Rebecca & Fiona may be platform boot wearing divas, but don’t let their innocent looks fool you, because this dynamic duo is as talented and hardworking as musicians come. The girls have taken the world by storm killing dance floors on a global scale. Rebecca & Fiona draw on different musical styles and eras paired with fresh electronic beats and their own ethereal vocals which characterize their unique and spunky sound. They have a knack for charming audiences with their hot DJ skills and their rebellious personalities that exude a hint of girl power. EDMtunes had the pleasure of catching up with the Swedish duo before their sold out show at Create Nightclub in Los Angeles. In our interview, Rebecca & Fiona discussed their humble start to success, got fired up over the discussion of Swedish politics and dished on their place as role models to women everywhere in regards to DJing/producing and fashion. These girls put on a phenomenal performance and weren’t afraid to show what they are made of.
EDMT: Over the past few years you girls have quickly gained international popularity, I know that you started DJing and producing long before that. How did it all start and what brought you into dance music specifically?
Rebecca: We really liked dance music and electronic music in general and we listened to it a lot.
Fiona: I was just saying yesterday, you know the Swedish House Mafia? They used to be underground producers in the early 2000’s and they would play at underground places, like small bars and play really good dance music. So in Stockholm as a young kid, you could go see really good dance music. You went to those clubs Rebecca.
Rebecca: Yea I recognized how much I really loved the dance music scene and we started working as nightclub promoters together and then in that same time we started trying out DJing for a fun thing to do and then we really ended up enjoying it. We were super bad playing bad mixes and playing all the music we liked, no specific genre in general.
Fiona: Rock, pop….
Rebecca: We just mixed everything we liked and then we got into it and we promoted and ran a nightclub in Stockholm that was really popular and cool, so instead of booking DJ’s that were so boring to book and expensive, we just started DJing ourselves because people liked that more with us playing what ever we wanted.
Fiona: We kinda figured out first we book DJs and then we would do the warm up set and the warm up sets were always better than when the big DJ came on (laughs)….In our minds. In our heads. So we were like “Wow we are really good at this.” like something is really working. We were gonna go to school and school was soooo boring.
Rebecca: We are so much better at having fun.
Fiona: We said if we could ever make a living doing this, ok at least we should have a shot at trying to survive from DJing. So we quit everything and we lived in a very small apartment together and ate a lot of pasta, you know the cheapest pasta. We had a music blog and we were really focused and into learning everything about music. Then we started learning how to produce music and we are just really happy and thankful that we got the opportunity that we had. We really understand that not everyone gets the opportunity and not everyone has the right circumstances.
Rebecca: It’s really easy to get lost in saying you don’t have the right opportunities, but we just went for it.
Fiona: We were really fortunate because our parents are musicians.
EDMT: Your parents are musicians?
Fiona: Both our fathers are musicians. So we could get a studio without paying…in the beginning.
Rebecca: But we were also not wanting to feel that we were not good enough to do whatever. We were like if we didn’t make it we could just go back and study like five years from now. In Sweden, you always have the right to study because the social system is very good, so we could take rely on it and take the chance on music.
Fiona: Not everyone can do that, so we are really thankful and fortunate for the opportunities and really thankful to the Swedish government. Being born in Sweden you have so much self security and you can do whatever you want.
EDMT: In the male dominated world of electronic music, you guys are standouts already solely based on the fact that you are female. What is your opinion on why there are so few women in the industry and how do you get people to take you seriously as artists in a male dominated industry?
Fiona: I used to answer that question, but I am coming to the point where I don’t want to answer that question because I don’t want to think of the industry as such. I am thinking if we just keep on doing things as we are it’s going to go how we want. I acknowledge you, the industry is very male dominated, but I think by being and acting like that is just nonsense and there is no reason while it should be male dominated. It’s fucking stupid and if we females would do exactly as much as the men there would be so much more good music if 50% was done by women, instead of the 90% being produced by men. In all the circumstances we move through to make music it is only men, all the record labels, all the bosses, maybe a female secretary, all the studios, all the engineers, all the producers. No one ever expects us to make our own music, which is very provocative. For us we are very provoked so we are trying to see it another way and feel like we are going to change this. We are just so tired of it, this is the most common question we get about being a girl in the industry. For us we are going to change it.
Rebecca: We are already changing it.
Fiona: The question is not going to exist in two years
EDMT: Great answer to the question, exactly why I was seeking your opinion on the whole thing.
Fiona: It’s a legit question because it is very male dominated and we just try to work against it to change things.
EDMT: The EDM community is partially known for its distinct and iconic culture of fashion, with people adorning things such as fur, kandi, lights, body paint etc. You two have a distinguishable aesthetic within the community. Where do you derive your fashion inspiration and personal aesthetic from?
Fiona: It started in Sweden where many people were fashion icons and we disliked that from the beginning. They would wear very expensive clothes….
Rebecca: It’s not available for young girls, you know. It’s too expensive. We like to present….
Fiona: Because we are role models.
Rebecca:….a more accessible style.
Fiona: Because you couldn’t afford something that that person is wearing and that would be weird make people want something they could never afford.
Rebecca: And also the consumption. You have to have something new every night to be popular and cool…..
Fiona: We don’t believe in that. We don’t believe in consumption.
Rebecca: We almost only wear vintage stuff….like stuff from Goodwill! Underwear we by new, but all the funny dresses and skirts we wear are vintage, it’s like four dollar skirts and shoes.
Fiona: We realized very soon in our career that people were copying our style and we didn’t want to influence them to buy stuff they couldn’t afford, because then their life would be trying to get money to afford something they couldn’t and we want people to focus on being the best of themselves.
Rebecca: But also being comfortable and secure. It’s not about wearing something sexy to…
Fiona: We don’t want to be apart of that changing yourself to be someone other. we don’t believe in that.
Rebecca: It’s about being yourself, wearing something comfortable and then you look sexy if you are comfortable.
Fiona: For us it’s about being comfortable.
Rebecca: We would never wear something that wasn’t. Like this (refers to outfit) is really comfortable but it’s see through. (laughs) I mean it’s sexy, but it’s comfortable! (laughs)
Fiona: Our friend here just made this (referring to outfit). Normally we wear something from Goodwill.
Rebecca: There is a difference wearing something that somebody else says is sexy or from your perspective what you think is sexy and comfortable. As when you can tell with someone who is wearing a too tight dress and too high of heels, they know that people think they are sexy, but they walk really uncomfortable. So basically our motto is always be comfortable.
EDMT: This year has seen the release of Taken Over and Union and you’ve often teased the audience with your track Soldier as well as the newest release, Hot Shots. What can sorts of things can we expect from your upcoming album?
Fiona: You are going to like it!
Rebecca: You are going to love it!
EDMT: I know I am going to love it!
Fiona: No, we are going home tomorrow to finish the album.
Rebecca: Yea!
Fiona: Our deadline is before Christmas and then we hope to have it out and about in March. It’s much darker, the titles we’ve been playing like our “Soldier” track in our sets are a little more uplifting and then a lot of the album has a darker vibe.
Rebecca: But not that dark as in a depressing way…
Fiona: It’s not depressing
Rebecca: It’s very well written for us, we put a lot of thought, time and effort into it like writing the melodies and the lyrics and the productions. It’s definitely not “oh we are making hit music for America”.
EDMT: Sounds like there is a lot driving it, kind of like Union. It has a whole story behind it. We liked it.
R&F: You liked it??
Fiona: The story of Union is panic for us. It’s about Stockholm. Stockholm used to be the best city in the world and everything was for free. Now the right wing government sold all the hospitals and for two years they sold everything and it’s only going to be for the rich people. It used to be for everyone. It went so fast, so that’s the panic. That’s Union.
