Newcastle's finest, Henry Smithson aka Riton and Parisian Ed Banger DJ Mehdi have joined forces for an unexpected tag teaming of electro and house sounds. The duo hark back to a time of classic house on their new EP bringing a breath of fresh air to Ed Banger Records' past roster. Title track 'Black Billionaires' is an upbeat dance number whilst 'Gare Du Nord' brings us more banging electro with clever uses of train samples and even Kid Sister features on the vocals in 'Do! Do! Do!'. Dazed speak to the duo to talk new records and how they were almost called Crazy Eyes Killa Bunch...

Dazed Digital: How do your personal musical influences affect this record?
DJ Mehdi: This record is the opposite of every musical instinct we ever had. When we thought 'black', we did 'white'. Instead of going forward, we went backwards. Instead of saying 'Goodbye', we said 'Bad Bye'.
Riton: We basically wanted to people to ask "Who are you, Carte Blanche?"

DD: What do you think it is about the combination of your styles that work together?
DJ Mehdi: We're like the Yin and Yang, Peppermint and Chocolate Chip, Campari and Blood Orange Juice.
Riton: Mehdi brings the kick and I have the clap.

DD: Is this going to be an ongoing collaboration? What can we expect next?
DJ Mehdi: We were planning on swapping hair this Autumn but the record company thought it might be too controversial. So we might as well keep on making phat beats.
Riton: If that doesn't work we can always take the wife-swapping route again.

DD: What's the story behind the name?
DJ Mehdi: Actually, we went through 15 name changes: from Phat n'Phunky, to Crazy Eyes Killa Bunch, from Brodeo to RUM (Riton Und Mehdi). Then Gaspard from Justice suggested we take a name that reads both in French and English, and the rest is history.
Riton: It's like de ja vu all over again.

DD: How would you describe your sound together?
DJ Mehdi: "If only Kraftwerk were African"
Riton: "If only James Brown was Austrian''