CS EXCLUSIVE | Illyus & Barrientos
Glasgow's Illyus & Barrientos came together just about a year ago, and haven't looked back since. We were first introduced to the DJ/production duo through their impressive releases on imprints such as Glasgow Underground and Love & Other, in addition to strong support from our friends across the pond at Chase The Compass. Already the guys have turned out remixes for the likes of Gorgon City, GRUM, and Alex Adair, not to mention myriad originals gaining attention from tastemakers such as Annie Mac, Pete Tong and the list goes on.
Needless to say, there's something special happening here, and we've been fortunate enough to get a closer look through our latest mix and interview feature. Hear a bit about how the guys work together as a duo, what the Glasgow scene is like and more below. Plus tune into a brilliant mix, one of our favorite exclusives to date actually, sure to bring some laid back summertime vibes to your day. Enjoy!
Track List •
1. Lovebirds feat. Stee Downes — Want You In My Soul (Barrientos Sunrise Refix)
2. Voyeur — Philae & Rosetta
3. HNNY — Alba
4. George Maple — Talk Talk (Moon Boots Remix)
5. Outboxx — Sunshine Mills
6. Angie Stone — I Wasn't Kidding (Andre Laos Edit)
7. Fouk — Kill Frenzy
8. Nail — Mouse Trax
9. Andy Hart — Epsilon Girls
10. Kerri Chandler vs. Behling & Simpson — Peace Of My Mind
11. Dani Casarano & Felipe Valenzuela — Tulipe
12. Davide Squillace & Guti — That Ginger Ponytail
13. Daniel Trim — Novi (Oxia Remix)
Interview •
Caveman Sound: Hey guys — nice to have you! We’re loving the mix you’ve put together, could you tell us a bit about what went into it?
Illyus & Barrientos: I guess we really wanted to do something deep, summery and melodic – the stuff you’ll hear us play out in a club is clubbier, tougher and functional. This is one of those mixes were you can just sit back and really enjoy the melodies, the chill aspect and goes perfectly with a bit of sunshine… something we definitely aren’t getting in Glasgow at the moment!
CS: Let’s quickly hear about you two teamed up to begin with. How did the decision to form a duo come about?
IB: Our manager, Kevin McKay, put us together basically – he recognised that we have different strengths that complement each other. Illyus is more production oriented; he can see the overall vision of a track and really strive to get it sounding complete. Myself, on the other hand, am more musically inclined. I prefer writing, sound design and creating a raw sound that’ll eventually be moulded into something more interesting. We hit it off in the studio in the early days, so we decided we really just wanted to continue as a duo and go for it.
CS: What can someone expect from your sets? The approach must be different as a duo vs. solo. Are things typically planned out ahead of time, or do you look to feed off each other’s energy and take the night as it comes?
IB: I think it’s taken a while to really find a style that we really enjoy and want to go for. It wasn’t really until we played at the Toolroom Live night in London a few months ago that it all sort of clicked – we loved playing proper club music, a mix between tough old school house, tech house and that vibey feel. This understanding has really helped us improve as DJs the past year. We never plan a thing for our sets, we don’t even share what secret weapons we’ve got hidden away! It’s all about feeding off each other’s energy, for sure. Sometimes Illyus can steer a set in a particular direction, and if it’s working for me and the crowd then I’m on board. Overall, we really love feeding off a crowd’s energy; we really just want their night to be special.
CS: Any pre-set routines or rituals you can share with us?
B: I can’t speak for Illyus, but I have a ritual of washing my hands 6 times which I’ve done since high school whenever I was performing music…
CS: You’re both from Glasgow, can you paint a picture of the scene there? What’s the vibe of a typical club night like?
IB: It’s so diverse here in Glasgow. We’re really proud of everything that happens here, and we really can boast so many good established and up-and-coming DJs and producers. I guess that sort of tougher house, verging on techno is what goes down well here, and that really dictates a night. I think a lot of it is about a mutual respect between crowd and DJ, and vice versa. No fucking divas allowed here, if you’re arrogant and shite, you’ll hear about it to your face!
CS: With a sound that spans House, Tech, and Deep House — who and what are you inspired by?
IB: Individually we have our inspirations. Illyus takes huge influence from the hip-hop scene but also so many other artists spanning different genres. I’m similar, except I took a lot of influence from classical, jazz and electronica artists like Four Tet, Brian Eno… as a duo we definitely take influence from artists like Dusky, Doorly and Detroit Swindle – we really love what they do, every time we hear a new record by any of them it just really gives us this energy to get into the studio to try write something just as good.
CS: You guys have turned out a number of killer remixes this year, but recently just came back with a brand new original ‘Chase Your Trip’ ft. Max Marshall. Can you talk about this release a bit and how it came together?
IB: We basically got sent over an acapella by Max, we loved it straight away and decided to get writing. In all honesty, it was a bit of a long process – a lot of amendments, nit picking. The writing process became a bit convoluted at points but overall we got there with something we were really happy with.
CS: Your music is best listened to while…
IB: Getting ready to go out!
CS: All-time favorite movie soundtrack?
IB: Anything by Thomas Newman.
CS: And to close out, what’s up next for you? With all the massive support coming in, we’d imagine there’s a lot in the works…
IB: We’ve got remixes for MK, Purple Disco Machine, Brett Gould and Horixon ready to drop in the coming months. It’s been such a fucking crazy year for remixing, we’re really happy to just get back into writing original material. We don’t want to just release any old crap, we really want to maintain a high standard so we’re just writing and writing, and we’ll go from there once we find something we love. It’s all about getting our heads down! Saying that, we’ve got a busy August with gigs at Lightbox, Ministry of Sound, Boardmasters festival and a festival in St. Alban’s. We’re really excited for this, so August is looking a fun month for us!
Big shout out to Illyus & Barrientos for the feature! If you haven't already, connect with them on social via the links below to stay up to date.