Euphoric and effervescent, Cheat Codes have it figured out. Perfectly blending pop and electronic music, the LA based three piece, who attract 18 million Spotify listeners a month, seem to know something that we don't know - they've figured out the secret to life, or at least a way to jump right to the good part.
Comprised of Trevor Dahl,
Matthew Russell and Kevin Ford, the group have seen a meteoric rise since they first formed in LA two years ago. "Matt and I met like 5 years ago, and we lived together a few different times since then," Trevor explains. "We never really made music together seriously. But when I moved to LA, Matt and Kevin started to write and we worked on a song together, and that's when it all happened."
The band arrive with their new song, "Queen Elizabeth" on PopCrush. A reggae tinged jam, the group wanted to transport listeners to their own paradise. "With Queen Elizabeth; we wanted to take you on a journey... lyrically and musically," notes Matt. "We want the listener to travel with us to their favorite spot by the ocean and chilling with your own queen.."
Reflecting on the identity of Queen Elizabeth, Matt added - "Everybody has that girl next door that they would do anything for; and Queen
Elizabeth is that girl for us."
Releasing music independently, the group are the 22nd most streamed artist on Spotify, accumulating half a billion streams in the last year. Their track. " Turn Me On has over 100 million streams, with their eclectic re-work of Salt N Pepa's "Sex" sitting at 310 million streams.
Cheat Codes tunes are favorites in the blogosphere, with their song "Visions" reaching number one on the HypeMachine charts. They've been commissioned for official remixes from acts like
Kelly Clarkson and Zella Day, played major festivals like the Billboard Hot 100 and Firefly, and have been hand selected to tour with The Chainsmokers.
So what's their secret? With a background in songwriting, the boys work from the bottom up. "When we write, we make the track fit the lyrics and melodies first," Kevin explains. "We'll sit down together and find some basic chords or start with a guitar and a piano, and brainstorm different ideas. Once we have the idea, we'll go from there. Maybe Trevor will produce the track and mix it - maybe Matt will add ideas, or we'll collaborate with other DJs." What it comes down to is a well written song- "We really want the songs to be strong on their own. So we know if the song is really good without production, then we know that it's going to be good with all the bells and whistles." Makes sense.
Taking cues from acts like Diplo or Calvin Harris,
Cheat Codes blend energetic club sounds with live vocals, and an energy that is unmatched by the competition- a combination that has served as the official soundtrack to summer. With wistful lyrics and luminous melodies the group draw inspiration from all kinds of music to create a sound all their own. "We're all inspired by everything - I don't think any of us are stuck on any genre or any artist, we're very open-minded when it comes to what we listen to," notes Matt. "Whether it's hip hop, country- pop music- it could be anything."
The group recently announced they have signed to 300 Entertainment.
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UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
Nov 19 Chandler, AZ @ Global Dance Festival
Nov 25 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 with 3Lau
Dec 10 Sao Paolo, Brazil @ Z Festival - Allianz Stadium Dec 17 Costa Mesa, CA @ Time Nightclub
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