The NY/LA electro-pop duo of Lonnie Angle and Thomas Dutton have already racked up accolades from Spin, Billboard, MTV, AV Club and a number of other outlets. In their short existence, they’ve managed to sell out Mercury Lounge, headline a Neon Gold Popshop and, more. After a whirlwind SXSW, the band went on a nationwide tour with Betty Who, performed at Sasquatch, and will play a show with X-Ambassadors before heading to the UK for Reading and Leeds Festivals in August.
Check out what they have to say about their experience at Firefly Music Festival 2015, their music, and where it’s headed!!
1. How was your experience at Firefly Music Fest?
Firefly was awesome. And dramatic. We arrived late Saturday night and were immediately evacuated (along with 100,000 others) from the grounds due to a huge storm that rolled in. It was crazy to watch the mass exodus of people in the dark as lightning filled the sky. But by Sunday morning, it was sunny and clear as if nothing had happened (other than the mud pits and slight stench in the air). But our set was amazing and the weather held up for the rest of the day!
2. Give some history behind how Cardiknox was formed? What is you writing process?
Thomas and I met when we both lived in Seattle. We were introduced and began developing a musical together called Razia’s Shadow. That musical took us to NYC where we developed it with The Public Theater, and when we were ready to take a break from working on it, we started writing music together. Cardiknox was born … and has taken over our lives since then!
Cardiknox – “Hold Me Down”
3. How would you describe yourselves as individuals? How do these separate personalities come together to make music?
I’m a people person and a performer. I love the energy and excitement I get from spending time with other people—learning from them, being inspired by them, and working with them. People help inform my storytelling, which ultimately is told through our songs. Thomas is very cerebral … he’s the quiet, brilliant type. Like actually brilliant. When we work together, I’m often dancing around the room and throwing out every crazy idea that pops into my head, and after much time and thought, Thomas helps synthesize and translate my crazy ideas into something poignant.
4. What has your music taught you about yourselves?
More than anything else, it’s taught us the power of perseverance. When you really believe in something—as we do with our music—you’re willing to work and work and work for it.
5. How do you decide to collaborate with the artists you do regarding your visual media from promo image, album art, and music videos? How closely do you feel they capture essence of the music?
When you’re collaborating in the art world, it’s so important that you work with people that have a strong sense of self and vision, but are also willing to make compromises for the good of the art. We actually are working with an amazing visual artist right now who will be helping us with our album artwork and we couldn’t be more excited about it. This artist’s work was deeply inspiring to us during the writing and recording process of the album, and it feels like a really special collaboration that will culminate in our debut album’s artwork. I wish I could say more about it … but you’ll just have to wait to see it!
6. What’s your favorite part of the whole process (i.e. writing, performing live, recording, branding, touring, interviews), or does it change from time to time?
My favorite part is definitely performing. It both scares the shit out of me, and is what I live for. Every time we have a show, I’m a bucket of nerves pre-show and then begging to hit the stage again the second I get off. Thomas loves performing too, but he probably loves being in the studio even more.
7. What message or feeling do you want to resonate with people after hearing your music?
We hope that people are given a real sense of who we are and are able to relate to and connect with our stories. Our songs are really our stories. They depict love, heartbreak, hope, and perseverance.
Cardiknox – “Technicolor Dreaming”
8. What is your favorite accomplishment as Cardiknox to date? What are you most proud of based on your personal journey of being musicians?
We just played Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge in Washington and it was pretty amazing because we both grew up going to the Gorge as teenagers and thinking of it as one the coolest venues on the planet. That was pretty surreal.
We’re also very proud of our album. It kind of feels like it symbolizes everything we’ve worked for as musicians up until this point and we cannot wait to share it with the world.
9. What three, individual words would you use to describe your music?
Addictive. Epic. Honest.
