Hey guys. Welcome to Deep House London! How are you, what’s good?
Joy Kitikonti : I’m good, thank you ! We see the end of the tunnel and are back on the road. We had a great party in Andorra for Hibernation festival and we’re looking forward to playing Belgium end of May, before the great Family Piknik summer season we have ahead.
Tom Pooks : Yes, we see the end of the Covid tunnel (Tunnelend) so our mood is 100 % positive. We have gained more creativity through these hard times, we almost feel like a rebirth !
How did the pandemic affect you both and what did you learn about yourselves?
Joy Kitikonti : We stayed home, isolated for more than 15 months, so it was hard because we’ve known each other for more than 20 years and even if we live far away (me in Italy), we used to catch up very often. So when we saw each other for the first time during summer 2021, it was emotional. We kept on making music from our respective studios, we never stopped working and being in touch, anyway.
Tom Pooks : To be honest, I really asked myself a lot of questions about tons of things related to our existence on planet earth, if it was worth making music, if we were truly independent in what we make, why our lives are so different depending on the country we are based. I felt like locked down in my deepest feelings. For a while, I skipped music and focus on my family and what should really be in the center of my existence. But after this phase, I quickly got back to music and creativity, with different visions and a much better life ethic.
What impact has it had on Family Piknik?
Tom Pooks : What a stress it was ! You probably have no idea… We were blocked from working and doing what we do the best, not because of us but because of an external and unpredicted parameter. We were down in 2020 but we luckily managed to run a great 2021 season. This break also gave more relief to our music label, giving us more time to listen to the dozen of demos we get each week, etc…
Joy Kitikonti : It’s true, it allowed us to focus on our label’s growth, developing new profiles and helping young talents to expose their music, which is good !
What is the vibe of the label and festival and how has it evolved over the years?
Joy Kitikonti : We have a very open-minded artistic direction, we cover all kind of electronic musics from deep to techno through indie dance, tech-house and progressive. What we do with the label is similar to what we do on our events.
Tom Pooks : Absolutely ! We work with our label the same way we do for our events, creating some relief and looking for complementary atmospheres, signing tracks that can be good DJ tools as well as tracks who will have a real story-telling behind them. What matters in the end if we all feel like it’s good or not. Ludo, Joy and myself are all in an emotional vibe when we select music for the label, we like when it’s deep deep deep !
What are you most proud of over the years?
Joy Kitikonti : We’ve had many milestones but seeing the festival growing year on year, with many top international artists joining us on stage, is something great. Having worldwide top remixers like Booka Shade, Joh Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo, Marc Romboy and many others trusting our label is an honor. Also, we’ve grown a lot with our music releases these past months in terms of streaming, which is a good reward for all our team.
Tom Pooks : We’ve survived so many hard steps these 10 past years that it made us even stronger. We have multiplied the amount of events we run, we will have 6 main events in France this year, so it’s a fact we’ve grown a lot ! Our label has gained many top collaborations, it’s an honor and it’s the result of our global work with our Family Piknik brand. Everyone now has heard about us and we’ve become of interest for many artists.
Tell us about your new Tunnelend? What inspired it and how did you link up with John Digweed & Nick Muir for the remixes.
Tom Pooks : Tunnelend comes from what we’ve been through with the pandemic. We have 3 great versions from John & Nick which are already highly ranked in the charts. I’ve known John for a very long time and when he came to play with me in Toulouse end of past year, we talked about our lives for hours and this idea of remix came in between talking of us being good daddies, wine and other beauty secrets to stay young forever…
Joy Kitikonti : Tunnelend is the kind of Progressive tornados we love dropping in our B2B sets with Tom. We need this kind of energetic grooves after this long COVID nightmare. Tom, you remember when we asked John if he liked ’Tunnelend’..?
Tom Pooks : He said he liked it too much to make a Progressive remix. So he turned the track in a 105 bpm ambient rework, we love it !
When you produce together do you both have certain aspects you focus on or is the whole process completely collaborative?
Joy Kitikonti : We really work all the aspects together, we swap stems and make regular bounces to finalize our projects, then I take care specifically of mixing and mastering as it’s something I’ve made for many many years now.
Tom Pooks : Yes, we really work as a team. We always ask each other, would we dance on this track, does it sound loud enough, is it deeeeep ? We always look for the perfect balance.
Are you similar in your views and tastes or is it more that opposites attract?
Joy Kitikonti : We share the same vibes and we are like soul mates when it comes to music. Sometimes, I have something more trance and Tom is more into the groove. So we complete each other pretty well.
Tom Pooks : Joy is a bit more on the keys, he is a real musician and he can find a chord in no time whereas I need hours. So he makes things easier and faster. I add my sense of groove and my love for hypnotic mood.
If you had to say what the most important item is on the other persons rider, what would it be?
Joy Kitikonti : A nice Rhum is always good to share before jumping on stage.
Tom Pooks : (laughs) I have to say Joy is a real fascinating character himself, no need for items or details.
What would be your closing record for the last ever party?
Joy Kitikonti : Mystic Force – Psychic Harmony. A song from 1994 that gives me peace and hope !
Tom Pooks : There will never be any last parties, humans will always make parties even if we need to hide ourselves sometimes.
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