Sacha Robotti and Sirus Hood are taking North America by storm with their newest 16-date tour hitting some of the most fun venues across the U.S. and Canada, including stops in Santa Barbara, San Diego, Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco and Detroit.
The two Dirtybird players are truly talented house and techno musicians and and also great friends – we were able to catch up with them about the tour, their friendship and playing together just in time for their shows this weekend at Webster Hall in NYC and VERSO in San Francisco.
What drew you to enter the music world? How did you get your start?
Sacha: My sister is a pianist, when I was a kid she practised every day so I was kind of forced to listen to classical music for 4-6 hours per day. I guess that influenced me to master an instrument of my own. I loved the double bass but I was too small back then, so I learned to play the cello.
Sirus: 20 years ago, when I was still a child, older friends of mine made me listen to cassettes, with recorded club sets by local DJs. It was a trigger to today’s passion.
At 15, I was using patches on my computer to be able to have two mp3 players on Winamp to make little mixes. When I was 16/17, the first DJ software appeared. I purchased my first vinyl turntables when I was 18 from a guy of my class. Then I started as a local DJ in Paris, I did basically every club in the city. That’s when it all started.
Both of your styles are, in their own way, quite dynamic and unique. What inspirations have influenced your sound the most?
Sacha: My life, the Universe, the people in my life, my muse, traveling, music and arts from all disciplines, nature..
Sirus: I discovered the French Touch, with artists like Daft Punk, DJ Mehdi (RIP), Laurent Garnier, Cassius, Didier Sinclair (RIP) through the most underground radio station at the time called Radio FG. They influenced me to become a DJ. I’m also greatly inspired by Chicago ghetto House of the 90′ with artists like Paul Johnson, Green Velvet, DJ Deeon.
With this North American tour, what has been your favorite stop thus far? What stop are you looking forward to?
Sacha: So far all the gigs were great, however for me personally the first weekend in Santa Barbara and San Diego was a highlight.
Sirus: I played at EOS Santa Barbara, it was an amazing vibe, I really loved it. Bang Bang at San Diego was a blast too, great crowd. I’m very excited for Webster Hall in NYC, and Las Vegas at Beauty Bar, I’ve never been to LV and I can’t wait!
Tell us your most entertaining fan story that’s happened at one of your show.
Sacha: It’s hard to pick out one favorite fan story when you’ve been DJing around the globe for over ten years! All kinds of things have happened.. I’ve had some fans bring me food, clothes, presents they made themselves.. some drive for hours or fly out to see me play, which blows my mind. Sometimes fans become your friends. The best fans I’ve experienced so far are Dirtybird fans!
Sirus: In general terms its very fun to meet the same fans in different parts of the world, some people just follow you wherever you play! And they give you personalized gifts, I’m very grateful to have fans like this.
What are your favorite and least favorite parts about being on tour?
Sacha: My favorite part of being on tour is to play my music in cities I haven’t traveled to yet, and interact with people, bringing good vibes. My music has been the key for me to be able to do this, so I want to be respectful and meet the people who brought me to their cities, clubs, festivals. In more basic terms, I love to find a nice hotel room after a day on the road and just chill heavily, watch local news, take a bath, take a nap.
My least favorite part of being on tour is traveling on very little or no sleep. That can be very exhausting, especially if you have a hangover. I’m not big into flying so for me every time I step in a plane I’m happy when I have the ground under my feet again.
Sirus: The fact of traveling and seeing new cities is obviously amazing as it is. I love meeting new people, discovering new food, cultures, landscapes, and crowds..
It is also very tiring, being jet lagged and constantly knackered is terrible.
What’s your favorite track to play in your set right now?
Sacha: Currently I love what Gesus Lpz is doing, I bought a bunch of his tracks lately. They all kind of sound similar but they work very well as groovy tools.
Sirus: My fave track to play is my own unreleased one, called “Serenade”, the break is mental and drives everyone crazy every time.
What made you want to tour with each other? Are you two close?
Sacha: While I was on the road with my dear Ardalan on his Thunder tour last May, I played with Racim aka Sirus Hood at Monarch in San Francisco, where we got to know each other. Our managers had the idea that we could tour together and make an EP to support the tour. I flew to Paris and we started 2 tracks, Hebe and Dirty Money, which are out now. Racim is a dope guy and it’s awesome to be on the road together!
Sirus: My American agent Chad introduced us, and said that it would be a good idea to tour together since we are both Dirtybird artists. (We also both speak French so that’s a plus). Now we are releasing an EP together for this tour, and we are good friends.
What’s your favorite part about performing with each other?
Sacha: We have a lot of fun! Also, I’m refreshing my French haha.
Sirus: We try to play b2b every time, and we complete each other in a way. I really enjoy playing with him!
What’s next for you as an artist? What should we keep an eye out for?
Sacha: Keep an eye out for my upcoming releases and remixes, there’s a lot of good stuff in the works. Original on Dirtybird and Desert Hearts Records, remixes on Yoshitoshi and Katermukke.. and more that I’m really excited about but I can’t tell you right now!
Sirus: I will be touring all around the world this year: Brazil, South Africa, Australia, whole Europe. I will release end of March a massive track on Ki Creighton’s label “Under No Illusion”. I can’t wait for everyone to discover it, I’m very proud of this one.
I will also release a great EP end of April on Criminal Hype. And many projects are still in progress. Stay tuned!
Their new tracks “Hebe” and “Dirty Money” are out now. You can snag a free download of “Hebe” here, or stream it below.
Sirius Hood and Sacha Robotti – Hebe
