Smyrky & Seraya are the Hard Dance DJ couple who have been taking London by storm with their awesome back-to-back sets, live PAs, and productions for the likes of Nu Energy Recordings. We spoke to them as they prepare for their set at Frantic's massive 9th Birthday celebrations at Renaissance Rooms in London on August 27th....
Please introduce yourselves....
Smyrky - For those of you who don't know; Seraya is the lady and I'm the dude! As people often get it wrong
Seraya - Together we are a loving duo that produce, DJ and perform Hard Dance in and around London.
Where do your names originate from? They are quite distinctive!
Smyrky and Seraya - real names Anthony Smyrk and Seraya Hill, self explanatory really!
How did you meet?
Seraya - Ok if you want to hear the cheesy version, we knew of each other in school but didn't really associate at the time. The first time we actually spoke was around a camp fire down the woods doing what kids generally do at that age.
Smyrky - After just leaving school we started seeing more of each other as chums. I had the pleasure of introducing Seraya to the wonderful world of Hard Dance and more importantly mixing! It quickly came apparent that Seraya was actually very good at mixing from day one. Consequently we soon became best of buddies for the next 7 years raving it up at any given chance.
You guys have been playing for most of London's biggest parties over the last year or so...from Tasty, to Heat, to Frantic, to Total Mayhem to Summit...how did you manage to get your foot in the door with your DJing career?
Seraya - We started pushing our DJing careers at the beginning of last year as Smyrky had spent the previous 2 years teaching me the basic tricks of the trade on how to make tracks in the studio.
Smyrky - Since then we both decided it was time we did some self promotion and were fortunate enough to have the right people hear our demos at the right time. We also started promoting our own event Hard Drive, which also introduced us to more people in the industry.
How would you describe your sound and DJing style? Do you feel you have a distinctive style that sets you apart from other DJs?
Smyrky - Our DJing Style depends on all the usual factors, club, night, time, room, atmosphere etc. On the whole we play a mixture of Hard Dance for the crowd, with the crowd. As it should be!
Seraya - We have a distinctive style in the fact that we get to play our own tracks.
We can be told apart from other DJs as we have produced material that they don't own.
What about DJing as a pair - what are the pros and cons?
Smyrky - We live together, work together, club together and produce tunes together. Stuck by the hip 24/7 and with everything in common, it made sense to DJ together. There are no cons in my eyes.
Seraya - I agree. It's great to share the experience as a couple. We wouldn't have any other way.
You guys have been producing some tracks too...have you got any releases lined up?
Smyrky - Getting some tunes out there is currently at the top of our agenda. We've recently finished a Hard House number From Darkness with Cyberkitten's Steve Gillen. Definitely one for the dirt box! Still looking to be signed! Nudge, nudge wink, wink Mr/Mrs Label owner.
Seraya - On the Hard Trance side we've got a few energetic and uplifting tracks in the pipeline. You'll know when they are finished as we usually add a small sample around forums to get feedback.
Which other musicians and DJs inspire you and why?
Seraya - On the production side I really enjoy and admire anything by K-complex. That dude has uber amounts of talent. Greg Brookman, M.D.A & Spherical are also ticking all the right boxes for me at present with each production getting better and better.
Smyrky - Agreed! To be fair there are too many good producers to list. If I start I won't be able to stop! Lets just say OD404, Karim, Justin Bourne and Kevin Energy are top dogs in my eyes. DJs that inspire me are the ones that show true passion in putting on a good show whilst interacting with the crowd. The likes of Proteus, Mark EG and Kevin Energy always maintain stage presence, which goes a long way in my books. It's far more satisfying watching a DJ enjoy themselves rather than just boshing out a mix with their head constantly down!
You've been doing some live PAs from time to time too...who does what when you do your live show? How have people reacted to them?
Smyrky - On this occasion I must spill the beans and explain all as I know this topic has been hotly debated on previous discussions. To start with our set-up consisted of a multi tracker a few synths, samplers and FX units. Seraya would be mixing the levels of the percussion and backing tracks whilst playing a selection of preloaded samples. I was free to tweak away at the pre-programmed synths, play samples and add FX where appropriate. We also hooked up a CDJ so that I could scratch over the top.
Seraya - After a few parties we soon came to realise that our Live Set-up wasn't the most practical setup. Sure it looked good, but it didn't really satisfy our need to feel 100% involved.
Smyrky - Which is why we are currently flogging some of our gear to go down the Ableton Live route! Hopefully that will give us the freedom and flexibility we are looking for.
You are playing at Frantic's 9th Birthday on 27th August at The Renaissance Rooms in London. What are your earliest memories from Frantic's legendary events?
Smyrky - A bit of a blur. I remember loud music, flashing lights and 'ard House (Chuckle). What more can you ask for. In all seriousness I have been to many Frantic events over the years, the ones that spring to mind are Timeless, HHA and Chemistry. All of which hold fond memories that I will cherish forever.
Seraya - One of the earliest memories I have of Frantic was going to Convergence at the Fridge with the likes of BK and Andy Farley playing. The good times have been and are certainly not over! It keeps getting bigger and better every year.
What can we expect to hear from you at this event? It's a pretty big occasion so you better have something pretty big in store!!
Smyrky - Damn right, it's going to be total havoc! On this momentous occasion we finally get to unleash some fresh material that will be sure to have you climbing the walls.
Seraya - It's a great event in the perfect surroundings. What better time to go absolutely bonkers! We look forward to seeing you all there!
Smyrky & Seraya play at Frantic's 9th Birthday at Renaissance Rooms in London on 27th August. See www.f-h-h.co.uk for more details.
