MstrkrftHow many people does it take to shut down a New York City block and cause a riot? Two, provided they are armed with a synthesizer, drum machine and a discography under the guise of Mstrkrft.

It’s true, Toronto’s electro-house darlings were slated to play a club in NYC two weeks ago and oversold the venue so much that more than 2,000 hipsters were stuck in line outside. But the hype surrounding the DJ duo drove the mob into frenzy, inciting a riot that was eventually quelled by the NYPD itself.

“It was a pretty proud moment that we double-sold the club and had a street in New York City closed down, even if just for a few hours,” Jesse Keeler, one half of Mstrkrft, tells andPOP. “The fact that that’s happening … that takes a long time to build.”

Mstrkrft was born in Toronto in 2005, storming clubs and parties with their take on the burgeoning electro-house trend. After dominating the GTA scene, the duo made up of Keeler and Alex Puodziukas (otherwise known as Al-P) stepped up their game.

First came the singles “Easy Love” and “Work on You” before an official LP, “The Looks,” debuted in July 2006. Then came the tours: Canada, North America, the world.

Mstrkrft exploded into the hipster consciousness with a force stronger than any drum machine could muster. Though the initial burst of Canadian recognition was partially aided by Keeler’s history as the bassist from underground dance-rockers Death from Above 1979, Mstrkrft is a rather different species.

“We’re just making music. We’re not working with band instruments but it’s the same song-writing process,” Keeler says. “It’s like, ‘Hey, I’ve got a riff’ – it’s not for a guitar, but a synthesizer. A drum pattern idea but a drum machine, not a drummer.”

Without using samples, Mstrkrft compose all their original music, but they caught some high-profile attention based on their remixes. Along with a handful of Canadian acts like Metric, Buck 65 and Chromeo, they have been approached by some of the biggest names in the biz such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, John Legend and Justice. And their remix of “Bounce” by N.O.R.E. is currently spinning as a club anthem across the world, with real potential to become a smash that lasts all summer long.

Keeler offhandedly mentioned being asked by U2 recently to remix a track (though Mstrkrft turned it down), and detailed a brief struggle with a Britney Spears track he and Al-P accepted but couldn’t master.

“A lot of times we say yes to something and try it for the wrong reason and realize after that it was dumb,” Keeler says. “Like with Britney Spears, we worked on it for a week. It was something we both really liked. But sort of listening to it more critically we realized all we used was backup vocals, and had included like five lines of her whole song. So we told them that we gave up.”

Keeler says it depends on vocals, such as the tantalizing yowl of Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O. But hits – real, jaw-dropping, hip-shaking hits – can come from any genre.

“We were asked to do a remix for the All American Rejects. Even still to this day, honestly, I heard the song and thought, ‘Oh my fucking God, it’s going to be a huge club anthem!’ And then when they sent us the song, they had changed their mind,” Keeler sighs. “The song they sent us was just absolutely useless. We tried, but we were so disappointed. We tried for almost a week again and gave up, but the music we made in the mean time became part of another one of our songs.”

Keeler wouldn’t give away any specifics about the tracks he mentioned, but it doesn’t seem like a state secret. He’s just nonchalant.

He admitted to being somewhat jaded, what with tours that have carried Mstrkrft through every major city around the world in front of the hippest crowds at the even hipper venues and festivals. They are playing several major summer music festivals, including being a main DJ act at Lollapalooza, and have club gigs booked straight through to November.

“We’re pretty much always on tour, for the last while, and like I say, it’s tiring,” Keeler says. “It’s not really anywhere near accurate as to just how tiring it is. Exhausting doesn’t sound like the right word either.”

Being on tour as Mstrkrft is different than most other bands on the road, because being a member of Mstrkrft doesn’t mean performing for the audience; it means throwing a party for them every single night.

“That’s an experience very different from other types of music. It has an express purpose. It’s right in the name, it’s there for dancing. If that’s not accomplished, then it’s a failure,” Keeler says. “No amount of press or publicity or whatever can make people do anything on the dance floor than they would with their feet as it’s happening. People don’t dance with a sense of obligation.”

But it comes with the trade, and Keeler certainly knew what he was getting into. He DJ’d throughout Toronto before forming DFA1979, and when he returned to his roots behind the tables, it was on the advice of a friend’s mother. As he says, she told him to find the one thing in life he would do for free, and then figure out a way to get paid for it.
So far, so good.

“It’s really rewarding,” he says. “Anyone who does what we do and has a bad attitude and complains needs to go spend two months at GM putting bumpers on cars to get a sense of what it is to really work. We get paid to do what we love.”

Keeler doesn’t take his career lightly, though. He admits he and Al-P have already started writing tracks for their third LP, although recording can’t get underway until they return to their Toronto studio. (Incidentally, their original studio at Moss Park was sold in a condo deal so they moved literally across the street to a new location that is still under construction.)

Though it’s light-years away from the 9-5, Keeler and Al-P still bust their ass on the regular to give their adoring fans the party they expect.

“The dance party audience is as much a part of what’s happening as what we’re doing,” Keeler says. “It’s not like a rock show where five people can show up. With a dance party, it doesn’t matter how good you might play – if it isn’t a party it’s not right.”






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