Fred V & Grafix Hospitality Tour Interview

Fred V & Grafix have come a long way since signing with Hospital Records. Taking on the drum & bass scene with epic anthems, their debut album, ‘Recognise’, woke everyone up to their pleasing dance floor melodies. In the middle of touring Australia and New Zealand with Hospital Records’ event imprint, Hospitality, we found how the duo are getting on, and look ahead to their second album and festival gigs.

Hi Fred, Josh, how are you both?
Very well, thank you! We’re halfway through the tour now and we’re really excited about the Australian leg of the tour coming this weekend.

It’s been about a year since we last caught up with you, what have you been up to in that time?
Our debut album was released and we are really pleased at how it’s been received. We also released a remix album, which allowed us to introduce our fans to some of our favourite up and coming producers as well as getting some bigger names involved.

What was the inspiration behind the ‘Recognise’ remix?
There were quite a few different styles on the album and we were really curious to see different producers’ interpretations on some of the ideas. For example ‘Sick Of All Your Secrets’ was a down-tempo moment on the album, but was obviously begging for a D’n’B rework since it was written at D’n’B tempo. Logistics smashed the remix, which is exactly what we expected since he’s one of our biggest inspirations in the D’n’B scene. Other remixes like the Dan Dakota remix of ‘Maverick Souls’ allowed us to show everyone one of our favourite up and comers. He’s a nice young lad from Calgary and we’re expecting big things from him

Have you been back in the studio much?
Yes, we’re currently working very hard on our second album – hold tight! It’s hard to say how it’s going to sound since we’re still in the early stages but we already have a few tunes that we can’t wait for people to hear.

Are you excited to currently be in Australia and New Zealand with Hospitality?
Yes, our last tour was one of the best experiences of our lives so we’ve both been super exited about coming back. It’s a very long flight but it’s always worth it!

The Hospitality events are inimitable; how would you describe them in three words?
Loud, fast, friendly.

What was your highlight during last year’s Oz/NZ tour?
The whole thing was extremely fun, it’s hard to beat the Perth crowd, can’t wait for the return! Christchurch was also amazing; everyone there is very friendly! Last year we had a lot more time off in between shows so we got to go to the zoo in Sydney as well as having a lot of time off in Melbourne to hang out with our friends there.

You told us previously that it’s handy being able to ask Tony Colman (London Elektricity) for production tips; has he helped you grow in confidence and creativity?
Yes, definitely. Tony is always awesome for giving advice and helping us out in every way you could think of. He has a great ear for the technical side of things as well as a great ear for good lyrics. If you please Tony then you’re onto a winner!

You were all over the European festival circuit last year, including Global Gathering, Exit Festival and Majorca Rocks; if you could play any festival this year, which would you choose?
Glastonbury and Bestival are two of our favourites and we’ve been lucky enough to play at both of them in the past. I think we’d really like to come to Australia or New Zealand for some festivals over the UK winter period to get away from the cold English weather. Fingers crossed!

Thanks, guys!

Hospitality Australia & New Zealand Tour

26th March 2015 – James Cabaret, Wellington
27th March 2015 – CPIT, Christchurch
28th March 2015 – Union Hall, Dunedin
29th March 2015 – Mantells on the Water, Auckland
3rd April 2015 – HQ Complex, Adelaide
4th April 2015 – Chinese Laundry (Garden Party), Sydney
4th April 2015 – Metro City Concert Club, Perth
5th April 2015 – 170 Russell, Melbourne