Exclusive Interview: Rebecca & Fiona at Studio Paris Chicago

After a day of beer drinking and vintage shopping in Bucktown, Rebecca and Fiona sat down with EDM Insider before their “I Love You, Man” album release party at Studio Paris in Chicago last week. You can check out the event review here on EDMinsider.com. The girls were especially high-spirited because they were served their favorite cocktail, the Averna Sour, for the first time in North America that night. The club arranged a bottle just for them on reserve—as they should, considering these girls are something special.

EDM Insider Amanda 1: Where did you both find your inspiration to start performing and producing?

Rebecca and Fiona: We kind of found it together. We were very interested in music before we started DJing and we were also interested in clubs, partying, and nightlife generally. Neither of us had experience with electronic music before we met each other. We had a vision, but we were lost. In 2008 we opened up a club together in Stockholm and it quickly developed into us DJing instead of booking other DJs for our club because we thought we could do it better. And then we ended up learning how to DJ because we were DJing all of the time. After a year of that, it turned into us wanting to produce our own music as well.

EDM Insider Amanda 2: How does it feel to have worked with Tiësto, Kaskade, and other big name producers?

Rebecca and Fiona: We think they are funny (they both giggle). No but actually, we think they are great. Tiësto and Kaskade are great DJs and producers. We grew up listening to them and we are quite fond of their music and their previous work. When Kaskade came forward and asked us to work with him, we did not imagine the result because he is more underground and not as well known in Europe. It was a fun collaboration for us to do and we didn’t think much of it at first, but it turned out pretty well so that was great.

EDM Insider Amanda 3: How much time during the year do you spend away from your home in Sweden?

Rebecca and Fiona: We have pretty much spent every weekend in America since February, but we go back and forth from Europe because there are always festivals. Tonight is actually our first stop for this particular tour, which is great because Chicago is like the holy grail of house music since this is where it first started. But to be more specific, we probably spend 1 day at home every 2 weeks. So probably 3 days a month, so it’s not that much at all. But as soon as we get home we adjust fast. We focus on eating all the food that we can’t find in the US, meet up with our friends and family, sleep, wash our clothes, and just do all that normal stuff.

EDM Insider Amanda 4: What are you most excited about your new album, “I Love You, Man?”

Rebecca and Fiona: The fact that we were given the opportunity to make an album together and work with great rappers like Spank Rock and our boyfriends who have helped us with parts of our tracks. (Adrian Lux is Rebecca’s boyfriend and Carli is Fiona’s boyfriend). Our boyfriends have their own careers, but it was great that we were able to work on each other’s tracks in the studio during our free time. We are really happy that we were able to release an album in the first place and be professional musicians, which is the best job in the world. Hopefully we will be able to release another album in the future.

EDM Insider Amanda 5: Do you two prefer singing or producing and mixing your music?

Rebecca and Fiona: Everything! Both aspects. Pairing a capella with a production is so much fun. It’s like a puzzle and it’s so much fun to make. We have always sung our entire lives, but to produce our own song and then hear it on the radio is unbelievable. If it wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t do it. We would bring someone else in to do it for us. It is also important for us to be in control of our own creative product. That is also the best way to educate yourself about music.

EDM Insider Amanda 6: How do you feel about the EDM scene consisting of primarily male DJs and producers and why do you think more women aren’t breaking into the industry?

Rebecca and Fiona: It’s a weird system and I think it starts early because based on trends. Boys start using and playing with computers before girls do. Based on that, we think that a certain social norms have evolved. It is also a result of inherent social roles. It is hard for people to believe that we can be outgoing party girls, but still at the same time be creative and serious about our music. People make excuses and a lot of people don’t acknowledge it and assume that our boyfriends make our tracks. It is a struggle and we do what we can. It doesn’t matter, people can like it or not, as long as we get to play our music and have fun. But in the end, there shouldn’t be any difference in the industry in the first place.

EDM Insider Amanda 7: At what moment in your careers do you feel you got your ‘big break’?

Rebecca and Fiona: For us, there hasn’t exactly been a “big step.” We have been DJing for almost 4 years. We expedited pretty early on because there was a need for girl DJs since there weren’t many around. We fit into a place that wasn’t filled yet. But becoming better known in America is a different story. The collaboration with Kaskade had a lot to do with that.

EDM Insider Amanda 8: How is your fan base in Europe different than your fans here in the US?

Rebecca and Fiona: There is a difference. In Sweden our fans view us more as pop icons. They care so much about what we are wearing, our thoughts, and what we do for fun. It’s like we are the Spice Girls or something. It’s very hysterical. The music is secondary sometimes. Here in America, it is more about our music. Especially our song with Kaskade! People aren’t that interested in what we wear or how we look, which is very nice for us to get to impress our fans with our music talent. It’s very nice to be known for what we made, not just for who we are. Which is a good thing – because most famous DJs are really ugly, but people don’t notice because they are so starstruck.

EDM Insider Amanda 9: Very true, or they are partying and don’t notice anyway. Anyway, what is your favorite throwback EDM track?

Rebecca and Fiona: We like a lot of old 90s trance tracks like “9 PM” by ATB (then the girls proceeded to dance in their seats and hum and sound out the track). That is probably our favorite genre, like Euro Trance. But when we started making our own music we listened to Sebastian Ingrosso’s early stuff before he was in Swedish House Mafia.

Rebecca and Fiona’s favorite song:

EDM Insider Amanda 10: Being party girls yourselves, what do you feel about the association of EDM music and partying?

Rebecca and Fiona: We think that happens in every genre. Whether it is hip hop, reggae tone, or dance music, there will always be people going out to shows to see the artists, and there will always be people who want to go out just to dance and party. We do not believe it is any different with EDM music. People are always going to drink, take drugs, and have sex—the music that is playing when it is happening is just the sub-title to the movie. But EDM is still growing and developing and we think people will eventually learn to appreciate it more as time goes by. Who knows though with trends, what is popular changes so quickly. If somebody really good looking comes along and makes a good punk song, punk can become popular again. But we feel that it’s best for people to just make their own music in the genre they love best.

Amanda with Rebecca & Fiona

Official Video for Rebecca & Fiona – Bullets

Article by: Amanda Stamelos

About the Author

Amanda Stamelos Law student, EDM connoisseur, music festival fanatic – these are some of the many hats this girl wears on a daily basis. It was only after she started to write for EDMinsider.com where she discovered her passion for music journalism and appreciates the new perspective she has gained on electronic music. Other favorite pastimes include, starting a mean dance circle and attempting to mix songs on her brother’s vinyl DJ decks. She is very grateful for this opportunity and wishes her readers lives filled with great beats, good vibes, and epic times.