STRAIGHT OUTTA SLIGO, Ireland, Brame & Hamo have dropped two EPs in 2015 and both of them have been stellar.

#001 for Splendor & Squalor (sometimes called Clockwerk for its A side track) was described in these pages as “phenomenal” and “the sort of thing that compels DJs to slap stickers over labels in order to maintain the longevity of their secret weapon just little bit longer.”

Brame & Hamo’s second 2015 release, The Parish Rumors EP, just dropped on Heist Recordings, the parent label run by Lars & Maarten of Detroit Swindle. While their first EP seemed to stroll through the shops and the distros of Europe, taking its time and building momentum, The Parish Rumors hit hard and fast. “Hotshot” topped the Traxsource Top 10 seemingly overnight and has been lodged at #3 pretty much since it was released.

We asked Brame & Hamo about the making of the EP, their hometown and Summer in Berlin in today’s Listening Room interview:

 

How do you guys know each other? I’ve been following Hamo on SoundCloud (you’ll never guess my secret username) since “The Fever” dropped as a free download. Was that your first collaboration or just the first I noticed?

Well being from Sligo, a small town in Ireland its hard not to know everyone especially somebody who has the same tastes and influences in music so we just started making some tracks together. We had started making tracks together before “The Fever” but that one was literally made and put up that day as a free download. We wanted to put up something together which represented the style we were feeling at that time because we had to wait on the release dates for the other tracks we had to come out.

 

I’d like to pretend I did my homework here, but I’ve heard of Sligo mainly because I spent too much time in the library as a kid reading poetry. What’s the scene like, and was your contact with garage, deep house and the kind of music that you’re making there?

Haha, yes Sligo does have its claim to one of Ireland’s most famous poets, W.B. Yeats. A lot of his work was inspired by Sligo and he is also buried there. Regarding the scene it is very small at the moment. There was a big scene in the ’90s and early ’00s but has died recently. We tried to get things going again recently but we’ve come to realize that the population of Sligo simply isn’t big enough to bring the underground artists that we like.

Yes, our contact was deep house and we both just love to make music.

 

Your last record on Splendor & Squalor was vinyl-only; The Parish Rumors debuted on Traxsource and immediately shot to the top 10. Compare the two experiences? (As a writer, for instance, I love holding my writing in my hands but you frankly have no idea if anybody’s reading you for awhile.)

Exactly – we both feel that our music needs to be in physical form or else it just doesn’t seem right. We can see where mp3 is necessary as times have changed and everyday people don’t have a set of 1210s in their house or in some clubs. But both EPs did well in there own right. We are just glad to be part of the vinyl resurgence.

 
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Also, were you surprised by that? I know some people who buy from digital shops exclusively and they have no idea who half of my records were made by. These two worlds have many places that do not overlap.

We were surprised it went up the charts so quick. It seemed to be well received. They are two very different worlds. The people who only buying on digital sites are seriously missing out on some great music as a lot of fantastic labels are vinyl only.

 

What can you tell us about the making of the three tracks on the album?

Well the process varies from time to time. Its usually one of us have the guts of the track done and then we both finish it of. We’re still both bedroom producers so there wasn’t much gear involved other than the necessary tools. Ha. We were both living together for this EP and the production rate was pretty quick.

 

What is that demonic little voice/sound on “Hotshot”? I seriously looked behind me for a minute to see if the imps had broken in.

Haha, yes well we both heard it from a TV show and thought it was a sick sound for a percussion element for a track. Think most people know what it’s from.


 

From what I understand you’re in Germany now – full time? And when/where can people see you DJ (I assume you are DJing together, right?)

Yes, we are both here full time. We live in Berlin and love it here. Summer is nearly here as well so we can’t wait. We are doing a few things separately but a lot of gigs we will do together. We played in Tresor on April 17 and there are a few more gigs yet to be confirmed.

The Parish Rumors is out now on Heist Recordings, on vinyl and digital via Beatport, JunoDownload and Traxsource.