Mysterious production duo Perplexus come through with one of the freshest 2-step tracks of the year with ‘Put You On’. Simultaneously taking you back to locking onto analogue pirate stations, Ministry of Sound and MJ Cole, it also conjures the modern soul of Jakwob, MNEK and John Newman.

The two producers combine dark, snappy beats with a compulsive chorus – ‘Put You On’ showcases pure London vibes laid on top of glossy basslines, a throwback sound that fits 2014 balmy summer evenings and hints of trouble.

How did you guys meet and how did the process of making music as a duo begin?

Perplexus: We met at a studio where we were working on a signed act that never saw the light of day. There was a lot of stipulation we had to adhere to when making that music so we then decided to do a session together with no restrictions and see what we could come up with. It worked so we carried on

Who do you cite as massive inspiration? Was there a particular track/sound/era that defined the fact that music was what you wanted to do as a career?

Perplexus: Probably the first Timbaland era. The sound of ‘1 In A Million’ by Aaliyah. A lot of his early stuff with Missy Elliot too. The Neptunes era when they first came through as well. Their work with the Noreaga, Clipse and Kelis albums around 98-99.

Tell us more about ‘Put You On’. How was the track born?

Perplexus: ‘Put You On’ is a great introduction to what we’re about. We took inspiration from our favourite parts from certain genre’s and mixed it together, resulting in what you hear when you listen to ‘Put You On’. We just wanted to make something that was a bit different without being too over peoples heads. I think we got exactly what we wanted. There were no tracks we looked to for references at all, we just got together and created what we felt sounded exciting.

What track do you wish you had written/produced?

Perplexus: Imagine Dragons – Radioactive

Are there ever any creative differences between the 2 of you?

Perplexus: Not really and if there are they’re ironed out before anything leaves the studio

If you could collaborate with any artist who would it be?

Perplexus: Probably Drake, we really like his creativity. Bruno Mars and Ryan Tedder are other ones we’d really like to work with and a Chris Martin x Perplexus collaboration would be crazy!

Tell us how you plan to spend the remainder of the year? Any live gigs/summer festivals etc?

Perplexus: The main focus right now is finishing the album. We’re almost there. There’ll be live shows soon but right now it’s all about finishing the music.

How does the London landscape inspire you as creatives?

Perplexus: It plays a big part. We feel like if you listen to ‘Put You On’ without any knowledge of who we are, you can tell it was created in London but sometimes the fast pace and intenseness can hinder the process when making certain styles of music. In inspires those thoughtful emotional types of song. It doesn’t work for everything but look at the music that is made in London, so many different genres, it’s incredible. We wanted to incorporate some of that into the lyric video to represent our home town.

You seem pretty enigmatic, what can we expect from the live set up?

Perplexus: You’ll have to wait and see but the live show is going to go off!!! Performing in your city soon!

Give us some of your favourite Designers/brands?

Perplexus: We’re heavily into Nike trainers. Levi and Hugo Boss when it comes to jeans and Ralph Lauren and Armani for tops, blazers and jackets.

Where do you find new music? The internet or club night?

Perplexus: We’re internet fiends. We check out a lot of the new music on Beatport, Juno and Spotify, also website’s such as DJ Mag, Noisey, Ear Milk are cool for finding new acts. We try to go to as many live shows and open mic nights as possible, always have the chance of finding the perfect voice for the next record!

 

Words: Shane Hawkins.