Kronology are based in LA and have released a cruncher of an ep via Technique. It’s called Timelapse, so best to take the hint and not let any more time slip away, and get stuck in with tales of dodgy pilots, real life Breaking Bad and the tunes comprising the Timelapse batch itself…
Hi Kronology, where are you based exactly?
Both of us are from the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
Do you guys skate?
Nick used to skate – not that well, but skated nonetheless! Skate Street in Ventura, CA was an early favorite park. Every now and then it’s fun to cruise around at Pedlow which is here in LA in the Valley. The Venice Beach skatepark is a great spot that recently got a huge facelift as well.
What lead you to D&B?
We both found D&B through different paths; Nick was – and still is – a huge Reggae and Hip Hop head, which led him to discovering D&B through people like Shy FX & T-Power, Adam F, Bad Company and others in the mid-2000s who had incorporated those kinds of cross-over sounds in their music.
Rene was originally producing downtempo, Trip Hop and early Dubstep when he discovered D&B and became hooked.
When we linked up, we both realized that we worked well together making upfront, dancefloor D&B which has become our signature sound.
I got to thinking about that name, Kronology. Coming up with a name – a DJ name, a project name, a band name – is one of life’s biggest challenges, up there with childbirth, so what made you think of ‘Kronology’?
Up until late last year, we had gone by our duo name Slogun & iOh, but we were looking for something with a concept that had more meaning, more potential for imagery and such. The theme of ‘time’ hit home to us as something we could run with, especially since we were moving in to a whole new era in the ‘chronology’ of our career.
It was difficult to think of something that hadn’t already been used, but once we hit on Kronology it had a great ring to it and we knew it was right for us.
Take us behind ‘You & Me’, this is ace. How’d the track evolve? It’s euphoric yet razor sharp.
‘You & Me’ has its roots in a really old tune that we made years ago – we were sort of messing around with making a VIP of it until we realized that it was taking on a life of its own as a whole new tune! We built it around the vocal, which we’ve loved and always wanted to use in a proper manner.
Both of us love liquid D&B, so this was a good opportunity to explore that side of our sound and blend it with our typical upfront sensibilities It’s also the first tune that we used the new Serum vst synth on, which has been a great new tool in our arsenal.
It’s been getting lots of support from Friction on BBC Radio 1 which we’re super thankful for!
Now there’s some guests here on the Timelapse ep, there’s Divine Elements and Without My Armor… are you guys all part of the scene there?
Divine Elements are good friends of ours from the same neighborhood and scene here in LA that we’ve known for years. They also make dancefloor D&B and recently had a big release on Audioporn Records.
We realized awhile ago that we both share the same vision of where we want to take D&B, so it was a good opportunity to work with them on a bigger level.
Without My Armor is a singer-songwriter who we linked up with online through a community where people share their vocals to work with producers.
Moving to ‘Monster’, what went in the pot to create this?
For ‘Monster’ we really wanted to make something that was both brooding yet triumphant, showcasing a wide range of emotions; we really love contrast in our music. The vocals ended up being a perfect fit for what we were going for.
Where’s some clubs over there we can all hit when you invite us all over?
For D&B, you have to hit Respect Thursdays, the longest running D&B weekly out here. Timeless D&B and Xcellerated are two other monthly parties that bring international talent and throw a great show.
For other kinds of music, Avalon Hollywood is a legendary mega-club that everyone should experience, and they dabble in D&B once in awhile.
We also have great raves and festivals – Insomniac Events throws the biggest ones around and they support D&B on a major level.
What about eating spots… I’m packing my bags right now you realise.
First, you have to try In n Out Burger – just ask any touring DJ who has stopped through Southern California and they will confirm!
We also have the best Mexican food north of the border, so much to choose from its hard to pick the best spot – you can honestly find any kind of food here in LA, and most of it is really good! Sushi, Thai, Italian, Ethiopian, we’ve got it all..
Many many many people will know ‘Submerge’, it’s sooooo filthy… does it go down well live?
We made this one with the dancefloor in mind! The idea was to make a tune that would work well mixed with whatever sub-genre of D&B: dancefloor, jump-up, neuro, you name it. We’re happy with how it turned out and are really excited to see it getting so much DJ support.
What else do you mix in? What other stuff is in the box that is demolishing clubs?
Our sound live is a broad spectrum of dancefloor D&B – this includes the more melodic upfront stuff as well as some things on the darker, harder end. We like to keep it interesting and varied, but always fun and high-energy, stuff that people like to dance to!
We’ve been smashing lots of tunes from the 15 Years of Technique album, as it’s chock full of bangers – stuff by Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Tantrum Desire, Erb n Dub and so on.
We also like a lot of the harder things that State of Mind and Neonlight are putting out these days as well.
We always play a large selection of our own tunes and are currently testing out new bits to see what comes next from us.
How did you link with Technique?
We had always talked about how we felt our music would be a great fit at Technique, so we decided to take our chances and see if we could make contact with them. We had linked up with Erb n Dub years ago for a remix we did for Heavy Artillery Recordings, so we sent a couple tracks to him and asked if he could pass them along.
Soon after we’d heard back from Simon Bassline Smith and the rest is history! Big ups Erb and Simon!
Can’t let you go without a good, grisly road story.
We were heading out of state to play a couple shows over a weekend in Wisconsin and New Mexico – our first plane was delayed indefinitely due to the pilot forgetting ‘an essential piece of equipment’ that he had to return to his hotel to grab, and he never returned.
The airline ended up taxiing us to another airport, which caused us to just barely make our first show.
The next day we were refused boarding as the flight was oversold, despite being early… but just made it.
We spent our final day in Albuquerque visiting all the famous spots from Breaking Bad before our final flight home which of course was delayed causing us to be transferred again. All in all we made each show and had a blast!
It’s like a screenplay… speaking of, what’s five fave films?
Waking Life, Pulp Fiction, Super Troopers, Clerks and Ninja Scroll.
Any shouts, Kronology?
Shoutout to the entire Technique Recordings family especially Drumsound & Bassline Smith for the opportunity to be a part of the legendary label!
Also shoutouts to Timeless D&B, Xcellerated, Insomniac, Respect and other promoters who’ve given us a shot over the years, as well as Bobby and Shannon (Faust and Shortee) at Heavy Artillery Recordings.
Lastly want to give a big shoutout to our own Splat Media crew here in LA, all our friends, family, loved ones and supporters who’ve kept us going since day one! And big shout out to D&B Arena for taking the time to talk to us.