New York born and LA-based indie-pop duo Fly By Midnight is composed of songwriter Justin Bryte and producer/songwriter Slavo. Recently performing on Netflix’s PRIDE Celebration last month alongside Chaka Khan, Laverne Cox and Trixie Mattel, Fly By Midnight have been lauded as a hotly-tipped talent with a wide spread of acclaim from tastemakers globally. We caught up with the duo off the back of their collaboration [Lost Without You] with Swedish pop phenomenon Clara Mae.
Bryte explains how his journey started on the theater side in high school. At the time he was going to Brooklyn College where he fell in love with songwriting. This subsequently led him on a journey pursuing music full time as soon as he realized it was bringing in more money than his part time job at a pool store. Slavo on the other hand; found himself playing in punk/screamo bands with his older brother, where he supported as both a guitarist and back up vocals, whilst his brother played drums. Having falled in love with music, Slavo continued his journey into a career in music a few years later when he moved from Florida to New York.
Lost Without You
Slavo highlights how “Lost Without You” was written over a year ago and subsequently spent a long time pitching around the feature, before landing on Clara Mae. Whilst this process took longer than they had initially anticipated, they were thrilled with the final production, as finding Clare Mae enabled the duo to reach their full potential. Describing their music as storytelling indie-pop, the duo highlight how being able to sing their songs as a duo enables the artists to be more dynamic & a bit different. In addition to providing a fresh outlook when deciding on who is going to record on vocals on their production. The duo are very proud of their track Drove You Away”. Bryte goes onto explain how Slavo and himself wrote it one day after one of their close friends had been broken up with. For the duo, what they want their fans to take from their music is a sense of nostalgia.
Finding Inspiration
Key to their success has been the pillars in their lives. Non more so than their family and friends, which the duo point out as being a huge support system. In addition to their fans, which provide them with the strength to continue producing more music. The duo explain how they have kept their team very small from the beginning. Slavo points to the need to continue striving to learn new things to achieve your dreams. With their biggest challenge to date learning to balance the whole process. “Every day there’s a new project to take on. It’s exciting, but sometimes overwhelming. I feel like the past year we’ve really overcome that.” The duo are currently gearing up to release an all collaborative EP while writing for their next record. Exploring a multitude of different sounds and concepts. Highlighting how in a not so creative world they are finding ways to stay inspired.
With plans in place to visit Sweden & London post Covid-19, you can follow Fly By Midnight on Instagram.
