Even if you don’t know Feenixpawl, you definitely know their mega-hit ‘In My Mind’, which has been rocking dance floors across the globe this past summer. Now, the Australian duo is headed for their first US tour and is poised to make waves on this side of the pond. Feenixpawl took some time out of their busy schedule to sit down and answer some of Live For Live Music’s questions – check it out below.

Interview with Feenixpawl

Coming from Australia, how would you compare the Australian dance music
scene compared to America or Europe?
The Australian scene is really strong. Dance has been at the forefront of the club scene for so long and electronic music festivals are huge. Obviously back home we don’t have the population that you do here or in Europe, so to do 50-60,000 people at a dance music festival means that we’re right into it!

Feenixpawl seemed to rise to prominence through big remixes: how
important was it to establish your own solo productions, and do you
prefer to produce one way over the other?
Extremely important. The only way for us to take that next step was to come up with some originals.
We have only released a handful but we’ve spent most of this year compiling tracks so hopefully we have them all out soon! We certainly enjoy producing both remixes and original tracks but I’d have to say there is nothing like creating something new. To finish an original track thats your own is a great feeling, especially when it connects with people.

Do you have a certain remix that stands out as a favorite? Have you
received any feedback from the original artists that you appreciate?
One that we still play a lot that we’re quite proud of is our remix of Kaskade’s Room For Happiness. Skylar Grey has such an amazing voice and it was an honor to be asked to do a remix for a house legend like Kaskade. I can’t remember his feedback exactly but he seemed to love it so that was quite satisfying.

‘In My Mind’ was released through Axwell’s Axtone Records. Was he
involved in the recording process at all, and has he become more involved
in your work since the song’s huge success?
He wasn’t involved in the original process. Once we had finished the track we sent it through to him and he gave us feedback and some changes. We still keep in touch but in terms of production its usually just us.

Did the massive global success of ‘In My Mind’ catch you off guard?
Defintely. We though we may have had something pretty special when we first started working on it, but you never ever expect your tracks to have as much success as it did. Of course, its the goal, but I think it’s always going to catch you off guard if it does happen.

Any thoughts on the Kia commercial and the famous hamster? Were you
involved at all with the marketing tie in to the song? What was it like
hearing your music in such a prominent TV spot?
We thought it was hilarious when we first saw it! We don’t have the Kia Hamster commercials in Australia, so it was definitely interesting. We weren’t involved at all. We actually were told a while back that Kia was interested then we pretty much forgot about it and our manager sent it to us when it was aired and it blew us away! Its so surreal to see it used on a TV spot.

Do you feel any pressure to top the success of ‘In My Mind’? Has the
song’s response changed any of your future plans or opened up any new
doors?
No not really. Im sure people will compare whatever we release to “In My Mind”, but we just put our heads down and work and make music that we enjoy and hope it connects with people. The song has definitely opened doors for us. Even this US tour wouldn’t have been possible with out it. The best part though has probably the people we’ve met as a result of the songs success. From a networking standpoint its been amazing.

What is it like coming from Australia, where you are generally well
known, to America where you are a relative newcomer?
Its been great. The crowds that we’ve played in front of so far have really embraced us. Its quite humbling to fly half way around the world and play to people who know your music.

Over the past year in America, new genres like dubstep and trap music
have infiltrated electronic dance music, and even some of the more
traditional house DJs are implementing aspects of these genres into
their own productions. How do you feel about these newer genres, and are
there any up and coming movements in Australia that have caught your
attention?
We simply enjoy playing that we like to hear. We don’t really pay attention to genres. Theres so many genres these days, we typically don’t limit ourselves to any. Sometimes we’ll mash some dub step with house and drop it in a club. I think its great that so many new styles of music are emerging, its only going to help the scene grow.

For those who have yet to experience Feenixpawl live, how would you
describe your music, and is there anything new fans can expect from your
live show?
We have plenty of new music for this tour so keep an ear out for that! We try and keep things happy and high energy, so don’t expect anything less.

If you want more Feenixpawl, most of their music is available for free through their Soundcloud.