We are The Chainsmokers - AUA!

Why did you choose the name "Chainsmokers"?

honestly, we never thought it was all going to be this big. alex used to smoke, seemed clever and the domains were open hahaha... we do love it...but no baby formula advertisements for us sadly cause of it

Saw you guys at SMF you guys were great. What do you guys do before you go on stage?

we have a chant... 'i dont smoke crack motherfucker i sell it'

I love #selfie, especially because of all the people who didn't get that it was a joke (Facebook was great during that time - "I just heard a song about selfies on the radio, is this what the world is now? OMG"). I thought it was hysterical though, very clever and it's how I discovered you guys.

So my question: did she end up going home with Jason or not? I need this answer to satisfy my head canon of the #selfieverse.

before we got really sick of all this selfie BS we thought it would be funny to make another song from Jasons POV... then we realized that was the worst idea ever so we didnt...

Do you think jet fuel can melt steel beams?

everyone knows thats a yes

Burrito or bowl?

Burrito all day!

Have you gotten any feedback (positive or negative) from Kanye for that song?

haha we sent it to jay brown after we made it cause we didnt want to get sued or make something he hated... we heard back that they were all cool with it... thats all though

What's been the best (or most rewarding) part about overcoming the stigma of your brand as a duo after #SELFIE and making other great hits that are more respected by other producers?

We are really thankful that ppl stuck with us through that whole phase, we obviously didnt expect but we feel as though we have so much more to offer as artists... its still an uphill battle it feels like at times, but we have so much new music coming out this summer and a really aggressive release plan with SONY that we think will do an excellent job of showing ppl what we are about

The Smallpools remix was the first song that sparked my interest. Any chance of another remix with great vocals? Loved the Bebe Rexha joint as well.

yeah our life of dillon remix of overload coming out soon :)

If you two were to have a 3 some who would get the butt an who would get the vagina? ( mouth is not an option)

hahahahahah we would switch obviously we share everything

What upcoming show/shows are you guys most excited for?

FIREFLY!!!!!! We are debuting our new production... we have spent the better half of the year working on it along with the new music and its all coming out there!

What do you guys think about the future of Soundcloud? It seems to be your biggest way you guys share your music but the company seems to be going downhill lately.

we love SC and all that its done for us... we built our career around it and its been the backbone of everything we have done. We are sad that we have to leave it but its also sad they werent able to reach mutual terms with the artists and their labels... atm we pay SC to host our music, which is the backbone of how they exist... it all feels a bit backward... that said we are sure down the line everything will be worked out... business is as business does

What platform will you rely on now, YouTube?

well youtube is great, spotify is awesome as well... thats about all there is right....

1. What style do you guys identify with and where do you find the inspiration to produce such a variety of music?
2. Where/when can I get my ears that dope new song you dropped at SMF?
3. How many feels did Don Diablo hit with that tribute?

Edit: How are you going to celebrate the Bolts clenching the series tonight?

1) We are music lovers of all genres, we find inspiration everywhere, we try not to pigeon whole ourselves and make music ppl just come to expect... we want to continue to evolve and keep you all guessing..

2) If its the last song, its a new one called waterbed that will be out mid summer!

3) that was incredible... don diablo is such a good dude, one of the first guys to also support us!

How can your fans listen to "Nice Hair" if everything ends up getting taken off Soundcloud? Have you guys thought about starting up a podcast like tiesto or hardwell do? Those are pretty convenient and useful.

Saw you guys on mainstage at UMF 2014 and you guys have always been one of my favorites. Keep up the great remixes and new songs!

yes we will figure that out... and honestly we will still have a SC we just wont be able to put out originals on it, for now... its all good... AND we also have a SPOTIFY NICE HAIR playlist which we include all of the tracks on our nice hair podcast and update weekly with other tracks so make sure to subscribe to it!

What's you're next new song gonna be like? (:

this is the first song we are actually singing on, well drew... we wrote it with this singer rozes, and the song really has no motive and isnt EDM... we think youll love it....

Hey guys,

I love your show on Sirius, saw you at SMF in Tampa this weekend and heard your interview on Drew Garabo. You're the nicest and most personable dudes in the industry.

What do you do to prepare for a set? Is your music list preset or do you vibe with the crowd?

Who are your major influences?

What are your favorite VSTs and samples?

On a scale of 1-10 how much do you hate Kanye?

Thanks for doing this AMA and I hope to see you again in Tampa soon. Have fun at the game tonight (and go Bolts xD).

Thanks about the show. We appreciate that a lot!

As for the major influences those change everyday, we are very much about the you are what you eat... and we eat a lot...

our fav songs and artists change all the time... we are very much emotional producers in the sense that we sort of make what we are feeling in that moment and just cant force it... our best stuff just flows out quickly and im sure other producers can relate!

haah! we love kanye, we dont agree with everything he says or does but from the standpoint of an artists doing what he believes and sticking to his guns that inspiring!

as for live sets, we want to showcase our music most which takes some pre planning but we always try to leave room to just feel it out...

Are you going to release a full album anytime soon? :)

No but a ton of music... a song every month if not more... for the foreseeable future...

it doesnt feel like a cohesive body of work and we will def do one in the future but we want it to be a real album not 10 random songs thrown together... We respect what Jack U and Porter did those were incredible albums in their own rights

My best friends name is Julian. Can you please play your remix of julian this Friday in Park City?

yes we will play julian hahaah

1). What's the last song you played on your iPod? 2). Worst and best memory you have of the music industry?

first off who has an ipod anymore... hahaha but it was GEAZY I might...

Best memory... getting signed Worst memory... getting signed

Can I come chill with you guys backstage next time you're in Denver? :P

are you a hot chick?

LEGIT QUESTION.

haha yes

What made you guys decide to have your New Years show in Toronto?I've seen you guys 7 times and every show has been amazing, wish you were coming back to Digital Dreams again.

haha we love TO... you guys love dance music so much and its so refreshing to come there everytime... DD was great but we are at VELD this year! yeehaw!

How long have each of you been producing individually? And how long did it take for you to realize this is something you could do professionally?

Drew has been doing it longer than me (alex) but we have been playing music throughout our lives at different paces and instruments... honestly we werent sure about it till we met each other... we both took a gamble but it felt very natural and exciting, we were making music though together for about 4 months before anything really clicked... check out our first song the rookie hahaha

What do you actually do on a liveset? I read about how you just decided to wing it at UMF 2014, but how do you/other DJs go about their sets?

Well we make a lot of edits pre show, the most important thing to us is playing OUR music in our sets... but once we get up there we play to the crowd and wing it... each show is really different... the south loves trap.... that ultra set though was a game changer for us... as for other djs we cant really speak for them

Your Ultra 2014 Mainstage set was the shit, I still listen to it sometimes!

Why were you not playing this year? :(

we love ultra and hope to come back one day its the top festival of the world... BUT we got an offer for LIC miami and we love those guys before Ultra did their booking and we took it... no ragrets ;)

Have you guys thought about starting your own label? It seems like everyone has one these days.

yes we would love to sign artists and do that, but we need to focus on our own music atm... one day for sure!

You guys are awesome! You guys got me into EDM. You guys at Echostage back in September was actually my first rave ever. Then I tweeted a picture to you guys and you posted it on your Instagram. Made my week! Anyways, what DJs have struck you as being dicks and which ones are some of the most down to earth in your opinion?

3lau is really a piece of shit

Hey Alex and drew I can't stop listening to good intentions! I've just got two questions: which song was your favorite to produce and also which was the most difficult? And any tips for an aspiring producer just getting started?

Thanks man! We love that you like Good Intentions...

Kanye was the most difficult... just cause we felt a lot of pressure post selfie and it felt like there was a timer on it all...

Good Intentions was very natural though... working with BullySongs was super fun... coming up all our new stuff happened in 1 session (not including mix downs) honestly we keep saying it, that for us is the sign of a really good track...

With songs blowing up so quickly on hype machine, etc., is there more pressure for artists in your space to push out singles ASAP on spotify and iTunes?

well hypem really doesnt reach the world yes with a #1 you can get 200k plays but thats is like .01% of the world, its a great way to build a fanbase though and thats what we did and we love it, its also a great place to indicate really big songs of the future... if anything the hypem area is more crowded and competitive than ever... spotify and streaming though is the future no matter how you cut it

Did you guys come from years experience with a musical background? Do you think it's possible for someone to pick up producing without a musical background? Any videos or good reads for someone trying to learn? Thanks!

A music background helps of course, but its not absolutely essential... you can always teach yourself chords and start small... we all did... producing in itself is like learning a musical instrument... the best way when we started was youtubing how to remake songs, songs ideally that you like... thats a good place to start

Top 5 favorite producers?! Btw I love your guys and your music!!

Christof Anderson - G eazy guy Major Lazer Drezo Shellback (ALWAYS) Purity ring

How much do you actually smoke?

we dont smoke crack, we sell it

Who are some artists you would love to collab with?

Sigur Ros G-eazy Purity Ring

Who is the coolest DJ you've met(besides yourselves)?

Adventure Club and Tiesto

What's your go to snack food?

string cheese and almonds!

If you had to choose one, would you produce or DJ?

produce

What's your favourite thing about Nice Hair Radio?

the fact we get to support our friends music on it and talk about whatever we want

What is your studio and live setup?

Studio: Ableton Live... record a lot of guitar recently on telecaster. fav vsts atm are xfer serum and omniphere 2.

Live Pioneer CDJs atm but we are experimenting incorporating live elements into our set up

Favorite song? Both of you

asap rocky - electric body _ alex travis scott - bands _ drew

What's been your favorite place to play?

What artists do you like to listen to?

Well our home town NYC is great!

we love purity, sigur ros, drake, asap rocky, sufjan stevens, travis scott... and so many more

Do you see the Tropical House trend growing soon? Love that summer upbeat vibes. Matoma, Thomas Jack, Kygo, Marshmello, SNBRN, BEARSON and yourselves seem to be leading. Keep it up!

yeah we think that genre is great and opening up the weight for even more interpretations of it...

all those guys are the homies and add sam feldt to that mix... good music is good music

Listened to a few of your nice hair podcasts and you mentioned seeing Dillon Francis. Whats it like kicking it with that fool?

he is such a character and great guy... no act from him on his socials that is dillon 100%...

Huge fan here. A few questions for you guys: 1. What VST's do you use in your songs? 2. What advice would you give to an aspiring producer? 3. Who can drink more, Drew or Alex?

the vst's are - serum, spire, guitar rig, those are our favorites atm...

our advice would be you can learn almost everything about being a producer from the internet and talking to other producers about their techniques... we learn new stuff everyday from our peers, its important to take the time to learn, it takes years of patience and dedication...

and alex can drink more..

How much do you miss Calio's in 'Cuse Alex? Also I'm a student/producer here in Syracuse and was interested in your experience with Marshal Street Records, were they a good help in getting to where you guys are today?

dont know what calio's though, then again i have a bad memory... but i do miss chucks...

marshall street records did put out my first song pre chainsmokers but it was just a bunch of kids that didnt know what they were doing hahah

Hey Alex and Drew. I want to start off by saying I'm a big fan of your music and you guys are my favorite artists! My twin brother and I like to produce music as well, but we have come across a problem that I was hoping you guys could help us out with. When you guys first got into producing music/remixing songs how did you go about finding acapellas? There are tons of songs that I would love to remix, but can't seem to find quality vocal tracks anywhere. Any advice?

haha thats the same issue we had... so we remixed indie bands that we loved but that didnt have budgets for remix packages and they were happy to send us acapellas to do remixes (granted they approved the final version) and believe it or not those artists were smallpools, tove lo, astr, and other artsits like that that are huge now.... we didnt work on originals till we thought we could get good ones and had confidence

Thanks so much for the reply! Its nice to know we aren't alone in that struggle ha. Sounds like you guys hit those artists up at the right time... all those artists are very recognizable names now ha. I wouldn't want to waste too much of you guys' time, but I was wondering if you two had an email or a place to send tracks to? My brother and I have several tracks that are nearly finished, but sadly we don't have any real sources for legit feedback or advice. Any comments or tips from you guys would be immensely appreciated!

send to [email protected]

Thanks for all the replies, you guys are awesome! Looking forward to sending you some tracks. You guys definitely gave us some motivation for producing. Do you guys have a preferred format to send tracks in?

always a stream

What's up guys, I helped shoot your Ebrola video at Binghamton University, when's your end coming out? Or have I missed it?

hahah so we did put it up but then ppl got really pissed... we get ebola isnt a joke but ebrola is funny... but we didnt want to risk the hate... i know that makes us pussies

I saw you guys at 'Flames Central' in calgary, alberta and that remains as the best show I've ever seen! You guys are my inspiration in mixing and producing and I cant wait for my next opportunity to see you. Anyways! My question is do you guys enjoy coming to Canada to play, if so you're favorite city?

WE FUCKING LOVE CANADA! WE CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH.... fav city we cant say... but that party was tight af

What is more important to you: better hair or better eyebrows?

bad eyebrows are really hardcore... but you know we are all about that hair life

Hey guys! Saw you at Life in Color 2 years ago. Good to see you're getting back to the more indie sound that you started on! When can we expect a full length album? Or are you guys more focused on singles/remixes & touring?

for the moment singles and remixes... we have A LOT of music coming out this summer and fall.. like a song or two every 4 weeks... but its not a cohesive album... we want our album to not be a bunch of random tracks thrown together

Saw y'all for the first time at TomorrowWorld last year and y'all absolutely killed it! Easily one of my favorite performances. I know it hasn't been announced yet but any early insight if you'll be back again to rock the main stage?

signs are pointing to yes... but nothing is confirmed quite yet

Do you guys have any advice for aspiring producers on how to get your name out there?

just keep hustling... become a master of the field you plan to work on, but also realize that it isnt easy, it takes time, and lucky, and coincidence and hard work.... there are so many things honestly our head starts spinning just thinking about it

Hey alex and drew, huge fan! My questions are 1. Who really has the nicer hair? 2. What's your favorite venue to play?

obviously drew, have you seen alex's hair, it sucks...

echo stage in DC is without a doubt the best club in the world

Do you play any instrument or know music theory? How do you feel about EDM slowly ditching bigroom? Also what advice would you give upcoming dj/producers?

yes pretty much every instrument but tbh we know very basic music theory....

umm we dont feel anything really... edm and big room is alive and well in a lot of places... we think that its great though that ppl want more out of their dance music... honestly we dont listen to big room house in our spare time... and a lot of the stuff we are going to put out isnt big room... at the end of the day good music is good music

Do you like cars? If so, what do you drive at the moment and what would you like to drive?

we are from NYC no cars there BUT Drews first car was subaru and Alexs (mine) a mazda

What is your guy's favorite live performance/moment?

American Idol... haha jk that sucked...

I think our first show at TomorrowWorld... it was the first festi we played, we were so nerovus... alex was puking all morning from drinking the night before, and we love TW for taking that chance on us!

What are some of your favorite places you've been?

Greece was amazing... Argentina was so popping!

I was fortunate enough to be there when you guys debuted "Let You Go" in Houston at Stereo Live. What were your inspirations behind the song?

Well GGFO wrote the topline and they are super talented but the process was very natural... it all came together very quickly... LYG was actually supposed to come out before SELFIE...

How was your collaboration with Priyanka Chopra? What do you think of her in 'Erase'?

she is great! we actually never spoke to her... the drawbacks of the digital age... but we ran into her at a burger place in LA and she was super nice... we really appreciate that she let us do that single with her... it was a great way to build a narrative and build off of it!

I had the chance of watching you at Lollapalooza's show in Argentina and it was just amazing! You are incredible as persons and playing too. You know exactly how to make people go crazy. Are you planning to come back? Huge fan. Btw, starting learning to produce some music, all by internet, is that effective? Do you reccomend sth esential to know or any web site which has good tips?

thanks man! Argentina is one of our fav places to play now and we hope to come back ASAP!

honestly thats a great way to learn, use youtube and try recreating songs that you love... and then use that as a springboard

Did you think your song #selfie was going to blow up the way it did?

no way jose... yall are the ones who blew it up... not us

What's up dudes, I just heard your guys' interview on Drew Garabo Live, you seem like some pretty chill dudes. My question is, what do you guys do for fun? Besides music, of course.

we love to eat, fuck chicks, and do all around extreme stuff... its pretty tite tbh ;)

so you've got fans all around the world, ones who make grand attempts to see you, ones who've seen you +5 times, and ones who are hoping to see you live. How does #thechainsmokers fan base make you feel?

we are just sot thankful that ppl have connected with the music we make because its the most accurate representation of who we are and to see that we have such an amazing following of ppl that are so dedicated to us... nothing is better

Which song that you've made has been a personal favorite? And for what reason is it a favorite?

Past work Dreaming... for obvious reasons its fucking tite...

and upcoming work is our next song, you will see why when you hear it!

funniest hotel story?

the after party of il soniq in the W hotel PH with adventure club and dillon francis and botnek and 3lau and about 10 other djs... we destroyed the place... leighton and drew had an intense pillow fight... ice bucket challenges with muscle milk 15k of damages later

What are the odds that you'll take a shot of fireball with me this Friday in park city? Im excited to see you for the first time!

Also, can you play your remix to julian for my friend? He saw you in seattle and you didn't play it but he will be there Friday too. He has the same name

are you buying, if so 100% if not still 100!

Best advice for someone looking to learn how to mix? Any advice on programs or equipment would be great :)

P.S. Come back to SLO soon

to mix as a DJ live or to do mixdowns?

Can't stop listening a single song from you! Are you planing to come back to Argentina? Just an incredible Lollapalooza's show

thank you!! all about them Good Intentions :)

and we better come back to Argentina! That crowd was so crazy and the girls so hot!!

Hey guys, big fan ever since the "Dreaming" remix. Your remixes and (most of your) originals always hit the spot for me. Come to Boston soon!

Are you looking into doing more recurring sets like NICE HAIR? Really enjoy hearing hour-long mixes on a regular basis, mixed in with the ridiculousness that is Alex and Drew.

we just played boston like 3 times...

nice hair is a monthly show... then we have our youtube edm 15 each week on BPM sirius... then we have a 200+ song curated list of music on spotify called NICE HAIR also!

Are you Game of Thrones fans? If so, who is your favorite character? Bonus question - Who will end up in the Iron Throne? Big fan! Thanks for the AMA guys!!!!

Good question and YESSSSS!!!!!! Arya Stark and we think that the iron throne will go to... little finger!

Alex, did you go to Syracuse as well?

nope NYU

Huge fan of you guys I have two questions: why don't/can't/haven't you guys done solo shows in chicago? And how did you guys meet and begin the glorious journey that is your musical careers?

we have a huge show coming up in Chitown this fall! we are also playing lollapalooza but we have been working on building a massive stage production that we are gonna tour with in the fall... dont miss out itll be at aragon...

we met on a blind date that our friend set up, jake truen... he was like i think you dudes would hit it off and make magic... he was right

Heard you were gonna be at the bolts game tonight when you were on the Drew Garrabo show, what are you gonna do when the rangers lose?

hahaha thats funny cause the RANGERS ARE GONNA WIN!