Cold Blank is coming, so be prepared! The electro house duo, made up of Chris Gaspar and Manny Luquin, are the owners of the well-known EDM label Burn The Fire, and just released their debut album, The Agenda, so they'll be hitting Kingdom this Friday at the peak of their powers. The album is set to take the electronic music scene by storm, and no wonder, when it features guest appearances from Andy Taylor of Duran Duran and Blake Miller from Moving Units, as well as new explorations by the duo into the worlds of dubstep and drum n' bass. Plus, it collects Cold Blank classics like "Los Angeles" and "2012," presenting them alongside great new singles like "Deception" and "Onslaught." And they're ready to drop it all on you when they hit RVA on Friday! In preparation for the upcoming bass explosion, we spoke to Chris Gaspar of Cold Blank about roots, influences, collaborations, and sushi. Read on!
When did you guys originally start to produce as Cold Blank?
Cold Blank was a new idea and concept behind production for me. We started producing together as Cold Blank in August of 2008. It's actually been 4 years now; it feels unreal.
Is there any significance to your name?
Yeah, there's a definitely a story behind our name, track titles, and our artwork. It isn't hard to figure out; a lot of our singles and our upcoming album are all very similar and refer to ancient history, including Sumerian myths & unidentified secrets of space. We definitely plan to explain the meaning of our name and a bit more about Cold Blank in the upcoming months with music videos & possibly some sort of mini-series.
Musically were you always into electronic? Were there bands or other musicians that you grew up listening to and inspired by?
Definitely. I remember listening to Daft Punk and a bunch of club music in the 90s like Armand Van Helden, CeCe Peniston, Crystal Waters, etc. Although I was underage, you could fortunately catch club hits on the radio. I also grew up listening to disco music, techno, and a bit of jungle. My transition to production was inspired by Daft Punk, Justice, MSTRKRFT, Calvin Harris, Boys Noize and Wolfgang Gartner.
What other current artists or music has inspired your production?
Recently, I've been digging Dyro, Svidden, Deorro, and Clockwork. Their production is special, as it doesn't sound like everything else flooding the Top 100 these days.
What other artist have you enjoyed working with?
We have a few collaborations on our album that I enjoyed. We collaborated with Andy Taylor (Duran Duran), Neon Stereo, and Electric Soulside. It was cool to collaborate with amazing songwriters while we were touring. We also feature Blake Miller and Veela as vocalists on the album and I think both tracks are my two favorites.
Is there anyone you think is really an amazing producer that is still pretty unknown to most people that you guys really like?
There are tons. We run Burn The Fire Records and a lot of the producers are all upcoming. Huge shout to my boys DJ Arcade & Anzo. Their stuff is top!
When you are not traveling around or producing what else are you guys into?
Eat Sushi. That's it, that's all I do. Actually, we run a record label full time. I like bar hopping, hanging out with my hood-rat friends, watching a bit of TV here and there for “Workaholics” and “Adventure Time.”
Biggest moment for Cold Blank?
I think the biggest moments are coming and I'm excited about that! I have to say the biggest moments are touring and traveling to new parts of the world, the support we get from established superstars producers/DJs, and our fans being there and supporting us all the way. It's always a surprise to hear your music has been supported by artists like Moby, Benny Benassi, and Tiësto. It's surreal to get tweets from them.
What’s one of your favorite old school tracks to drop or surprise people with?
Lately, we've been playing a fair amount of old school meets new school. Using vocal drops like Bizarre Inc.'s “I'm Gonna Get You” and Mylo's “Drop The Pressure,” our sets please all kinds of peeps.
Tell us about your new album, and what to expect from that.
Our upcoming debut album, The Agenda, will be dropping August 6. We started working on this album over a year ago; it feels like a time capsule because it's a marker for where we are musically as producers. You can expect some heavy, hard-hitting bass lines and groovy rhythms. The tracks range in influence from many artists and styles including Daft Punk, 8-bit/chiptune, Prodigy, Pendulum, Big Room, and much more.
How does one properly RAGE, Cold Blank style?
You gotta have the swaghound factor first. Once you get that down, you have a few drinks, warm up, and then straight rage face for 90 minutes (standard set time). It's pretty basic stuff, but it's not for everyone.
Have you played Richmond, VA or anywhere close to us on the East Coast? What are you looking forward to most about your visit?
We've played a few East Coast gigs, but we haven't been to Richmond. Personally, I haven't been to Virginia since 2004 and I'd love to go back. I'm definitely looking forward to getting down with our new album tracks, meeting fans, and making new ones.
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Cold Blank will perform at Kingdom along with Long Jawns, Mammals, Nint3ndo, Knights Of The Round, and B. Dolla on Friday, August 10. Doors open at 9 PM. Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door; advance tickets are available HERE. And pick up the new Cold Blank album, The Agenda, HERE!
