Guillaume Viau and Conor Cutz, two well-known DJs from Canada, have formed Flight School — a highly anticipated duo with a Top 20 hit on Canadian Radio under their belts, support from The Chainsmokers and much love from Apple Music and Spotify playlists. Now with their brand new single, Give It All ft. Candace Sosa, Flight School, embodies the perfect recipe for a cross-over EDM Hit with flavours of hip-hop and bouncy vocals. HOLR Talks to Guillaume and Conor on musical inspirations and
the future of taking Flight.
What were your first musical inspirations and how does it influence your music today?
We both come from open-format DJ backgrounds, and grew up listening to funk, soul, and ‘90s hip-hop; artists such as A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul for example. When we got to university, we were introduced to dance music acts like Daft Punk, Justice, and other early electro sounds. This definitely inspired us to start producing our own beats and play around with Ableton. We pull a lot of elements from these genres, and put emphasis on having hip-hop style drums along with dance style chords in our music. We are constantly inspired by different cultural sounds and music from around the world, and truly believe that there is no limit to creativity these days.
Your song, Figure It Out ft. CVBZ got picked up by iHeart radio ‘Future Stars’ program & kiss 92.5’s ‘One to Watch,’ which is very impressive for your first single. How has the reception been since and how does it feel to hear your music on the radio?
The reception on Figure It Out has been nothing short of amazing, especially for a debut single. We’re super happy it connects with people the same way we feel connected to the record and overall story. There’s no way to describe the feeling you get when you’re in an Uber, restaurant, or grocery store and your song comes on the radio… it’s a humbling feeling and we definitely don’t take it for granted. It’s something you dream of happening for a long time, but we know that this is just the start of our journey. We’ve been back in the studio to work on what’s coming next.
How did you two decide on the name Flight School?
We were both travelling the world as DJs before becoming a duo. You’re in a position where you curate the vibe of an entire room and everyone is paying attention to you like you’re the head of the class. We wanted something that represented the feeling we get in those moments and speak to those listening to our music or experiencing our shows. It feels global and represents that the sky’s the limit.
Do you have any big shows planned for the near future?
Not at the moment. We’re focused on making as much new music as possible right now and releasing a solid body of work in 2020. We don’t feel any pressure to rush the process and feel like our sound is developing significantly every time we’re in the studio. It’s extremely important to us to That being said, we can’t wait to play shows and give our fans a live experience.
Your newest single, Come & Go, has a vacation feel that’s perfect as we get closer to fall and winter. Do you plan on releasing music with a similar feel? Or is there plans for something different?
Our first few records definitely have a specific vibe/feel to them. We’ll always keep things in line with the Flight School aesthetic, but we’re also going to explore new sounds and tempos moving forward to keep things exciting. We always aim to bridge the gap between our personal influences and “pop music” to try and stay as unique as possible; while staying relevant to the dance world. Our third single, Give It All, is a little more trap focused on the production but has elements of a pop vocal. Every song feels like a new journey so we can’t wait to have an archive of music that helps people really understand exactly who we are as a duo. 2020 should be a big year for that.