Next up on Southern Fried Records is a brand new and exciting project from Dextric, produced by Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard. Dextric are Charlie Jordan and vocalist James Fitz-Gibbons who hail from South London, have played to over 2000 people at Beatherder and have supported Goddard at The Nest.
The pair have been working in the studio with Goddard who has been getting the very best out of them ahead of a busy summer of gigs that includes highlights such as Croatia Rocks this summer. Here they serve up two stunning tracks that are likely to catapult the pair to the big time despite this being their debut release.
First up, ‘What I Say’ is a lithe and elastic bit of fresh vocal house. A crystal clear and emotive vocal sits front and centre as bouncing beats and explosive synths dart and dance all around. A killer one finger bassline rides up and down the scale to add weight and depth and this one is sure to become something of an anthem at gigs everywhere.
‘Siren’ is a robust bit of house riddled with slinky basslines, garage-influenced percussive patterns and old school, rude boy vocals. It’s a huge, festival sized house cut with plenty of groove and bombast and is sure to go down a storm in the coming weeks and months.
This is just the beginning for Dextric but already they have made a big impact with this seriously strong debut single on Southern Fried Records. We Skyped them for a chat about their new EP…
You guys are only 19, and this is your debut single, but how long have you been making music outside of Dextric? Has it always been aimed at the dancefloor?
When we started making music (around 17) we used to sit there and record at mine only because I didn’t have an xbox like all the other lads and there was nothing else to do at my house. But also because enjoyed it. When we started we never thought about taking it seriously, we uploaded a few tracks to Soundcloud and the response from social media and our friends was really encouraging. It hasn’t always been aimed at the dance floor, when we used to produce we wouldn’t try and stick to a specific genre, for instance our first track has a spanish guitar riff with violins and an electronic drumbeat, which then fell into a Dubstep drop. I still couldn’t tell you what genre that song is now, its only as our sound has developed we have started swaying towards the dance floor because thats the music we love the most.
What were you listening to when you wrote the two tracks on the ‘What I Say‘ single?
Well for ‘What I Say‘, we were working on a track (which was crap) 2 days before we were going to university. That’s when James got sidetracked and decided to start a new project where he created the bass line. We then somehow smashed out the song in 2 days, the best songs are the ones which are created in the smallest amount of time.
For the second track ‘Sirens’, I (Charlie) got the idea from when I went out in Liverpool to go see Hot Since 82 play at Circus, It was my first time going to a deep house/techno event which inspired me the next day to create a more darker idea for the dance floor.
Your single was produced by Joe from Hot Chip, was this band influential in your musical upbringing?
Well Char used to be more into his dub-step/hip hop, and i was very into my indie bands like Foals and Bombay bicycle club (which I’m still into now). We started hearing the name Joe Goddard and his various projects when his name came up through our manager as a potential producer for our first release. But now we’ve met Joe and listened to hot chip, two bears, his remix’s and solo projects Joe’s definitely someone we look up to and aspire to be like in the future.
What was it like to work with this man in the studio?
Well from going from my bedroom studio which consists of two monitor speakers, a small midi keyboard and a £50 usb microphone, it was a bit of a let down. I’m joking, it was great to step into a proper studio and be surrounded by all this expensive equipment, it was the first time we got to have a go on all the hardware synths and it was good learning experience (plus it’s always a bonus when you don’t have family and neighbours telling you to turn it down). Joe Goddard as well is one of the nicest friendliest guys you will ever come across and he was wearing some proper funky sandals.
You guys are students right? What are you studying?
Yeah we are just finishing our second year. I’m studying business management, and James is studying phycology because he wants to become a vicar. Not really though as soon as we have finished university we will be putting all our time into music, it’s more of a safety net and to keep the rents happy (and plus we get to live that student life).
I felt like nightlife and musical discovery through a sudden influx of new friends and surroundings was one of the most defining features of being a student (if you went away from home). Is there good student nightlife where you’re based?
The night life in Liverpool is amazing, there is something to do every night of the week, its so good that during my first two months at university I think I only had like 3 nights off, a £1500 overdraft later I realised that it wasn’t my smartest move.
Well, I’d like to say reading nightlife is as good as Chars but to be honest it isn’t exactly the most inspiring town to be in. But saying that there are a few decent house nights to go to if you know where to look. So its not all bad. We actually performed at Cubed which is probably the most Credible night in Reading.
What do you hope to accomplish over the rest of the year?
For the rest of the year we plan to release a few more singles and grow slowly and steadily, as well as enjoy going abroad this summer to meet loads of new people and DJs. Were just going to carry on developing as an act and develop a sound that we’re happy with.
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