Hard To Tell, the dynamic DJ and producer duo, have already established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of electronic music. Comprising of long-time friends Roy Leibovitz and Roi Zarhi, their combined musical journey blends influences from various cultures and eras, ranging from Detroit techno and house to new wave, breakbeat, and other electronic modes. Having graced stages in Ibiza, Berlin, Brazil, Slovakia, Tulum, Italy, Mykonos, and beyond, Hard To Tell are a duo ripe for global domination.
Marking their debut release on the Adana Twins' TAU imprint, the Love Pedal EP is a testament to Hard To Tell's commitment to creating music that transcends traditional electronic music. This new chapter for the duo features collaborations and experimental sounds that redefine their sonic style. Fuelled by live percussion recordings and unconventional sounds and samples, such as brass elements, the EP embodies a rich tapestry of their clear mastery in production. With METAL, Hard To Tell offers a firsthand account behind the successful EP, providing insight into their creative process and the unique elements that sets their music apart.
Good afternoon, Hard To Tell, or Roy and Roi individually! How are you today?
Hey guys! All good, and we are glad to be here with you, we wish you and your readers a very Happy New Year!
If you had to give a brief overview of your very busy year as a duo, how would you describe it for us?
We are feeling so grateful about last year. We had a lot of amazing gigs in some clubs that we really liked and also we had a lot of quality time in the studio. We were able to release a lot of new music on labels that we love and appreciate, so we’re very happy in that respect.
How do you find that you collaborate as a duo? Are there specific roles each of you takes on during the production process?
It was actually six years ago that we opened our project as a duo. We realised that we love very similar things in life and music, so it just made sense. There are no specific things that each one of us is doing, we just bring out the best in each other and let it flow naturally.
What are the key tools in your arsenal as a producer that you find help signify your sound?
We really like to use Overdrive, Distortion and Pedals, and we also love to record our own percussion and vocals.
Excluding the large and vague electronic identifier, your music does not seem to revolve around one specific genre, rather exploring elements from all different cultures and eras. Can you explain your approach when cultivating your sound in this sense?
As producers and DJs we love to listen to a lot of different genres from the past and also from the present. We love the sound of the early 80s and 90s in Detroit and we take a lot of inspiration from that. It's really important for us to make a lot of different colours in our music.
Your recent EP release, Love Pedal, has been received well, congratulations on another success! How would you describe the overall theme or concept behind this record?
Thanks a lot for the kind words. It means a lot to us! So, Love Pedal EP is our debut release on the Adana Twins’ TAU imprint. When we worked on this title track, we knew we wanted it to be something different and not only dance floor tunes. In the EP there are a lot of emotions, and you feel the mix between melancholy and uplifting vibes. We used a lot of live percussion recordings and also a lot of sounds that we don’t usually use (like the trumpet sound for example) that we feel make it special.
Were there any specific challenges or interesting moments during the production that you'd like to share?
When we made the track Love Pedal it was something new for us, for sure. We used a lot of live percussion and the work with the vocals was challenging because we put a lot of focus on that in the tune. We love the result!
In the final track of the EP, you collaborate with Yet More. How was this experience for you?
After releasing together on Innervisions’ Secret Weapons VA, we connected with Teymour (we like to call him broski) because we loved his music. We met in Paris and loved his personality too. We worked on two tracks together — I Didn’t that we released on our last EP and also on a track called Voila that will be release on January on TAU as well.
If you had the opportunity, are there any artists that you would like to collaborate with in the future?
Of course we would love to make some more collabs with interesting artists in the future, for now we are still looking so we don't have specific names yet.
Your recent single, preceding the release of the EP, a track called Last Forever, could you share the inspiration behind the track and the creative process involved in producing it?
We draw a lot of inspiration from the old school sounds of Detroit House and Techno, which we both love. In this tune, Last Forever, we tried to put our new original take on these old sounds to create something totally fresh and unique. We believe that music is the only thing that lasts forever.
How do you feel the track represents the essence of Hard to Tell’s musical style?
All the things that we used in this tune can show who we are. The bass line and the percussion in particular are really our style!
What stands out as the best crowd or your favourite crowd that you have played so far?
To be honest we just love to see people dancing and having a real good time when we are playing for them, it doesn't matter where or how many. We can't tell you about the best or favourite crowd because there are so many of them in every place in the world.
Do you have a favourite event that holds a special place in your heart that you have played, or a dream festival we can hope to see you perform at?
In the last year we did a few all-nighters for 10 hours set at the Volt club Milano, Sisyphos Berlin, Panorama and Slippers Tel Aviv, and they have a special place in our heart also because in some of them we played b2b with our good friend Tal Fussman. We have some dream clubs and festivals that we are looking forward to playing soon and for now we just keep working hard for that!
Looking forward, what energy can we expect from Hard to Tell in 2024, if you can give us a little insight in a few words?
We hope the world will be a better place to live in 2024 and we promise that we will have a lot of new music to share with you and the energy will be as high as we can.
Finally, is there anything else you'd like to share with your fans or anything we should be on the lookout for from Hard to Tell in the near future?
For now we want to say thanks a lot to everyone out there who supports our music. Definitely stay tuned for more nice things and hopefully we will meet around the world soon some time!
Hard To Tell - Love Pedal EP is out now via TAU.
