Two Friends (Eli Sones and Matt Halper) in the green room at the El Rey in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Ian Johnson, IG: @youngianphoto)
Here at Beautiful Buzzz we generally only provide coverage for single tracks. We like to keep it simple. But once in a while we like to offer an inside look into the lives of artists with whom we really love and consider homies. This past weekend we caught up with Two Friends after their show in Los Angeles at the El Rey Theatre.
James Delaney sings "Emily" with Two Friends. (Photo courtesy of Ian Johnson)
This hard-working yet light-hearted DJ duo has been picking up momentum since they first started putting a slew of remixes and original tracks on SoundCloud 5 years ago. Known for their riotous social media antics, viral remixes of hits like “Mr. Brightside” and “Trap Queen”, SoundCloud chart-topping “Big Bootie Mixes”, and recent original pop-leaning singles like “Out of Love (feat. Cosmos & Creature)”, “Emily (feat. James Delaney)”, and “Just A Kid (feat. Kevin Writer)” the friend pair of Matt Halper and Eli Sones have earned a well-deserved following and respect as one of the foremost rising acts in the scene.
Saturday night, playing to a sold-out crowd at the legendary El Rey Theatre in the heart of LA, I finally got to witness firsthand why these fellas are quickly climbing the ladder of success—they really know how to get the crowd moving. Some young DJ acts today it seems just hit the play button, jump up and down, and run around the stage hyping the crowd, but it’s clear that Two Friends can do that and simultaneously actually DJ—mixing between tracks quickly and seamlessly flowing from throwback classic to Top 40 remix to their original releases, bringing guests like James Delaney and Kevin Writer on stage to perform their features. Two words can be used to sum up the night and all the fun that was had: Dance. Party.
Doing their thing. (Photo courtesy of Ian Johnson)
After the show we decided to ask Eli and Matt some rapid fire questions to find out a little more about them. Enjoy their responses:
BB: Sushi or Ramen?
Eli: Ramen
Matt: sushi
BB: Pizza or Pasta?
Eli: Pasta
Matt: pizza
BB: Tacos or Burritos?
Eli: Tacos
Matt: burritos (why are we even friends eli?)
BB: Favorite spot to get any of the above in LA?
Eli: Tacos at Frida's at the Brentwood Country Mart
Matt: Burritos at Kay N Dave’s
BB: Favorite artist (musical or not) who is pushing creative boundaries?
Eli: Chance The Rapper
Matt: AJR
BB: Favorite guilty pleasure Spotify playlist?
Eli: Disney movie soundtracks, especially Lion King and Hercules
Matt: ^lol. Ummm probably like one of the Coffee House ones
BB: Biggest inspiration(s)?
Eli: Friends and family
Matt: unique songwriters who tell stories well
BB: Coolest cities you’ve played in so far?
Eli: All the international ones are always surreal- Barcelona might be at the top.
Matt: I might agree for once.
BB: Dream collaborator?
Eli: Blink-182, I'm stealing your answer Matt.
Matt: Bli... oh uhh let’s go with Ben Gibbard.
BB: Most embarrassing moment of tour so far?
Eli: Matt addressing the New York City crowd as Chicago accidentally, sorry Matt.
Matt: that was last year bro. I’d say falling off a DJ booth or two
There you have it folks. Catch Two Friends live in a city near you. All show dates can be found here!
Two Friends. (Photo courtesy of Ian Johnson, IG: @youngianphoto)