Saturday Night Session 016: Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano talk making it work as a musical duo and the meaning behind their ‘Sexy By Nature’ brand
Few moments are more sacred than the reprieve Saturday night provides from the daily grind of school and work. Its importance is meant to be highlighted, and thus, a feature dedicated to “doing the night ” was born. Saturday Night Sessions are put around energizing mixes meant to get the party started. New or old, each episode has one cornerstone item in similarity: they serve as the ideal background for the weekend pregame.
Sunnery Gorré and Ryan de Lange have come quite a ways since the pair met by chance working retail in Amsterdam in 2006. Now internationally renowned electronic music producers, label owners, and clothing line manufacturers, retail is only a fraction of what keeps them occupied thanks to their creative flair and infectious personalities. More popularly called Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, the duo’s music career is what pushed them into notoriety, and it all started with a launch in 2009 on Chuckie‘s Dirty Dutch imprint. After cementing a strong fanbase in The Netherlands, James and Marciano started to develop a steady following internationally as a result of their distinctive sound and high energy productions. A decade in, their livelihood is as vibrant as ever.
All of the different elements of James & Marciano’s creativity fall under the master brand they’ve created for themselves, ‘Sexy By Nature. ’ Inspired by confidence, they speak about what the brand means to them, and how it shapes their approach to life, stating, “We think being sexy is all about confidence and attitude. In our opinion every single person can be sexy in their own manner. For us it’s not so much about the way you dress or look, but the way you present yourself. Being sexy is being comfortable with who you are and that’s why it’s so important to us and why we started our ‘Sexy By Nature’ new. ”
Brands, labels, and songs aside, it’s no secret that being a part of a music duo or a group can be taxing and finally career ending due to interpersonal conflict and differing of directions. James and Marciano are still going strong after a decade, and they speak on why they’ve been able to make it work, stating, “Besides working together, we’re best friends. We were best friends before we started our DJ career. We get along so well, so we never fight. We spend so much time together, the only thing we do individually is sleeping haha. ”
The product of their friendship and stellar working relationship, the duo have a really distinctive sound, which isn’t something many of the electronic music artists in today’s landscape can say. James and Marciano blend elements of house, tribal, techno, and electro all rolled up with some Latin flavor. All of these elements are exhibited throughout their hour long Saturday Night Session, which takes the listener on a ride of club music and recent strikes by the artists.
When asked what kind of a Saturday night the combination would get listeners’ prepared for, James and Marciano unsurprisingly note it’ll be a ‘sexy and funky one! ” The mixture is the best representation of their dynamic soundscape bundled into one high energy collection, and it’s the ideal background for a club night.
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It can be tough being a duo/group in music, and we’ve seen a great deal of breakups. How do you guys make it work?
Apart from working together we’re best friends. We were best friends before we started our DJ career. We get along so well, so we never fight. We spend so much time together, the only thing we do individually is sleeping haha.
What can we expect from you guys in 2019? Any exciting new projects?
Last month we published a new track with Bruno Martini and Mayra called “Shameless. ” Besides this release there is a good deal of new music along the way. We’re also playing plenty of cool shows and festivals such as Tomorrowland, Balaton Sound and Mysteryland, where we also host our very own stage with Sexy By Nature. And of course we have our own residency again at Hi Ibiza, each Wednesday together with Armin van Buuren.
What is the best and conversely worst part about this profession?
The best part is that we get to see the world and we get to meet a lot of cool and inspiring people all over the world. What we dislike the most is the fact that we’re away from our families a lot.
How did you guys decide on ‘Sexy by Nature’ as your brand name/thematic?
We think being sexy is all about confidence and attitude. In our opinion every single person can be sexy in their own manner. For us it’s not so much about the way you dress or look but the way you present yourself. Being sexy is being comfortable with who you are and that’s why it’s so important to us and why we started our ‘Sexy By Nature’ new.
Is this a profession you would encourage your children to pursue?
We always encourage our children to do what they love. If they have the enthusiasm to become DJs we’ll encourage hem in every way we could, but of course we’ll warn them about the side effects and how it’s a quite intense profession. It’s not for everybody.
What kind of a Saturday Night is your combination going to get us prepared for?
A sexy and funky one!
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