Part of the highly regarded Kompakt family, Blond:ish have carved out their own niche thanks to their original sound and fun-loving approach to life.
Better known to their parents as Anstascia D’elene and Vivie Ann Bakos, their productions have found home on labels which include Get Physical, Leftroom and Noir, and they have become a staple on the international club and festival circuit. Learning their trade at Cherry Nightclub in their then home town of Montreal (where they promoted and DJ-ed at their mid-week event called Blond:ish), it was a move to London which lead to a chance meeting with the Kompakt crew through a mutual friend. A series of releases later, in particular ‘Endless Games‘ resonating far and wide, and the Canadians are now card holding members to one of the world’s most prestigious imprints.
You would be hard pressed to find a better 2015 LP debut release than their ‘Welcome to the Present‘, an introspective musical journey into back-to-nature mysticism and spiritual groove. The release featured a host of shamanic and organic-sounding instruments, and, with its nod to philosopher Alan Watts, strongly alluded towards their holistic approach to life (and music).
With our 40th podcast next up, the stars have finally aligned for the duo to deliver us a mix that was put together during some time off. (‘We made it in Bali in between our yoga, meditation and spa days lol’). It even includes a fresh new production (the first track in the mix), spawned from a very recent recording session they had: ‘We made it in a couple hours and just jammed along the groove track’. Featuring music from Ricardo Villalobos, Tuff City Kids, Dorisburg and more, this mix is made for times when, as Blond:ish reminds us ‘you wanna get in the groooooove‘. And they have absolutely nailed it….
VIV: My parents played tons of music and my dad made a special box where they had parties all the time. He loved his reel II reel and made endless reels of mixes for the parties. One song i remember that made me feel tingly (lol) when i heard it was Muzique – ‘in the Bush‘. But he had all sorts of vinyls (from the 60s and 70s, more on the soul/disco/funk/psychedelic rock genres) that i loved to play with as soon as i could reach the turntable and scratch a needle along a record.
ANST: Whatever my parents were listening tooooo… Zeppelin, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Pink Floyd… lol Kenny G ahhahaah… and wellll, my mom she loved the Gypsy Kings. LOL.
VIV: ​I was 12 in Balaton, Hungary during the summer with family when I heard Culture Beat ‘Mr. Vain’ playing through the forest. I followed the sound with my cousin and she snuck me into the party. That was the catalyst for this life dedicated to sound.
ANSTASCIA: Listening to Pink Floyd every summer by the pool when I were a young pre-pubescent teen with my cousins in France.
VIV: Oouf… it was a million years ago, and my mind is like a fish, butttt i used to really follow the Chicago House movement: Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak, Mark Farina vibes. They used to come to Toronto a lot, and I went to Industry nightclub when i was underage with my fake ID.
ANSTASCIA: I was 15 when i went to Queen Club in Paris. It was quite techno. I have no idea who was playing though. Somehow I got in underage, and it was impressive and overwhelming enough to get me more intrigued with electronic music.
At home its simple. Genelec 8030’s / a UAD Apollo Twin duo soundcard , and some little effects boxes like the VoiceLive Touch and a DelayMan, but we go to La Croix studios in Berlin where our friend has a couple of Euro racks with a bunch of modular pieces – and we go crazy on those knobs!
We made it in Bali in between our yoga and meditation and spa days lol. We made it for times when you wanna get in the groooooove. Hopefully thats all the time LOL.
We included a track that we didn’t even finish yet, its the untitled F one, the first track on the mix. It’s cheeky… weird and wonderful. Wanted you guys to hear it first. We made it in a couple hours and just jammed along the groove track. The bassline and the vocal shot’s groove really carries the track , and we just both got on the knobs of the modulars and went crazy over top… and we put some interesting vocals over top .. Chh CHh Chh CHICKEN!!!