Atlantic Records

You can’t really maintain a true party atmosphere without inviting Chromeo. For the past decade the duo of Dave 1 and P-Thugg have been making some of the most innovative party jams in existence—and their latest album Business Casual has taken their electrofunk sound to the next level. Once again this year the band will be making a stop at South By Southwest for a performance that is certain to once again go down as one of the highlights of this year’s festival. But don’t just take our word for it, listen to what P-Thugg has to say about SXSW.

Are you excited for South By Southwest this year?
Yeah, we’ve been there twice before and it’s been great in the past. All our friends are around so it's kind of a meeting point for a lot of bands. When you start touring some circuits you meet a lot of people and befriend other bands and all the big festivals are a great way for us to see each other and have a good time.

Chromeo are big fans of the city Austin itself too, right?
Yeah, it's pretty cool. We went back this summer and had a great time so we can't way to play the actual festival again. We just have one show during SXSW this year so we’re looking forward to checking out other bands and having fun.

What do you think makes SXSW different from other festivals?
Well they all have something special. Glastonbury is always muddy, Coachella is on a beautiful night and I think what's cool about Austin is it's happening in the city on the streets and in the venues. It reminds me of the jazz festival in Montreal where the whole city shuts down for a week or two and they block off the street so it belongs to pedestrians again.

SXSW also has a party atmosphere that seems like the perfect environment for a Chromeo show.
Yeah, completely. We started out playing one of the smallest venues [at the festival] and the last show we did felt like a headlining show so it's great to see how we progress every time we go back. It's an indicator of the status of your band to see how you're doing with awareness and it’s great to see that continue to grow.

Do you have any idea what your set list will be like for your show in Austin yet?
We kind of figure it out when we get there. We have a different set for festivals because some people who are there don't necessarily know you. We just try to put all of our biggest hits in the festival set- up and keep things uptempo.

Can fans expect any surprises from your performance this year?
Maybe. All I can say is that we'll see what happens.

See Chromeo at SXSW on March 18 at La Zona Rosa for the Green Label Sound show at 12:00AM.