Interview: Peking Duk Talk Lockout Laws, Hit Track “Stranger” & More

Peking Duk’s career in the past year or so has completely skyrocketed, to say the least.

They’ve single-handedly conquered the industry with tracks such as Say My Name and the ever catchy and futuristic, Higher and show no signs of stopping any time soon. Stranger is their new single, featuring Elliphant on vocals, with hollowed out drums and a particularly ‘spacey’ feel all around. We love it.

FS: Today we’ve got a special interview with none other than Australia’s Peking Duk. We’re so excited to get down to business with the guys! 

You just released your music video for your latest release, Stranger. What’s the creative process behind this banger and the equally amazing music video?

Reuben: One morning Adam came to me with this super dope dancehall-esque beat. It felt so good we immediately got working on it, but just as an instrumental… In our heads from the get go we thought of Elli, not only does she have a stupidly rad voice but we were gonna be heading to Sweden in a couple of weeks anyway.

We didn’t know if it was gonna work or not but we got in the studio and came up with a bunch of different ideas for topline melodies. After a week or 2 in the UK working on other stuff, we decided to go back to Sweden and try a new chorus for Stranger.

By this stage Elli was keen to call it quits haha, she said stuff like “you guys don’t want me on this. it’s clearly not working for you guys…” etc. But, we were super persistent coz we knew she was definitely the one for this! Eventually we got all the melodies nutted out then went to the pub for beers and to think of lyric ideas.

We knew conceptually at the time where we wanted to take it. We were in Sweden in the middle of summer, there was 2 hours of night per day and we were partying almost every single night.

The concept was based around lust, drugs, partying, sunrise and good times. Opening the song with “chemical in my brain” allowed the rest of the lyrics to come suuuper naturally, in the space of about 20 minutes.

So the story was set – 5am on a train, when you’re burning out but not ready to finish, and you’re excited about the sunrise and genuinely loving the beauty of it… It’s easy to feel dirty when the sun rises and you’re still out partying but it should never feel that way. The morning joggers and mums with strollers should never be a deterrent from enjoying yourself and the moment!

Anyways, the story then proceeds to that feeling of wanting to share that moment with someone else who is riding that same wave as you. It’s not fun trying to sleep when you’re still buzzing, but it’s far less fun to be buzzing and soaking up the moment all on your own. Thus, in the story she goes and enjoys it all with someone else.

The clip was just simply to follow the story. But to make the story loveable, like the way we see it, we decided dogs had to be the main characters. That way, younger people or hopefully everyone can try see the beauty in partying until sunrise, and not see it as dirty.

FS: Would you say that the music video for Stranger was your favourite video from your discography? If not, what is?

Adam: We love the video! We came up with the idea with Elliphant in Stockholm. I must say our favourite thus far would either be Say My Name or Feels Like. Matt Mcgorry was such a legend to work with, he’s a funny dude and has the dance moves of Rick James on heat.

FS: Some interesting words there. We dig Stranger rather a lot to be honest. Also, congrats on your track going gold in Australia! What would you say is your favourite remix of one of your own tracks and why?

Reuben: This is a super tough question. So many remixes over the past few years have been amazing to play in our DJ sets but just as many have been amazing to listen to. My personal favourite would have to be the Filterkat remix of Say My Name.

It is so authentic and real, yet absolutely nothing like the original. He is both French and Australian, and relatively unknown considering how good his music is. I guess his remix is simply the first of which I’ve preferred to the original and thought “damn, I wish we did it like that”.

FS: Yes! We love Filterkat’s mix of Say My Name! That’s definitely a good choice on your behalf. 

Are there any newcomers in the scene that you would like to shine a light on?

Adam: Our boy from our hometown, Canberra named Blanke is about to drop some wild shit… Definitely keep your ears and eyes open for him. Also they’re not really new comers but Benson and also Yeo from Melbourne has some absolute heaters in the works. Exciting shit.

FS: We’re going to move onto some serious questions now… As many people may know, Sydney currently has Lockout laws in place and people aren’t too happy about it. What can Sydney do to the laws to make the nightlife in the city better?

Reuben: There is one easy answer for this. Eradicate the lockout laws entirely, or at the very least push it back a few hours. Not being able to enter a venue in the city after 1:30am and having to leave at 3am is a joke and does nothing but kill culture.

Everyone should have the opportunities Adam and I had 4 years ago when we first moved to Sydney. It’s the future generations of musicians and artists which we may potentially miss out on because they’ll have no platform to express themselves. Sydney’s premier Mike Baird must be copping some decent coin from the casinos because for some reason they’re exempt from the laws.

FS: Do you think the government is doing enough to help the situation?

Adam: The government needs to realise and value how important breeding nightlife and culture is for a city. Without it there is no growth and no vibe.

They need to get their head out of their asses and see that the matinees they are taking their trophy wives to every weekend is another form of art that gives the city life and without it the city would be a ghost town.

FS: Some strong words there Adam. Hopefully Sydney can come to terms with these laws as soon as possible. Going out on a positive note however, what’s on the horizon for you both?

Reuben: All we plan to do is create lots of music and enjoy every minute of it. We’ll try play as many shows as our bodies can handle and we’ll be sure to never ever take ourselves too seriously. Life is long, everyone should allow themselves the time to slow down and enjoy it.

FS: Perfect. Massive shout out to Peking Duk and their management for their time with us today. Make sure to check out their new single Stranger, which is available to buy and stream now!



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