We can all relate to fighting with our brothers and sisters as kids over trivial things like who got to sit in the front seat or got the bigger slice of pie. This is very much a part of the sibling experience, but when it comes to music, watch out for cause it means trouble! Whose turn was it to choose the radio station in the car or even worse, whose tape was getting played in the ol’ tape player was definitely worth fighting for! In the Desenberg household, where Sydney DJs Kid Kenobi (Jesse) and Hugga Thug (Myles) grew to love and live for music, it was no doubt the same childhood power struggle. Who would have thought, years down the track, they would put their thinking caps on and “finally get off their ass and write some music together” under the uber cool monker Two Fresh?
No strangers to the Australian live music culture, the brothers began making their mark early. “We grew up with music as our Dad was a drummer. He dragged us off to gigs and whatever else growing up. It was a big influence on us even though we hated it at the time, we’d rather be doing ‘normal’ kids stuff! Our roots, thanks to Dad and his ‘no rock’ policy – are heavily entrenched in ‘Black’ music such as reggae, hip hop, soul, funk, and dub.” In their teen years, Jesse as the older of the two, was the first to introduce DJ culture to Myles, ensconced in the early 90s rave scene and making mixtapes, as well as playing early hardcore on community radio.
As say the siblings, Two Fresh is all about those early influences in Jesse and Myles’ lives. With the lads drawing on those experiences that go back to their roots, they then work towards producing a track as definitive a 90s club anthem as Snaps’ The Power. “Two Fresh came about because [for us] 2008 was about shifting focus away from DJing and more toward producing. We were both a little dismayed about the direction of the greater club sound until we started hearing heaps of shit that really inspired us and reminded us of our influences and why we got into DJing in the first place. Two Fresh is about capturing that,” they say. “We try to mix the elements of reggae, hip hop, soul, funk and dub with other styles of jackin’ club music – fidget, Baltimore, booty, juke. We also throw in a bit of rave! Early 90s rave is what got us into dance music as it drew from the same influences that we are drawing from now”. They both give credit to Sydney’s Q45 for giving them a push in the right direction as he was the first in their crew to stop buying cassette tapes and start buying records. “We started on a single belt drive turntable, not easy!” chuckles Jesse.
At this point, everything is sounding too peachy and friendly for these loyal-loving brothers. With my own childhood memories hair pulling upper most in mind, surely when you are producing or mixing it up at gigs, one brother pulls rank? Setting me straight, they note “We’ve done two gigs so far and they’ve been super cool! It’s the studio where we get into trouble – whoever is in the driver’s seat always seem to get their ideas across first, much to the dismay of the passenger! We do have a ‘no touch’ policy while the other person is DJing though! The other has to stick to sampling and FX!”
Undoubtedly with such concepts beneath their belts, Two Fresh has the potential to win over clubbers and festival goers nationwide this summer! With their hot combination of Myles’ strong ‘club’ sound lavished with sexy vocals and deep hip hop influences, alongside Jesse’s main room fusion of breaks and slamming electro, is it any wonder they have been booked up well into the summer? “Our remixes have started doing really well– our first went to number nine on the ARIA Club Chart so that’s been a real surprise for us,” They say. “We have stacks of dates around the country over the next few months that we are really looking forward to!”
And Brisbane indeed has something to look forward to when Electric Kiss presents Two Fresh at Bar Soma this Saturday November 29. The boys promise a night of “Jackin, drinkin, partyin, fun. And all our new shit!” So expect to indulge your ears in a couple of sexy remixes for the sunny days and balmy nights ahead. You will not be disappointed by the fidget rave remix of The Jump Off’s Rackhunters, released earlier on this month or the fidget dub mix of Resin Dog’s Peace & Love out on Hydrofunk Records this summer. Something fresh is coming to hit us!
Electric Kiss presents Two Fresh at Bar Soma this Saturday November 29.
