Black Boots’ dynamic duo Mikey Francis and Lightknife first joined forces in the summer of 2011. What started as a basic idea in a small apartment in the heart of the Las Vegas desert, has skyrocketed into a large-scale effort to give the ever-growing electronic dance music scene something different — timeless songs with depth, emotion, and passion. We had an opportunity to interview these amazing up-and-comers, read on below for all the goods!
How did you guys meet?
We randomly met at a party back in 2010 and we knew of each other through mutual friends. We got to talking and it turned out we shared a strikingly similar ideas about conspiracy theories, philosophy, women, and electronic music. Coincidentally enough we were both looking for roommates at the time, so soon after we ended up finding a place together and black boots was born.
Where did the name Black Boots come from?
The short answer here is I was listening to a side project of Trent Reznor’s (How to Destroy Angels is the band name) and there was a lyric that repeated over and over again… “listen to the sound of my Big Black Boots”… It had a militant and dominating feeling to it. That’s why the name stuck. There’s a “no bullshit” feeling that comes with the symbolism of black boots and we relate to that.
Tell us about some of your upcoming releases.
We stepped away from originals for the time being to work on producing new remixes, bootlegs, and electronic covers of some classic tracks that have influenced us as artists. We are throwing all the rules of “EDM” out the window because FUCK genres, right? Making music is about connecting with what you are feeling at the moment. It shouldn’t have rules. So we have a bunch of tunes coming your way including a remix of Congorock’s Babylon, Fugees’ Killing Me Softly, Duke Dumont’s Need U 100%, and even an electronic cover of a Nine Inch Nails song.
Which festival are you looking forward to the most this year? Why?
We’re out here in fabulous Las vegas. While we do get into our fare share of trouble on a regular basis, nothing gets us quite as pumped as edc. Why? Because it’s sort of like an actual utopia. Right when u enter that field, there’s an almost primal sense of community and lawlessness in the air… It’s like beautiful anarchy…. and the music is great too.
Who are some of your favorite artists right now?
Wow that’s a tough one… there are so many good producers out there finally taking risks and being innovative. I would say at the moment we are really feeling What So Not, Dillon Francis, Gesaffelstein, all those rad producers from Paris who dress in black, and the majority of the artist putting stuff out on OWSLA and Mad Decent.
What do you guys use to produce/DJ?
For productions we were on Logic but recently graduated to Ableton. For DJing we use Traktor with F1/X1 and the CDJ2000s.
Describe your music in one sentence.
Our music is provocative and flammable with a touch of filth and orgasm.
What are some of your favorite things about being an artist in the EDM scene today?
The limitless boundaries which can be explored in the world of music is what makes being a electronic music producer so fulfilling. If you have a computer, you can create anything.
How do you feel about the state of EDM today? What would you like to see more/less of in the future?
I think EDM Is in a dangerous position right now. Too much of the exact same thing is happening and it’s starting to bore people. You can’t have an artistic industry where everyone’s just trying to follow the leader. Id love to see more risk taking on the part of the artists. I’d love to see versatility, personality and creativity brought back into the music.
Do you have any words of advice for young artists trying to break into the scene right now?
Write music that inspires you on a personal level.. The one thing that’s unique about you is who you are when you’re not trying to fit. We’re entering a time where people are very open minded to new ideas and new sounds so have fun and be original.
Make sure to check out Black Boots on Soundcloud and like them on Facebook.
