TORONTO — Loud Luxury still can’t quite believe their good fortune ahead of the Juno Awards on Sunday.

With their bouncy breakout “Body” blanketing radio airwaves nearly a year and a half after its release, the Canadian DJ duo say they’re surprised “literally every single day” by the dance song’s staying power.

“We joke it’s the cat with nine lives because there’s been so many times where we think, ‘OK the song’s run its course, we’re grateful for that.’ But it still hasn’t slowed down,” explained Andrew Fedyk.

“It’s a really humbling feeling.”

The track’s popularity is helping make Loud Luxury a highlight of this year’s Junos ceremony where they’ll compete with four nominations. They’re up for breakthrough group and the fan choice award, while “Body” contends for single of the year and best dance recording for a remixed version.

Loud Luxury feel an extra sense of connection to this year’s Junos, which will broadcast live on CBC from London, Ont., because it’s happening a short drive away from where Fedyk, 25, and his beat-making buddy Joe De Pace, 29, met as students at Western University.

The two DJs took a break from sightseeing at the Chichen Itza Mayan ruins in Mexico to talk with The Canadian Press about establishing their careers off a global hit.

CP: The Juno Awards are a homecoming of sorts for both of you, since you originally met when you crossed paths at Western University in London. How did that happen?

De Pace: I was president of the Western DJ club, and Andrew was at the first meeting held at my place. I remember after the meeting was done (Andrew) showed me a couple beats he made. I was like, “This is pretty dope, we should just mess around and see what we come up with.” Basically we got in the studio that week and hit it off from there. We were opening for anybody — sometimes for 15 minutes before four other DJs, just to be on the event — and taking university semi-formals, any of the bars, clubs. It was all about getting our names out.

Fedyk: We were also in university trying to finish up our degrees. As we started to release more music and play more shows it went from being a hobby, to being like, “Yo, we should quit our jobs.” That’s when Los Angeles came in the picture.

CP: So you uprooted yourselves from Canada to resettle in a Hollywood apartment. What was that like?

De Pace: It was a really big adjustment because I’d lived in London all my life and Andrew was originally from Mississauga, Ont. (We moved to) a 700-square-foot apartment that we shared a bed in. It was so small. We thankfully have moved from there.

CP: How did you come up with “Body,” which features American singer Brando on vocals?

Fedyk: We got invited to this showcase by a manager. Her artist was headlining the event so we went down the block in Hollywood, checked it out, and Brando was in the band that was opening the night.

De Pace: I remember hearing Brando sing and I was like, “Oh man this guy’s crazy, we’ve definitely got to talk to him.”

Fedyk: (We asked him) if he’s ever made electronic music. And he’s like, “No I make hip hop and R&B.” And we’re like, “Give us a chance, let’s get in the studio and make some stuff. There’s something about your vibe that’s really cool.” So we got in the studio, started messing around and “Body” is one thing that came of it.

CP: You’ve enjoyed an impressive streak of success with the song, which originally caught fire online. What helped you grow “Body” from a cult song into a major hit?

De Pace: It came from literally us going to every city we could, whether it be playing for 1,000 people or 10 people. We got our names out there, tried to meet everybody possible, and we still do that today.

Fedyk: We were literally paying our friends to drive us around the northeast when the song first came out. And we were taking any show we could, playing all of these colleges for next to no money.

CP: As “Body” inches towards a half a billion plays on Spotify, are you concerned about being unable to separate yourself from it down the road?

De Pace: I will always be OK with being associated with this song.

Fedyk: It’s fine because we’ve spent so much time grinding as DJs and trying to perfect our craft. We’re going to keep pushing forward and we’re confident everything is going to work out.

— This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

— Listen to a playlist of 2019 Juno Award nominees on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2DGvgyZ

Follow @dfriend on Twitter.

David Friend, The Canadian Press



