Insider Interview: Producer Duo Beauties Rebecca & Fiona Get Tech Crazy With SoundCtrl

by Sarah Polonsky

The US is about to be hit in the face (and like it!) by Sweden’s hottest DJ duo, Rebecca and Fiona. If you haven’t heard of them yet, YOU WILL. With a hard-as-bullets live show, a saucy new video for chart-topper, (ahem) “Bullets” and a tour promoting the US release of their album I Love You, Man, Rebecca and Fiona are taking the Northeast by storm.

While they may look adorable and teeny, don’t be fooled. Rebecca and Fiona are titans of tonality, armed with badass beats and hard-dropping bass. The gals made room in their party-making schedule to chat with SoundCtrl about music tech and more…

SoundCtrl - Describe your sound and what we get from a Rebecca and Fiona live show.
Rebecca & Fiona - While DJing, we play non-commercial stuff with hard drops. We try to avoid cheesy vocals. We’re really into the technology aspect. We’re Nazi mixers, but we’re really into the party, as well.

SC – Describe your single “Bullets” from a production standpoint.
R&F – It was just a guitar riff. Adrian [producer/DJ Adrian Lux, and Rebecca’s boyfriend] and his friend were making a remix. They recorded a guitar riff that never got released. So, we just had the guitar riff and some base—it was nothing, just a loop. We took it from there, and started to create a song. We usually start with making a demo version of a track, and the production aspect we finish up together in the studio.

SC – Do you do all your own producing?
R&F –  Yes. It’s so different every time. Basically, we create some melodies in Logic, some piano or a little synthesizer vibe, and then we go from there.

SC – What are your software and hardware must-haves?
R&F – Logic! We almost always work with software. But, we have some old synthesizers. On our album, I Love You, Man we used midi synthesizers.

SC – What is your favorite music app?
R&F – Reason. Ot is a Swedish app like Ableton. They have a really good iPad app, so does GarageBand. But we mostly use Twitter and Instagram for fun. There’s a new app in Spotify that gets all the lyrics so when you listen to a track you get all the lyrics.

SC – Favorite headphones?
R&F –  Sennheiser, we can’t play with anything else. We started with them and we produce with them, as well. They’re small and they’re sound is perfect.

SC – If you could perfect a piece of software, what would it be?
R&F – We would like to design a synthesizer with our favorite catalog or dream sounds that we love. It’s got to have the weirdest sounds, with its own DNA that you can go in and change and it’s fucking mental. And of course, no one else can use it.

Check out Rebecca & Fiona’s video for “Bullets,” available on iTunes.

Catch Rebecca and Fiona on tour: