As The Pressure continues to stake their claim in the dance music scene they’ve swung by to chat about their recent tunes and more.
Of all the cities around the world, one that has truly embraced dance music and fostered an array of artists in a range of styles has been London. Home to iconic venues, fantastic events, and world-renowned DJs and producers, this world city has left a massive mark on the scene and the latest to help further prove that is The Pressure.
Emerging on the scene back in 2019, with their debut track “Feel No Pain,” The Pressure has continued to bring their sensational sounds to speakers near and far. Merging the minds of Harry Buggé and Joseph Andrew, the London-based duo has continued to churn out some tunes that include “Planes,” “MTV,” and “Ride” that injected club vibes into the mind of anyone who tuned in to listen.
Carrying their foundation in rave culture and influences from electronica artists like Depeche Mode with them into the new year, The Pressure delivered “Saturday Night” back in February on Undisputed Music. Blurring the line between house and electronica to create a tune that’s perfect for the dancefloor, it’s a sign of brilliance these two bring to the table. And after gaining support from the likes of Pete Tong for their refix of Planet Funk’s “Chase The Sun,” it’s clear the future is even brighter for this duo.
Looking to catch up on their history so far and to simultaneously explore the future, we caught up with The Pressure for a quality chat. Listen to their exclusive guest mix, stay tuned for future releases from the duo, and read on for the conversation as they discuss “Saturday Night” and plenty more!
Stream EDMID Guest Mix 266 || The Pressure on SoundCloud:
Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Before we dive too far in to discuss your new tune, let’s dig into your histories a bit. So turning back the clock, what brought you both together to form The Pressure? Was there a moment that you both realized that making music together was something you wanted to make a reality?
We were both at Glastonbury in 2017 and got chatting there about making music together. A hazy plan of becoming Italo Disco superstars was made at 4am in Shangri-la. It didn’t quite turn out that way, but we got together for a writing session over a few cold beers the following year. We wrote our first track, “Feel No Pain,” there and then. The tracks have been flowing ever since really.
Listening to your discography so far highlights a number of unique influences ranging from electronica and indie dance to progressive and house. Who were some of your earliest influences on the music side of the spectrum that led to your dynamic sound today?
Yeah, we both have a wide range of influences. We have both played in rock n roll bands growing up, which means we’ve approached dance music from a slightly less ‘conventional’ angle. We are both huge fans of Depeche Mode and Underworld. Most recently Octave One and Mr. G have been our musical obsessions.
Your latest tune, “Saturday Night,” dropped earlier this year and is an absolute smasher. What was the production process like for this track? Was there a specific Saturday night that inspired this one?
Thanks, glad you like it. We get as creative as possible when we’re writing the track, and then spend a lot of time getting the instrumentation and mix right afterward. Lots of versions get made, lots of back and forth between sonic ideas. It is not a linear process by any means, as we have lots of influences to get in. We’re not trying to write music for a specific scene, or label, we’re just doing what we feel is right for the song.
Even though last year didn’t quite go according to plan you pressed on with some releases including “Carnival,” “Planes,” and “Ride.” Were these produced during the lockdown measures or made pre-pandemic? If made during the pandemic, how did it alter your production flow?
We made “Planes” pre-pandemic and we were sitting on it for quite a while. “Carnival” and “Ride” were finished in lockdown. We are both in different locations, so we were bouncing lots of mixes back and forth via Dropbox to get them right. It’s a process that we are still following now. It isn’t half as fun as being in the studio together and sharing the music that way, but it’s a good workaround, and something we are able to do as electronic musicians. We can’t wait to get back into the studio though.
Someone who has really been supportive of your work over as of late has been Pete Tong, who has spun your refix of Planet Funk’s “Chase The Sun” and your more recent tune as well. What has it felt like to receive a stamp of approval from a legend in the scene?
It’s really special for us and we are hugely thankful for his support. He has always been at the forefront of the dance music scene – the number one tastemaker, really – and hearing our music on his Radio 1 show spurs us on to continue working hard and release more music.
What are some of the goals that you both hope to achieve this year? Are you excited to see the UK open up a bit this summer to allow for live music events again?
Definitely, we can’t wait to get out there. We’ve both got a few tickets to some live events, Field Day, Cocoon, as we are hungry to hear some thumping techno on a big system. You can’t beat it. We’re looking forward to playing some more live shows as soon as we can, and road testing some new bangers. Apart from that, we’ll just keep finishing more music, and showing as many people we can.
Finally, let’s end this on a fun one. Let’s say it’s Saturday Night and we’re hanging out in London with you. Where are we going out to for a night out on the town? Any specific places we’re going to get dinner and drinks?
We are both huge fans of a good London pub session. We would probably start early, around 5pm. Have a few pints at the Carpenters Arms near Brick Lane, it’s got a good atmosphere there, nice buzz, and you can happily talk music and plot the coming months / lose track of time completely. [Laughs]
We probably will talk about getting dinner somewhere but in the end, just get a falafel wrap from Damascu Bite kebab shop because we would have left it a bit too late for a sit-down meal. Then probably go to the Golden Heart in Spitalfields, it’s a classic east-end boozer with a nice mix of people. One of us will talk of moving on to a later party at Number 90 or something… and if that miraculously ends up happening then our Saturday Night is complete. Fancy it?!
