In June, Splash House kicked off another summer of crowded pools and dance music—and in this, the festival’s 10th anniversary year, the party will return over not one, but two August weekends.
More than 20 electronic acts, DJs and producers will perform at three Palm Springs resorts (Margaritaville, Saguaro and the Renaissance), with after-parties at the Palm Springs Air Museum, Friday through Sunday, Aug. 11-13 and Aug. 18-20.
One of the artists performing during the first weekend is DJ duo JADED. While their sound is rooted in the house genre, their electronic jams spread into dance, emotional and techno territories. The Londoners have collaborated with Dillon Francis, Paul McCartney, Ashnikko and others while also creating an impressive body of work on their own. Check out the groovy track “Welcome to the People.”
During a recent Zoom interview, Nari (Nariman Akrami) and Teo (Teodoro Cretella) talking about making their Palm Springs debut.
“We’ve played California; we’ve played L.A.; but we haven’t played Palm Springs,” said Nari. “We hear it’s the spot.”
Added Teo: “We just did EDC as well, so in terms of the West Coast, we’ve done all the places, but Splash House is something we’ve been looking at for years, and it’s going to be nice to finally actually do it.”
Some Splash House attendees come simply to party; others come to listen to top-notch music while enjoying the pool. JADED is aiming to cover all bases.
“We’ve got a few different sets lined up, and we’re just going to maybe turn up and see how we feel,” Teo said. “We’ve got the poolside jams; we’ve got the sing-alongs, but also we want to play some bangers as well. I think we’re just going to call it how we see it on the day.”
This is usual protocol for a JADED concert. The performers rely on vibes to give people a kick-ass set—but they never walk onstage without some sort of a plan.
“For the big shows, we prepare in advance and all of this—but it means nothing,” Nari said. “All the preparation literally means nothing until we get into the city, and we’re in a hotel room. It’s happened before where we got to a city, and we had a set or a vibe … and we’re like, ‘That’s not the vibe of the city, man.’ We just know. … You can never just guess what you’re going to play, it’s difficult.”
Added Teo: “Having said that, there will be lots of bootlegs from us, unreleased stuff, and a couple of new ones (at Splash House). It’s going to be lit.”
Nari and Teo use their varied influences and musical tastes to craft a multitude of sets for different fans, vibes and locations.
“It depends on the party,” Nari said. “If it’s a daytime party, it’s going to be different than a 4 a.m. party in a dark club. I think we’ve got the ability to bring across house and techno, and sometimes, at a pool party, you need to drop disco tunes. We did some clubs in Australia, and these kids wanted romping techno, so we gave them techno, and that was energy. You feel the energy, and you see the room. You’re like, ‘If we play disco here, we’re getting stabbed.’ … It’s all to do with how you play those songs at that exact moment that makes people feel something.”
The duo’s experience in the world of electronic music has helped them develop a skill for reading minds and vibes.
“I think it comes from being ravers and clubbers our whole lives,” Nari said. “You can tell if it’s not working.”
Added Teo: “As time goes on, you have the ability to know what does work. Some things sound great in the studio, and then you actually put it in, and all of a sudden, a vocal is going on for way too long and things like that. It’s about playing to the crowd, but also knowing what is right for the crowd, and what crowds generally go for.”
Nari and Teo work in tandem, using both of their artistic abilities to carry each performance.
“You might have a little bit of a mind blank, and then you’ve got someone who might just spark up a new idea and send you on the next tangent,” Teo said. “It’s nice to be inspired by someone while playing.”
Added Nari: “It’s almost like playing chess with each other. At the start, everyone’s playing nice. I make a move; he makes a move; and then by the end, it’s like, ‘What are you doing? You’re going there?’”
They admitted that they sometimes try to out-do each other.
“The Australian tour got a little bit out of hand,” Teo said. “He was just throwing the most inconvenient things to follow up after. Wherever it does actually go, it can be very inspiring and push you to the next level.”
In DJ culture, performers will often be listed with others under the billing of “back-to-back,” meaning DJs will share the same decks and trade off songs.
“We’re not a massive fan of back-to-backs with loads of people,” Nari said. “Most times, to be honest, it doesn’t work for us, because we’re always going back-to-back, and basically our whole act is a back-to-back. Going back-to-back with everyone all the time, I don’t know, man. It just depends, because not everyone’s got our vibe, and we don’t have everyone’s vibe.”
Teo added: “Between us, it works perfectly, but you don’t want too many chefs in the kitchen.”
Whatever kind of set JADED creates at Splash House, one thing is certain: Nari and Teo will be enjoying themselves.
When it comes to releasing songs on streaming services, they fall back on their history to determine what works.
“We’ve got enough experience just as ravers, as clubbers, as DJs and producers to just be like, ‘This will tear up a dance floor,’” Nari said. “Sometimes we can get surprised, and we make an edit, and we’re like, ‘I’m not sure about this,’ and we play it and are like, ‘Oh, fuck, this goes off.’”
One example: Their most-streamed song, “Welcome to the People.”
“We knew it was a banger, but we just put it out and didn’t think too much about whether or not it’s going to be perfect for the dance floor or whatnot,” said Teo. “In the end, from across the board of house, techno and every fucking genre in between, DJs were playing it. It was funny to see how DJs connected to a particular sound in the tune in their own way.”
They admitted that their intuitions can sometimes be wrong.
“Whenever we do live DJ sets, we just go, ‘We need more bangers,’” Nari said. “We think we can’t really play the musical stuff too much, but then you play them, and they go off, and you’re like, ‘Do we need more bangers with less music, or do we need more musical stuff and more emotional stuff?’ That battle is always happening.”
Whatever kind of set JADED creates at Splash House, one thing is certain: Nari and Teo will be enjoying themselves.
“We’re very selfish in that respect,” Nari said. “I want to have a good time while we DJ. If we don’t have a good time, it’s guaranteed they’re going to have a terrible time.”
JADED will perform at the first August weekend of Splash House, taking place Friday, Aug. 11, through Sunday, Aug. 13. Tickets start at $165. For more information, visit splashhouse.com.
Edited on July 25 to clarify the performers’ full names.
