By Owen Hynes
Two Friends, the electronic dance music duo consisting of Matt Halper and Eli Sones, childhood friends who have transformed from high school bedroom producers to one of dance music’s fastest-rising acts, are coming to Echostage in Washington on May 10.
The Los Angeles-based duo, known for their successful hour-long series of “Big Bootie Mixes” on SoundCloud, started gaining significant traction on the music streaming platform in 2014 and 2015 with their viral remixes of Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die,” Blink-182’s “I Miss You” and Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen,” which the pair titled “Trap King.”
These early remixes really showcased an early glimpse of Two Friends’ ability to seamlessly put their own personal, artistic touch on various tracks from genres like pop, rock, hip hop, alternative and more. In an October 2017 interview with electronic music blog RaverRafting, Two Friends gave insight on the pair’s style of producing as well as their sound from the early stages of their music career.
“[We’ve been making] songs that are fun and get you dancing and moving, but also hopefully resonate with you on a more emotional level at the same time. The sound and style we’ve been developing is kind of a melting pot of a lot of different elements and influences — whether from dance music, from pop, even from alternative rock or hip hop,” said Two Friends.
After a busy two years in 2014 and 2015, Two Friends continued their rise in the electronic music scene in 2016 by releasing more popular remixes, such as their spins on The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” and Galantis’ “No Money.” In addition to releasing more remixes, Two Friends also released two original tracks in 2016 through Dutch record label Armada Music titled “Forever” and “Overdose,” which have grossed over 5 million combined streams on Spotify.
Two Friends had one of their biggest years in 2017 following the release of their second EP titled “Out Of Love” through Dutch record label Spinnin’ Records in February 2017, which featured the duo’s hit songs “Out Of Love” feat. Cosmos & Creature and “Pacific Coast Highway” feat. MAX. Billboard mentioned in a January 2017 article that it “draws on the California kids’ memories of growing up mere minutes from the PCH.”
On top of the EP release that year, the duo also set out on the “Out Of Love Tour,” which consisted of stops at Boston’s House of Blues and New York City’s Terminal 5.
After releasing popular original tracks “Emily” and “Just A Kid” later in 2017, Two Friends made stops all over the United States in 2018 as the duo embarked on their “Just A Kid Tour.”
Now with millions of streams coming from a number of the duo’s popular originals and 15 volumes of “Big Bootie Mixes,” Two Friends are set to give DMV music fans a next-level performance on May 10 at Echostage.
Opening for Two Friends is up-and-coming electronic music producer Justin Caruso, who recently collaborated with hit artist Tiësto, Codeko and BRKLYN.
Tickets to see Two Friends at Echostage May 10 are available here.
Before their show, listen to music from Two Friends’ Spotify here.
Featured Photo Credit: Courtesy of Two Friends’ Facebook page.
Owen Hynes is a sophomore journalism major and can be reached at ohynes@terpmail.umd.edu.
