Great to chat to you again lads, can you tell us a bit more about Modern Day Pirates and what you’ve got going on at the moment?
We’re the Modern Day Pirates, twins based in Manchester, making art and performing around the city and elsewhere in the UK. We were born in Leeds but have lived in loads of different cities in the North throughout our childhood. Our experiences during our childhood and more recent years inspire our art and we’re trying to show people a way to find happiness and escape a life they feel trapped in. We’re recently taken some time to adjust our focus and have been busy perfecting our art. We currently have at least 10 of the best tracks we’ve ever made and we plan to release more content in the form of freestyles and livestreams etc. We really want to show appreciation to those who believe in us and are supporting us in our journey and we’re trying to evolve how we engage with our audience.
For those that might not know you’ve also gone by MDP in the past, where did the name itself come from?
Modern Day Pirates, formerly known as MDP, was a name I (Diego) thought of while we were chilling in our front room maybe 5 or 6 years ago. We’d been thinking of a few names and hadn’t really settled on something that felt right, but I remember at this moment seeing Khan on the chair with a red bandana on and wavy clothes and he fully looked like a pirate. I was like rah, you look like a pirate you know. I then began to think about what a pirate was, in the sense that we’ve always thought of them, they were people confined to a life of poverty who chose to not abide by the laws that they didn’t believe in. They took their closes people and travelled the world, having fun and leading a life they wanted without to without hesitation. We related to that at the time and still do, we’re truly doing our own ting for us and the people we love.
You released two tracks recently, Crisis and Deeper Meaning, was that a big step for you and what are the tracks about?
So we actually recorded deeper meaning a long time ago, but it was the first drum and bass song we ever made. We’ve been involved in the DnB scene for some time now in Manchester and it was good to express that in our art. In that sense, it was a massive step for us and we thank High Demand for the opportunity. Crisis was a fun track which really represented the start of our shift towards art we didn’t hold back on. We have more to come tho, and this is truly just a preview of the sound we’re creating.
You’ve been doing stuff for a few years now, from putting on shows and club nights to releasing your own material, where do you see you guys progressing to over the next months and years?
We see ourselves really improving our online presence and engagement with the people supporting our art. We’ve held back for various reasons in the past, mental health and insecurities being the biggest, but we’re ready to fully PUSH a message that’s bigger than us.
At the start, the intention was always to spread the message and express ourselves through our art, but we were aware it would take years to perfect the technique of writing music and everything that comes with it. It was originally just Khan spitting too, Diego just enforced the vision from early of where we could go with this. Khan began to really improve his ability and has been at a high standard for years, and he did always have deep verses that really meant a lot, and still do. When we moved to Manchester, we both began to write and our music was kind of just fun and getting the experience of crafting and structuring a track and being in a studio. It took us some months to begin to confidently express our message in our music.
For those that haven’t seen you before, what should they be know before coming to see you perform?
A Modern Day Pirates performance is high energy and engaging from start to finish. We want everybody in the room to feel connected and confident because our shows are an environment where you can be yourselves and get involved no matter who you are. We’ve perfected our set after years of practice and have always loved nothing more than getting on stage. We can’t wait for the 0161 festival.
At the moment where things are getting worse for a lot of people what do you think we should be doing to stick together and help each other?
We’re living in a scary time right now, with a lot of bleak news and a grim prospect for the future of our country. We’re living in an arguably divisive society with so much injustice for a lot of people. We think the way forward is to always put love first and to support each other and to remember that we’re in control of our own lives. We’re also living in a more connected world than we ever have, and in a way we’re blessed to have the technology and social platforms we do today, to express our views and pursue a dream.
Thanks lads, can’t wait for you to perform and show everyone what you’ve been working on at 0161 this year! Make sure you get your tickets from – https://0161festival.com/product/0161-festival-friday/