Adventure Club Talks About Their Grammy Nomination In An iEDM Exclusive Interview

On Sunday, January 29, the music industry comes together to celebrate the biggest night of the year.

The Grammy Awards are taking over New York City and iEDM had the opportunity to talk to Montreal's Adventure Club, who are nominated in the "Best Remixed Recording" category for their dope take on Kehlani's "Undercover."

Before throwing on your most tricked out rave tank for the gigantic event tomorrow night, check out our interview with Leighton James and Christian Srigley, who discussed what it feels like to be nominated for a Grammy, their favorite festivals, and what fans can expect from them in 2018.

iEDM: Guys, the Grammy Awards are right around the corner. How crazy is that?

Leighton: Crazy doesn't even begin to encompass the way we feel. Its the first time in a very long time that the Grammys are in New York, which is pretty cool. New York kind of feels like home for us. It's got the east coast vibe. 

Christian: Its got that weather that's pretty similar.

iEDM: Haha, no kidding. We are feeling it!

Leighton: The winter is rolling around and we get to wear the jackets that we love wearing. 

Christian: They make for great layering pieces, ya know?

iEDM: You guys truly rock anything that you decide to wear. Previous winners for the "Best Remixed Recording" category include Tiësto, David Guetta, Skrillex, and many other living legends in the biz. What are your thoughts about being included in that all-star lineup?

Leighton: Just to be considered along with those people who we consider to be "the greats"--we look up to them, right?

Christian: It's an honor to be considered in any facet of the industry. We came up in the remix area. The "Best Remixed Recording" category for us is super, super rewarding. Honestly, if we got a Grammy nomination for "Best Handshake," I would still be thrilled with that.

iEDM: That's no joke. Before the ceremony, you guys are taking the stage at one of NYC's major hotspots, Lavo. We expect it to be a big celebration for this major accomplishment. What can fans expect when you guys take over the venue?

Leighton: They can expect a very, very, very Adventure Club filled set. 

Christian: We are going to look happier than usual. We are going to be on a high.

Leighton: Haha. We are going to showcase music, play some heavy stuff, play some fan-favorites, ya know?

iEDM: That's what's up. Christian, Leighton was telling me earlier you are doing a special diet. I'm currently doing Whole 30 and feeling really good. Care to elaborate?

Christian: I did a blood test to check my intolerances when it comes to certain foods. The type of test that I took; the only criticism that the test has is that some false-positives come up. Some of the food, that doctors would tell you, 'You can't eat that,' you actually can. All of the food that you are cutting though, includes the stuff that your body doesn't like. I did the test. Out of the 500 foods that they tested, I got 400 of them. I'm exaggerating, but I cut everything. There's not much that I can eat. I'm a huge foodie. I'm still making it work. Even simple recipes can be hard. I love cooking at home. Anyways, point being...my life is significantly better. 

iEDM: That's awesome man.

Christian: I used to be sick all of the time. We are traveling, constantly. We go through a lot of airports, which are a horrible breeding ground for colds. I don't get sick anymore.

Leighton: Dude, it's incredible. This guy has the immunity of an ox right now.

Christian: The immune system was the big thing for me because of all the sinus problems that would come up. My lungs would be all messed up. It just changed the game for me.

iEDM: I constantly tell everyone that if we knew what exactly we were putting in our bodies, it would be completely shocking to most people. Everything that you are saying is so true. 

Christian: It's an old, silly adage, but it remains true. You literally are what you eat. You can't expect to be fueling your body with stuff that it just doesn't like. 

iEDM: The body never lies. Getting back to the topic of the Grammys, so many people are going to be there. Is there anyone in particular that you want to hangout with if you have the opportunity?

Christian: Here's the thing. The remix that we are up for, "Undercover" by Kehlani, right? We haven't actually met Kehlani.

iEDM: What! 

Christian: I know. We communicated with her over social media. It would be an honor just to meet her. We will be able to bump shoulders this week and give her a thank you. It was her team working with our team, getting that remix together. We were big fans well before that. It's just getting that opportunity to do the official remix for her which we are so happy about. We'd love to just share the love with her. We love what she is doing. We think she is awesome. 

iEDM: Agreed. Music is about bringing people together.

Christian: She stands for a lot of awesome causes.

Leighton: She's powerful.

iEDM: Leighton, the last time we talked, it was near the end of 2016. A lot has happened since then. What has been going on with Adventure Club? What might surprise the fans out there?

Leighton: Yeah man, when we spoke for the first time, we had just gone off our latest tour and made a collective decision to stop partying altogether. We went sober. I don't like using that word because it implies that there was a problem when it wasn't a problem. 

Christian: The problem prior to us cutting everything wasn't as bad as it would need to be for us to say we're "sober, sober." You know what I'm saying. It was about making a new life choice.

iEDM: I totally get it. There's certain words that have connotations to them, when it's not necessarily the case in regards to what's really going on.

Christian: It's like saying, "We went on that diet because we were obese." No, we did it because we wanted to be healthier. That was one of the things that helped us with everything else. It made us focus on our priorities and getting our drive going.

Leighton: When you are in the thick of it--partying, touring all of the time; you can't get altitude on your situation. You can't see Adventure Club for what Adventure Club is and what it could be. Once we got out of that, we got some hype. We locked down and worked productively on new music. That's what took over.

iEDM: Judging by all the festivals you played, it worked out for you guys. What are a couple of your favorites that you appeared at?

Leighton: Coachella has always been a standout.

Christian: If we are going to talk about number one highlights, Coachella will always be it.

iEDM: What about it makes you say that?

Christian: Just the overall vibe you get from the fans. It is unmatched. There is so much positivity out there. The energy is huge. That is just from the festival standpoint. The way that festival is run is very impressive. There's no corners cut. You feel like you are being taken care of as an artist. You also feel like you're safe, and the fans are safe. You really feel like they are paying attention to the right things, and putting the effort, time, and finances in. There is a reason why Coachella is Coachella.

iEDM: I would like to go eventually because of how sick everyone says it is.

Leighton: We also love playing EDC. 

Christian: Oh yeah. Oh yeah!

Leighton: The big EDM staples.

Christian: Ultra. EDC. All of them. 

iEDM: Headed into 2018, what is some news about Adventure Club that you can confirm?

Christian: Here we go! We can confirm a very exciting project that we have been working on...that we can't actually tell you about.

Leighton: Haha!

Christian: We can tell you a date. Everything should be wrapped up on our end in March. Everything should be coming out at the start of May. We have that two month window. We have a lot of collabs with artists that we love and respect in the industry. There will be more bass oriented music. The EDM scene has changed a lot. With this, we are going back to our favorite place in our careers as Adventure Club. We are not going back in time, we are just revamping it and using our new influences. Our experiences as producers and artists. We have never been so excited about a project. We just can't wait to get this out to the fans and the people that really love us. 

iEDM: Let's count it down! That is very exciting. Speaking of the fans, before we wrap up, what do you want to say to them as you get ready for the Grammys?

Christian: The music that we make is soulful and meaningful to us. When you get people who come up to you and say, 'Your music has changed my life,' or, 'Your music saved my life and helped me get through one of the hardest times in my life,' I just need to hear that once to feel rewarded. To feel like there was value to what we are doing. To get that a lot, it is incredible. To fans out there who feel that way, we want you to know that we hear you, and we love and appreciate each and every single one of you. We are so happy that we can have those positive changes in your lives. It makes everything that we are doing worth it.

iEDM: That's the perfect note to end things on. Good luck on Sunday! iEDM is rooting for you.

You can check out Adventure Club on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SoundCloud. Check out more exclusive iEDM interviews featuring your favorite DJs HERE. 

Photos were graciously provided by Kevin Jackson Jr. You can view more of Kevin's work HERE.