[INTERVIEW] Quarterhead Shares Their New Release "You Spin Me Right Round" + Upcoming Projects

Hailing from Germany, the gold and platinum award-winning duo known as Quarterhead has been tearing up the house scene all year. Following their viral single with LUM!X, "The Passenger", which has received over 100 million streams, Quarterhead has flourished in the music industry. In fact, their song "Heads Shoulder Knees & Toes" has more than half a billion collective streams and crushed worldwide charts.

Throughout 2022, Quarterhead fans have seen the artist focus more on their signature tech house style, with heaters like "Juice" and their collab with HUGEL, "Eyes On You". The talented DJs, producers, and singer-songwriters now have over eight million monthly Spotify listeners and a number of exciting projects coming soon. Made up of Josh Rapennd and Janik Riegert, this dynamic pair is paving the way for future artists.

Check out iEDM's exclusive interview with Quarterhead below.

iEDM: What inspired the catchy bassline in “System Overload”, featuring Camdem Cox? What effect do you think the alarm sound following the drop has on the listener?

Quarterhead: We wanted to create something that felt like a “system overload” musically. That inspired the hectic bassline. Also, those steamy noise hits on the one beats of each phrase help create mechanical energy. A siren usually causes an adrenaline rush. We’re all programmed to react like that in a dangerous situation - it’s the most obvious tool!

iEDM: You had extreme success in 2020 with releasing deep house and Brazilian bass tracks like collabing with LUM!X on “The Passenger” and your smash-hit “Head Shoulders Knees & Toes” with Ofenbach. Recently, a lot of your tracks have been tech house heaters, such as “Eyes On You” with HUGEL and “1981”. What led to this shift in production style?

Quarterhead: Music is always in progress, and we just felt like it was about time to create more music for the dance floor as we also DJ much more these days. That doesn’t stop us from writing more pop music, though. We feel a musical DNA can allow itself to have different personalities. Whenever we feel like we have created something special, we give our best to convince a label to release it.

iEDM: What are a few of your favorite songs to play live?

Quarterhead: The drop of Hugel’s new “Tamo Loco” is definitely a lot of fun to play! 

iEDM: Your new single “You Spin Me Right Round” utilizes elements of Crazy Town’s 1991 hit “Butterfly” and Dead or Alive’s classic track “Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record).” What was the process behind discovering that these two vintage songs were a great fit for each other?

Quarterhead: That was a lucky accident. We played around with the sample with Late Nine, and suddenly someone sang the “Spin Me Right Round” melody. In the beginning, it was just a joke - but it turned serious!

iEDM: The second chorus/drop from “You Spin Me Right Round” builds on the energy from the first chorus. How did you and Late Nine choose which sounds to keep from the first chorus and which sounds to add in to allow the second chorus to bring new excitement to the track?

Quarterhead: That’s all trial and error. Our production process is usually adding layers, sounds, and rhythms just to take them off again. Mute, solo, mute, unmute for hours, and suddenly it clicks. That’s the mix!

iEDM: How did you create or receive the vocals from “You Spin Me Right Round”? What attracted you to the tonality of vocals compared to that of Dead or Alive’s original?

Quarterhead: That’s actually Josh singing. He also sings on the HUGEL collabs too. When we switched up Quarterhead as a band, we started to work with different singers. However, the band identity is still there, so there are releases with Quarterhead’s own vocals coming every once in a while.

The original vocal has much more energy—a massive difference from Josh's recorded smooth version.

iEDM: Which artist have you yet to collaborate with that you would really like to work with in the future? 

Quarterhead: There are many! The biggest goal would probably be Calvin Harris.

iEDM: What upcoming projects can you hint at for your fanbase to get excited about?

Quarterhead: There are already new collaborations and singles planned, and we’re also working on a very special EP. We would love to give fans more than just 2:30 to dive into at some point!

Photos courtesy of Quarterhead

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