Despite Florida’s stronghold as a hub for electronic dance music, it’s surprising not too many producers from the state have gone on to find national and international fame. Artists like Danny Daze and Hundred Waters represent the state on their extensive tours, but it’s clear Florida could use some more musical liaisons.
Enter Bedside, an indie dance duo based out of Miami. Comprised of Travis Acker and Trace Barfield, Bedside combines indie, house (both pure house and a bit of tropical house, but without the cheesiness), and disco for finely produced songs. Their debut EP, One Night With You, releases today, and Your EDM has the lucky opportunity to premiere it in all of it’s sensual glory.
The EP opens with “I Need Your Love,” a very intimate opener complete with a club-ready beat and soft vocals from JayJo Hero. The following track, “Layer Cake,” slows the tempo down a touch, but Bedside dress the track with a catchy snyth and bouncy drums. “Running Away” incorporates saxophone instrumentals courtesy of Devon Heinrichs for another slow-burner, and distorted vocals repeating the phrase “You keep running away” give the track a bittersweet tone. The closing track, the previously released “One Night With You” featuring Sahara Smith, finishes off the EP on a very high note as Bedside delves deep into full-on house with sexually-tinged vocal splices and deep melodies. 
There’s a great future ahead for Bedside, and we can’t wait to hear more. To learn more about the duo, read our exclusive interview with them below:
How did you guys get your start producing?
We are seasoned musicians with broad tastes in music. After grinding it out in live bands for years we were drawn to electronic music production to fulfill our need to produce the highest quality of sound, rhythm and mix. The future of music is being realized on programs like Ableton LIVE so we set out to fuse our experience as live improvisational musicians with the sexy dance beats and boogie grooves moving Miami dance floors. The addition of organic instruments such as trumpet, saxophone, bass, keyboards and guitar introduce a new level of musicianship often lost when composing music on a grid. Producing in Ableton really provides unlimited options for instrumentation and effects so refining the songs while still pushing the sound design has been a fun challenge that really motivated us to hone in our sound to the sexy grooved out dance music you hear today.
Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations?
We both have a huge respect for the long tradition of great musicians who came before us, but lately producers like FKJ, Pomo, Kartell, Kaytranada, Jamie xx, Moon Boots, Flume, Bonobo, SBTRKT and Kraak & Smaak have provided plenty of inspiration. Miami itself is an inspiration supporting a great scene of DJs and producers blazing their own trails.
What inspired the creation of this EP? Any particular goals when creating it?
The concept for One Night With You was to facilitate the courting ritual of new lovers. We encourage listeners to let their guard down and express desire for one another. We want to invoke the ecstasy of giving in to the beat, losing all inhibitions to live in that suspended moment where the focus is only you and the one you desire while the rest of the club fades from your consciousness. The end goal is to have the lovers swept from the club to somewhere more intimate waiting in anticipation for that moment when she lets you know that all she needs is One Night With You to make you hers forever. We achieved our goal of creating four sexy dance tracks that take you on a journey showcasing our clean production, grooved out beats and playful songwriting.
How do you guys perform your live show?
Our live show ranges from a 9 piece band to a DJ duo. Over the next week we will be performing 4 times, each with a different arrangement. For our club gigs we rock the DJ booth mixing our production with some of our favorite re-edits peppering in live trumpet, bass and percussion. Our live band show features Travis as DJ/Bassist and Trace playing trumpet, controllers and running effects but then we are joined by different arrangements of horns players, keyboardists, percussionists, guitarists and vocalists depending on the situation.
The live show highlights improvisational solos placed throughout the club ready production creating a live hard hitting dance party. The performance is horn-driven showcasing tight orchestrated horn lines as live bass and keys pop in and out of songs creating a show dynamic unmatched by just a DJ. The foundation of the show can be found in the unrelenting beats and the groove of the live percussionist adding that Afro-Latin swagger. No show has been exactly the same and we intend to keep it that way.
What plans do you have for 2016 and beyond?
We are starting the year off strong with the release of our debut EP, and a March festival run that includes Aura Music Festival, Okeechobee Music Festival and Fractal Beach. At Aura Music Festival we will be joined by members of the Heavy Pets, Fusik and the Resolvers. We look forward to releasing some new mixes, music videos and another EP by the end of the year. We have a Florida tour in the works and look to expand out to NYC, DC, Philly, NOLA and more. We have a great sound with an international appeal so we are working hard to build relationships in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia. We are blessed to have a great team and the support of our community, so in 2016 we are going to do our part to show the world that Miami is bringing that heat!
Listen to the One Night With You EP below:
