By Kaitey Marie
A new DJ duo is dominating the Los Angeles music and fashion scene, and they’re heading to the Coachella Valley next week. The Bixel Boys, Ian Macpherson (29) and Rob May (31), are Splash House veterans – but this year, they’re running their own stage all weekend long. Splash House, the popular poolside music festival, is returning to Palm Springs June 10-12 and will be hosted across the pools of The Riviera and The Saguaro. Make sure to check out the Bixel Boys Freelife Takeover stage at the Tiki pool of the Riviera for an eclectic mix of handpicked DJs each day. Saturday’s set, L.A. Baewatch, will feature a lineup of the hottest female DJ’s in the L.A. scene right now. Sunday’s theme, No Shirt / No Shoes, will offer up a fun and laid back vinyl set reminiscent of a disco party. In the words of the Bixel Boys themselves, their stage is going to feel like one of your best friend’s pool parties, so bust out the inflatable flamingo, grab your sunscreen, and head down to the Tiki Pool to see for yourself.
CV Weekly Entertainment columnist Kaitey Marie sat down with the Bixel Boys in an exclusive interview to catch up before the action:
So, how did you two form Bixel Boys and when?
Rob: We got together about four years ago. We met each other through mutual friends. I was producing and Ian was DJing. We both actually had desk jobs at the time. Ian was working in marketing and I was working in video editing. We just met up and started sharing songs, then we had an idea and just kind of went with it!
Where does the name come from?
Ian: Bixel was actually the street I used to work on. Bixel Boys just had a really unique sound to it, like the kind of name you can type in Google and we’ll be the first thing that pops up.
How did you get into music scene? Do you have any formal training?
Rob: Well I always had an interest in music. I grew up as a drummer, and my brother is a classically trained musician. I actually went to school for directing at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburg. I always have to be learning or doing something new. In the middle of post-production jobs, I thought ‘Wow, this is really cool, this is what I want to do.’ So I started watching YouTube tutorials for producing.
Ian: In high school I played around with guitar. When I got older I worked as a promoter for a while. I started booking bands and really liked it. DJing was actually a hobby I just enjoyed in my free time, it wasn’t until Rob and I got together that I really seriously considered it. As far as formal training, I studied graphic design at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. It ended up coming in handy because I designed our Freelife logo and we do all of our graphics and marketing in house.
Tell me about your Freelife clothing brand.
Rob: Freelife is pretty much a flag for being yourself. It actually started as a joke between some friends. We would always say we live that “Freelife!” in reference to just being free and not caring what other people think.
Ian: We created a few shirts with a Raiders logo, a Nike bootleg shirt, and a soccer jersey. We weren’t even confident enough to sell it, so we just gave a couple to our DJ friends. Then all of our friends ended up wearing them at their shows. Skrillex, Martin Garrix, Dillon Francis, TJR, all started wearing Freelife and it spun into this idea of DJ lifestyle. DJs spend a lot of time working in their bedrooms with electronics so our social sense is slightly behind. It’s nice to just throw on a super comfortable shirt, and I think that’s why our friends like Freelife so much.
Rob: The mantra behind Freelife was more personal than just straight-up DJ merchandise. We were never into that idea. We wanted to create more of an aux-brand, something related to Bixel Boys but not just self-promotion. When Freelife started to take off, we ended up selling the shirts and giving the money to charity. All of the profits from the shirts went to Camp Kesem, a charity that throws weeklong camp sessions for kids whose parents are losing their battle with cancer. We thought it was definitely a better use of the profits than anything else we could have come up with.
How would you describe your style of music?
Rob: That’s a tough question, because in this era – especially for me as a producer – it’s still sort of an exploration. It’s hard to nail down and define one genre. I would say our sound is more like eclectic dance music rather than electronic dance music. I’m an experimental person so it’s hard to sit down and produce the same music over and over.
Ian: I agree with Rob. We are constantly changing it up. When I’m not making EDM, I like to draw influence from other genres outside the norm. I listen to a lot of hip-hop, pop music, even classical. I would say what makes us different is that we aren’t afraid to try out new ideas and see where they end up.
What do you like about Splash House?
Rob: Splash House is by far my favorite festival ever. We booked the first one in 2011, so we’ve been there since the beginning. I love everything about it.
Ian: There is something about 21+ festivals that are nice to play. You don’t need to play bangers, you can experiment with nostalgic music, and it’s just an all-around better environment. We’ve played at the Saguaro with some bigger sets, but this year we are excited to present our own stage and own L.A. style. Our Bixel Boys Freelife Takeover stage will be set up at the Tiki Pool and will make for a more intimate experience.
Why should people come to your stage at Splash House?
Ian: Instead of trying to book big DJ’s, we decided to go with a fun line-up filled with some DJ friends who are doing some really cool new stuff. At Splash House, there’s a ton of great electronic and house music everywhere, but by default, our stage will be different because it’ll have a bit of everything. We want our stage to have really eclectic, loose, fun vibes to make for a cool approachable party.
Rob: Basically, our stage is going to feel like your best friends’ backyard pool party. You could hear indie music, EDM, or hip-hop depending on when you stop by. It’s going to be super inclusive and you’ll feel like you know everyone.
Ian & Rob: We can’t wait to see everyone there and show them a good time.
——–
The Bixel Boys are excited to be touring until the end of July 2016. Splash House will be a unique opportunity to interact and dance along with many of their personal DJ friends. Don’t miss your chance to see this L.A. duo in the desert next weekend at the Riviera Tiki pool, June 11-12.
For more information, visit: splashhouse.com/bixel-boys-freelife-takeover
By: Kaitey Marie
kkalisva@uci.edu
