Artist Spotlight
London duo Late Replies—aka Josh and Kas—are no strangers to topping charts with their vibrant tech house grooves. Their Orbit EP rapidly rose to Beatport's top tech house track. Exceptionally infectious energy behind the decks has seen them play at some of the UK's most prestigious venues, including London's EGG nightclub, with which the artists have a special relationship. Their mission: pioneering a new London sound.
Long before Late Replies was conceived, music had already played a significant role in both Josh and Kas' lives, creating an uncanny parallel between them before they met. Josh's parents encouraged him to make his way through the grades as a pianist, and Kas played the Oud, influenced by his father, an Arabic singer. They both turned to production as teenagers: Kas focused on hip hop and reggae, while Josh made UK rap and grime. They both lost interest and soon fell in love with the London rave scene, where their friendship flourished after meeting through friends. Inspired by the duo Solardo, they began producing together.
In many ways, then, a passion for raving itself was responsible for birthing Late Replies, and it becomes evident from speaking with the duo that this passion remains at the forefront of their careers. Josh becomes suddenly animated when asked about it, transmitting glimpses of the same energy the duo are renowned for.
"It is authentic...As a raver, before DJing was even a thought, we were on the dance floor trying to create a big vibe. If you were around us, you knew," Josh explains. "You'd hear us, you'd see us. It was always about creating good vibes…We are just focused on translating that through music and translating that through DJing. So, when we are playing, I don't care about looking cool. I wanna rave when I play a tune! Being in a duo is cool because I can play a song and then he takes over the decks and I can rave to the song I just played."
It's clear the duo are deeply entrenched in the London scene, and they speak with telling expertise about its undercurrents.
"There's a great community here in London," Kas says, "Even though behind the scenes there is a split. There is that minimal London crowd, then there's the big tech house crowd. What I like about London is that everyone supports each other."
"Our sound is now mainly influenced by a cross between the two. We have come into the scene making what we would consider a bit more European, South American style tech house, in terms of a very heavy rolling tech house, that is lots of percussion and rolling basslines," Josh adds. "Now, because we live in London, where the minimal scene is so big[...]We are kind of crossing the two together and trying to put out our interpretation of that."
Kas hopes that Late Replies can build a legacy. "We're hoping this is going to be part of the London sound."
Their vision of a new London sound comes to life in Orbit, released with Deeperfect. Produced during lockdown, the EP features two deliciously groovy tracks, "Orbit" and "Sexting." They feel almost like day and night, respectively, a contrast which the boys tell me is their objective when releasing EPs. They describe their methods for both as contrasting too. Orbit manifested progressively starting from the signature vocal and the bassline, whereas with "Sexting," Josh tells me, "I put one sound in there and it just clicked." In the spur of creativity, he even decided to use his own vocal.
Kas and Josh's excitement in detailing their production methods reconfirm their genuine passion. As authentic as producers come, the duo comes across as real people with an unadulterated commitment to music and each other. And, of course, football, which I'm reminded of as they suggest buying me an Arsenal top. The duo will undoubtedly grow as they promise to continue with their momentum, with more tracks on the way and potentially starting their own label in the near future.
