An LA native residing in New York City, and a New Zealander living in Australia - two friends who genuinely loved to play music and throw parties are now becoming one of the biggest acts in the hustling underground music scene. Enter Skyler Gross and Nick Van Tiel - AKA HOUSING CORP. The DJ/Producer duo making waves with a series of warehouse parties called CHROMED - as well as playing gigs across the world including Brooklyn’s recent Elements Festival and the highly anticipated premiere afterparty for Zac Efron's We Are Your Friends (alongside Anna Lunoe, Thomas Jack, MAKJ, Hook N Sling, and more). Their heavy house style meshes seamlessly with dashes of hip hop and the occasional funk.
So after being classically trained in music for 17 years, and involved with the electronic music community almost a decade - here are my thoughts: Housing Corp is the real deal. I can say honestly that they are one of my favorite artists duos and I recommend them to everyone. (Check out their latest mix here)
It’s rare to find such young producers present such a precise style of orchestration. Each track is arranged in an absurd but masterful progression. Their tastes are provocative and clever - moments of downtime are few and far between, but always perfectly placed. Housing Corp is completely addictive and impressively on point - the type of style that garners a silent “oh sh*t” when you hit play on their Soundcloud. And in the club? Well that’s a whole other story.
They’ve been gaining a lot of eyes lately and with good reason. When it comes down to it, they’re exactly the type of people who deserve all the recent attention -- just two dudes who love music. With their sweet and humble demeanor - paired with their intelligent and noticeably sharp style - the rise to the top is inevitable.
I got to hang out and chat with Skyler and Nick over the past weekend; the two had some interesting things to say:
DAILY BEAT: How did you guys get started in music, and how did Housing Corp come about?
HC: We were throwing parties together in downtown Manhattan, celebrating the deeper, more bass heavy side of house music. We were on the same wavelength as far as taste so DJing together made sense. It took about six months for us to realize we were also producing independently. We got together in the studio and it just clicked. There's really nothing better than seeing a crowd of people get off to your tracks during a set!
DAILY BEAT: Who are your biggest musical influences and favorites when it comes to producing, and when it comes to DJing?
HC: From a production standpoint, Amine Edge and DANCE have always inspired us - as well as most of their crew from Paris. Shadow Child, Sonny Fodera, Kevin Knapp, and Rhichy Ahmed are all GAWDS in the studio as well - something that .pushes us to work harder when we're putting stuff together. We also have been influenced by artists outside of house music - UK Bass music to dancehall and especially hip hop. Traditional hip hop's use of sampling and drum pattern structure has had a big influence on our music.
This summer, we've had amazing times seeing performances by Justin Martin, Bicep, Eats Everything, Richy Ahmed, and Amtrac - who we got the privilege of playing with at the BangOn! Elements afterparty!
DAILY BEAT: What is your personal philosophy on music? If there's only thing you want your fans to know - what is it?
HC: Trends quickly come and go in music these days and its easy to get caught up - but we've always tried to stay true to our style that is a 100% accurate representation of us, and not compromising our style for anything or anyone. Whether it be our own tracks or DJ sets, our fans can always count on us sticking to what we really love.
DAILY BEAT: Housing Corp has been getting a lot of eyes lately. What are some things you are trying to accomplish within the next year?
HC: Its been really nice recently that our hard work is paying off, in terms of seeing our names in the press and getting larger gigs. We're sitting on a couple of tracks that we re really proud of, waiting for the right time to release those! We're also really pushing for shows with bigger crowds- keeping the momentum going. Housing Corp played some pretty incredible shows in the past few weeks and we don't plan on slowing down any time soon. But now - a summer hemisphere tour is definitely in the cards, so look out Australia!
DAILY BEAT: Finally, what's your favorite thing about NYC?
HC: The constant energy here that keeps everyone moving forward, nothing ever gets stale in NYC and everyone is really receptive to other people's creativity. We also have an amazing community here and its awesome playing in NYC knowing that you're always going to have a few homies rock up to support or play with you!
Skyler and Nick will continue to throw their CHROMED parties around New York City. Need your thirst for house satiated sometime sooner? This Thursday, the boys will be playing alongside Dirtybird heavyweight Shiba San at Brooklyn’s warehouse inspired, world renowned Verboten. One of their biggest gigs to date and we couldn’t be more excited -- strap yourselves in...Housing Corp has arrived.
Housing Corp Soundcloud | Housing Corp Facebook
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/214847721" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]