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If anyone in the London house scene has had a better few years than Tough Love, we'd be hard pressed to find them. In the short span Alex & Stef have been rocking the steady groove as Tough Love, they've seen chart success with massive vocal anthems like "In My Way" and "React," and soulful grooves like "Keep It Burning," which have received support from heavyweights like Solomun, Lee Foss, Hot Since 82 & Kolombo, Radio1, 1xtra, Capital FM, Kiss 100, Rinse & more.
Of course their studio success hasn't gone unnoticed, as the duo have been smashing it for fans as far flung as Privilege, Ritter Butzke, We Are FSTVL, and in their hometown at Lovebox Festival and Building Six at O2. to name a few. Next up, Alex & Stef are heading back to Building Six for Amine Edge & DANCE present Cuff on March 1st, so we thought we'd catch up with the two of them ahead of the show to see how things have been as of late, and they were nice enough to bring along an exclusive mix for you to download and enjoy, which you can access below.
Firstly, tell us a bit about Tough Love. How did the duo come about? We’d known each other a few years previous to Tough Love, and often talked about getting in the studio together and seeing what we could come up with. Our musical tastes were very similar, as well as our passion and drive. Our first studio session together was just over 2 years ago, and the rest, they say, is history.
Was making music something you always wanted to do? Has there ever been a plan B? We've both competed at a decent level in sport from a young age, whilst studying similar courses at the same university without ever crossing paths, so initially that was probably plan A. Saying that, we’ve both worked within the music industry or affiliated industries for over 10 years under various names within various genres. If it wasn’t music, we’d be working in something very close. We’re both very creative, so film, photography, and design is always a close relationship to music for us. There’s never really been a plan B. We went full time into the Tough Love project from the off. When you fully commit yourself, you put more pressure on yourself to achieve, and that’s when your best work comes out.
With support from guys like Solomun and Lee Foss, as well as collaborations with Sharam Jey, you’re pretty in demand at the moment. How did you develop your relationships with all of these different artists? We were really lucky early on to pick up support from these guys; the records that did this for us were “Everything Hurts” and “The Night Is Calling.” From that point, relationships naturally grew. With Sharam, we were both supporting each other’s material, and eventually started playing the same events together. We’re really good friends now and often talk about ideas, so a collaboration was the next step.
With a strong focus on making music to make people dance, what is the one tune that is guaranteed to get you on the dance floor? It doesn’t take much to get either of us on the dance floor. But we do love a classic.
Both being Londoners, you must be excited to be returning home for the Cuff records show on the 1st March. What makes the London scene unique? We always love playing in our hometown. We’ve been playing out in London for years, so we’ve got a really strong following and it’s always great to see so many friends in one venue. London always provides its own spin on musical genres, and now its started to identify its own sound within house music. The city is rich in talent, so from residents to headliners, the crowds are spoilt for choice. This, combined with some amazing venues and great promoters means it really does offer some of the best music and parties in the world.
Have you ever been to Building Six/matter before? You must be excited to have the chance to play your tracks through one of the world's best sound systems? We’ve been to matter, but not since its rebrand, so we’re looking forward to testing out some forthcoming music from both ourselves and our label, Get Twisted Records. Were hoping the Tough Lovers are out in force, as they get the party started from the off.
On a day off, what London hangouts do you like to visit? We both treasure our time off, so we spend it with our family and friends as much as possible. Alex lives in East London, so he normally spends Sunday recovering at Brick Lane Market. Stef lives in the west, so he's probably in Shepherd’s Bush with friends and family feeling fresh as a daisy. The perks of being a teetotal. We both love our food, so you'll more than likely see us in a random restaurant or diner either side of the city.
What can we expect from Tough Love this year? Anything coming up that you can tell us about? We've got a really strong gig schedule over the forthcoming months in the UK and abroad, so really looking forward to those. Our next release “Bring The Heat Vol. 1,” is a four-track EP coming on our label Get Twisted Records, out March 10th, which we are really excited about. Our label is growing really fast so we’ve got a busy release schedule and have some showcases coming up at Fire & Lightbox. We’re in the process of finalising two singles due for release on Mark Kinght’s mighty Toolroom Records this year, so keep an eye out for those.
Tough Love play at Amine Edge & DANCE present Cuff at Building Six, London on Saturday 1st March. Full details here: www.cufflondon.co.uk
And for Cuff's Showcase at Sankeys Manchester on Friday 28th February. Full details are here: http://www.sankeys.info/
Listen to Tough Love on Pulse Radio.