Deuce & Charger Interview Part 1
Over a series of tastemaker-supported releases and standout collaborations, London-based singer and producer/DJ duo Deuce & Charger (Pete and Becky Bott) have emerged as a fresh new sound in melodic drum and bass. Their combination of emotive song writing and electro-inspired production described by Radio 1’s Rene LaVice as “very different, very unique - it’s cool!”
Deuce & Charger's distinctive song-led, synth sound has seen releases on Viper, Liquicity, Technique, Subsphere, High Tea Music and Mayan Audio, play-listing on 1Xtra, and plays on Radio 1 (Friction and Rene LaVice) and Kiss Fresh (Andi Durrant). The duo have been featured in Mixmag and DJ Mag, championed by leading blogs, radio station and channels including Data Transmission, Bassrush, Most Addictive, YourEDM, Rough Tempo, Kool FM, Skank & Bass, Magnetic Magazine and Drum & Bass HQ, and remixed by Dossa & Locuzzed (Viper), Chords (Ram Records) and Kronology (Technique).
We thought it would be a good idea to invite Deuce & Charger in for a chat to see if we can find out what makes them tick, and I’m happy to announce that they agreed.
Hello Pete & Becky. I’m so glad that you agreed to chat with me. Thank you.
Although we’re only just over one month in; how has 2020 been treating you so far?
Pete: It has been awesome, thanks! We ended 2019 on a real high with our collaboration track with Toronto Is Broken (‘Pressure’) going down so well. It’s given us so much momentum to jump straight into 2020 with our new track ‘Stay Tonight’ and all the other things we’ve been getting ready for release.
Becky: Yeah it’s been brilliant getting so much support for ‘Stay Tonight’ already with it being added to the major editorial playlists on Apple Music as well as tons of playlists on Spotify. We’ve also had loads of great feedback from DJs and the people that follow us on social media, which means a lot to us because it’s great to know that people are enjoying our music.
It’s good to hear that you’re both feeling good.
Your collaboration with Toronto Is Broken is a brilliant track.
Buy Juno
And your latest release, ‘Stay Tonight’, is pure quality.
Buy Juno
Can you go back a while and tell me a bit about the music you liked and listened to while growing up, and what first attracted you to drum and bass?
Becky: Drum and bass wasn’t actually on our radar until about 2015. Before that, I mainly listened to rock and hip hop. My favourite artists were Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Snoop Dogg and Outkast. I’ve also got a real passion for 80s music and still love artists like Depeche Mode… oh and a bit of Rick Astley!
I’m with you on the hip hop Becky. It was a major part of my life in the mid 80’s.
Pete: Yeah we’re kind of late to the party with drum and bass! I listened to all sorts growing up but have always been drawn to melodic song writing and forward-thinking production. I was a Britpop kid but quickly came to love electronic acts like Daft Punk and Royksopp, then the whole electro thing came along about 10 years ago with artists like Justice and Boys Noize and that got me hooked on dance music. Nero and Chase & Status were my gateway to drum and bass.
Yes; in my opinion, you have to have a bit of Daft Punk in your life.
I’m pleased to know that you both found drum and bass, and to find it in Chase & Status is a great gateway.
Do you have a favourite drum and bass genre? If so, what are some of your favourite tracks within that genre?
Pete: With our love of electro music, we’re definitely most into the vocal and synth-led d&b, especially the melodic high-energy stuff. Our favourite artists are Sub Focus, Wilkinson, Metrik, Cyantific and that kind of thing. As for favourite tracks, I’d probably go for Sub Focus ‘Out The Blue’ as it’s got pretty much everything I like about the genre in one track and still sounds amazing today!
Top choice!
Pete, did you start off being a DJ or a producer?
I actually started off being a guitarist and songwriter. That led me into production, which I’ve been doing in loads of different genres since I was a teenager. DJing came much later, but it feels like I should have been doing it all my life as it combines so many of my favourite things about music. I love performing and sharing my favourite tracks with other people, getting that energy and response. And it feels great to hear our own tracks being blasted out of a club system too!
Your passion for music sounds deep Pete.
Becky, have you always been a singer?
No, I actually started out doing something about as far away from singing as you could possibly get! Believe it or not, I’m first and foremost a rock drummer. My Dad has always been a drummer in bands, so growing up I went to many of his gigs and enjoyed live music from an early age. He taught me to play and I joined my first band as a drummer when I was 13. About 12 years ago when Pete I met, we were in a band together and I started singing backing vocals. That progressed to lead vocals on some tracks. It has only been the last 3 or so years that I’ve been the lead vocalist in Deuce & Charger, so it still feels quite new to me!
Wow Becky! I was not expecting to hear that you were a rock drummer. You sing like you’ve been singing longer than 3 years.
How did Deuce & Charger emerge?
Becky: It’s kind of a long story! The short version is that we were backroom writers and producers for other artists for a few years. We then decided to upload one of our tracks called ‘Always Broke’ to BBC Introducing. BBC Introducing played it and a remix of it did really well too. That led us to step out of the studio shadows and start releasing tracks in our own name.
I found ‘Always Broke’ on YouTube. I love it.
Buy Amazon
Pete: Yeah it was then in 2016 that we had a couple of tracks that brought us firmly into the d&b scene. The first was a collaboration with NCT which was released by Liquicity and also included on the official Let It Roll comp. The other was a Dossa & Locuzzed remix of our track ‘Who Can You Trust?’ which came out on the Viper Summer Slammers comp. Things moved pretty rapidly from there with us doing Let It Roll ourselves in 2017 and then putting tracks out with Viper, Technique, Subsphere and Mayan Audio in 2018.
‘Who Can You Trust’ is yet another great track.
Buy Beatport
What made you want to produce your own tracks?
Pete: I’ve been producing music since I was 13 when I had a little Tascam 4-track tape recorder. I’ve been fascinated, frustrated and rewarded in equal measures ever since!
Producing since you were 13 years old Pete. That’s a lifelong love.
What was your first drum and bass release?
Becky: I suppose technically it was a track called ‘We Can Beat The Night’ in 2015, which was also remixed by Chords on RAM Records. But we had a lot to learn about production from there! Leaving aside various tracks where we top lined for other producers, I think we now look on ‘Avalanche’ (our debut release for Mayan Audio in 2018) as our first “proper” drum and bass release.
Buy Amazon
Buy Beatport
Do you ever perform live? If so; how does that feel, and which events have you performed at?
Becky: Yeah we have performed live; I think it’s quite a unique set up as Pete DJs and I sing live. The best events we’ve done have been Let It Roll, some Viper events and Egg in London and also some nights at Fire in Vauxhall in London - all pretty memorable!
That set up sounds perfect.
Pete: It’s had to take a bit of a back seat since we had our daughter but we’re getting back into it this year. Our first show back will be at the new Unusual night at Market House in Brixton on 6th March.
I’ll see you there Pete.
How has your career progressed, and what are your highlights?
Pete: We’ve been blown away by how quickly things have progressed for us. We were playing Let It Roll only about 6 months after I started DJing! That was a definite highlight for me, but also some key releases have been highlights. ‘Diamonds’ which came out on Technique in 2018 felt special and having ‘Dancing With My Eyes Closed’ on the front-end of the Viper 2019 Annual alongside some of our favourite artists like Matrix & Futurebound, Koven and Cyantific was also a great moment. The huge Spotify and Apple Music editorial support for ‘We Are Made Of Light’ and ‘Pressure’ has also been a game-changer… I could go on!
That’s a rapid progression. It takes some people a lot of years to get so far.
Buy Beatport
Buy Beatport
Becky: We’ve also really enjoyed meeting so many great people in the scene along the way. We’ve found the d&b scene to be amazingly supportive and inclusive, from blogs and websites like yours to the various producers who have given us tips to help us progress, it has been incredibly positive and we’re very grateful for that!
Yes Becky; we all need a helping hand in some way, and teamwork is key.
From this chat alone it seems like you have both been truly blessed with some amazing skills, and your career in drum and bass is definitely surging forward.
Thank you both so much for taking the time out to chat with me. It has been a pleasure, and I look forward to our next chat.
To be continued,,,,,,,,,,,,
Follow Deuce & Charger:
Beatport / Juno / Soundcloud
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Interview conducted and posted by Brenton Clerkin
