slow // cautious // meaningful

Berlin might be a city full of techno and house loving expats, but not many of those can call Seoul their native home.

That said – and as the cliché goes – Rust & Dust are far from your average duo. The South Korean natives craft gorgeous house music of the sort that endears many and often crosses over, with numerous rich melodies and hidden nuances a part of their body of work. And despite only being a few releases into their production story, things are clearly going well for the guys – just as their debut on Swedish label HMWL would have you believe. With a lot going on in their lives, we thought it to be a good time to check in with them to find out more… 

How is it that you two came together? How long have you known each other?

We’ve bumped each other not long ago, probably 1 and a half-year ago? We’ve got to know each other almost 1 year now. 

What is the dance music scene like over in Seoul? Has it changed much in the last 10 years with music now being so easily accessible online?

We get this question quite time to times; we guess it is interesting to know what is going on in Seoul, especially music-wise. Well, we believe it definitely changed in both good/bad ways as other cities around the world. Korea still needs more time for underground music scene, but for commercial EDM works quite well.

How are you finding the difference in cultures between Seoul and Berlin since you moved over?  

What we have felt from Berliners, they listen to you no matter who you are and what you are. That makes huge difference. 

Berlin is obviously famed for its house and techno scene. For a dance music fan, entering the city for an amazing weekend clubbing, where would you personally recommend? What clubs really stand out for you, and you particularly enjoy?

Well most of them are really good and have their own character. We believe they have put lots of efforts & time to build up its character so it is no doubt they get famous. We’ve enjoyed a real small club (well more like a bar) called “Farbfernseher”, and we felt so relaxed and warm in there. A great spot.

When it comes to making tracks, do you both have certain things that you take care of? What roles do you give each other, or do you kind of work on things together?

Well, Eastmask sketches at the beginning and brings up elements of sound, then Mang Esilo takes good care of sounds. But mostly we sit together and work. Since we live quite far from each other, we mostly spend hours and hours. 

What 3 words do you think best describe your work?

Slow, Cautious, Meaningful.

What do you think the most important features of a good DJ set are today? 

Unpredictability. 

You want to guarantee that a dance floor is going to kick off. What one track do you play?

We have our weapon ripped from a vinyl we have but we do not know where it is from and who even produced it. It’s a mystery!  

How happy are you with the way your ‘Gaje’ EP has turned out?

First, HMWL’s label crew put great support on this EP, and we are having great support from so many good artists that we didn’t even think we would. 

What do you guys hope to achieve in 2015?

We still believe we need to WORK HARD. So keeping what we are doing now would be our goal in 2015 as it was. 

Rust & Dust’s Gaje is out now on HMWL, read our review here. And listen a preview to it here.

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more info:

Rust & Dust // HMWL