Blondes

New York duo Blondes are known for turning clubs upside down with their ecstasy-inducing improv techno – leaving dance floors behind in total exhilaration. But this performance style, which Zach Steinman and Sam Haar pride themselves on, is not for the faint of heart. We called them up while they were enjoying some leisure time in Berlin, to talk about the pros and cons of a new day rising

Interview by Sander van Dalsum

‘When you wake up in the morning it can hurt a lot’

Can you tell me about the best and worst place you’ve ever woken up?

Zach: I think the worst was this time in Miami. We’d been up all night at a festival, and we decided we wanted to rent Segways. Afternoon dawned – the drugs had worn off, and it was very harsh coming down. We stayed up all night trying to rent Segways, and we just couldn’t do it. Then we weren’t able to fall asleep for the rest of the day, and I remember walking around barefoot on Miami Beach getting blisters on my feet, hobbling around this amazing beachscape and basically feeling terrible.

Riding the Segways down Miami Beach would have been pretty epic; you guys need to give that another shot.

Zach: Yeah, it seemed like a really good idea at the time.

Sam: The best place I passed out was on this bus going from Genève to Turin. I woke up as we we were going through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, and then there were the most stunning mountain views of the Alps.

Who makes the best breakfast?

Sam: I think we have different breakfast styles. I can make a mean greasy breakfast. But we don’t really cook for each other. We don’t have much ‘kitchen time’.

Zach: Sam will always go for the fish option.

‘You will think, What is this? and then the day after, you’re like, Oh, this is great!’

Wow, fish in the morning. If you guys have something important coming up the next day, will you be cautious the night prior?

Sam: I’d say it’s one way or the other: you either take it easy or just go hard.

Zach: Sometimes you’re like, ‘Let’s just go for it.’ But I think recently we’ve been more responsible with our partying. When you wake up in the morning it can hurt a lot. You’re just tired and it doesn’t weigh up to the pleasure of partying. The feeling is just not worth it.

When you’re making music, do you ever get that feeling when you’re working on a track and it all makes sense, and then the next day you think, What the hell was I thinking?’

Sam: Definitely. You get caught up in the moment and vibe in your little space. Sometimes it vibrates back and forth. You will think, What is this? and then the day after that, you’re like, Oh, this is great!

Zach: Yeah, or you show it to someone and it’ll make you feel totally different about it.

Can you recall a big change of mindset you’ve had recently, or in the past?

Sam: I’m a pretty consistent person. But I feel like I’m moving away a little from partying.

Zach: I think we both are, but it’s not like we’re anti-partying…

You’re not getting too old, are you?

Zach: No, I think ‘it’s’ getting old.

Space-case tech house duo Blondes are at Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ with Samling boys Vakantie and Malawi Sound System on 7 September – free for members