CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 063: SUNSET BROS READY TO LIGHT UP THE WORLD AGAIN

Words by Patrick Staveley.

The Sunset Bros have always promised a good time to anyone that attends one of their electric and heart-pumping shows as they fuse house, techno and trance to build quite the platform into the modern dance scene. This year, it’s no different, as Adriano and Glenn prepare themselves to return overseas for the first time since COVID for some shows while also breaking some new ground with Australian shows, including their biggest show at the Hordern Pavilion on July 30. Patrick sat down with these two geniuses to discuss the tour, new music, dreams coming true and of course, to share a laugh or two.

FMM:  You released a new single in May, Ain’t Giving Up (Afterdark Mix). Where’s the inspiration come from here with the words ‘Ain’t Giving Up’?

Adriano: The weird one with that is that was a vocal that we chose. We heard the vocal and it instantly resonated with us. There was just something about it that we loved. The ‘ain’t giving up’ for us – our interpretation – we can apply it to so many things we’ve gone through.  

Glenn: Not giving up – it could mean a relationship but also not giving up in life as well. It does have a double meaning and it could be interpreted that way so that’s why we fell in love with it.

FMM:  You’ve both always been so busy – releasing and producing music for not just yourselves but for a number of other big names. What drives you both to keep so busy all the time? Is it a case of ‘never working a day in your life’ because you love it so much?

Adriano & Glenn: You pretty much answered the question! (Laughs)

Adriano: That’s one part of it. You always want to be better than yesterday, I guess.

Glenn: You just always want to keep striving to keep pushing the boundaries of the music. We’re always trying to push a new way of doing things.

Adriano: Our style’s so different to everyone else – it’s not really your generic style of house or EDM stuff or tech-house, trance

Glenn: You’ll hear the stuff that is coming up in the pipe works. It’s a lot different to what anyone has ever really heard before and it’s really exciting to be able to show people soon. I think it can do something cool.

Adriano: It’s got a bit of the hard-house elements from the late 90s and all the UK stuff with the real trance-y emotions of the world but with tech-housey elements especially with arrangements. It all blends together to give it this sound that I think will resonate with our fans and new people.

FMM:  Before releasing your own singles, was your work mainly focused on remixes for other artists? What made you decide to release your own music?

Glenn: We were just doing remixes but it was more for fun, I guess.

Adriano: We played it all in our set. We’ve got honestly like 200 tracks that haven’t been released but they’re all remixes and whatnot of other songs and technically bootlegs. We grew up just before that boom of Spotify (and other streaming services). We did a lot of remixes through our sets but we never really released a lot because we felt like we couldn’t. We never approached labels. It was never a thing we really thought about doing.

Glenn: (2017 hit), I’m Feeling It actually is a bootleg so eventually that became popular and then the record labels at Universal approached us to actually release it properly. I guess it did stem from that culture of remixing.

FMM: Do you have to pinch yourself when you see how many streams you have on services such as Spotify, Apple Music?

Adriano: In my point of view, streams do make you feel good but I don’t think it really determines who we are and how good we are and I don’t think for any artist.

Glenn: It’s definitely something to be proud of.

Adriano: Yeah of course, of course but I don’t think it’s the be-all and end-all. I love our shows and doing live stuff and I love actually seeing people enjoy themselves. Of course, I can’t say it’s not important but for me, I think the live aspect is more rewarding.

Glenn: Yeah, definitely. The streaming tends to go hand in hand with it. Having a crowd of people who are willing to part with their money to see you is a really humbling thing. To be able to pack out sell out shows for the last ten years – it’s insane.

FMM: Footage was shown of fans bouncing around to I’m Feeling It at a football game in the UK. What’s it like seeing how far your music has reached around the world?

Adriano: It’s wild over there. I couldn’t believe it. I woke up one morning and all my friends were tagging me and I’m looking at it and I’m like ‘WHAT?’

Glenn: It’s crazy to see thousands of people singing it.

FMM:  Is there a club or venue where you’ve enjoyed playing the most over the years or where fans have stuck out in particular?

Glenn: I’d say one of the most meaningful ones would’ve been Cavo.

Adriano: Yeah Cavo Paradiso in Mykonos. That was pretty special. I think we had a mixture of some of our Aussie fans there as well. So many people came over and took over the place.

Glenn: There was one moment where we were playing I’m Feeling It and the fireworks were going off at the same time overlooking the sea on a cliff edge and we were like “Wow is this really happening.”

Adriano: I was hoping he saw it. I was screaming in the microphone and he was a bit behind me and I was thinking “I hope he’s seeing this.” We both said after the show “Man, did you see that moment when the fireworks went off.” That was a definite moment when we’d realised wow, we’re actually doing this.

Adriano: One more was Festival X for me in Sydney. I could not believe how much they turned out for their ‘Bros’ so to speak (laughs). It was just a moment where we played around superstars and they slipped us in (the festival lineup) and we had to step up to the plate and put on the show that we do.

Glenn: The crowd was absolutely rocking. It was about 4pm, which is quite early for a festival and we got into our arena and it was that packed. We were stunned, the crowd was absolutely heaving. It was an amazing feeling having your hometown doing that for you.

FMM: Playing a few shows in the UK later this year for the first time since covid, what’s the feeling like?

Adriano: I’m scared in a weird way. I don’t know what to expect. I hope they’re still the same and we still ‘have it’ (laughs). You do get worried man thinking “s*** are they going to like us still? Are they going to boo us? We’re really excited but we don’t know what to expect.

FMM: It must be some sort of relief going back to playing shows again after covid and the uncertainty that followed that period. It must be good to be getting back to what you love, right?

Adriano: 1000 percent. I’d say it’s relieving for me to be able to get back there (live shows) because that uncertainty, that period was scary. It was really scary.

Glenn: As you know our industry was decimated but things are looking nice now.

FMM: What can we come to expect from your upcoming We Are Sunset shows

Adriano: A party. A good party. That’s all it’s about – a party! (Laughs)

Glenn: It’s going to be a theatrical experience, bit of magic. What we aim for is a theatrical experience but still our style of music – incorporating singers, other artists, violinists, guitarists – everything. We don’t normally do that but that’s only for these We Are Sunset shows. That’s what gives us the point of difference for this type of show.

FMM: You play at the Hordern Pavilion on July 30 in your hometown of Sydney. How important is this show for you both?

Glenn: It’s the biggest show of our lives, it really is. Off the back of covid it’s nice to come back and say ‘hey we’re still here, doing what we love.’

Adriano: Which goes back to the Ain’t Giving Up track

Adriano and Glenn: WE AIN’T GIVING UP (Laughs)

Glenn: Expect a really, really cool show. We want everyone to be there and experience it with us and hopefully they can walk away saying “wow that was cool.”

FMM: Any new projects that are being worked on following the tour?

Adriano: Even more work, we’ve got no time anymore [for a break]. That last two years we got to catch up. We’ve got so much to do.

Glenn: We did write a lot of stuff that’s in the pipe-works of being released. A lot of it is banging so we didn’t want to release it during covid when everyone’s at home.

Adriano: We’ve got a bunch of other stuff that isn’t necessarily as fast as what we’d normally release. We’re stuck in this predicament of whether we release the slower stuff that’s a bit more commercial or release the bangers.

Glenn: We’re doing a balance of both I think. But I’m really excited about the banging stuff. It’s our roots you know? We want to show people that side of us again.