Gus Calderone & Bill Basil (Billy the kid) are collectively known to us as The House Moguls. Hailing from Chicago, the home of House music, this dynamic duo have remixed some of the greatest dance choons of our time such as Rendez-Vu, Groovejet & One more time which earned an accolade from MSTRKRFT as being "the best Daft Punk remix of all time"!
The guys have kindly offered a free download from Soundcloud
entitled 'House Nation'. If you like your beats big, chunky & dirty then this one is for you! Check it out here:-
Hi guys, thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. I would to start by asking you individually what was your first memory of music, and how did it make you feel?
Bill Basil: I remember being around a lot of music as a kid. There was always music playing in my house, a lot of Motown. It made me wanna be a musician & learn how those amazing songs were created. Gus Calderone: Growing up there was always music in my house, both my father and mother are really into music and both played instruments. But Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album is what did it for me.
Who was a major influence to you musically when you were growing up, & at what age did you both realise that music was going to be your career?
Bill Basil: I've always loved legitimate artists. Guys like Stevie Wonder, Prince, people who really put emotion and soul into their work and give it their everything. When you listen to an artist like that you know exactly what they were trying to express at that moment of their life. I knew at a very young age my career would involve music. Gus Calderone: I can't really say one artist really influenced me. We were able to grow up in such an amazing era of artists, some of the greatest of all time. I just really cant pin point one person. I've always known I would be involved in music in some way or form.
You have remixed some of the best dance tracks such as Daft Punk's 'One more time' & Basement Jaxx's 'Rendez-Vu'. How do you both decide which tracks to edit to your own style? And has there been one particular track that you have thought ' Wow this is gonna be shit hot!!'? ;)
THM: A lot of the projects we work on are really spare of the moment. We work daily in the studio either on our radio shows or production work and constantly listening to music really does help. We dig up old jems a lot and wonder why up & comer Djs aren't playing them? If we can remix them and help them resurface to a new generation of listeners its an amazing feeling for us. The Daft Punk Remix we produced in 2007 is still getting major spins from the worlds biggest Djs and that was something we did just for fun, to play at our own shows. Before we knew it every bedroom to superstar Dj was charting it and labels were hitting us up constantly for that type of remix. It was overwhelming to have that kind of exposure really over night. Every time we finish a project we're always very proud and constantly thinking this is something special or this is a really hot tune. We really love what we do & being that passionate about your work makes you really fall in love with every song you make.
How does it feel when a high profile Deejay plays your remix in a club & it gets a massive reaction from the crowd?
THM: Seeing Djs playing our music and seeing the crowd reactions is a lot of the reason why we chose to do this job. We're lucky enough that so many Djs have sent us videos from festivals all over the world just to show us the responses that our music gets in other countries. Its extremely humbling but also a very driving. Seeing 100,000 people going crazy to one of our songs really puts us in the mood to keep on producing more. We're both extremely creative in our own rights but seeing the people loving the music really keeps us motivated.
Your monthly podcast 'The Show' is superb! It must be a great way to share your music with your fans & you promote it on your social network sites such as Facebook & Twitter, so how important are these outlets as a way of reaching your fans? And how important is it to you to get feedback from them?
THM: Thank you so much! The Show is something we started and never expected it to blow up as fast and as big as it has. We really are blessed with some amazing fans. In order to reach these fans we utilize our social media outlets as much as possible and invite the fans to contact us as much as they can. Social media sites have made it possible for us to connect with our fans consistently and for them to feel like they are part of The House Moguls experience. They can sign on at anytime and see what were up to or what country were in. Its a way for us to take everyone on the road or everyone into the studio and for them to experience almost as much as we do.
And finally would you both give a piece of advice that may help someone who wanted to start a career in music on their own / as a duo?
Bill Basil: I would say that being involved at a young age is good. Start taking instrument lessons or vocal lessons. Whatever it is that your interested in. Whatever knowledge you can have will always help. The music business has a lot more to it then just making music. Be well rounded and know your roots! Stay humble no matter how quickly you rise in the business. Stay clear of shitty managers and shitty promoters. Be involved with quality people who want to produce quality results. Gus Calderone: On top of what Billy said, the music industry is constantly changing to the consumer. You must be willing to adapt, grow, and evolve as an artist. If you plan to get into this for instant fame, money, or to get laid, don't do it, get involved for the love of music and the opportunity to create something. For every 100 people who do it there might be 1 that actually have a successful career. Be prepared for the long haul. For most people there is no such thing as over night success. I can also say if you are planning on being a duo, remember friendship comes first. Billy and I were friends before this, we are more like family, our families are close. Billy and I have been hanging around for so long a lot we know what each other is thinking before it happens, which helps out either in the studio or when were playing a show live. There will be some hard times, where you might argue or not get a long, just understand that will pass.
Editors note: Thank you so much guys for answering my questions, some really great answers there =) The new mix is fantastic! Good luck with all your future projects, we look forward to hearing more lil gems from you.
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