Hotel Garuda Brings The Noise For Corona Electric Beach At The MBH
Made up of Manila Killa and Candle Weather, Hotel Garuda seems destined to dominate the dance charts. After meeting as middle schoolers in Indonesia, this dark meets light pairing of musical minds has since stormed the stages of Coachella and rocked Las Vegas’ EDC. Did we mention they’ll be playing Corona Electric Beach at the Montauk Beach House?! We chatted with them about the nature of compromise, what defines success, and much more ahead of their 4th of July weekend set.
You two met in middle school in Indonesia. When did you decide you wanted to make music together?
We went to school in Indonesia, but we weren’t that close of friends. Life went on, we moved away from each other, and eventually re-connected via Facebook in 2013. I (Manila Killa) had already been making music for a few years, but Candle Weather had a keen interest in the field – so in January of 2014 we decided to begin making music together under the moniker ‘Hotel Garuda.’
You’ve presumably gotten to know a lot about each other while collaborating over the past few years. What’s something super weird or quirky you can share about one another that perhaps people don’t know?
Manila Killa is shy and doesn’t collaborate well in person, but is great at doing it over Dropbox haha. Candle Weather loves making bangers. He…really loves bangers. Lol.
Who doesn’t?! Ha.
It’s pretty rare that an artist finds someone they can work well with consistently. As a duo, what do you both bring to the table (slash turntables) individually that seems to complement the other so well?
Going off on the last question, Candle Weather likes the gritty banger-type of dark music. He’s into the “deeper” level of house music. Manila Killa’s into more of the melodic type stuff – so when we work together it’s sort of a fusion of both – which can be heard in our music as well as our live shows.
Artists have always collaborated creatively, but what’s the biggest challenge of working in conjunction with a fellow artist and friend that people might not expect?
You’ll always have to compromise. Artists always treat their work as their own – but when working with someone else, you have to understand that they own the work too – so you’ll have to be willing to compromise on disagreements and conflicts.
Who are some of the greatest influences on your sound and career trajectory as a duo?
Grades, Rufus Du Sol, Anna Lunoe, Porter Robinson, Blonde, Lana Del Rey, Sam Gellaitry, Boys Noize, Eric Prydz, Mr. Carmack… the list goes on.
Corona Electric Beach has travelled all over North America, reaching thousands of fans, no doubt in response to the rise of EDM culture. Why do you think this genre has seen such an explosion in the past few years?
It brings a totally new experience to what it is to enjoy music. Instead of seeing an artist and ONLY hearing their music, DJs are able to play other people’s music and totally craft an experience catered to your night. We think what has made this type of music blow up so much in the past is because of the diversity of the music umbrella (there’s something for everyone) and how easy it is to enjoy it.
Let’s talk about the future. Do you have a dream gig, venue, destination or collab?
We’ve already played a few of our dream gigs – Coachella (thank you Do Lab!!), EDC Vegas… But our eyes are on a Hard event – whether it be Hard Summer or Hard Day of the Dead. We honestly just want to play as many places as possible, and you guys bringing us to Montauk is no exception. We’re super excited.
How would you guys define success? When will you feel like you’ve really made it?
We feel that the word “success” is a very difficult term to define or grasp. Honestly – if the people are dancing and listening, and enjoying themselves, then we’ve made it.
Now, for the most important questions: Are you as stoked for your upcoming set at Corona Electric Beach at the MBH as we are? Do you have your pool party looks planned yet?! Please give us a hint of what we can expect to hear come the 2nd!
Soooo stoked. We’ve never been to Montauk so this’ll be a first for us. As for pool party looks… expect some dad-length board shorts and some ridiculous colors. And as for the music – we’re definitely sticking to the summertime theme.
We love first timers! What are you guys looking forward to most?
It’s such a beautiful area of the United States (we haven’t been yet, but our friends have and we’ve seen pictures.) We feel like there’s a special aura that surrounds that area which makes it so attractive – and we can’t wait to experience it ourselves.
We can’t wait to have y’all!
Here’s a teaser of #beachhousevibes the boys will be bringing to our house for the Corona Electric Beach party on Saturday July 2nd:
Peep our calendar for the full summer lineup!
