Is ‘Highdive’ The Dark Horse Tune of the Year?

Sometimes our best ideas take years to unfold — and sometimes they take an instant.

For their latest EP on Erol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound, which features a slamming Schacke remix, Berlin-based producers Gramrcy and John Loveless worked the main idea for “Highdive” in just over an hour (Gramrcy later fine tuned it) – and the results have been “humbling” so far, Loveless says. The two have remixed other artists together, but this is the pair’s debut original EP.

The track got a spin from former Spice Girl Mel C at the Pacha Ibiza opening party, and has already been worked into 2manyDJs’ live road show tour, custom animation included. Justice even played it at the Versailles palace in France. And other support has come from Peggy Gou, Gerd Janson, HAAi, Gabrielle Kwarteng, Palms Trax, and others.

With such strong support coming from so many places, we reached out to Loveless, who runs the Hot Concept label and has been a regular on Phantasy, who spoke about working with Peach Discs co-founder Gramrcy, and what it’s like to see a former Spice Girl play your tune.

How long have you and Graeme been production partners?

Just over two years, but I have known Graeme for a while longer, and we briefly shared an office in the past, where we would regularly swap music recommendations.

What was your inspiration for “Highdive”?

There was no direct inspiration as such, but having quickly finished the first draft, Graeme and I clocked that it had some of the energy we associated with some very over-the-top club records from when we were both first really into dance music. Artists such as MMM, Switch, Mr. Oizo and Roman Flügel as Alter Ego. Unapologetically big electro records with something unpredictable or plain weird about them.

What’s it like hearing your track get played by acts like Gerd Janson, Justice, and Mel C of the Spice Girls, at venues like Berghain, The Palace of Versailles and Pacha Ibiza?

In the case of Gerd playing it, I had emailed him an unfinished version while passing time in the queue for Berghain. I thought it would make a change from a last minute guestlist request. On this occasion, it worked out for both of us (and maybe even some dancers), as he unexpectedly played it later that evening in Panorama Bar. Albeit, at the exact moment that Graeme was downstairs getting himself an ice cream.

The video of Mel C spinning it at Pacha is so unbelievable that we’re still wondering if it might be a deep fake, whereas, to see Justice play it was very special. Cross was a formative album for the pair of us, and Versailles is a very inspiring location for anyone who’d like to see their own monarchy swiftly abolished.

What are your hopes for the track this summer?

To follow on from your previous question, it’s been extremely humbling to see what a diverse range of DJs, so we just hope that continues. Oh, and I want to hear the Schacke remix on the biggest system possible and potentially lose a further portion of my mind in the process.