Q&A: 2XM

Both from Christchurch, Ben & Liam Murray from house duo 2XM have lived in different cities since they began making music together, but that hasn’t stopped them from dropping 3 incredible EPs this year. Plus, they’re in the 100% Aotearoa line-up for the iconic Rhythm & Alps New Year’s festie!

We chat about their latest EP release “Fading”, their music making process, their biggest inspirations and influences, where to get the best coffee in Welly and more!

Tell us about your musical journey so far from when you guys first met and how you started 2XM until now!

We have both been involved in music for a very long time - we met in high school when we were playing in various orchestras and jazz bands, and eventually began making music together in 2016. I (Ben) came from the classical route, and Liam from hip-hop and house, and in combining our knowledge 2XM was born. With a lot of musical experience and interest, we’ve been super lucky to incorporate plenty of inspiration in our music to date, all wrapped up in the dance genre!

We’re in love with your new EP “Fading” with Scheme! What inspired the name, concept and sound of this album?

The writing period over the pandemic has definitely been tricky - as I’m sure many other artists have found, not having regular contact with other creatives has impacted pretty hard. However, we were super lucky with Scheme who brought his incredible production to the project! Conceptually, it wasn’t dissimilar to our other releases; trying to introduce new ideas while staying true to our sound. “Fading” was a bit more focussed on sound design, but with an emphasis on our performance-rooted creation, with the name being pulled from the title track and corresponding vocal chop.

You’ve released a ton of music this year, including your two other incredible EPs “Apollo Jazz” and “Mediate”! Did you have a clear vision about how you wanted each EP to sound when you first started working on them, and did it end up changing at all?

We’ve been super lucky with the support we’ve received with all of our releases to date, and also very lucky that we make music in a sphere where we can release readily. As a result, we always have demos on the go, but often find there will be a period of creation where sounds/ideas/motifs correspond to one another really nicely. “Apollo Jazz” and “Mediate” were prime examples of this - we definitely didn’t have a clear idea going into the projects, but we are lucky we didn’t have to make too many major amendments to the ideas once they’d come together!

Living in different countries (Ben in Sydney and Liam in Christchurch), what’s the writing and production process like for you guys?

Liam and I have lived in different cities since we began making music together! We’ve managed to get into a solid process over the years, exchanging stems and ideas pretty regularly, and giving each other the freedom to explore around those ideas; it’s pretty seamless! We’re both very comfortable with each other’s strengths and always happy to support each other with suggestions and recommendations too.

Have you had a chance to play your music live yet, and are you looking to play live in the near future?

Sadly, no! We’ve been pining to perform together since 2XM’s creation, but living in different cities has proved a real challenge. That being said, we’ll both be in NZ this coming summer and have some plans to perform, bringing live performance alongside DJing - definitely keep your ears peeled!

Who would you say are your biggest inspirations in music, and biggest influences on your sound?

Ooh this is definitely a tough one … As I mentioned, I’m classically trained, and definitely draw a lot of inspiration as far as voicing, structure and instrumentation is concerned from there. We have plenty of inspirations within the dance genre too (Sam Sheperd of Floating Points, Four Tet, Caribou, MJ Cole, Disclosure etc.), but we love to explore how to bring these and other genre-focussed ideas into the dance space, and what effect that has on the listener.

If there’s anything you could change about the current music industry, what would it be and why?

Quite honestly, there is a lot. The music industry still has a long way to go in supporting our female, BIPOC and marginalised groups, especially in a musical sphere that draws direct inspiration from those communities.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt in your career so far?

Beyond an extension of the above around white male privilege, I think one of the biggest musical lessons we’ve learnt is to not be too hard on our creative decisions - trusting yourself and experience will help create better music, which will in turn be enjoyed by people more for its authenticity.

Who are some of your favourite NZ artists & producers right now and are there any songs in particular that you love or connect with?

There are SO many incredible NZ artists absolutely killing it at the moment. A few that we adore, but are definitely not limited to, include our dear friend Neil MacLeod who’s currently leading up to his major EP release (“Openly” is utterly gorgeous), Name UL released his new EP in August and the whole thing is genius, AACACIA’s new single is big flames, you have to get on TEEKS - his voice is like melted butter - BENEE, Sandboards, CHAII, Uber Driver, imugi 이무기, K2K, Sheep, Dog & Wolf, Caramel Smooth Heaven ... the list honestly goes on!

What do you love most about New Zealand? Do you have any favourite places to travel to or local spots to visit?

EVERYTHING - the people, the culture, the land … I definitely have a soft spot for the Abel Tasman, having been going on family holidays since I was a kid. Wellington is one of the best little cities in the world, and has plenty of incredible spots to eat, drink and be merry; I am a regular at Customs cafe when in town!

What’s next for you guys?

We’ll keep making tunes and work on releases for the coming year, as we continue to explore developing our sound and finding novel ways to create. Getting some solid plans together for shows would be amazing, though definitely dependent on how COVID and restrictions continue to develop. Otherwise, keep learning and keep playing!

Lastly, if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?

Dang, that’s a big question! Something along the lines of “look after one another and this planet” I think.

Make sure to keep up with 2XM on Instagram (@2xm_nz), Facebook, Spotify and Apple Music!