Stafford Brothers

If the sibling duo of electro house DJs, STAFFORD BROTHERS, doesn’t ring a bell, then one must wonder where you’ve been hiding for the past few years. Certainly not in the clubs, where the Stafford Brothers are sure sell-out headliners in every state around the country. And you can’t have been to any festivals in Australia because if you had, you would have seen the brothers in action at any one of them. And surely you haven’t been tuned into the radio, where the Staffords’ own productions and remixes peak at the top end of the club and dance charts and are hot request favourites. In fact, one must ask the question that if you haven’t heard of the Stafford Brothers, are you listening to dance music at all?

Well, the brothers are back. Fresh from their massive international tour, including huge Summer shows at the most celebrated clubs around the world including Bora Bora (Ibiza), Pacha (London), Paradise Club (Mykonos), and at decks in Las Vegas, New York and across Canada. . .It certainly wasn’t the first dose of Stafford fever the world has received, the boys taking on a new list of fresh clubs and locations, as well as revisiting previous venues. All evidence thatthe Stafford sound has successfully infiltrated overseas markets and the demand for the Stafford Brothers has well and truly burst and shot beyond Australian shores. When playing abroad, the boys are conscious to play plenty of Aussie productions, their own tracks, remixes and mash-ups as well as the latest floor- rocking tracks from around the world. For now, the Stafford Brothers have returned to their shimmering hometown. With the party bug still itching them, the boys have got plenty of it to share with their beloved local following.

Proud Gold Coasters, Matt and Chris Stafford have been steadily rising to the top of Australia’s elite DJ forces since 1999, the year the brothers decided to shelve their solo DJing and pair up fulltime. Both standout DJs, Chris is an old hat at producing and a natural lyricist on the mic, while Matt is known for his lead guitar solos over sets and possesses business acumen to boot. All this adds up to the blood brothers combining as a powerful force in both the production and DJ realms and whether they’ll admit it or not, as one of the main drivers of the Australian dance music scene. The nationwide fame of the Stafford Brothers’ seems to know no limit. The Stafford Brothers have made a big climb in the 2008 Sony inthemix50 poll, claiming the #2 national place. It is clear these guys have made huge and fast leaps since their debut at #27 debut in 2005’s poll. The boys’ natural drive to always reach the top of whatever they set their minds to, has driven them this close to pole position, and with the grand prize so close in sight, they are racing the game harder than ever. Let’s not forget what else the brothers have been up to recently. . . After signing to international dance identity Ministry of Sound, the Stafford Brothers have wound up a string of Ministry of Sound releases, including the Electro House Sessions series, now up to its second release, with its equally massive sell out tours. The first instalment hit Gold and was sitting pretty at number one in the country for three weeks running, and they’ve backed it up with number twodoing just as well. They’ve collaborated with theHoxton Whores for exclusive Ministry of Sound titles, with Dabruck& Klein (We Play, GER), Oliver Lang on the anthemous ‘I’m Feeling’ and rocked recent remixes for Ran Shani (OneLove) and Damian Wilson (CR2). For the Stafford Brothers, this year has naturally been another growing chapter after a remarkable 2007 which saw the opening of the floodgates for the Stafford productions. While on tour, Matt and Chris penned their follow-up EP, released in November, which had all their fans salivating and left completely satisfied. Titled the Zoro EP, it was produced in the UK with the engineer of the Baby Shambles and the Happy Mondays. Their single, ‘Give Love’, was released early 2008 on central station records and was given the remix treatment from Roman Pushkin, Ran Shani, Jason Herd, Little Rascals and Rob Kay... quite the impressive list of global music makers to put their touch to the track. While this stellar list of artists is remixing the Stafford Brothers, the Stafford Brothers have their heads buried in remixes of their own including Scroobis Pip’s Thou Shalt Not Kill which hit the no 1 spot on the ARIA club chart and the JT Project. Remix work has always come a-knocking on the Stafford studio door, with remixes for Princess Superstar, Sunfreakz, Dope n Dusted and Audio Thieves already in the bag. Adding to this, the boys have organised productions for several major fashion events and lay claim to the music credits for Channel 7’s Wild TV. The Stafford Brothers retain their status as national One Love residents and both this residency and their in-demand guest spots see them playing the best clubs in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and in their home town of the Gold Coast, as well as numerous towns in between. Similarly, promoters of Summafieldayze, Two Tribes, Future Music Festival, Good Vibrations, Splendour in the Grass, Global Gathering, Parklife and of just about every other dance festival eagerly seek out Matt and Chris to feature on their festival bill, where the boys are never short of an appreciative crowd. With the Ministry tour under their belts, the boys are now staring straight down the barrel of another festival season, where promoter interest in the duo is stronger than ever. The 2008 festival circuit saw the Stafford Brothers rocking the new stages at Good Vibrations national Shows, Parklife, BBQ Breaks, Sunkissed, The Global Gathering National shows as well as the stages they call home at Summafieldayze and Hear and NOW. But it is not only Australian crowds who lap up the big-room, upfront electro house of the Stafford Brothers. The duo mixed the past two WILD compilations for Central Station Records, as well as the recent Pure CD for Gold Coast nightclub, Platinum, where the boys are favourite residents on the decks. On the release front, the mega crossover hit ‘More Than a Feeling’ followed their debut ‘I Can See’, which formed the Stafford Brothers EP along with other original tracks, Umba and Palace City. The boys have enjoyed radio airplay with the tracks, as well as peer support by way of other DJs dropping their productions into their sets. The good news about all this production work is that if you are on the dance floor with the Stafford Brothers behind the decks, you can be sure there’ll be at least a few of the boys’ original workings in there somewhere. The boys often use the clubs to drop one of their spanking new tracks to test crowd reaction and to give the room something original and fresh that no other DJ is playing. While Matt and Chris are renowned for their animated hands-in-the-air crazy behind-deck antics, both brothers know the music is the key and the most important part of any night. Matt seems to put it best: “You could have the nicest club in the world with a pretty average artist playing pretty average music in the main room. But then if you have an amazing DJ playing amazing music in the toilet of the club across the road, everyone is going to be packed into the toilet across the road, you know?” With residencies and guest spots that take them to every corner of the country, the boys’ fan base continues to grow. It is no wonder they have found themselves hot property; Matt and Chris sound the part, look the part and act the part of everyone’s favourite party rocking DJs while keeping their modesty in check and revelling in the fact they are doing what they are truly passionate about. With all the touring and time in the beat lab its hard to believe they’ve got the energy to conquer much more. . . but of course, they do. Next in line for the brothers: the Ministry of Sound Clubbers Guide to 2009, one of the institution’s most definitive club compilations. It shows that although the Stafford Brothers may have been MIA in australia, they are true legends who are not easily forgotten. And how could they be? As the Gold Coast’s favourite party rockin’ duo, they have the reputation for getting everybody moving and shaking in front of any set of decks they play at.Sell-out headliners, CD mixers, chart toppers, music makers and players, sought-after remixers, Aussie exports, musicians, DJs, party boys, fashion designers (did we mention they design their own nationwide clothing range, 5:am clothing?), international globetrotters and among the top three DJs in the country... So, now do the Stafford Brothers ring a bell? They’re a perfect pairing, like Jager and Red Bull, and that’s probably how you’ll always be able to identify them…