2016 has been the biggest year so far for The Chainsmokers. Their songs keep making a home at the top of Billboard charts, and every party is bound to have at least one of their smash-hits as part of its playlist. Truthfully, you’ll absolutely hear a Chainsmokers song on a daily basis, whether you want to or not. Alongside the touring, and different performances internationally, the duo–made up by Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart–make success seem extremely fun. As true artists/business visionaries, they followed the success of “Closer” with a new EP named Collage. The project was released on the first Friday of November, and is available for purchase on iTunes. You can also listen to it on any streaming service.
Following the release of their EP, we caught up with The Chainsmokers to discuss how it all came together, reflect on their careers, as well as future plans.
RESPECT.: How would you describe the recording sessions for your latest project the Collage EP?
The Chainsmokers: It’s hard to describe them because that EP came together over the course of a year. So there were so many sessions that have nothing to do with the EP. To us, our EPs thus far aren’t meant to be reflections of a particular message, they serve more as chapters in our growth as artists. Almost like boundaries, but that word feels constricting. The songs on the EP, are super important to us but they don’t have a lot to do with one another. They reflect growth in us as artists in different capacities… From Andrew singing, to our growth as songwriters and so on.
RESPECT.: With the majority of your songs becoming smash hits, are the expectations higher when you get in the studio now?
The Chainsmokers: We definitely put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but we always have. But we never step into the studio with the intention of making a hit song or trying to out-do a previous song of ours. If there is anything we have learned, it’s that we just gotta make music for ourselves that we think is cool and if we are lucky the world and our fans will like it. That said there is a strategy label side that you can’t ignore that definitely plays a role in what gets released.
RESPECT.: Out of producing and songwriting, which comes more naturally to you guys, and why?
The Chainsmokers: Well we started as producers, but as of late the roles have completely swapped. We find ourselves starting with the songwriting process and then working on the production. It’s actually crazy because a lot of our songs have this ballad feel to them now since they start on the piano, it’s exciting though.
RESPECT.: A question for Pall, how has your father’s career as an art-dealer influenced your own career?
Alex Pall: It’s hard to say since he passed away when I was 13. I think growing up around so much art though and having that sort of creative outlet encouraged led me to having this really eclectic taste and keen aesthetic… but honestly I’m not sure.
RESPECT.: You’ve said before that you guys would’ve pushed for a name change had you known you’d become this big. What other names would you give yourselves?
The Chainsmokers: Haha, we think about this a lot and honestly we have yet to come up with anything we prefer.
RESPECT.: Some of your performances have been met with a lot of criticism in the past, how does that affect when you guys perform nowadays?
The Chainsmokers: I mean understandably, bigger audience more criticism, but we aren’t the type to back down from challenges, we are our harshest critics and we know what we are capable of so for us it’s about getting back out there and doing it right, or better at least. We assume you are referring to the VMA’s… They called us three days before the show and asked us to be a part of it, we agreed to perform “Closer” live, something we had never done yet, and for better or for worse, we gave it our best go given our time and resources. So we know we can do better, but we are proud that we gave it a go… but it doesn’t effect our other shows, we always want to become better and the best version of ourselves so it’s all encouragement.
RESPECT.: What has been your favorite crowd to perform in front of?
The Chainsmokers: Honestly, we can never answer this question properly, but Manila in the Philippines probably takes the cake.
RESPECT.: What’s your least favorite thing about touring?
The Chainsmokers: Airport food. And being away from our girlfriends and dogs.
RESPECT.: Besides being great artists, both of you have been lauded for being good at the business side of music. Who are the people that influence you as businessmen, or who pushes you to excel at in the venture as well?
The Chainsmokers: Awesome question! We really are inspired by people like Richard Branson, Ashton Kutcher, our manager Adam Alpert. We could go on and on but to us so much of our success, is based on the team of people around us from our agents to our business managers. They are the support system that when the world is shitting on us, they don’t let us get down. This is a marathon after all, we hope to be around making music forever, and we aren’t flashy ignorant people, we are very conscious of every decision and penny we spend or don’t for that matter and thank God for the success we have had thus far because it’s allowed us to venture into other areas that interest us.
RESPECT.: You’ve achieved many milestones this year. What is the plan for the new year?
The Chainsmokers: We have a ton more milestones we need to achieve. Much bigger and more important things to us in 2017, so we will see how it goes, but you always gotta have goals to reach for.
RESPECT.: Your songs have been part of a few movies, have you guys ever thought of scoring an entire film, and if so, what kind of movies would you want to score?
The Chainsmokers: Oh man, that’s always so cool seeing your music in a movie, especially if it’s a badass scene. Hmmm, would be sick to do a Wes Anderson movie, or a Guy Ritchie gangster film.
RESPECT.: Are there any rap artists you would like to collaborate with in the future?
The Chainsmokers: Yes, tons! It’s an area we really haven’t had a chance to explore at all yet, and we think it would really be beneficial to our creativity and would make for some cool music. Just to name a few people, guys like Chance [The Rapper], Lil Uzi Vert, Big Sean, A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage, and more.
RESPECT.: If you guys weren’t doing music, what else would you see yourselves doing?
The Chainsmokers: We aren’t sure, but it wouldn’t be pretty.
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