This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
International duo Double Touch are set to play at club Smederij in Tilburg to headline Love House. Double Touch are Classical pianist/composer Van-Anh Nguyen and DJ/drummer/producer Mark Olsen from Sydney/Los Angeles. These two creatives are much in demand with their unique mix of acoustic melodies, percussion and electronic sounds.
You may know Double Touch from Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream label. They are the standout act of 2024 so far, rocking stages globally with their DJ sets infused with live performance encapsulating live keys and drums. Their sound can be described as ambient soundscapes through to Organic/Latin/Afro House.
This duo have performed globally with highlights including Brooklyn Mirage (New York, USA), Scorpios (Mykonos, Greece, Bodrum, Turkey), Cova Santa & Playa Soleil (Ibiza, Spain), All Day I Dream Festival (California, USA), Return to Rio Festival (Australia), Cercle (Omnia, Indonesia), Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, USA), Cloud 9 (Fiji), Omnia Bali (Indonesia), and Café del Mar (Phuket) to name a few and Friday 13 September sees the duo play make their Dutch debut at Club Smederij for Love House!
Read on for the full interview!
Hi guys! Let’s start with an easy one. How are you doing? And where are you in the world?
“We are great! We are currently on a flight from USA to Europe to play a few weeks of shows over your side of the world!”
Please can you tell us a little about your musical history? How did you first get into music?
MARK: “I started playing drums in primary school where I was in school bands from year 3 to year 12. Towards the end of high school, I formed other bands with friends and played in various groups ranging from jazz/funk to punk. This is where I got my first taste of playing original music and touring.”
VAN-ANH: “My parents are both classical musicians. Mum an opera singer and dad a classical guitarist. I started learning the piano at the age of 13 months old and the rest is history.”
When did you realize you could make a successful career out of your passion and great talents?
MARK: “During my university years I was playing drums and percussion with DJs at bars and clubs on the weekends. I thought it was just something I was going to do on the side after I landed a “real job” after graduating, but I decided to travel down the music path. It’s been an enjoyable one!”
VAN-ANH: “Pretty early on.” (laughs) “I gave my first piano concert when I was 4 years old. Eventually I was teaching piano in my teens (my mum ran a music school) whilst doing international concerts. I branched out to house music when I started going clubbing and enjoying that music.”
Please could you tell me a little about this mammoth tour you are currently on? What is the concept behind this tour?
“We have been living an endless summer for the past few years where we are based in the USA and tour USA/Europe during the Northern Hemisphere Summer. Then in October we head back to our other home (Australia) for the Australian and Asia Summer season. Over the past few months, we have been spending more time in Europe than previous years and have been lucky enough to visit places we have never been seen before such as Tunisia and Bodrum.”
What have been the standout gigs recently?
“We have had some amazing gigs recently; there are so many to mention. The vibe at ADID Brooklyn Mirage was definitely one we will never forget. We played during the sunset, and it was amazing to see the energy of that venue change from the day party to night. Tunisia has also been spectacular as we didn’t know what to expect. The crowds truly LOVE music!”
“One For The Road” on Songuara is receiving massive support right across the board. How did this track come about and what is the inspiration behind it?
“We wrote this song in the Blue Mountains in Sydney where we usually spend a week or two each year to write new music. It’s a quiet and peaceful area and a perfect place to disconnect from the world and focus on music. With this track we wanted to explore a longer chord progression inspired by classical music rather than just a standard 2 or 4 chord progression. We added layers on each cycle and inverted the chords to higher notes which gives it a lifting feeling each round.”
We are big fans of “All Day I Dream”. How did you get connected with Lee Burridge and his fab concept?
“It all started when I slid into Lee’s DMs on Facebook actually. I (Mark) thanked him for nice feedback on the promo of our first single we released which was back in 2018. We started chatting and I then sent him 4 demos which he signed as our “Adagio” EP on that label.”
What do you have forthcoming in the studio?
“We have a lot of ideas we need to finish off over the next few months. We have a stack of unfinished songs that we need to spend some time on, but it’s been tricky with the constant travel since we left Australia in April. We are going to set aside some time during this current Europe tour to spend a few days working on music in our Airbnb. We have our equipment with us so we will set up a portable studio and take over the lounge room!”
Love House will be your debut performance in the Netherlands. What are your expectations of playing in this fantastic event in Tilburg and what do you know about the scene in Holland?
“We are looking forward to playing our first ever event in the Netherlands! We have heard so much about the house music scene there over the years, and the talented DJs and producers from that area. We have heard so many stories about ADE and all of our friends constantly tell us that we need to check it out. We miss out on ADE again this year, but we finally get to experience a taste of the house music scene when we visit Tilburg.”
Finally, do you have any amusing/funny stories of life on the road or something maybe that happened at a recent event?
“It wasn’t funny at the time, but we almost left the keyboard in San Diego. We packed up our equipment after the gig and rushed off to an after party. We didn’t realize the keyboard wasn’t in the case we were carrying around and it was left at the venue. We only discovered this the next day in the hotel room when we were rushing off to go to the airport. We opened the keyboard case, and it was empty! The venue was closed that day, and we had to make some phone calls to get someone with keys to meet us there to open the venue. We were very close to missing the flight, but we made it! I think Tequila definitely had something to do with that episode.”
LoveHouse with DOUBLE TOUCH, Paul Sparkes and Corren Cavini is on Friday 13 Sept 2024.
• Event: LoveHouse
• Date: 13.09.2024
• Address: Club Smederij, Burgemeester Brokxlaan 8-82, 5041 SB Tilburg
• Duration 21:00 – 03:00
Who is Double Touch?
Sydney and Los Angeles based classical pianist/composer Van-Anh Nguyen and DJ/drummer/producer Mark Olsen blend their two worlds together to form a unique dreamy mix of acoustic and electro sounds. Ranging from ambient soundscapes to melodic house, Double Touch weave their musicianship, virtuosity and contagious energy deep into their live creations.
Double Touch are official “All Day I Dream” artists with multiple releases and performances at the All Day I Dream events around the world. Their shows are a unique blend of a traditional DJ set and live performances, adding in live keys and drums, improvising new directions into their music during their live sets.
Double Touch have performed their DJ set with live instrumentation globally with highlights including Return to Rio Festival 2019 (Australia), Cercle (Omnia, Indonesia), Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, USA), Cloud 9 (Fiji), Glow Rooftop (Vietnam) Omnia Bali (Indonesia), and their Summer monthly residency at Café del Mar (Sydney).
With radio plays on Pete Tong’s Essential Mix BBC Radio 1 (UK), rotations on SiriusXM (USA) and support from artists such as Lee Burridge, Black Coffee, Sebastien Leger, RUFUS, Above & Beyond, Fatboy Slim, Facundo Mohrr, Roy Rosenfeld, Guy Mantzur, and Nora En Pure, Double Touch has quickly become a household name in the organic house/downtempo genre.
