Brame & Hamo, Ireland’s house music anthem wizards, are set to play Wire for the first time with the Augmented crew from Manchester. Originating from the small seaport of Sligo, they have managed to spread onto the international stage with ease, thrilling house-heads with their no-nonsense approach to songwriting. We were interested to know what led them to such a focus on club music production; here are their influences.
Your earliest musical memory
Conor (Hamo): “The earliest memory I have is when my brother bought Eminem’s first album and My name is came out. Mum hated it all the cursing in it.”
Brame: “Probably going to traditional Irish music sessions in pubs with my parents as a child. Being away from Ireland for so long I miss them now. Nothing beats a load of musicians in a pub having a wee jam. Theres such a sense of community and involvement to it.”
The first record/cd you bought
Conor: “The first singles I bought was on cd when I was around 8. We were on a school tour in Dublin and I bought Eiffel 65 – Im blue. Haha.”
Brame: “I wish it was cooler but it was ‘Will Smith – Switch’ I remember not even caring what CD I was getting, I just wanted to start a collection.”
A record given to you by your parents
Conor: “My mum loves disco/soul/funk and is always plating the likes of Earth Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang and Imagination.”
Brame: “I remember my mum playing a Dolmio (Pasta) classical music compilation CD in the car that she got free with a paper when I was like 12 or 13. At the time I probably hated classical music but when I was driving to school one day I heard a sample of a trance tune that I loved in it. Thats the first time I would have accepted that its nice to listen to music outside of dance music.”
A record that made you pick up an instrument/play music
Conor: “Hard to say. This is one that was on repeat as I started making tunes. Gave me goosebumps every time. I was listening to a lot of early dubstep and Dnb when I started.”
Brame: “Realistically its probably something like Bryan Adams – Summer of 69 when I was a child thinking it would be lovely to be a rockstar.”
A tune from your school days
Conor: “I got mad into hip-hop around 14 and started to order lots of albums to a store in Sligo where I sometimes had to wait a few weeks for it to come. My love for music really started with Mobb Deep’s first album. Still one of my favourite tracks.”
Brame: “Saints & Sinners – Pushing Too Hard. I heard it on a compilation mix from Bedrock by John Digweed. I used to listen to it on my sisters iPod walking around school. So nostalgic for me.”
A record that altered your music taste forever
Conor: “Combined with my girlfriend showing me loads of great techno, I came across a mix from the producer Gemini, An amazing producer and DJ that supposedly went missing for some years. There was one track in it that I couldn’t find for ages and I turned out it was a Thomas Bangalter track. Thats what got me into the more harder stuff.”
Brame: “Floorplan – Never Grow Old. Not so much in my tastes but in my attitude toward production it had a colossal impact. The energy he achieves from such a small few elements and changes is insane.”
A record from your first clubbing experiences
Conor: “I was a late bloomer to the clubbing scene and the strongest memories was when I was really into dnb. Icicle was one of the best producers I knew at the time. This was a big one.”
Brame: “There was a club in Sligo called the Clarence and when I first started going when i was 14 or 15 they played alot of minimal and tech house but I used to go there for the more trancey and techno nights. I seen people like, Paul Woolford, Altern 8 and Marco V. My most vivid memory from the club was from a warm up set though. My friend Dean played Manuel Tur and DPlay – Deviate. It was just right down my street at the time as I was loving the clubbing experience but at home I would listen to music that was a lot deeper than what I was hearing in the club.”
An unlikely influence
Conor: “I’m not sure how unlikely they are but Massive Attack are up there for me. Their track Angels is such a tune. I just wanna make movie soundtracks when I listen to it.”
Brame: “Kojaque, he is a rapper from Dublin and a good friend of mine. Every-time he sends me some music im so eager to get in the studio even though we dont make similar music.”
A current influence
Conor: “Current influence but Its from the 80’s. I came across this guy who unfortunately passed way to young but he has some amazing tracks.”
Brame: “The Overmono lads are absolutely brilliant. Im so eager to see them play live.”
A record you want played at your funeral
Conor: “Might as play a classic and start a party. That creepy organ bass is appropriate as well. Timeless tune so should still be good whenever this happens.”
Brame: “Ahhh something spooky – maybe the goosebumps theme song.”
