At first, Dada Life might seem like internationally roving purveyors of nonsensical tomfoolery. Bananas, champagne, pillow fights, hot air balloons -- all par for the course. But it turns out there's a method to their madness. For example: the duo and their legions of Dadaist fans hold the world record for the largest pillow fight ever recorded. There were over 5000 people involved. So when THUMP's Connie Chan and I were invited Hakkasan in Las Vegas to taste champagne and bananas with the Swedish electro provocateurs, I didn't ask any questions. That would be totally un-Dada.When I arrived at the Ling Ling Lounge, a bouquet of Perrier champagne and a couple thickets of plump bananas were sitting on ice. I realized I had finally attained the state of Vegasian luxury of Oceans 11. When Olle and Stefan of Dada Life showed up, I was trying my best to channel Danny Ocean by lounging nonchalantly on some orientalist divan.Fans may know Dada Life as DJs, but producers world-round know them as the inventors of Sausage Fattener, a plugin that turns your synths from limp 'lil wieners into massive mounds of stomping meat. "We made it mainly because a lot of people kept asking us about how to make that fat and greasy sound," Stefan told me. "We had a long, long chain of plugins in Ableton and it was so hard to explain." The plugin is ubiquitous now, even in Dada Life's own work: "I think if you take all the tracks on Beatport from before this plugin and half a year after, I think you can see the big difference. A lot of people overuse it. It's not even like a sausage, it's like a brick. A lot of people just think it's a gimmick thing, but it's a really good plugin. We use it on every track."The duo just got back from causing a ruckus in India, where they had, in Stefan's words, "the messiest pillow fight ever. It was the first time we ever did it with feather pillows. They were everywhere, in your eyes. I swallowed probably half a duck. For maybe, thirty minutes after, there were feathers floating all around the club." And the mischief doesn't stop there. They're about the embark on Dada Land: The Voyage, on July 19th. A huge show for which they'll arrive in a hot air balloon and play two sets along side Brillz, Madeon, Mercer, and Morgan Page."It's gonna be like a big, happy kindergarten for grown-ups," Stefan explained. And what about the two sets? Olle took over: "The first one is gonna be more like a journey. We're gonna start where we started, with the music we liked from the beginning. Old classics, older stuff that we don't play anymore. And then we're gonna end with a full Dada Land set. We haven't gotten a clear answer, though. Can you steer a hot air balloon? How do we know if we are going to the right area or towards the sea?""Are you gonna be steering the thing yourselves?!" I baulked. "I hope not," Stefan replied. "Otherwise I need to go on YouTube!"Then came the tasting. Three bottles of Perrier Jouet champagne, more bananas than a barrel of monkeys could devour, and a bunch of fruity dipping sauces. Dada Life weren't playing about, though. They know what they like. Stefan commented immediately, "I could probably rate all this banana stuff before I taste it. A banana by itself, is five out of five. When you dip it, it just goes down." Olle agreed, "Not to be hating here, but these sauces ruin the whole purpose of the banana, cuz the purpose of the banana is that it's…""Healthy?" I interjected. "No!" they exclaimed, in unison. "It's sealed," Olle explained. " It's protected, so when it's dripping sweat from the ceiling like in the East German clubs where we started, or when we played in India and had sweaty feathers all over. Bananas and champagne are more about function than taste. It's the perfect bubbly alcohol for spraying and food that will stay good all night long.""We've had [champagne] on our rider from the beginning," Stefan continued before turning his attention back to the tasting's other offerings. "My favorite one is definitely the strawberry sauce, but still, it's best by itself." Olle agreed. "It's too classy like this."And what about the champagne? "It really doesn't matter. The thing is, the more expensive it is, the more fun it is to spray it." Stefan said."Why? Because it tastes better?" I asked."No!" Stefan responded. "Because it sprays farther!"L to R: Stefan, the author, THUMP Canada editor Connie Chan, OlleMore Dada:
Dada Life Just Did a Reddit AMA, and Of Course, it Was Hilarious
Seven Days in Dada LandJemayel Khawaja loves bananas but prefers oranges - @JemayelK
Connie Chan loves sauces but prefers champagne - @ConstanceChan
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Dada Life Just Did a Reddit AMA, and Of Course, it Was Hilarious
Seven Days in Dada LandJemayel Khawaja loves bananas but prefers oranges - @JemayelK
Connie Chan loves sauces but prefers champagne - @ConstanceChan
