Not Some Kid

Synchronice is one of my personal favourite groups out there. Always coming out with banging remixes and originals that get me fist pumping. Will and James Saulsky aka Synchronice are gaining popularity all over the web so look out for them. In our interview with them we touch on who their influences are, who are the best brothers portrayed in movies and whether or not they would take Nickelback tickets if they got them for free.

NSK: Why are you Not Some Kid?

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NSK: Hey guys, welcome to the NSK Hot Seat. Introduce yourself and let us know what we need to know about Synchronice for those who don’t know anything about you.

Will: Hey guys, we’re Synchronice. We’re brothers from New Jersey and we’re stoked on making all sorts of different music.

NSK: What or who influenced you guys to get into the EDM scene? You list your influences as “Blenders, electric razors, trash compactors, dial tones”. Can you explain this further?

James: I first started listening to electronic music after my friend introduced me to Infected Mushroom and Kaskade. I had the song Step One Two on repeat for weeks after that. I really liked the feeling that vocal trance provides and the depth of psych trance. Will and I had always been into writing and performing music so it was a natural progression for us to start making electronic music once we began exploring the many sub genres. As for the electric razors and blenders, you have to ask Will about that.

Will: We got into it pretty much at the same time. Originally our influences were cheesy hands up stuff like Cascada and a lot of trance. Personally, electronic music really resonated with me because I found it represented so many different styles of music and provided a lot of opportunities for creativity, so I found that really appealing. As far as the blenders and dial tones go, I suppose there’s some truth in it since we’re all about locking ourselves in the studio and making weird and obnoxious synth sounds for hours haha, our house gets pretty loud.

NSK: I know that I developed a real love for music as a young kid, listening to a lot of classic rock and jazz (thanks dad). What kind of music did you guys grow up on?

James: The Beatles were huge for us when we were little. The first time our Dad put on one of their CDs we were just mesmerized. I started playing guitar shortly after that and once Will started playing drums our house was never quiet haha. We were into a lot of classic rock as kids and actually hated EDM for awhile haha. We definitely branched out as we got older and matured as musicians.

Will: We grew up with a lot classic rock when we were really young, stuff like the Beatles and Cream. Our dad was in a rock band when he lived in Russia so music’s always been a big part of our lives.

NSK: Jersey has a bad rap for not being the cleanest place, what do you guys have to say about your home state?

James: The whole GTL thing was funny when it started but it’s not really like that at all. We’re at the beach right now and it’s one of my favorite places in the state. It’s actually really nice, I’m just glad my joisy accent went away.

Will: It’s kind of unfortunate that so many people only see this place as the set for the Jersey Shore. We live in a super rural part of Jersey and it’s really nice, clean, and peaceful.

NSK: Pretty much all your tracks make our NSK writers and readers bust a move, so whats your favourite dance move to pull off when you guys do a show?

James: Pirouettes

Will: Fist pumping of course

NSK: Who is the coolest person you’ve gotten to meet because of your music?

James: Meeting other artists we look up to is definitely awesome but some of the coolest people I’ve met are in the crowd. We’ve made a lot of good friends from talking to people in the audience after shows and we probably never would have met if it weren’t for a shared love of music that brought us to the same place at the same time.

Will: That’s a hard choice, so far we’ve really gotten to hang out with KOAN Sound and Gemini a couple times whereas we briefly met Dillon Francis and Big Chocolate so as far as cool experiences go I’d have to say KOAN and Gemini since we got to talk for a few hours and it was just something I couldn’t have imagined getting that opportunity a year ago.

NSK: When you’re putting in long hours making sweet music, you guys must get hungry. What’s the go to meal when you’re putting together a track

James: I’m always eating so I may have 2 or 3 snacks while we’re writing a song. Tea is amazing stuff, especially with some toast or late night breakfast. Chickens fear me, I eat like 5 eggs a day.

Will: We’re real big on tea, I try to save my appetite for after we’ve done what we need to.

NSK: Speaking of making music, can you describe your workflow when producing a track. How has it evolved over the past couple years since you started?

James: A lot of times with our heavier songs we start writing at the drop and go back to develop the intro and the build. If we’re writing something more melodic or with a vocal we’ll write the chord progression and melody first and work in a more linear way. Usually at the very end we master the track and step away for a few hours before giving it another listen and working out any final changes we want to make.

Will: Our workflow is super informal. It really depends on the track as sometimes we’re feeling very inspired and everything just comes together with a lot of ease and then there’s the tracks where we try to get one thing right for hours without success. Over time we’ve developed a system where we work on a section of the track until we’re pleased with it and move on with the next section until we have the main outline of the track. Then we’ll go back and make any little changes we want and smooth out the transitions, so you could say we focus on the more crucial components of a track first and then work on the minor details.

NSK: Being brothers must create a unique work environment. What are some of the pros/cons of working with your brother?

James: A lot of the time one of us will suggest something and the other has already started doing it haha. We’ve been told we act like twins because we’re so similar sometimes. Like Will said, we fight over some pretty stupid things but it helps in the end because we don’t hold anything back when we critique each other. Being brothers also definitely helps us to write as quickly as we do because when one of us runs out of ideas the other one jumps right in and we feed off that.

Will: Well fortunately we often share a lot of ideas and since we know each other so well we can get a lot done. Also, it’s nice because we’re super comfortable around each other, I couldn’t imagine trying to write music with somebody that you don’t really know very well. Of course we argue and fight sometimes even if it’s over the smallest, most insignificant thing I think that overall it benefits us since we both have to be completely happy with the final result.

NSK: Side note, better brothers Brennan Huff/Dale Doback (Step-Brothers) or Connor/Murphy McManus (The Boondock Saints)

James: Boondock Saints for sure. It’s a bad ass movie.

Will: Boondock Saints all the way

NSK: Who are some artists that you would love to meet or even work with in the future?

James: We’re both also huge fans of Dirtyloud and we’ve watched them grow over the past few years and learned a lot from their progression. I’d love to meet them, even if it’s just to thank them for inspiring us.

Will: Meeting Porter Robinson or Madeon would be thrilling since they really proved that you can make a career in EDM while still in high school. I also think they’re some of the most talented producers out there and of course having the chance to actually work with them would be a dream come true.

NSK: If you got free tickets to see either Creed or Nickelback who would you go see?

James: That would be the worst ticket giveaway of all time haha. I’d go to Nickelback and sing the misheard lyrics versions of all the songs just to be a troll.

Will: Oh man, could I sell them both? haha I know Nickelback’s songs more so I guess I’ll go with them.

NSK: What’s next for Synchronice?

James: We’re busier now than ever and the releases we have coming up include songs that we’re really proud of so we’re stoked to see how they are received. Going forward, we want to focus on touring and spreading our music as well as refining our sound and exploring new styles. Like that 123…5 song was something really different we made that ended up being popular so we may explore more chilled out stuff like that too.

Will: Expect a few EPs, including one that we’re dropping for free sometime in the near future, as well as some remixes for big artists that we’re working on. Also we’re planning out a bunch of shows for the upcoming year, as well as some epic collabs. It amazes me how much has happened for us in just a year an I’m so stoked to see what the next few months have in store.

NSK: Why are you Not Some Kid?

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