BodyRocking Around The Clock

words Jerome Evans shutter courtesy of Universal 

So you wanna be a dance music producer, eh? You scrimped and saved to buy yourself some decks, spent hours on end sifting through subterranean record stores in search of the perfect groove, waxed some more cash on a high-end PC and ProTools, grew pale and withdrawn perfecting your beat in a darkened room, and finally pressed your masterwork and couriered it to Mr. Sony. Seven years of your life down the tubes, and what do you have to show for it? A note from an A&R man that reads: “Dear x, thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, we will not be promoting your record because you are not Paul Oakenfold. Should you become Paul Oakenfold in the future, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”

The BodyRockers must have been in the right place at the right time. Their debut single “I Like The Way” apparently took four hours to make; the duo came up with the lyrics on the spot; Eric Morillo heard it the same day and offered BodyRocker Kaz James his wallet in exchange for the master copy; Ibiza went wild for its sun-drenched lyrics and heady guitar riff; Pete Tong made it his essential new tune, and the rest is dance music history. “I Like The Way” spent five weeks at number one on the Canadian dance chart, as well as tearing up dance floors worldwide. Whether you believe their rise to fame is due to happy coincidence or cynical record-company marketeering, there’s no denying that Brit Dylan Burns and Australian Kaz James have bags of crossover appeal. It’s the single found favour with house heads, no-wavers, electroclash kids…and of course teenage girls. “I think Dylan can be a very naughty boy at times,” says Tasha on their web messageboard. “He might need a smacked bottom and to be sent up to bed with me!”

Klublife caught up with Dylan in the South London crypt that doubles as his recording studio. It took all of our journalistic integrity to refrain from asking him questions about his star sign, what he looks for in a girlfriend and whether he’s single.

KL: So what have you been up to recently?

DB: Well, basically we’ve been chasing the record around the globe. It’s been pretty crazy. We’ve been in the UK Top 20 for several weeks, then we were playing a small gig at the Glastonbury festival for about 1,000 people, before doing a massive show for [Brit youth TV program] T4 for about 60,000 people…it was pretty intense. We’ve also been getting a band together for our tour. We really wanted to go for it, so we’ve got a four-piece band and a great lightshow. We’re really pleased with how it’s coming along, actually.

KL: So how did you guys first get together?

DB: Well, I was in Australia and Kaz was a touring DJ there, and I would sing over his sets. Then one day we were jamming in the dressing room, and something just clicked—we thought “hey, let’s do this out front” and the crowd loved it, so I guess that was how we got started.

KL: What would you say were your musical influences?

DB: Well, I was really into Bowie, Led Zeppelin…more recently I really like The Killers, Basement Jaxx, who are from South London as well, Groove Armada…a bit of everything really.

KL: So you’ve been in dance music for a while, and have a string of minor hits under your belt. Are there any really embarrassing ones you’d rather nobody found out about?

DB: [laughs] Oh, mate, all of them…. I suppose there were a few fairly cheesy dance remixes in there.

KL: Er…so what do you think about Charles and Camilla marrying?

DB: I say best of luck to them.

KL: What’s next for the BodyRockers?

DB: Well, we have the new single coming out in September, it’s called “Round and Round.” We also got licensed for a Diet Coke advert, which is nice. The album is coming out in Canada soon as well, and we should be coming over to do a few gigs. Give us a call then, we should hook up.

We can barely contain our excitement at the prospect of being Wingman to the BodyRockers. Roll on the winter!