On June 23rd, Big Beat Records hosted the album release party of group Cash Cash’s fourth album Blood, Sweat and 3 Years. We got to chat with Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alex Makhlouf and Samuel Frisch and see them perform some of their fantastic tunes.
At the BBQ event, guests were invited to this house of music were they could enjoy some drinks and mingle. Guests began to arrive at 7 p.m. and before 8:00 p.m. came around, the party was in full force.
Big Beat delighted us with some yummy BBQ chicken, ribs and salad few minutes before it was Cash Cash’s turn to take the stage. Once Cash Cash was on, everyone surrounded the mini stage and began to dance to the music.
This album features songs that were released a while ago and have been well heard on the radio such as “Take Me Home” ft. Bebe Rexha as well as brand new songs that are causing a stir like “Millionaire” ft. Nelly.
The group opened with their famous “Surrender,” which was released a year and a half ago. Through out the hour of sick electronic dance mixes and beats, the group not only gave the crowd a taste of their incredible new music but also threw some old school tunes as well as recent hits like “One Dance” by Drake.
We sat down with the band exclusively. Check out what they had to say below:
How did the name of the album come about?
I mean it basically is what is says. We have been working on it for three years. We basically just put our blood, sweat and heart and soul into it. The cool thing is, is that albums in general are supposed to define a period of your life, you know. An album might remind you of high school, or friends, or certain relationships. This album is a perfect representation of the last three years of our lives, three of the best years of our lives. It’s cool, we hope that it has the same effect on the listener so that when they listen back they’d say “Ah I remember where I was when that record came out” and the emotions you were feeling and what was going on in your life.
You guys collaborated with so many artists in this album, did you intend to have that many artists on your album?
Yeah we knew we wanted to collab with a lot of artists. That’s the theme of the record, taking different artists from different genres that might not normally be heard on dance songs and I think that that was what made it really fun, to mash it all up with rap artists, Christina Perri, John Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls, Nelly it’s a whole spectrum. As producers it kept us feeling like we are doing something fresh versus just making the same songs with the same sounding features over and over again.
How was it touring with Tritonal on your “Untouchable Tour” in 2015?
It was awesome. Terminal 5 here in New York was one of the best shows we’ve ever played. Here in our hometown. That tour was awesome, really great. It really exceeded our expectations for the turn outs. It was almost entirely sold out. Tritonal guys are great. A bunch of the opening acts were also really nice guys so it was a great time.
What are some special moments you guys recall from that tour?
Terminal 5 definitely. There were a couple of Texas shows, LA was also great, Boston. They were all some amazing shows. But you know for us, our home state New York was one for the books.
You guys collaborated with Mexican Singer Sofia Reyes in your song “How To Love”, how did that happen?
She’s actually signed with Atlantic Records as well. We heard her voice and thought “This is amazing, her voice would be perfect for this track. Its got such great emotion and so much character.” So we made it happen, it was easy.
What is the biggest difference between this album and your last album The Beat Goes On?
Well, I think we are more attached to this album than any album we’ve ever released. We spent the most amount of time on it, we’ve never spent three years on an album before. I think that the last three years have been so amazing that we had this attachment that defines it. Like a yearbook. I hear a song and I think of a festival we played or hanging out with the artists in the studio. It brings back a lot of memories so there’s something there.
What’s the most touching moment that you guys have experienced so far?
Hearing our songs on the radio is something that never gets old. Every time it just catches me off guard, like what did we make that happen? How did we take the music from the studio, and put it on the radio? It’s crazy.
Is there an artist in this album that you guys have wanted to collab ever since you guys started?
Totally, John Rzeznik, Nelly is definitely one that we listened to for a long time. Busta Rhymes, B.o.B.
How was making “Millionaire” with Nelly?
It was nuts because it was such a different process for us. We didn’t know what to expect you know, his work versus ours. We just didn’t know what to expect. When he came in he lit up the room. The energy was on fire. He showed us a different way to make music. A lot of the times we get stiff in the studio, the three of us, very work oriented and very tight. He was just so loose and brought the party. I think it shows in the song we made. It’s such a feel good, fun song. We really had a good time making it. We were in the studio until like 5 in the morning just drinking and smoking, it was so fun.
What is your process like with other artists?
It’s difficult, we always like to work with the artist. We never like to just get their vocals and put a beat on it. We always get in the studio and write lyrics with them, write melodies, work on chords, and record them as well, edit them, everything. It’s all done together.
How was working with Bebe Rexha on your song “Take Me Home”?
We always loved Bebe’s voice, we thought she was amazing and we knew we wanted to do a song with her. It was cool because it was right around the time that we were kinda trying to find ourselves like artists and so was she. I like to say that we were two lost souls, you know that crossed paths at the same time and made magic together that completely changed both of our lives. It was really easy in the studio, you know acoustic guitars, piano, very stripped down, just writing the song organically and shooting lyrics back and forth.
How did the contract with Big Beat Records come to you?
It’s interesting because we were unsigned for a bit and we didn’t know what to do with our lives, we were just confused on what to do. We said screw it, let’s just do things ourselves and put the music out. We put some music out for free online and literally that week it just blew up. It went #1 on Hype Machine, we were just so surprised because we didn’t expect it to do anything. It got like 1,000 downloads in a day, it was our song “Overtime”. We ended up putting the Overtime EP out. It was cool because at that point we knew what we were doing and we knew the direction we wanted to go on, we wanted to work with different artists, wanted to focus on different styles of electronic music and Big Beat was just the perfect match for us.
Did you face any challenges when working on this album?
I mean, we fight. We’re tour brothers, I’ve known Sam since third grade so we know how to get under each other’s skin. We push each other’s buttons sometimes but you know, ultimately it’s always for the better, and we know that. I feel like that is what makes us get the most competitive work out. We know “He’s only saying that because he wants it to be better”, he’s not just saying it. I think that it’s cool, that we can actually say things to each other that others can’t, cause we know each other for life. Sometimes you get in the studio and you don’t know if you should say something or not like do I hold my breath? Do I say this sucks? Do I shut up about it? But let let it all out and I think that makes for some heated sessions but that’s how we make the best stuff. There is no bullsh*t, not wasting time.
Why did it take three years to get this album out?
I mean we were touring, but it’s not even that it took three years to get the album out. In the back of our minds, we always wanted to put out an album but were like “Nothing is going to stop us from putting out music now.” We just kept putting out singles every couple of months, doing remixes in between, touring, putting out another single and time would go by. We were always constantly putting out music. Eventually we had all this music ready to go so we said “Let’s get that album ready.” We didn’t want to waste all of those songs that we put out as singles beforehand because they were what defined our career. It’s a collection but there’s also a lot of new songs. It’s like ten or eleven new songs and five of the singles that we put out before.
What’s your favorite song?
Probably “Millionaire” ft. Nelly or “Broken Drum” ft. Fitz and the Tantrums. “How To Love” is also good and “Devil”.
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If you are a fan of EDM, don’t miss out on their new album which just released Friday, June 24th. They collaborated with a great variety of distinguished and upcoming artists such as Christina Perri, B.o.B, Nelly, Bebe Rexha, Sofia Reyes, Jacquie Lee amongst many others, Cash Cash brings a new taste and vision to this genre that people will certainly enjoy.
Cash Cash Tour Dates:
7/02/16 – Yost (Costa Mesa, CA)
7/09/16 – Global Dance Festival (Morrison, CO)
7/15/16 – Marquee Nightclub (Las Vegas, NV)
7/16/16 – Omnia SD (San Diego, CA)
7/30/16 – Marquee Dayclub (Las Vegas, NV)
8/5/16 – Marquee Nightclub (Las Vegas, NV)
8/19/16 – Marquee Nightclub (Las Vegas, NV)
8/21/16 – Center of Gravity (Wasaga Beach, ON)
9/03/16 – Sun City Music Festival (El Paso, TX)
9/04/16 – Electric Zoo (New York, NY)
10/01/16 – Marquee Nightclub (Las Vegas, NV)
10/10/16 – Marquee Nightclub (Las Vegas, NV)
10/28/16 – Marquee Nightclub (Las Vegas, NV)
Cash Cash, Blood, Sweat & 3 Years (out June 24th via Big Beat Records):
- How To Love (ft. Sofia Reyes)
- Broken Drum (ft. Fitz of Fitz & The Tantrums)
- Millionaire (ft. Nelly) [Cash Cash & Digital Farm Animals]
- Hero (ft. Christina Perri)
- Devil (ft. Busta Rhymes, B.o.B & Neon Hitch)
- Aftershock (ft. Jacquie Lee)
- The Gun (ft. Trinidad James, Dev & Chrish)
- Turn (ft. Little Daylight)
- Escarole
- Lightning (ft. John Rzeznik)
- Arrows In The Dark (ft. Anjulie)
- We Will Live (ft. Night Terrors of 1927)
- Bada Boom
- Take Me Home (ft. Bebe Rexha)
- Sweat (ft. Jenna Andrews)
- Surrender
Connect:
https://soundcloud.com/cashcash
https://www.facebook.com/cashcash
