Stafford Brothers
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Stafford Brothers

Sadly the summer festival season is drawing to a close, but rather than staying in, early nights and re-runs, it’s time to look to the future – viva la Future Music Festival. This year, organisers have promised that the production will blow our minds, and they’ve managed to wrangle some of the world’s most electrifying acts, from Eric Prydz to Pharrell, Deadmau5 to Phoenix. Fold Aussie-born EDM darlings the Stafford Brothers into the mix and you have yourself one helluva farewell to summer.
Fresh from deejaying at an Oscars event, the brothers have cemented their reputation in the US and internationally as perennial party starters, but also as exceptionally hard workers.
“We’re just happy to be home and love being part of the Future Music Festival,” said Matt, one half of the brotherly duo, ahead of their big weekend. “We’ve been so busy with our spring break club tour in the States, we haven’t had time to do much else but go crazy! I’m hanging out for the Melbourne show though, because I can actually hang out after that one and the Adelaide show. So I’ll be kicking it around the festival and definitely checking out all the acts I want to see.
“Eric Prydz is an artist that we love; we’re definitely looking forward to seeing him. Pharrell will be cool; we always enjoy Sven Vath, and this year he’s set up the Cocoon Heroes stage. They’re definitely the ones to watch.”
The same can be said for the fun-loving boys who call the Gold Coast home. Together they’ve built an empire, making them undoubtedly two of Australia’s hottest exports. Some of their extra-curricular activities include their own clothing line ‘Sushi Radio’, two seasons of a reality TV show (that followed the trials and tribulations of touring across Europe and re-locating to the US), a weekly radio show, part-owners in two Gold Coast nightclubs (Platinum and Love), the development of innovative DJ training software ‘DJ Master Course’ and a healthy stake in Australia’s thriving 360 Agency.
It seems the Stafford Brothers were always destined for big things. Although they’re proud Queenslanders, they were born and raised in Upper Hutt City on the south island of New Zealand – not far from trendy Wellington – coming to Australia in their teens. Older brother Matt, the markedly more outspoken of the two, tells me they were both heavily into sports growing up and believes that keeping fit helps them stay one step ahead.
“My brother and I do have a lot of commitments, but we’ve become used to them and we’ve learnt how to balance it all,” Matt says, speaking like a true entrepreneur. “As we speak, I’m on my way to a meeting with our clothing company; then we’re off to play another show tonight! It gets a little crazy but we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Breaking into the US market is as hard now as it ever was, but thanks to television exposure, non-stop touring and the prestige that comes from being the first EDM artists to sign to influential US label Cash Money, the guys managed to catch the attention of the right people. “Moving to L.A. was the best thing we’ve done for our career. Being able to play all the clubs and really get noticed – it was a real coup to join Cash Money. Thanks to them we have so many more opportunities.”
Their first release with the label was the smash hit ‘Hello’ (featuring label mates Christina Milan and Lil Wayne) which rose to take out the #1 spot on iTunes dance charts. The now notorious clip shows the Stafford’s doing what they do best – livin’ it large!
“Right now we live in Newport Beach on the Californian Coast. We love it. It reminds us of home, living on the beach like we did on the Gold Coast. The place is beautiful and has a good vibe. Don’t get me wrong – Americans are definitely different to Australians. There’s no place like home.”
So this year’s Future Music is like one enormous welcome home party for the Stafford’s, and we’re all invited – best part is they’ll provide the tunes! “We’ve got a massive set planned for the punters. We’ve just dropped the new re-mix of ‘Like a Drum’, with Guy Sebastian, that came out exclusively through Future Music – we promise you won’t be disappointed. It may seem like we have a lot of other interests but music is what we love. It’s what it all relates back to and what it’s all about for us.
“Back in the States we’ve been working with Christina [Milan] again and some other guys from Cash Money. We also have a new single called ‘This Girl’, with an American rapper that I can’t announce yet. I can tell you we filmed the clip in Australia in January this year. We’ll also be releasing a track with an Australian artist very soon. We’ve got a couple of big radio singles and then we’ve got a few more club singles ready to go as well.”
When&Where: Future Music Festival, Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne – March 9
Written by Natalie Rogers

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