When Popdust last caught up with Los Angeles based duo Loud Luxury, they had just landed in New York to celebrate their breakout single “Body,” garnering a gold certification.

Loud Luxury feat. brando – Body (Official Lyric Video)www.youtube.com

Coming up on a year since the single’s release, Loud Luxury has evolved into a household name in the EDM pop landscape. But when asked to elaborate on the quick trajectory of their fame, the duo themselves couldn’t believe it. “‘Body’ was never meant to be a hit song,” said Andrew Fedyk. “It took so long for us to find our sound,” added Joe Depace. “And that’s what we’re gonna keep doing. That sound is what took us 3 years in Los Angeles eating dirt to discover.”

While their upward trajectory hasn’t ceased since the single’s release, they owe the fame to those who believed in them. “Tiesto has been a massive mentor to us,” said Depace. “He brought us up basically.” Fedyk added that they “wouldn’t be where [they] are without their relationships and mentorships.” Popdust spoke with the duo about their new single, “I’m Not Alright” featuring Bryce Vine, before their knockout performance in Brooklyn. The guys also discussed their first show, their inspirations, and where they plan to go from here.

When we caught up with Heldens and Tiesto at Electric Zoo they were absolutely raving about you.

A: “We love them, they gave us our first real start at this.”

J: “Heldens supported one of our first tracks, and Tiesto has been a massive mentor to us. He brought us up, basically.”

A: “Heldens is the first person we ever did dates with in the U.S. We were set to come over once from Canada and -“

J: “It was the most stressful show of my life.”

Why is that?

A: “He didn’t know if he was gonna get into the United States.”

J: “We were about to make it legitimate. Pack our bags and move to America, and [Andrew] got his Visa way before I did. I was in my living room with my bags packed the night before a show, waiting on a phone call to see if I’d get [let into the country].”

Wow. Did you make it?

J: “At 9pm I got the call that I got my visa, went to Toronto as fast as I could with all of my studio equipment. Flew to LA, and played our first show.”

Loud Luxury and Bryce Vine – I’m Not Alright [Official Music Video]www.youtube.com

Where would you say you draw your inspiration from?

J: “I started learning how to produce because I always wanted to recreate Avicii tracks. I thought, how the hell does this guy do it? So I would just try to make every thing he did.”

A: “Avicii and Calvin [Harris] were really special because they were the first artists to make dance music super accessible. I just always loved the idea of being able to make a song that your friends know and can party to, but that your family can also know [and appreciate].”

It’s that melodic sound that you guys are also incredible at.

A: “That’s what we’re chasing.”

What track have you grown to be most proud of?

A: “Body is awesome because it changed things, but “I’m Not Alright” was special. We took a risk there, and knew that some people might not like this because of how different it is from what we’ve done before. But the reception has been amazing so far, and it’s helped remind us that you have no reason to not take risks in what you’re doing. What’s the worst that can happen?

So then where do you see dance music going, and what risks are you going to take next?

J: “I hope there’s more collaboration. That’s why Andrew and I started working together cause we love collaborating with each other, and that’s what we [like to do] with other people. I love how you can take a genre and mix it and craft something completely new.”

A: “You can’t have a brand and no music. The brand is the ‘why.’ Why should you listen to this song? But putting the two together is what makes sense [for us.]”

J: “At the end of the day what we’re doing is [pushing] our sound. It took a long time to find it, and as long as it is something that’s Loud Luxury. That’s major. That’s what took us 3 years to figure out.”