Name: Chromeo
Members: David "Dave 1" Macklovitch, Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel
Nationality: Canadian
Current release: Chromeo's Adult Contemporary is slated for release February 16th 2024.

If you enjoyed this Chromeo interview and would like to know more about the band and their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.  

For a deeper dive, visit our earlier talk with Chrimeo about originality.



In relation to sound, one often reads words like “material”, “sculpting”, and “design”. How does your own way of working with sound look like?

Those terms are absolutely relevant and very useful metaphors. When we stack synth pads, we spend a lot of time tweaking (sculpting) the sounds so that they layer well. EQs on drum sounds can actually affect groove and pocket.

One thing to remember with analog gear is that you can’t sculpt too much. You have to leave things a little messy. (Philippe Zdar (rip) who mixed Fancy Footwork and Business Casual was an expert in that.)

Some low end has to stay muddy — with overlapping frequencies — because that creates warmth. Some stuff can stay loud because analog distortion is beautiful.

Do you find using presets lazy?

Using presents is not usually our thing but we’re used some — the basic bass present on the Yamaha DX-100 is phenomenal. Some of your favorite albums contain a ton of presets — it’s just about how you combine and arrange them.

Laziness can happen everywhere, not just in song choices. Because our music treads such a fine line, we always find ourselves working extra hard to not be cliché. The words “I just wanna” in a song, we find those lazy. They’re cringe to us.

But listen to Vampire Weekend or Phoenix’s lyrics — they’re so unusual and that’s what makes them great.

What were some of the albums you enjoyed just for their sound?

Hmm … some masterpieces in random order: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and United by Phoenix; Daft Punk Discovery; Justice Cross;



A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders; The Roots Illadelp halflife; J Dilla Donuts;



Janet Rhythm Nation; Fleetwood Mac Rumors; Huey Lewis & The News Sports;



Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Links …



One common trait: none of these album goes too heavy on reverb.  

If you're trying to create the sound of a particular era, is it important to use period gear as well?

Nope. At this point you can do anything with everything (or vice versa.)

We just love working with analog stuff because it’s what we’re most comfortable with, it brings us pleasure and gives us constraints which in turn stimulate our creativity.

Seth S. Horowitz called hearing the “universal sense” and emphasised that it was more precise and faster than any of our other senses, including vision. How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

In our conception of what a band should be, looks are equally as important as music. All our favorite bands have a look: The Strokes, Wu Tang, Prince.

What would The Ramones be without their look? What would The Rolling Stones be without their tongue logo. Our biggest musical influence is probably ZZTop and it’s not for what their music sounds like: it’s for their look, their vibe, their consistency and, most important of all, their commitment.

Sure, making music can be about hearing. But being an artist, a band, a musical project, that’s a 360 thing. We love Iron Maiden for the stage show and the t-shirts, not the sounds. Nothing wrong with that!