Scenestar

ARTICLE BY OSCAR RANGEL AND CHRIS MOLINA
PHOTOS BY CHRIS MOLINA

With the influx of hip-hop culture saturating the market and air waves, dance music has managed to make its presence known in Los Angeles over the past several years with the emergence of both venues and promoters
importing notable domestic and overseas talent. Whether it be the masses at the Coliseum or a small, low-key warehouse, the dance-electronic culture is here to stay. The latest additions to the DJ circuit roster now include the likes of Calvin Harris and Burns. Perhaps they might be the ambassadors, the voices, to bridge the gap between mainstream pop culture and the dance-electronic scene. Distinct in their own signature styles, these two DJs pump catchy tones and upbeat riffs that feel familiar to the untrained selective ear.

While setting up the interview, one characteristic of both Calvin Harris and Burns becomes apparent—they are hysterically amusing individuals in every sense. This is an atypical personality framework compared to most superstar DJs, especially the ones who perform pseudo magic tricks and release flocks of doves during their set (wink, wink). This type of playful disposition is akin to that of Steve Aoki or James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, only this humor tends to be branded with a lock-stock U.K. edge. You can’t help but crack a smile upon glancing at the bushy, blue-eyed, white feline print on Burns’ T-shirt (pictured here) matched with his lanky posture.

But when it comes to throwing it down on the decks, Harris undisputedly points
to Burns as the new bloke on the block. Burns’ latest EP, Teknique, a recent set of remixes, even includes Passion Pit’s crowd favorite, “The Reeling,” as well as Burns’ self-titled dance-electro hit “Teknique”.

The Scenestar managed to catch up
with Burns who is currently supporting Calvin Harris as the opener on this North American tour.

SS: Burns, which city did you play last night?
Burns: Played a gig in Vancouver last night, which was incredible!
You think it’s going to be like that here? It looks pretty dead at the moment.

SS: Ha! Actually, it’s barely 11 p.m., which is pretty early for
the crowd here in L.A.
Burns: I have no concept of time right now ’cause the last
several days have been straight gigs with lack of sleep.

SS: I read that sleep deprivation techniques were quite
common among the surrealists
in order to gain creative enlightenment. Does this mean you’re going to play a wicked
set?
Burns: I’m going to drop it mate.

SS: Welcome back, Calvin.
Calvin Harris: What’s up with the laptop? Are we on Chat Roulette?

SS: What’s Chat Roulette? Is that some sort of self-creating chat room?
Calvin Harris: You don’t have to do anything other than
press play as long as you’re hooked up to a web cam.

SS: Amazing, the function is indicative of the name. How far along are you two into this current tour?
Calvin Harris: The last five days straight have been pretty exhausting. We’re about midway since last night in Vancouver, which was amazing, but we’re looking forward to playing San Diego tomorrow night, then back to the U.K.

SS: Do you think the Olympics would have made a difference
at the Vancouver turnout?
Burns: The whole town is going pretty mental about the games, people on the streets everywhere, especially with that whole hockey thing.

SS: Calvin, the last two times you’ve been in Los Angeles have been for DJ sets. Do you plan on doing a live set in the near future?
Calvin Harris: No, never.

SS: Why not? Is it just easier going solo?
Calvin Harris: Well, it is easier obviously. It’s just the band is… just impossible. I’ve got six band members plus crew, then we need to cover flights and all that other stuff. It just can’t be done unless I had an American band.

SS: Burns, is this the longest tour you’ve been on so far?
Burns: No. I’ve done stuff with Calvin back in the U.K., which were a month and a half tours. So this is definitely short compared to those.

SS: And in the U.S.?
Burns: I toured with Deadmau5 last year, and that was a month straight with a gig everyday, which was longer than this current tour.

SS: On the topic of Deadmau5, it appears a lot of cross genre is taking place in the dance scene at the moment, with dance going into hip hop and vice versa. Would both of you consider taking a leap into mixing other genres?
Burns: I definitely would. I just want to play whatever feels right at the time and not feel confined to one thing.
Calvin Harris: The way I make dance music is not the way it was made 15 years ago; it’s clearly not the same thing.
Burns: There’s not really rules anymore.
Calvin Harris: Yeah, there’s not any formula. It’s quite open now.

SS: It’s been about a decade since the last wave of superstar DJs hit the scene with a global presence. Where do you see yourselves as the next-generation moving forward?
Burns: I just want to concentrate on producing music, whereas
DJing is kind of like a secondary thing.
Calvin Harris: I’m the opposite. I wanna be the massive DJ star and pay other people to make the records, which is why I wanted to hook up with Burns in the first place, see if I could pay him to make albums, although I haven’t persuaded him yet.

SS: That sort of sounds like the selling-out teachings of the KLF manual.
Calvin Harris: Yes, I was told to read that.

SS: Well thanks for sticking it out with us and have great show tonight!

Both Calvin Harris
and Burns will return to the U.S. for the Miami Winter Music Conference
later this March.