It’s easy to assume that New Zealand’s Out Of Sorts came out of nowhere when their spirited first remix made its way into the hands of Kompakt Records, gaining attention from some of electronica’s most favoured selectors. Something about their productions showcased that they weren’t just one trick ponies, but seasoned studio professionals. In fact, Out Of Sorts has always been there. And now, after huge international success under a different moniker, they have embraced a sound that’s difficult to pigeonhole, leaving the past almost irrelevant – except that this is a duo who know how to bring it.
From the grimiest clubs to the most revered festivals on the global circuit, somewhere in the abyss, you may just hear something out of sorts.
Keep your ears open for their tracks on Beat & Path, a label they co-run alongside Balance member Uone. Ahead of their performance at the upcoming sold out Strawberry Fields festival, the duo found some time to send us an exclusive mix.
Balance Selections Q+A
Name:
Barton Strom & Hayden Strom (The Strom Bros)
Location:
Auckland, New Zealand
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/outofsortsmusic
Soundcloud:
www.soundcloud.com/outofsortsmusic
Alias/Producer name:
Out of Sorts
Labels affiliated with:
Beat & Path
My last 3 releases:
Dousk – Psychobabble (Out of Sorts Remix) [Beat Boutique Records]
What music did you listen too as a child?
Barton: I guess you could say our parents were music heads, our mum in particular. She had a massive vinyl collection playing a lot of Michel Jackson, Hot Chocolate, The Eagles, George Benson etc. It was a pretty decent and broad selection. She had a reel to reel recorder and used to compile big mixes for parties. They also had a Techniques 1200 Mk1, which we still have!
Hayden: Most of my musical appreciation and influence comes from my older bro Barton and also mum and Dad. All the classic hits mum and dad used to play still bring back massive nostalgic memories of growing up as a young kid, with all the ups and downs the goes along with life at that age. Musical influences in my teenage years came from my older bro Barton and his mates. They were listening to shit like the Pixes, The Smiths, Public Enemy and The beastie boys Etc.. I soon developed a pretty strong appreciation for a lot more of the hip-hop vibe with groups like Jungle Brothers, Digable Planets & Tribe Called Quest. Also went through a heavy Grunge stage mid-teens… But who didn’t?.. that music was Epic!
When was the first time that you realized that you liked electronic music?
Bart: The first time was when I heard The Orb ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’. From that point, I was digging around for this type of sound. It was like this music was being made from another Galaxy…or it may have been the drugs!!! hahahahahaha
Hayden: once again, having an older bro I found out about Electronic music via him and his mates who had spent some time in Japan discovering it. The first real moment I realised I loved it was probably about the same time LSD came into my life.. It went hand in hand.. opening up other worlds of Excitement, possibilities and adventures.
When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?
Barton = That’s a long time ago! We used to go to a few underground parties in Auckland City but one of the first that stands out was a club night called ‘Straylight’ down at ‘The Box’ with resident Dj’s Simon Flower, Denver McCarthy and Mat Drake. First big international I saw was Dave Angel. Just very hypnotic, driving techno. The more hypnotic the better!
Hayden = The most memorable time for me was in Japan, where I heard a band called X- Dream Play Live. After the show, I introduced myself and drilled them on what studio equipment they used and would recommend to us for setting up our studio. Off their advice, we picked up a Nord Lead, Novation Bass station and an SH101. Those synths were a major part of our production ever since. Cheers to them!
Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?
Hayden: Favorite musicians is a hard question as so many but to name a few that really resonate would be John Talabot & Koze for there obscurities and non-conforming production ethics. Beckers for his attention to details, consistency and driving uplifting vibe and Jiggler for the relentless, driving and superbly produced peak time Bangers. All these guys are really productive and continue to put out hits after hits.
Moderat is also a huge influence. Their shit has is so rich with aural color depth and emotion. My Funeral music ;-/
Barton: Always a hard one but on the electronic front, Maceo is up there for me, amazing production and grunty sound. Also, Elton John had a trunk load of hits…Rocket Man still gets the heart pumping!
What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?
Hayden = Just got the new Bob Moses album – Battle Lines. It’s cool, a bit more user friendly perhaps? but its got the BM vibe I’ve always liked and again very well produced. The latest Koze album, Knock Knock was a piece of art though out. loved every moment of it the first listen. Highly recommend.
Barton: The last album I got was the self-titled album from ‘Avantdale Bowling Club’. Jazz infused hip hop from around the corner from my place.
What is your current production and DJ set up like?
Barton & Hayden – We have a great set up at Hayden’s warehouse out on the West coast of Auckland. Its freshly renovated and it’s the best sounding studio we have ever had. Built proper bass traps and took care to make sure the room was as snug acoustically as could be. We have the original ADAM P22s as monitors and have had them for years, we trust them.. have thought about changing them but hey what ain’t broke why fix it?
Over the years we have collected quite a bit of gear, some of our favs are the TR 808, Moog Voyager, Juno 106. We a mix of outboard gear and computer plug-ins that Logic has etc. we mix it up.. baselines and lead key riffs are predominantly either the Moog, Juno and SH101
We have our go-to plugins like the sound toys decimator, pan man and filter freak. Favorite bit of Kit in studio for me (Hayden) would be the Moog Voyager. Recent bass lines are sounding tasty AF. We use either Tractor or USBs sticks in Pioneers for Djing. Depends on the event or our mood. Sometimes we use both. USBs are definitely less stress as far as set up goes though but usually not all the tracks I want to play are on them…
What releases do you have on the horizon?
Our latest release ‘Whole New Way’ just came out on our label ‘Beat & Path’ as well as on the new Balance Release by Uone. We actually collabed on 4 of those tracks, Whole New Way, Bongo Porn, You’re Not Sleeping & The Jam & Spoon remix of Angel. And also remix for our mates Boy oh BOy – Banjo on our label Beat & Path which we included on this mix these are all fresh out.
We have some new ones unreleased like the first track on this mix (Worzel Gummidge). We thought it would be nice to let it see the world first on this mix ☺. We are not sure yet if we will release it on our own label or spread the love a yonder and find another, we’ll see..
Where can we hear you perform?
Strawberry Fields in Melbourne on Nov 16th is our next big festival. We are also supporting Steve Bug in Auckland early November for a Beat & Path party.
Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?
Barton = Both of us just came back from a surf trip over in South Sumatra in Indonesia. At nights before bed over there I’d listen to tunes on the laptop, putting together a rough tracklist. Once we got back we assembled the mix on our computers. Hayden selected a few of our own to add. I did the first edits from my place and Hayden finished the final mix out in the big studio on the Coast. Once we had the selections sorted it took us a day or 2 to get the order and mix right.
My Recommendations
The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:
Hayden
Barton
If I could recommend only one of my tracks for you to listen to it would be:
Hayden: Out of Sorts – Worzel Gummidge
Barton
If I could recommend only one track for you to listen to it would be:
Hayden
Barton
My favourite Balance compilation is:
Hayden: Max Cooper 030
Barton: James Holden
The last movie I watched that I really liked:
Hayden: What we do in the shadows! You gotta watch it,.. So good, so funny!
Barton: The Killing of a Sacred Deer ….WTF!!!!
My favourite TV show at the moment:
Barton: Succession
Hayden: The Ozark
If I could choose anyone to compile a Balance comp it would be:
Barton: Maceo Plex
Hayden: D-nox & Beckers
Tracklist
1. Out of Sorts – Worzel Gumidge
2. Bilal & Boddhi Satya – Love will (David Mayer remix)
3. Mike Simonetti – I Love You Mom
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg – Sylvia Says (Radio Slave Remix)
5. Denis Horvat- Paradine
6. Blondish – Mountains of the mind (Santiago Garcia Remix )
7. Benetta – Gattara
8. Dousk – Psychobabble (Dnox & Kali Remix)
9. Nora En Pure – Trailblazer (Martin Waslewski Remix
10. Boy Oh Boy – Banjo (Out of Sorts Remix)
11. Somerville & Wilson – Sub Luv N Smite (The Drunken Apaches Remix)
