Closer with LCNVL

 Interview 

LCNVL Get Closer To Us By Answering Our Questions 

Locnville, if you haven’t heard this name in the music biz then get ready to be informed. Born in New York, but raised in the mother city (Cape Town) these Twin brothers Andrew and Brian Chaplin have been making waves not only in South Africa but internationally as well. Writing and producing their own material Locnville have successfully released three chart-topping albums (Sun in my pocket, Running to midnight and the latest Faster Longer mixtape). Each album a progression of sound and experimentation of style, which showcases and highlights the boy's diverse talent. 

Locnville have toured globally and have also racked up an impressive list of followers and fans called “Villains” or “Villeys”. We were lucky enough to sit down with the talented Chaplin twins and here’s what they had to say :)

Hello, Andrew and Brian, it is such a great honour to be interviewing you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to let us pick your brains.

1.    How are you guys doing, and what are you currently listening to?

            We're doing very well thanks! Listening to a lot at the moment, we think it's important to not get too stuck into something too specific.

2.    We want to know what inspired you to create Locnville?

            We couldn't even say there was a particular thing that inspired us to do music, that's basically as far back as we can remember. With regards to actually creating 'Locnville', that was a chance for us to flex our own sound with no influence from other producers.

3.    Tell us about the progression of your musical journey from your first album “Sun in my Pocket” to your new album “Faster, Longer, Mixtape”?

            It's been a very up and down ride, and we've learned a lot! I think more than anything, the progression has led to a point where we're just making the kind of music that we would pump in our car. We try not to get too caught up in what people expect us to come up with next.

4.    Do you guys have any musical training? If not how did you learn and become so good?

            We used to take lessons to play the guitar, Brian did drums for a while. We've also taken very brief classes on piano and bass. But to be honest, it's all pretty much just feeling it out. We don't really apply many 'classical' methods in how we produce.

5.    When producing where do you draw your creative inspiration (both lyrical and melody) from?

            Well, obviously much of it comes from things that we've heard, or maybe a movie we've seen, story we've heard etc. and much of it is just derived from everyday life and times.

6.    In Brian and Andrew terms how would you describe the Locnville sound?

            Haha, the somewhat perfect amalgamation of Hip Hop and Electronic. But the way we structure our stuff is surprisingly very Rock influenced.

7.    Have you ever considered doing a Calvin Harris, meaning becoming all rounded artists who produce, sing and DJ?

            That's actually pretty much to the tee what we're doing now.

8.    What are some of the challenges you have faced musically and career-wise to get to where you are today?

            One of the main challenges for us when we first started was people only seeing that we were young and immediately brushing it off as a teen sensation. We can honestly say that we're very happy to have passed that stage!

9.    Electronic Dance music is the fastest rising music genre. Your guys sound has many electronic elements. Which producer do you look up to from the EDM scene?

            There's almost too many to mention. We take influence from a lot of producers. Mainly Sibot, Hucci, Noah "40", Narch and a lot more! You gotta keep your horizons wide!

10.  How do you go about planning performances? Do you have any weird rituals?

            We just hype ourselves up. Usually, we'll listen to some tracks that really get us stoked, and then take that energy on stage.

11. You boys are not bad looking, and we 100% sure very popular with the ladies. Have you ever had any weird fan experiences or stalkers? (If not well be your first be prepared mwahahah)

            That's very kind of you! We have had some experiences, but nothing too hectic. The one that really sticks out is when we were doing a show in PE, and while we were on stage, 2 girls convinced the guards that they were media and had actually cut through a metal fence and then broke into our dressing room. That was a bit deep, but it's not like we were in danger or anything.

12. We dig the “I sick like that” brand, which you guys have created. Tell us a bit more about how this came about (can we get some tees :D :D)?

            I'm sure we can hook a little something up! That basically came about through a friend of ours in Cape Town who started the grand Filth which we've always been fans of. We actually wore Filth stuff in our first Sun In My Pocket video, so they've been around for a while, but it's really got the recognition it deserves now. The Bieber show was definitely a fantastic platform for it; the feedback was phenomenal so we thought we had to follow up!

13. They say a person’s music library is the window to their soul so what genres and gems make up Locnville’s music library?

            Our music library consists mainly of a lot of different Trap producers, I'm listening to a compilation called All Trap Music which is epic. Other than that, a lot of Major Lazer, Kanye West, Alt-J, Big Sean, stuff like that.

Rapid Fire Questions

1.    Who is the brains and who is the beauty behind Locnville :P?

            It's a pretty 50\50 collab.

2.    3 people you dream of inviting to dinner?

            Kanye West, Diplo and Eminem.

3.    When you not making music what can we find you doing?

            Haha, we pretty much always making music, but other than that, just chilling out with friends and experiencing cool places.

4.    What does a fan have to do to get your attention?

            There's no one particular thing, if someone comes up to us with all 3 albums so far and asks us to sign them, that's a big thing for me. It shows that they've been there since the beginning and aren't just following a hype.

5.    Did you guys get to meet the Biebs *starstruck*?

            We didn't actually meet him, but we did get to meet Dan Kanter, and we briefly walked by Scooter Braun.

Before we close, Do you guys have any words of wisdom for all your fans?

“Whether you think you can or you can't, either way, you're right.” -Locnville

Brian and Andrew its been an absolute pleasure and we hope to catch up with you guys at your next Jozi gig soon.

Connect with Locnville here:

Official website: http://www.locnville.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Locnville

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/locnville