Chemical Surf

What led you to make music together?
‍Since we both always had an appetite for music, it naturally led us to start making sounds together.
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How would you describe your sound?
‍Our motto is "R.I.P Genres." We believe music is about feeling, so a genre should never be the limit. We are always trying to bring new perspectives to music production, creating hybrid tracks, and discovering new sounds. In our discography, you can find influences from house, tech house, progressive, bass music, hip-hop, and many others.
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Tell me about your creative process. What does a typical day in the studio look like?
‍We usually define a "theme" for the track when we start it and discuss what kind of feeling we want to bring with that song. It really depends. When we work with vocalists, for instance, we ask for a topline and start building the track around it. If it's a dancefloor-oriented track, we start creating a beat and then add the synths. Each case is unique.

What usually sparks inspiration for a beat?
We think that remembering the feeling of playing at a big festival and getting all the energy from the crowd is something that really gets us going and brings inspiration for new beats.

Which of your songs is your favorite or most special to you?
‍"Hey Hey Hey" is a very special one for us. It was an explosion that we were not expecting, and in just a few months, it was played by big names around the world and reached millions of streams on streaming platforms. "Pararam," which was co-produced with Tiësto, is also very important for us. We were really happy to see how far our music could take us.
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Who have been your biggest inspirations?
‍Three artists that have really inspired us from the beginning are FatBoy Slim, Paul Oakenfold, and Cosma.
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What music do you like to listen to?
‍We keep our ears open to pretty much everything. Most of the stuff we listen to influences our own tracks. Besides electronic music, we really enjoy hip-hop and rock.
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Which artist would you like to collaborate with?
‍Rüfüs Du Sol.

Talk to me about your latest EP, Terremoto. What is the meaning or inspiration behind it, and why did you choose that title?
‍We met the STMPD team when we performed at Martin Garrix's tour in Brazil in 2018. We felt a great connection with the crew since the beginning and, at some point, decided to release an EP with them. All four tracks really represent the Brazilian dancefloor vibe with a touch of Chemical Surf and the other amazing artists we've collaborated with (Victor Lou, Breaking Beattz, and Ghabe). Terremoto' is 'earthquake' in Portuguese. We chose this title because we really feel the dancefloor shaking when we play the track. We can't wait to be back on the road and play it live again.
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What is your favorite song off of the EP?That's a hard question. All four tracks are really special to both of us and represent a unique perspective. We'll leave you to answer this one.
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If you could see any artist in concert, dead or alive, who would you want to see?
‍2Pac.

How have you evolved as artists since releasing "Paperdoll" in 2013?
‍Wow, it's been a great ride. We have the feeling that music is infinite; it never stops. We've evolved a lot since 2013, of course, but we are essentially the same Lucas and Hugo. We believe that all the touring experience allowed us to evolve as artists and people. We got in touch with so many different people and cultures, and this has a natural influence on our creations. We're really thankful for this.

‍What do you enjoy doing aside from music?
‍We love spending time at the beach with family. We live on the coast, so the sea is a big part of our lives.
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What is your proudest moment in life?
‍When we brought our parents to watch our performance at Rock In Rio. They dreamed of going to the festival since 1985, so making it possible and playing for them made us really proud.
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Who are your favorite artists to work with?
‍It's been great to collaborate with Afrojack and Steve Aoki. We played with Nick (Afrojack) at this party in Val Thorens (France), and it was really special. We're also pretty excited about the collaboration with Steve, and we can't wait to play it live when we're back on the dance floor!
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What are some of your goals as a duo?
‍We're looking forward to putting out all of the music we're currently working on. Everyone is pretty excited about it. We also can't wait to debut in the States, since our tour was postponed due to COVID.