Interview: The Checkup

 

With the arrival of their second full length EP on Large Music imminent, it’s fair to say that Belgian duo The Checkup have enjoyed somewhat of a meteoric rise since their first release on Solo five months ago. Their punchy and melodic brand of house caught the wave of current taste in the most timely fashion, and now they appear set to carve out their own niche within the scene. We caught up with this exciting double act to discuss what shapes their sound, live performances and Brussels.

 

Soundspace

So who is The Checkup?

The Checkup

We are a duo: Alessandro and Raphael. Alessandro is Italian, and Raphael is French. We both live in Brussels, where we met! We both play instruments and have been trained classically from an early age. Alex plays the piano, the bass and the guitar, and I (Raph) play the drums and the saxophone.

 

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Soundspace

How did you two come together?

The Checkup

We met at a rooftop party in summer 2013. I was supporting Alex’s solo music, loved his groove, and we decided to meet up and try a collaboration. We are now one and a half years later!

 

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Soundspace

Describe your sound in three words

The Checkup

Bouncy / Groovy / Harmonic

 

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Soundspace

Where do you draw your influence from?

The Checkup

We quite like 90’s vibe house, with garage influence from the UK, and soulful vocals that you hear in disco. We like to also listen to contemporary artists and get influenced from very different genre as disco, funk, pop, jazz…

 

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Soundspace

So you two hail from Brussels, whats the scene like there? Any clubs you would recommend for someone visiting the city?

The Checkup

Brussels is pretty small, but there are some really nice parties. Some of the biggest artists regularly come to Brussels to play. We quite like The Wood club where we have played a number of times; it’s quite an iconic venue for Brussels.

 

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Soundspace

Other than Brussels, what’s your favorite city in the world to party in?

The Checkup

We really like Berlin and London, quite different vibes but both lots of fun! Of course it depends where you go, but if you know where you are going, always some great clubs!

 

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Soundspace

Apart from being included in our ‘Artists to watch in 2015’ feature, what’s been the highlight of your career thus far?

The Checkup

We think that our records ‘The Race’ on Beef Records, and ‘In your soul’ on Large, both hitting the #1 spot on Traxsource Deep House was the best part of our year. That was really awesome for us, considering it’s our first year releasing records. It was a surprise, but it gave us a ton of motivation to go forward in 2015.

 

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Soundspace

If you weren’t in music, what would you be doing?

The Checkup

Raph: I think I would of liked to be a professional athlete or work in the sports industry, maybe as a journalist or an analyst.

Alex: I would definitely work in something to do with radio or television, as a commentator or something.

 

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Soundspace

Out of the two of you, who would win in a fight?

The Checkup

Raph: Definitely me hahahah

Alex: physically Raph is right, but I can hurt a lot with words…

 

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Soundspace

And finally, what’s next for you two?

The Checkup

We have our next EP ‘Move Me’ coming on Large on the 19th – and we have finished preparing our live set, with myself (Raph) on the drumpads and Alex on the live keyboard. We’ll both have FX controllers and launchpads as well!

 

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