SikDuo may be a new name to you, but the artists behind the name are some of the most well respected producers in the industry. We sat down with SikDuo (Riz and Chris Moody) to discuss a multitude of things including their much anticipated show at Pacha on Friday. Don't forget to download the smash hit "BIG" for FREE HERE.

Who is Sikduo? Tell us about yourselves and your musical background.

Chris Moody: SikDuo is a new DJ/ production team made up of two long time friends… DJ Riz and I.

DJ Riz: I started DJing and collecting vinyl back in 1985. I have always been a fan of all types of music (house, hip hop, reggae, etc). I’m a self proclaimed vinyl junkie and have a large collection of promos, classics, and have spent countless hours diggin’ in the crates looking for gems. I was very active in sports throughout high school and college and learned how to balance my work between my passion for music and playing football, basketball, and baseball. I started working in college radio in the early 90s and eventually worked my way up to guest spots on major commercial NY stations such as Hot 97, KISS, WBLS, and even got hooked up by Chris Moody for a mixshow on KTU. I’m also known as half of the world renowned Crooklyn Clan duo which created numerous party joints that became international hits since the 90s. Back in the day I would make mix tapes where I would use various genres and bring them together. I never pigeon holed myself into one single thing… I was a battle DJ, tour DJ for rappers, and DJ in clubs including residencies at NY’s Limelight, Tunnel, and Paladium. I have become mostly known for my hip hop sets, but the open format style let's me incorporate house music.

Chris Moody: I am a very simple guy with a strong passion for music and love spending time with my family. I started my DJ career in the early 90s as a mobile DJ. I had a mobile company with my father who was a professional singer. I’ve also had a passion for fashion design and even went to school for it in the late 90s. In the 90s I was also part of the Mada & Moody duo where we DJed in major clubs throughout NY and started producing music. I was a mixshow producer for NY’s KTU with Dj Skribble which eventually led me to a three year residency at Webster Hall. One of my major mentors in my career has been Roger Sanchez. I have always been a fan of his and thanks to his help I was able to DJ several gigs in Europe.

How did your group Sikduo come about? And the name….

Riz: We’ve been DJing under our own names for soo long and we both have a love for all kinds of music. In 2009 we started producing some disco joints. At that time Chris was legally bound to a contract where he was not able to release side projects using his Chris Moody name. We therefore had to come up with an alias. We played around with many names such as No Ego, Emoticonz… LOL.

Chris Moody: It actually took us almost a year to come up with our final name. We tried everything to get ideas… even took trips to libraries. Then one day I was on the train on the way to meet Riz in Manhattan for a meeting and I saw a sign that said “duo”. This immediately caught my attention and got me thinking of names that contained the word “duo”. Eventually this lead us to come up with SikDuo.

Coming from two different worlds, do you see your music moving forward to be entirely hip-hop and EDM fused? How would you describe your style?

Riz: We really didn’t come from different worlds… we both always had a passion and have been fans of different styles of music. I love house music just as Chris loves hip hop.

Chris Moody: I wouldn’t say that our music will always be entirely hip hop and EDM fused. We definitely have been working on some projects that have been hip hop inspired, but we have much more than that up our sleeves. I would describe our style as clean, energetic, and sometimes surprising.

You are each well respected, talented artists in your own rights, are there any clashes when creating music?

Riz: No major clashes when creating music. Only funny thing is that me coming from a quick mix environment I actually sometimes want to make our productions longer.

Chris Moody: Yeah, that’s true. While spinning house I normally mix records a lot longer and yet I’m the one wanting to produce shorter tracks, lol.

When you released BIG, the internet blew up with tremendous support and positive reaction. Tell us how this song came about? From production standpoint and inspiration behind it…

Chris Moody: I had “Biggie Smalls Is the illest” stuck in my head for about six months. I went to Riz’s house and we looked for the acapella. We couldn’t find it so we started looking for other Biggie acapellas and we came across the one we ended up using in BIG… we both looked at each other and knew this was a keeper. Riz chopped it up and at the time we threw it over a Nicky Romero track just to test our idea. It worked so we decided we had to move forward with it. We then got together in the studio with our keyboardist Louis Bastion and started working on our production from scratch. We liked the bassline from Hyponotize and while trying to replay it we came up with the bassline that you hear now. A few hours later the BIG track was all laid out.

We heard it got leaked to David Guetta and he played it the same night at Pacha Ibiza? Is that true?

Riz: What happened is that Eddie Dean (from Pacha) saw the Elektro tweet about our record and he immediately sent me an email requesting for me to send him the download. He wanted to send it to all his big dogs. Immediately we got a response from Guetta wanting to know if it was signed and letting us know that he was going to rock it in Ibiza that night.

Having both played Pacha individually, how will it be different for you guys playing as a duo?

Riz: We are actually both residents there. I’ve been DJing in the open format room (Pachita) since day one. And Chris DJing in the house room (main floor). We’ve actually already played twice together in the main room… mostly freestyling on 2 set ups.

Chris Moody: I would say the main difference with our previous performances at Pacha and our upcoming gig is that this time most of our music is all going to be our own productions, exclusive edits, and mashups that we have been creating in the studio.

What can fans expect from your set on the 24th?

Chris Moody: Lots of high energy and two guys having fun and smiling like kids!

Tell us about your next single coming out?

Chris Moody: We have been working on several productions, but we have yet to decide which one we’re releasing next.

What are your plans for the rest of 2012? Any specific goals?

Chris Moody: Well 2012 is practically over so we’re just working on setting up our plans for 2013 just to be ahead of the game. We’re also working on producing bigger and better concepts for our live shows.

Riz: I would say one of our major goals is to keep putting out good music.

Quickie with a DJ:

Favorite drink? Alcohol? Virgin?

Chris Moody: Kettle One – Straight. My virgin drink would be Tropicana orange juice…

Riz: Frozen Pina Coladas. My fav virgin drink would be ice tea.

Scariest groupie moment?

Chris Moody: One time in the DJ booth I saw a fan coming closer and closer and I just had passed gas, lol. Sorry to be gross, but I got scared that she would be able to smell it so I quickly gave her a drink ticket.

Riz: I plead the fifth, lol

First job you ever had?

Chris Moody: I worked at Brothers Ravioli when I was 14 years old. I remember just after a week of working there I called in sick and they fired my ass! LOL.

Riz: My first job was as a counselor at a summer camp. The only reason I did it was to save up money to buy my first turntable.

What kind of watch do you wear?

Chris Moody: right now I’m rocking a G-Shock

Riz: I usually just pick a watch for the day, nothing specific. Some days I don't even wear one.

Favorite Sneakers?

Chris Moody: White on white shell top Adidas.

Riz: I like various brands, but my favorites are my classics.

What can't leave home without?

Riz: iphone

Chris Moody: same here

First DJ you ever saw live? Where?

Chris Moody: I was about 18 years old went to NY’s Limelight. The DJ spinning that night was Gonzo.

Riz: Randy Murray & Jellybean Benitez at the Funhouse. I remember Run DMC also performed that night.

Most embarrassing performance moment?

Chris Moody: I would have to say that it was many years ago when I was a mobile DJ and played the wrong wedding song. The couple was not very happy to say the least, lol.

Riz: Mine also happened many years ago while I was playing live on the radio. There was some dust on the needle so I decided to blow it off (pause). Guess I blew too hard (pause) because it caused the needle to skip across the whole damn record. All LIVE on the air!

Are you superstitious? About?

Chris Moody: Yes to some extent. For example I always put my left foot first when boarding a plane.

Riz: No

First album you bought?

Chris Moody: New Edition – Candy Girl

Riz: Herbie Hancock - Rockit

What’s the best advice you ever got? From who?

Chris Moody: Garry Salzman once told me when I was real young, “Don’t ever forget you are worth money.” For some reason this always stuck in my head and taught me the value of my time and work.

Riz: Best advice would be from my parents. They always told me to go with my gut and do what I believe in.

Favorite piece of DJ equipment? Why?

Riz: Definitely the Technics 1200 turntable because that’s what I learned on and used for many many years.

Chris Moody: Currently I would say it’s Serato because of the vast functions that it puts at my fingertips allowing me to get even more creative.

What DJ do you want to:

Hug?

Chris Moody & Riz: #ayooo

Party With?

Chris Moody: Sebastian Ingrosso

Riz: Kid Rock

DJ alongside live?

Chris Moody: I always admired the DJ style and technique of Roger Sanchez and I have been blessed to already have played alongside him on several occasions.

Riz: I’ve had the pleasure of DJing with many of my mentors.

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