DESIGNER DRUGS

Legal Uncut Dope

Amidst doomsday theories and piracy witch hunts, one group is embracing the chaos. “We actually just finished a track for our second album called Apocalypse Now,” Michael Vincent Patrick, one-half of aptly-named New York duo Designer Drugs tells ANDREW HICKEY.

“It’s fucking 2012, shit’s going down,” Patrick says with emphasis. Proud to be crafting the “soundtrack for the apocalypse,” Patrick reveals that much of what can be heard on their certifiably insane 2011 debut album Hardcore/Softcore came from a special place. “We’ve seen a lot of bad, dark, crazy, gangster shit and I think that came out a bit in the music.”
Putting their demented spin on electronic music, you would think that the tag team would need to be in a certain headspace. Crafting anthems like Drop Down and Into The Light apparently comes naturally to Patrick and Theodore Paul Nelson, his partner-in-crime. “We just sit down and write and the music really comes subconsciously,” he reveals, rather matter-of-factly. “We don’t force music or work really in any direction we just do it then turn it into a production.”
From their production work to their on-stage presentation, Patrick and Nelson pride themselves on being genuine. “A lot of dance music is formulated and lacks any unique characteristics,” Patrick says. Much of their authenticity could stem from the natural chemistry the two have forged since their formative days. “We met back in high school through mutual friends and we went to the same raves and shit. The chemistry in the studio is definitely interesting.”
Another interesting element to this musical molotov is Nelson’s back story – he’s leading a double life as a musician and medical student. “We don’t even work together that much,” Patrick says of their relationship. “If I start a song I just finish it. If he starts a song he ends up sending it to me to produce, arrange and mix.” Even with the distance between the duo, the sound of Designer Drugs doesn’t appear to have suffered. “If we have the opportunity to work together we just bang through the whole song together and that’s definitely our favourite way to work but with our super busy schedules it’s just impossible to make happen.”
Like many of their counterparts, Patrick and Nelson originally built their rep through tireless remixing. Despite the stigma of jumping to the ‘debut album’ they weren’t phased. “We just did our thing,” Patrick chuckles. “Maybe we should have felt more pressured but I think we were a bit in a daze from the brain damage touring had on us.”
The touring won’t stop as Designer Drugs make their return to our shores. You can already picture Aussie customs gearing up at the sight of the last sentence. “I’m stoked to come back to Australia,” Patrick says excitedly. “I have many tight friends there with labels like Vamp and Ministry Of Sound and the last time I was there I went skating a lot and actually rolled my ankle. Fucking limped onto the plane with a huge swollen black and blue ankle. I almost took a fucking wheelchair at the airport.”