It doesn’t even need to be mentioned that electronic artists are growing in numbers by the minute, but for Underground Sound to feel that an artist is distinguished from the ever growing tally you gotta be something special. Perhaps it is us being drawn to the 16 ft-tall LED and laser pyramid system, ” Eye Live” like a party moth to the rage flame or perhaps it is the fact that Midnight Conspiracy is actually that talented.

What have they done so far: They have already hit #2 on Beatport’s dubstep chart, landed in the Hype Machine’s Top 5 six times, had multiple tracks on BBC Radio 1, and toured non-stop in over 50 cities on two continents. Festivals like Lollapalooza, Ultra Music Festival, World Electronic Music Festival (WEMF) and North Coast Music Festival and more to come.

Underground Sound had the opportunity to sit down with Midnight Conspiracy, well not sit down more like run around upstairs at Webster Hall and get some answers! Midnight Conspiracy is more than their sound: heavy bass, electro, and some dubstep all mixed to create a musical narrative for the audience’s optimal face melt. Come see for yourself, get introduced and as they would say, “inducted into the Midnight Conspiracy”.

-Creating an image for oneself is tough nowadays how did you come up with your artist name

We do our own art, design and imagery so it’s not about trying to create an image for ourselves. We just create what we like and what we think looks cool. We like to party at midnight and it’s a conspiracy if you don’t.

-What music were you both raised on and is it influencing you today?

Mikul listened to a lot of metal growing up, so that partly explains why we’ve always like the heavy stuff. Louis and Graham were into things like Depeche Mode and Prince with catchier melodies and hooks. Lately Graham has been getting into a lot of the darker D&B like Phace/Misanthrop (aka NEOSIGNAL) and Black Sun Empire, it combines the sound design that we love with dark, brutal bass sounds, definitely some inspiring stuff.

-What inspired you musically to move into the EDM scene and fall into your specific style? Was it an artist or an event you saw or attended?

I’d say it was Justice and what was going on with Indie Electro around 2006-2007 that got us really into the electronic scene. It was the blend and crossover of indie rock to dance friendly remixes and songs that was the impetus to enter this world of EDM.

-Do you feel that where Midnight Conspiracy was conceived aka Chicago has had an impact on your music and if so what kind?

Sure. The music we were playing at the underground loft and warehouse parties in Chicago when we got started out had an influence on the music we created. It started with italo inspired indie electro then dubstep (before it hit mainstream) and then our sound evolved into heavier and heavier bass music.

-I suspect by your musical prowess that you have a musical/instrumental background, what kind? If so how easy was the transition to the computer production programs? What do you currently use to produce? Is that the same program/s as when you started and any opinions and improvements you would like to voice and see.

Graham plays keyboard and guitar, Louis violin and guitar, Mikul bass guitar. We’ve played live over our songs before. Sometimes we’ll throw in Chess from Cenob1te for French horn or Jessica from Moneypenny for live vocals. Graham has gone from Pro Tools to Logic to Ableton. It’d be sweet if we got some free software. We’ll try anything. We’re like the guy you invites himself to a party to ravage all the free food and drinks.

-At some point there were Conspiracy was a trio, what happened? Before becoming a trio/duo did you guys DJ and or perform separately?

We are still a trio. Perhaps we’ll add a fourth or fifth. We’re currently accepting applications.

-Currently what is it like DJn as a two person team? Upsides and downsides(if there are any) and what do you think your strong points in the team are? Do you feel either of you excel in any specific area such as crowd hype or DJn?

Louis and Graham are the lightest in the group so they excel in crowd surfing and stage diving. Mikul has the longest hair so he wins hands down in the head banging department. Besides that, in our Eye Live setup we rotate between controlling the music, the lights, air gun, fog machines and any other toys we might have up there. It’s like the Millennium Falcon where we each take turns at each of the different stations.

– The eye live that seems like quite a large item to transport and now that you guys are hitting the world circuit any logistics issues, customs & funny stories transporting?

We’re about to bring it to Bangkok so we’ll let you know!

-What is it like performing in South America, any difference in the vibe/audience?

Some countries seem less concerned about safety and getting sued than in the US. I almost fell out of 4th story window while crowd surfing in Costa Rica until the promoter pulled me back in. That was pretty epic.

– Who have you had a great time collaborating with? Who would your dream collaboration be with?

Trent Reznor would be a dream collaboration.

-You have said you see EDM being the next big bubble? Is Midnight Conspiracy doing something to avoid being a part of this bubble?

No, we’re going to run this ship into the ground! Crash and burn baby!

-How has your interactions with your growing fan base been? Any cool/funny stories that stand out?

We love our fans and try to meet as many of them as we can. One of our fans, Drew, is disabled in a wheelchair and for his birthday we brought him out in the middle of our set and had 4000 people give him a birthday shout out. The people at our shows are amazing.

Last but not least what do you think of when you hear “Underground Sound”?

I think of the Tube in London and the chaotic sounds of subway trains.

More on Midnight below:

https://twitter.com/MidCon

http://soundcloud.com/midnightconspiracy

https://www.facebook.com/MidnightConspiracy