Bristol-based duo Icarus–comprised of brothers Ian and Tom–is producing more and more often, with recent remixes for Bat For Lashes and SG Lewis (which premiered on BBC Radio 1, but has yet to be released) boggling minds and gaining them traction in the industry. Their transformation in music from instrumental band members has paved the way for their knack in production, and various aspects of their past are palpable in their more recent releases. House music with deep bass is their current forte, and it’s something they’re doing marvelously with. Their latest track, “October”, was released on July 16th and is available below.
A mid-tempo, vibey track that one might encounter in a dark, exclusive basement club in the West Village at 2am early on a Saturday morning. There is something undeniable about the track, and it makes you feel like you’re in on a very well-kept secret.
We caught up with Ian and Tom very briefly about their recent work. They might not agree on superheroes, but their taste in music is–thankfully–blending together quite well.
Tell me about yourselves.
We are Tom & Ian, brothers from Bristol, UK. We’ve always been heavily into music and from an early age we knew that we wanted to pursue a career in it, somehow. We both grew up learning to play various instruments like horns, guitar and even recorder! We settled on Guitar (Ian) and Bass (Tom) and started playing in school bands, studying music privately in our spare time. When we hit our late teens, we started to form a love for the dance music scene and DJing.
How did the band come about? When did you guys know you wanted to pursue music?
After playing in various covers and originals bands, we decided to start writing and producing music together and over a few years we experimented with different styles and genres. About 3 years ago we started Icarus and it really feels now like we’ve found our sound within the electronic music realm.
Why did you guys choose the moniker “Icarus”?
Icarus was a name that came from weeks of brainstorming! We had dismissed a load of potential names and as soon as we came up with Icarus, we knew it was the right one for our project.
Were there any challenges you had to overcome while creating your upcoming single?
Our latest single ‘October’ was actually one of the quickest and easiest tracks we’ve ever written! It was one of those rare moments in the studio when a track kind of writes itself and every idea seems to work. Or that’s how it feels looking back, anyway!
Where do you draw your inspiration from for your music?
We draw inspiration from everywhere – films, T.V, equipment, experiences, etc. It all goes into what we do in some shape or form. Sometimes if one of us is really feeling an album or artist, that can have an influence on our creativity in the short term, but generally, we try to avoid analysing other artists music too much!
Tell us about your song, “Home.”
‘Home’ came about whilst we were experimenting with drum beats and rhythms. We’d been sent an accapella from Aurora so we decided to see if it would work over what we were writing. Again, it was one of those magical moments where the song just developed itself naturally. The bare bones of the track came together quite quickly. We think our best ideas tend to happen that way.
If you had to describe your music as a single food item, what would it be and why?
Easy. Burrito. Because it has all of our favourite ingredients (influences), wrapped up in a warm, soft tortilla (sound spectrum!).
Who is your favorite superhero and why?
Tom: Wolverine, because of his side burns.
Ian: Mr Fantastic, because he’s fantastic.
