In this day in age, there are not too many prosperous trios in the world of dance music. But when it comes to Swedish house music, there are certainly a few notable exceptions. Brohug undeniably falls under that umbrella of artists, and have formed their own empire within the bass house genre since their formation during the summer of 2016. Throughout their brief period of time together, the group has accomplished an extremely impressive amount and touched nearly every point on the dance music map. Aside from widespread support on their own originals, Brohug has hit the studio alongside names like Tchami and Kaskade and completed remixes for some of the most notable artists in the game such as Alesso, Martin Garrix and Major Lazer.

Dancing Astronaut has been extremely fortunate to present an exclusive listen to their newest release, “Be Somebody.” The trio steps into an unfamiliar territory in this record, slowing down the tempo to provide a refreshing take on the classic Brohug sound. Originally teased in the inaugural episode of Tiësto’s Musical Freedom artist docuseries, “Be Somebody” sees the Swedes tap into their aggressive trap roots behind an infectious vocal toppled with crisp, hard-hitting drums. It may not boast the typical house-driven sound that fans have come to love from Brohug; nonetheless, it still packs that mesmerizing punch that is continually allowing the group to transform into a household dance music name.

Just moments after the three party purveyors tore down the Perry’s Stage on Saturday at Lollapalooza this past weekend, we got the chance to speak with them on their latest release, exactly how Brohug came to fruition and what else they have in store for the second half of 2018.

A few weeks ago, you guys got behind the decks at Tomorrowland for a slot on Tiësto’s Musical Freedom stage. What was that experience like and was that your first time playing the festival together as Brohug?

Yes, it was our very first performance there and it was great. It’s such a big and beautiful festival that has such a crazy lineup so it feels really good to be a part of that.

We knew that you guys had been making music before Brohug; two of you are brothers and then John (Dahlback) had also been producing by himself for a while. So how exactly did you come together and decide to form Brohug? 

We actually all moved into the same studio complex about two and a half years ago. The very first day we moved in, We started to make music and made our first track “In the Morning”. We then came up with our name Brohug and stayed in that apartment for a few more weeks until we eventually made the move into our own studio.

What would you say is the main inspiration behind how you found your signature bass house style?

There was a lot of boring music when we started and we felt like there were only two sides: you were either really underground or you were really commercial. Our goal was to blend them a little bit. We didn’t necessarily want to make something commercial but you’d be able to play a Brohug track both in an underground club and at a big festival. We said from day one that we didn’t want to sound like anyone else and that we wanted to do our own thing. We didn’t want to listen to what other people said we should do.

You currently operate your own imprint Brohouse. What are your plans for that going forward? Are you guys currently looking for new up & coming talent to sign or are you just focusing on your own releases for now?

We get sent so many demos but as soon as we find something that sticks out and it’s also something that we can play live, then we’ll try to sign it. There are definitely a few people who keep sending us very high quality music. There’s one act called LOUD ABOUT US! who always sends great quality stuff and we think we might do more with them on our label. There are a few ongoing artists right now for the label so that is where our focus is. We want to sign new acts to be the window out.

Your new single “Be Somebody” is definitely a little different than what you guys are normally accustomed to but you can still instantly recognize that Brohug sound. What can you tell us about that song?

It was fun to do something in another tempo for once. It’s a track we’ve been playing out and it works really well at festivals although maybe not so much at clubs because it’s meant for a bigger audience. We tried to combine the slower tempo along with a more commercial sounding vocal together with our underground-ish drops. We want to tease every kind of genre in our music and this is the first step in doing that.

House music has surely made its way back in full force during 2018 so what are your thoughts surrounding the current state of dance music?

It goes in cycles. There’s a rise in the underground house scene and also the progressive house scene so there is a back and forth. What we just need to do is do what we do best. Hopefully we are able to influence that cycle to be the force that helps it continue to come back the way it has.

Can you tell us about any other upcoming music you have in the works for the remainder of 2018?

We have a remix coming out for Axwell /\ Ingrosso’s new single “Dancing Alone” and we are also working on a collaboration with Afrojack. After “Be Somebody”, our next single called “The Hunt” comes out in September and then we have another release through Confession in October so we have a packed schedule coming up.

 

Photo credit: Facebook / Brohug

Tags: brohug, lollapalooza, Q&A

Categories: Features, Music