The Chainsmokers are a popular band who rose to international prominence in 2014. They are a DJ duo made up of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. Alex Pall originally had a different person in The Chainsmokers and they really began to take off once Drew Taggart entered the picture. They now had three successful albums under their belts and numerous singles. One of the things that sets The Chainsmokers apart from similar bands is that they are highly involved in writing and performing their own lyrics and vocal respectively.
Alex Pall says that when he met Drew they both knew they clicked professionally. They started out talking about their musical influence he says which progressed to what each of them wanted out of their careers and what they would do to achieve success. He says that he brought his DJ skills to the mix while Drew brought his ability to produce music. Alex Pall says that they both agreed they didn’t want to treat The Chainsmokers like a job but that they both did need to learn a number of things to really be successful.
In every musical genre it is hard to stand out from other performers, Alex Pall says. Everyone is trying to outcompete everyone else which is no different for DJ duos in the electronic genre. After starting out together he and Drew decided they didn’t want to just do dance music because they had a lot of other music types they liked. Eventually, this led to them blurring the lines between genres and becoming a bit electric, dance, indie, pop, and hip-hop he says.
Alex Pall says that it was a joy to work with Halsey on their song “Closer”. He said she was one of the artists they had really wanted to do a performance with for a while. He says she has a really strong voice and she is her own personality. The song was written by Taggart along with one of their mutual friends while they were on tour. Alex Pall says song marked a big turn for them since Taggart sang on it and they self-produced it.