, what is your opinion about our country? Have you ever visited Greece?

Our producer Rain Man is actually Greek. His biological father is from Greece and Rain Man lived there as a child. It’s been a dream of ours to visit the country since there’s so much history and natural beauty there!

17)The audience that listens to this kind of music here is huge .Would you consider to include Greece in your future tour-stations?

Absolutely! We plan on venturing overseas more in 2014 after we work on the second album for a couple months.

18)Recently the video clip for “Legacy” which is a collaboration with Nicky Romero came out, revealing the story of a boy trying to stand up for his mother who suffers from cancer! How did you come up with this idea for this video clip?

This is actually our director’s interpretation of the song meaning. Normally we co-write treatments with directors for music videos, but when the director Kyle presented his treatment to us, we fell in love with his story and attention to detail.

19)What’s your next single from “Get Wet”?

It seems that everyone is gravitating toward Enjoy The Ride, so the people have dictated the next single!

20)What’s your “relation” with the social media and moreover your communication with your fans?

The way we communicate with each other is through pictures and messages through social media. I personally wouldn’t maintain a twitter if we didn’t have fans to show appreciation and gratitude for. It’s there merely for the purpose of communicating with our fans.

21)What’s your message to Greek people?

Thank you to those who have spread the word about our music via social media and we appreciate everyone who has taken the time to listen to our album Get Wet! We can’t wait to perform and rage with you guys!!

22)Is there anything that people don’t know about Krewella and you would like to share with them?

We just released our album Get Wet, and we’re already working on the second one where we experimenting with new vocal styles and production sounds

 Interview to Thodoris Kolliopoulos