LEFTWING:KODY
Since forming back in 2012, Leftwing: Kody have made it all look so darn easy. Both Mixmag and DJ Mag named them one to watch a mere year after Leftwing : Kody formed, with DJ Mag even nominating Leftwing : Kody for ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’ in their Best of British Awards. Having notched up a string of key releases on house labels like Desolat, Relief, Moon Harbour, Sola, Toolroom, Solid Grooves, Truesoul and their own lost imprint, it’s been one foot in front of the other for quite some time. Having already made a massive impact this year with the “Come Over” EP on Moon Harbour Recordings, the duo then released the huge ‘I Feel It’ on Toolroom which came equipped with a Paul Woolford & Boston Bun Remix and was daytime play listed on Radio 1 & Kiss in the UK, notching up over 7000 radio plays by the summer and played in ever club and bar across the globe over the summer, they can now add Columbia Records to the pinnacle of that list. “I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity to work with a label with such a rich history in our music culture,” says Jon Kong, AKA Leftwing of the news. “The past two years, I’ve veered away from the club scene: I’ve been working with a lot with vocals and with singer songwriters. Columbia really is the place to be to nurture a producer who wants to take things to radio. Something we discussed was making music to play to our kids or to our parents… we just didn’t think it would happen as quickly as it did!”
The support for their music has been something to behold, with everyone from Carl Cox, Jamie Jones, Loco Dice and Adam Beyerall supporting Leftwing : Kody productions. 2018 saw Leftwing : Kody hit dizzying new heights with, “Snap Back”, which was Desolat’s best-selling track ever, while Sony signed the Leftwing : Kody remix of Kelis’ iconic ‘Milkshake’ which had over 300,000 fans on Spotify streaming Leftwing : Kody productions a million times in over 65 countries. Throw in two Beatport Top 10s, three Beatport Top 20s and four Beatport Top 30s, and it’s easy to see why all eyes are on Leftwing : Kody in 2019. Recently they remixed the UK soul-pop vocalist Mabel (“she’s got a very interesting sound and tone. We played her Mum’s records a lot so it was a cool remix to take!”) – but really, what is it that makes this talented dance duo tick? “With us, there’s a yin and yang,” smiles Chris. “What makes it that, I’m not sure! We definitely both have the same work ethic and we push and motivate each other.” Adds Jon: “We have different ambitions and influences and we have different tastes but most importantly, we can agree on things!” Chris also has another creative side he loves to explore: his wife is an actress and he enjoys making short films. “Last year she put together a short film that went to Cannes: I have always been into both music and film, which is my second love. She gave me the opportunity to film from scratch and we really added to the emotion: it’s definitely something I will look into in the future.”
Jon and Chris have one modus operandi when it comes to music: quality and crossing genres. Jon attests. “I make a lot of instrumentals,” he says. “I am biding my time and I want to work with different artists. As an engineer, all the music we do is mixed ourselves. It’s all in-house and that’s the big thing. I am passionate about the mixing of the music but just as importantly, I am also interested in crossing genres. Musically, I am really broad-minded. I fell in love with pirate radio growing up in London, around early rave, drum ‘n’ bass and jungle. The first CD I had was ‘The Prodigy Experience’. The culture became UK garage and that’s when I started DJing and was influenced by living in London. I also grew up in a household where Joni Mitchell and CSNY were played so I’ve always been exposed to lots of different things. I also loved ‘Dummy’ by Portishead and Massive Attack growing up, they were a massive influence on the way I look and listen to music.”
It’s clear that maintaining a foothold with the underground is key to their success, and while they’ve been making music together for seven years, it’s now time for this duo to step up to a whole new level. “We want to take thing a little bit further. We’re still making club music and we’re still pushing things forward.” “I like writing songs,” reasons Jon. “Our music’s been in the clubs for a while now. From Desolat to Truesoul, our tracks have been played everywhere. But I also like writing songs. We’re going to keep our feet in both worlds.” There’s also talk of going live later down the line. “I think one of our ambitions has always been to create a live show. We’ve discussed this for two and half years now: to create a band rather than turning up with a USB!” Joining an esteemed electronic roster that includes the likes of dance superstars Calvin Harris and Mark Ronson, it’s pretty clear that the best of both worlds is still to come. We’ll leave Chris to close: “I’m very proud of what Jon and myself have achieved over the years in music and right now this is the pinnacle of all the hard work and sacrifices we have made. I’m looking forward to working with Columbia and excited about what we can accomplish together.”