HEROES AND VILLAINS

"We're only interested in making music you can fight or strip to..." Daniel Disaster and Pete Heartless, production duo behind Heroes x Villains, begin as two punk kids from the depths of the Dirty South, notorious for blowing speakers during their chaotic DJ sets as teenagers. The pair remain creatively connected, despite divergent lifestyles: Heartless maintains a quiet, relatively normal life while Disaster seems content to exist with his feet dangling ever so slightly over the edge. He spends several years behind the boards at Grand Hustle Records as an engineer working alongside the likes of Justin Timberlake, Lil' Wayne, T.I. and Young Jeezy. Armed with this experience, roots in punk/hardcore and an appreciation for Southern rap music, Heroes x Villains start their ascent with warbling, bass heavy, electronic dance music remixes of Waka Flocka Flame's 'Oh Let's Do It' and Gucci Mane's 'Lemonade'. These, a remix of Lil' Jon and Diplo's 'U Don't Like Me' and several others make up 'We Off That,' their first mixtape which garners critical acclaim. Less speakers burst into flames these days but Heroes x Villains DJ sets remain as caustic as ever. Stage diving and raucous mosh pits are regular occurrences; champagne spraying in every direction and half naked women moving in ways their parents wouldn't likely approve of come standard. The raw, occult like energy and track selection is a manifestation of how Disaster and fans of Heroes x Villains choose to live: shameless, unrepentant, maximalist hedonism. Heroes x Villains barreled into 2012 as diverse and dangerous as ever. Beginning in early January, they introduced the weekly 'BLXRRD OXT' series, manipulating records like Young Jeezy's ode to intoxication 'WXY 2 GXNE' and England's dark pop princess Charlie XCX 'NUXLEAR SEAXONX' into soundtracks for a haunting, drug-addled haze. And in February, showcasing the two year progression of Southern rap music fusing with electronic dance elements, comes rising Atlanta rap group FKi's mixtape 'Transformers In The Hood' produced by Diplo, Heroes x Villains and Atlanta EDM producer Mayhem. With genre-bending, rule breaking unpredictability as their calling card, it's pointless to attempt to figure out what Heroes x Villains may do next... best to just sign the waiver and enjoy the ride.