STREAMING AUDIO INTERVIEW

Taking their moniker from a pub nearby their recording studio (as opposed to the mysterious brotherhood, shrouded in secrecy and awash with creepy symbolism), since emerging on the scene UK house duo the Freemasons have maintained a reputation for their stellar remixing talents, even managing to snag themselves a Grammy nomination for their rework of Beyonce’s chart smash ‘Deja Vu’.

However, with a stack of remix credits to their name, fans of their work will be happy to hear they’ve finally found enough time to work on an album’s worth of their own material, releasing ‘Shakedown’ last month. Far from your standard dance act artist album, ‘Shakedown’ is a double CD jammed with the Freemasons’ unique funky house flavours, boasting 28 tracks of their own material, interspersed with their most revered remixes to date.

Headlining the massive Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras main event in Sydney earlier in March, ITM’s Tim Hardaker caught up with James Wiltshire – one half of the duo with Russell Small – as he struggled with jetlag, talking about their new album, and how to remix RnB starlets without the dreaded ‘chipmunk effect’.

Freemasons’ debut album ‘Shake Down’ is available now through SonyBMG.