It wouldn’t be wrong to call deBasement a superduo. Though the combination of Alli Logout of the synth-punk band Special Interest and the DJ and producer Margo XS only have a grip of singles to their name, they have hit on an explosive style that fuses both artists' sensibilities into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. It’s pop-minded and club-minded—Margo XS has worked with artists ranging from Ayesha Erotica to Kim Petras—but not without the immediacy that makes Logout’s work with Special Interest so captivating. We sent some questions over to both artists, read their responses, and listen to the duo’s newest single “Aperol Spritz,” below.

How did deBasement start? How did you two meet?

Alli: It was an industry type beat situation. I wouldn’t say “plant” but I also wouldn’t not say Illuminati … But it's really not that deep. Anyway, we were both new to the city and bonded over our shared disillusioned ideas of LA and general disdain for the music industry at large. We walked out of that first session with “Front Left Speaker” and BOOM deBasement was born! 

Describe the deBasement live experience.

Alli: Kinda like peaking on ecstasy in your late teens before you were jaded.

Margo: FLINTA* propaganda. 

Alli, how does your work in deBasement differ from what you've done with Special Interest?

 

Alli: Special Interest was born out of an urgency to create as a means of survival in a time and place. By this I mean the music is fixed in time in a way. We wrote fast, we played fast, and we didn’t know how to play our instruments. We couldn’t take our time on our expression, we simply had to release, and that raw and chaotic energy is where the magic lies in that band. With deBasement a new magic is unfolding. We sit with the stillness, ask friends for feedback, work and rework constantly remixing and reproducing our own songs, taking time with them. I believe the playful nature of the genre lends a hand to this freedom but the constant evolution of a sound over and over again has really reframed my entire approach to writing that I’m so grateful for. It’s the first time in my life I’m creating art not in survival mode and it’s so fun to start with a pop project. I’m excited to take this energy to Special Interest on the next album. 

Collaborating with Margo has taught me so much it’s truly changing my life.

Margo, musically speaking, what can you do with deBasement that you feel like you can’t do in other projects you work on?

Margo: When I'm working with pop stars like Kim Petras or Zara Larsson who are on major labels, there's obviously only so far you can go with certain sounds and lyrics. There's not nearly as much pressure with deBasement, though I'm finding that the project really inspires concepts and ideas for mainstream artists I work with, and vice versa.

Favorite 2000s dance tune and why?

Alli: “Riverside” by Sydney Sampson. Someone played this last weekend and I lost it! I hadn’t heard it in years and was instantly teleported back to one of my first raves. Me and my homie Greg—a cute gay kid I used to work the drive-thru with at a sandwich shop—would team up and seduce straight couples with our dangerously alluring makeout game where the goal was to kiss as many people as possible. I remember this song playing one of the first times we actually got a couple to switch. I was so nervous, still somehow fully convinced I wasn’t gay (lol). We made out with so many people that night and drove home at 7 a.m., blasting “Riverside” on repeat from a mix CD series I made for my car called EPIC MIX. 

Margo: “Get Naked (I Got a Plan)” by Britney Spears.

What’s the best party in Los Angeles right now and why?

Alli: Tunnel has such consistently bomb lineups it’s pretty unmatched. (Maybe you'll catch us there soon...)

Margo: In LA, I have the most fun when I'm DJing at my own afters. 

Why the front left speaker? What allure does it have?

Alli: Well, to put it simply the Gays have issues with time and space, and over the years through the process of evolution they have heightened sound localization capabilities that draws them to the front left speaker naturally. It’s just science.

Is the Aperol Spritz the drink of the summer?

Alli: “Aperol Spritz” by deBasement is the drink of the summer.

Margo: Aperol Spritz and water especially if you're dancing and sweating at our sets.