The Downtown Dossier: PUNCHES

Posted by The Downtown Diaries on June 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Greg & Darin Bresnitz AKA DJ Never Forget & DJ Terry Diabolik AKA The Twins AKA FOTP (Finger on the Pulse) aka DWB (Dinner With The Band) AKA IAH (Insert acronym here) have conquered the BK and are setting sail to conquer the world – one fist pump at a time.  They boys recently partnered with long time friend, Alan Astor to form PUNCHES.  Within weeks of production, the team already had struck gold with their remix of Au Revoir Simone – Only You Can Make You Happy reaching the number one spot on Hype Machine’s Most Popular.

I’ve had my eye on the twins since I saw them last summer at the Pool Party. These Philadelphia (Lower Merion!) natives are easy on the eyes and can fist-pump like champions.  After going to a couple of their parties, I decided it was time to quit lurking around the DJ booth and get to know these fools.  So after a few hangs- here’s what I got.

Who the F are you guys?

PUNCHES is made up of producer Alan Astor alongside Terry Diabolik & DJ Never Forget AKA Finger On The Pulse twins. We are just three guys who love hanging out, playing music and meeting new people. If we’re not on the road, we’re at home cooking.

Where are you guys from and how long have you been living here?
We all grew up outside Philadelphia and have been living in Williamsburg somewhere between 5 and 8 years.

Ah, the good ole Philadelph.  A lot of my readers are from Philly and I spend a good portion of my life there.  How did the Philadelphia dance music scene in the late 90’s / early 2000’s influence your career?
From Club Egypt (Ummmm I used to go there ALL the time. Wednesday nights.) in the mid to late 90s to the start of Making Time to the Philly Soul tradition, all these thing influenced us even before we even realized we were being influenced by it. To varying degrees, you can hear the Philly sound in our tracks and in our sets.   [David] Bowie Live in Philadelphia definitely gets a lot of plays in studio.

Did you guys used to go to raves? I did.  I was a straight up (wannabe) raver, UFO pants and all.

Darin (Terry Diabolik) and I (DJ Never Forget) were rock DJ’s back then.  Alan started raving in London when he was 19 – mostly drum and bass and IDM.  No comment on the size of cargo pants back then.

What would you say the defining moment in your DJ career was?

For us (FOTP) it was opening up for Simian Mobile Disco at the Jelly Pool Party in summer 2009 for 8500 people. We fist pumped monitors much to the chagrin of the sound people. (Oh yes, I remember – it was love at first pump.) Alan’s always been more of a singer and stage guy so for him it’s probably some show with Girl Talk or Drop The Lime.

What is one piece of advice for other DJs looking to seek world domination?
Commit. Everyone is a DJ these days so if you want to do it, you really have to do it. Also don’t get discouraged if you don’t take over the world tomorrow. Just try and move closer to your goals every day and always do you.

What’s your favorite “only in New York” moment?
Staying up on a Tuesday till the sunrise cause of all your friends just happen to be around and you forgot to go to sleep.

Your fave place to go out if you’re feeling fancy is?
Dram – 177 S. 4th Street, Williamsburg.  Not only do they have the best drinks but the bartenders are like your best friends making you your favorite cocktail you never had.

If you’re feeling like you shouldn’t even step out of the house but do anyway?
Good Company – 10 Hope St Williamsburg. Alan would like to recommend the Dr. Pepper and Captain Morgan but drink at your own discretion.

Fill in the blank: I live in Williamsburg because all of our best friends work and party here. Its like a never ending hang where new things are always happening.

Where can people stalk find you?

In New York:

9th June –  Dartmouth College
12th June – Dance Right NY w/ Holy Ghost! (DJ set), Classixx & Jessica 6 at 88 E Palace

In Europe:

17th June – Villains Club @ RUST, Copenhagen
18th June – Friday Nights @ Student hall, Odense
19th June – Svedhytten/Sauna @ Idealbar, Copenhagen
23rd June – Anti – Social @ Social Club, Paris
25th June – Vissage @ Stardust, Madrid

Online:

http://twitter.com/punchesbk
http://soundcloud.com/punchesbk

Listen:

Kele – Tenderoni (PUNCHES Remix) – Official Remix

Au Revoir Simone  – Only You Can Make You Happy (PUNCHES Remix)

Let Go – PUNCHES

Somebody Has To Help You Mixtape

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