Who: The Stafford Brothers
When: Thursday, Aug. 14, 10 p.m.
Where: Tommy Africa’s
Tickets: $10
Matt and Chris Stafford just arrived in Whistler on Sunday evening, but by Tuesday afternoon, they’d already been mountain biking, wakeboarding and were on their way to go bungee jumping.
“We do work very hard. I mean, obviously I’m just about to go bungee jumping and waterskiing,” Matt Stafford trailed off with a laugh.
Between headlining festivals, playing club shows, producing, recording, and working on their own clothing line (yes, they also have their own clothing line), it’s amazing that these energetic siblings find time to sleep.
“I got eight hours of sleep last night and I think that’s the longest sleep I’ve had in weeks,” Stafford said. “I could have done with a couple more hours, to be honest.”
The original game plan wasn’t to pursue DJing as a career — in fact, Matt was playing rugby professionally and planned on becoming a professional footballer. But one of their favourite clubs ended up needing a DJ at the last minute, and the brothers were simply in the right place at the right time.
“We just pretty much told a story to get our first gig,” Matt said rather matter-of-factly. “…We used to play a lot of musical instruments and that, but we were always into dance music once it was sort of growing and we went to a few big events.”
They ended up winging it, filling the room with their friends, and the rest is history. They certainly never imagined their little white lie would turn into a career that would see them touring the world.
“There’s only a couple of guys that are touring the world from Australia DJing, and we’re just blessed to be in that group,” Stafford said.
The idea of working and traveling with a sibling, day in and day out, may be a nightmare for many, but not these brothers.
“It’s weird. Its good we’ve got separate rooms, but it’s all good, there’s no drama whatsoever,” he said.
The rest of the family is also pretty supportive of their musical endeavours.
“They just think it’s great, especially when they come to gigs. Mom and dad have come to shows and there are thousands of people screaming, and mom’s so proud and dad just likes all the riders,” Stafford said with a chuckle.
Their music may be mainly electro house, but there’s a good deal of experimental dance music thrown in, plus some of their own instrumental work, to keep things interesting. Expect to hear some minimal, techy sounds, too.
“We don’t really just play electro house, I say we play house music and electro is a big sort of sound at the moment, but we’ll play all different genres of the house stuff,” he said. “I love the electronic sounds, though… anything that gets you dancing, basically.”
While the brothers have visited Canada before, this is their first trip to Whistler, and they seem to be loving the unique combination of laidback nightlife and recreation.
“I can’t wait to get back here in the winter, as well, because we’re keen snowboarders too,” Stafford said, adding that they already have plans to return in March.
They’ve been on tour since the end of June, playing clubs and festivals throughout Europe.
“To be honest, it’s rocking. We actually haven’t had a bad gig on this tour, so it’s been amazing. Every show has just been rammed, and everyone’s loving it. I mean, you definitely have different crowds, and they do get a little bit more excited about different sounds.”
But they think they’ve got a good handle on what Canadian crowds are looking for, with North American crowds receiving their music well.
“Coming to Canada, we’d never been to Montreal, and that was actually a really, really good experience and a really good time,” he said.
While they play everything from intimate club shows to massive festivals, Matt said it’s really the crowd that makes all the difference.
“We played in Germany and it was weird — it was in the east, and a lot of them couldn’t speak English and stuff, and you know, they still went mental,” he said. “…If it’s fun, it’s fun anywhere.”
They’d already been to scope out the set-up at Tommy’s.
“I could see that if that’s just absolutely heaving, it’ll be unbelievable… at the same time, playing to 10,000 people at a festival was just a phenomenal experience, as well.”
They approach each show a bit differently, trying to read the room to get a sense of what will get the crowd really amped up, then finding a balance between their own music, mash-ups, remixes and other stuff.
“It’s totally based on the room, not on our mood. If you’re playing for yourself, you’re a wanker, I reckon,” Matt said. “…You’ve really got to play to the crowd, because that’s why you’re there.”
Since signing with a global dance music brand, Ministry of Sound, over a year ago, the brothers have not only mixed a few CDs, but have had a few singles picked up and signed internationally.
And you can expect to see a lot of new music by the Staffords coming out by the end of the year. They spent almost two weeks in the studio during their time in England, and hit the studio again while they were in Germany to record another track.
They have six new tracks on their way, a big festival tour to join when they return to Australia, and they’re already planning another international tour for the spring. But first thing’s first — expect “a massive party” at Tommy’s.
