Getting into the goods with HiTech

It’s barely mid-morning in Detroit when HiTech log onto Zoom. Despite calling from different corners of the city, King Milo, Chops47 and Milf Melly emulate a kind of giddiness and a sense of brewing chaos that is immediately palpable. There’s a special kind of unspoken intimacy and divine synchronicity, I imagine, that comes from meeting someone for the first time at an orgy – which the trio’s seamless, often absurd rapport encapsulates perfectly. Reinterpreting Motor City techno and hip-hop legacies, HiTech erect (no pun intended) their new-gen take on ghettotech, creating a feverish sound that is respectfully raunchy and gloriously out of pocket. The sex and the freak that HiTech bring is not a commercial, polished take on our innermost desires – it’s neither performatively lecherous nor forcefully mysterious. Instead, it has the space to be silly, nasty, humorously outrageous, and above all, consensual. At the end of the day, we can keep it real – it’s summer, we’re all horny and tired, and want to shake our asses in peace. Still buzzing from their latest release HONEYPAQQ (aptly named after a sexual performance enhancement supplement), and already buzzing in anticipation of their sweat- and Hennessy-drenched show at Dekmantel, we caught up with the trio for a very unfiltered conversation. 

Morning everyone! How are you all feeling today?
Milo: I’m feeling good. I woke up this morning. I started doing some weights and stuff to get my forearms all sexy. Had some water, had some coffee, and now I’m playing Spider-Man 2. It’s so weird.

Chops: Shit, my day is going good. Can’t complain, can’t complain.

Melly: Yeah, I woke up, went to my kitchen, slipped on my little dishwater. My little ankle hurt a little bit, but other than that, man, shit’s been solid. 

When did you guys get back from London?
Chops: Last weekend. Man, that shit was crazy. We had a run with two festivals, back-to-back in one day. Then we touched down, did two shows every day until Movement, then we had a Movement after party, so yeah, it was a jam-packed little week.

Milo: Action-packed. Good time!

Sounds intense! Do you feel a difference between playing for your US and European audiences?
Milo: It’s subtle, but it’s there. People over the water have this understanding of the party, so they’re like, yo, let’s party. They know what to do, and as long as you facilitate the party, everybody’s there to party. And here in the States, they gotta be guided to the water a little bit. Yo, yo, yo, y’all remember, this is the party, y’all don’t gotta stand there with the bottle and act precious. We’re all party people. 

Melly: You know, dancing is a thing, guys. Let’s get it. Let’s move it.

Yeah, I heard horror stories about bottle service in the US. That sounds awful.
Melly: Yes, those horror stories are very much so real. 

Milo: Yeah, we want to eliminate all that. I mean, we don’t want to destroy jobs out here for people. Going to work is a thing, but bottle service and then communal liquor is a thing. If you’re gonna buy a bottle, make sure everybody is drinking. Make sure everybody has a good time. 

That’s the basis of it all! I feel like that very much ties in with your attitude to change current club culture more broadly. What’s your vision of partying that you want to cultivate?
Milo: To make everybody stop being so exclusive and get out and get to know people. Everything is all about status and dah, dah, dah. So just cut the bullshit, cut the fat and let’s get into the goods. That’s what it’s about. 

Chops: Definitely more unity.

Milo: That’s all it is. It seems kinda corny and kinda tacky to talk about it, but what the fuck else are we going to talk about? There are lounges for chilling and then the party and the club is for partying and getting to know people. Those are social spaces. But now those spaces have been less of inviting people to understand each other and more of inviting people to click up and be bougie and act like they’re better than everybody. Or people just sit there and have fucking pain retention and like misunderstandings of where they are. It’s almost like disassociating while you’re there. So weird. 

Why do you think that’s become the case?
Milo: Because life is stressful. Shit’s hard. And people have created defence mechanisms. And they bring their defence mechanisms with them everywhere. And it just so happens to influence people. We want to try to influence in the other direction where it’s okay to release inhibitions and get to know people, especially in these spaces where there’s a party. We want to start there because, first of all, we love music. And it’s not like we started with this thinking. We had to learn that this is something we could do. And after understanding that we had an influence on people who were at the party, we wanted to use that influence, for lack of better words, properly. We don’t want to be counterproductive for the world. Shit be hard for everybody, but the party is for everybody to make it a little easier. 

To rewind back a bit, how did you all meet? I read you guys met at an orgy.
Chops: Yeah, we met at an orgy. Just seeing each other in passing, like over time, just never really knew what each other was on. But then we were in the same spaces, and it was like, we gotta see what’s happening, what type of music n—- make. Let’s see what’s cracking. And the rest was history. 

Melly: Let’s take this energy and move it to the studio. You feel me? Let’s capture this energy sonically. So that’s what we did.

Chops: We’ve been throwing parties in the city as well. Not orgies necessarily, but like house parties.

Melly: Yo, we’ve been throwing these massive orgies. Everybody’s just pulling.

Milo: Safely, respectfully, it’s an invitation, if that’s something you’re into. If it’s not, safely, respectfully, we would like you to go ahead and let others know if they want to join in on the orgy. And we make sure everybody’s okay. It’s a safe, calm, cool, clean spot.

I really appreciate your focus on safety, in your approach in general! It’s hard to strike a balance between being very explicit and making sure everyone’s comfortable within it. I feel like humour also really helps with that.
Chops: Yeah, you gotta embrace all sides of yourself. But especially when it comes to partying, shit can get wild. So safety definitely is an essential piece of having fun. That’s the only way you can really have fun to the max, if everybody knows what’s going on and is looking out for one another.

Milo: And to the core, Detroit people are literally the funniest people on the planet.

Everybody’s a character. All these n—- are funny as hell, genuinely. Even in the music, it’s just all types of funny ass shit. I don’t know if people understand a lot, but down to the hardcore rap, to the street rap, to the techno, to the R&B, even in the neo-soul, the jazz, it’s just funny takes on life, whether it’s in the lyrics or the rhythm. Detroit is very, very humorous, very silly.

Chops: We definitely go through shit, but we know how to make light of it.

You very much create a space to release the inhibitions. Have you noticed it extend beyond the dancefloor?
Chops: Yeah, there’s been instances where people have come up and been like, yo, I met this person at one of your guys’ shows a few years ago and we’ve been tapped in since. So it’s definitely those things that really put in perspective how important doing stuff like this is, especially in this time right now where a lot of shit is going on. And it’s a moment that’s slowing things down, but also creating a vibe that everybody can enjoy and go home and have a different perspective to share with others.

And for yourselves, do you find the process of music-making a sort of release also?
Melly: Yeah, it’s like therapy, man.

Milo: Yes, absolutely. We’re literally talking about everything we’d be going through, whether it be some weird shit like why our ex chose to pick another partner or how we don’t want to be bothered at certain times unless it’s about some finances. It’s just everything. We like to voice it all. Down to a piece of rolls. You ever just want to come home and have some food and it’s just like, don’t be what you think it is? And it ends up being a piece of rolls. That’s the dinner. Piece of rolls are like little microwavable pocket pieces.

Chops: And then you’re out of ranch and shit…

Nightmare. You also literally voice it all, like on NEW JAZZ SCHMELL. There’s a lot of shouting.
Milo: It feels amazing. Love screaming over tracks.

Does your audience also scream?
Milo: They scream to everything, which is amazing. You just brought that shit to light. I didn’t recognise how beautiful yelling was and how much of a release it actually is even for people on the other side of things. Yelling until you’re absolutely drained… That shit is beautiful. 

How do you keep up this kind of level of energy? You clearly have so much chemistry between each other, and your live shows are just this insane outpour of energy. How do you translate that into a studio space?
Chops: We don’t really pick it apart. We call some homies up and have them come through, whether they want to hop on the track or just be a fly on the wall or dance to that motherfucking music. It’s creating a vibe to where you don’t know what you’re coming out with at the end, but you know it’s going to be some sweet shit. It’s just up to you to capture that moment. I feel like that’s our formula. What would you guys say?

Milo: I concur. I believe it’s definitely the groove of life. Everybody in the studio, just talking shit. Look, Evita, we’ll be in the studio, all right? We’ll call you over. And you be like, “damn, y’all, my motherfucking feet hurt, I was dancing at the club last night, y’all. Shit was crazy. I’m about to go outside with you, smoke weed.” You don’t gotta say it on record by the way. And then you smoke some weed, and you’re like, “damn, shit hittin’”. And you say it in a certain funny way, and we’re like, put that on the track. And we pull up this beautiful beat that we made and shit. And then you’re like, “damn, this shit hittin’”. And we will chop that shit, and it will be a moment in life and time. And it was your moment. It’s not my moment, but it’s your moment that I can relate to. It’s a million things. It just be shit like that.

That’s a very realistic scenario! I imagine that really helps, as you were saying earlier, that Detroit has a lot of characters. Must catalyse a lot of moments.
Milo: Yeah, it’s been a lot of shit. A lot of shit. I was going to get real vulgar.

Please go ahead. We have no censorship.
Milo: A lot of coochie rubbing, a lot of cigarette putting out, a lot of grabber rolling.

Melly: A lot of feet play. 

Milo: A LOT of feet play. A lot of feet play. We got a song called Burp and Spit. Burp and Spit ain’t come out yet, but when it’s out, it’s gonna be so good.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve recorded and put on a track?
Milo: Fucking. It was all types of fucking all through the track.

Melly: Literally…

Milo: I will not say the track. 

We’ll have to listen carefully… I also love that all this raunchiness is paired with such beautiful instrumental texture – like the keys on SPANK!. How do you build up that sound?
Milo: Well, n—- just kind of play shit out. I just played the keys out [Milo makes a face and perfectly sings out the chords]. That’s what we normally do, just play shit. And sometimes we’ll call homies in to come play shit that’s a little out of our range. We got a homie named Theodore. He came through for the album and he’s playing some magnanimous, beautiful set of keys and shit. Got the Rhodes and shit. The album is going to be more orchestral. We play a lot of our shit, we try to stray from samples as far away as we can.

Chops: And we come from Motown. 

Milo: You got to keep the tech right. You got to keep all that shit right there. Everything got to be from the root.

And what would you say are your main sonic inspirations?
Milo: Disclosure, Royksopp, Neptunes.

Melly: DJ Assault, Godfather. A couple from the South, probably Andre 3000, Outkast.

Chops: Black Eyed Peas. 

Milo: Never heard this n—- say Black Eyed Peas. That’s amazing to me.

Chops: Bro, The Beginning and The E.N.D., those albums were such great fucking albums. That shit stuck with me from my childhood.

Melly: I ain’t never heard him say that, but now that you bring that shit to life, I’m like, oh shit. 

James [the publicist]: That’s awesome, ha-ha. Sorry I had to say it man. 

Chops: You know what I’m saying? We got Will.i.am and that motherfucker. But yeah, and old school, like n—- grew up on old school. That’s why I’m saying Motown, like all of that shit. Like they had people coming in and playing instruments and doing all of that shit live.

Milo: All my mama used to listen to was The O’Jays and The Dramatics. It was crazy.

Black Eyed Peas deserve a moment for sure. I want you to spill the tea on each other. What’s the funniest or most embarrassing thing you can share about one another?
Milo: Melly is literally the funniest, goofiest n— in the world because he is so embarrassing, but he is so funny. His ass is like, he’s like a hand puppet, but a person. He’s like, hello guys, hi [Milo is doing a high-pitched puppy-eyed impression].

Chops: You doing that reminded me of Pops from Regular Show. Melly is unapologetically himself. Love that shit.

Milo: It’s like a button. If you press a button… I don’t want to get too deep, but I love it.

Melly: I’ve been locked up for about a thousand years. I finally came back. It’s time to talk about shit.

Where have you been?
Melly: I’ve been in the darkness and the abyss FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.

Like the Avatar in his iceberg…
Melly: Yes.

So… What about Milo and Chops?
Chops: I feel like anytime I think of some crazy shit, I’m always thinking about something that happened in Europe.

Milo: I can’t recall anything right now. I mean, I fall off the stage a lot. 

Chops: Oh yeah, a recent crazy moment. It’s like a 360 style stage. So people surrounding us and like we shit is like getting lit. The energy is high in the room. And Milo gets on the table. He’s trying to get up there, just stand up and rock with the crowd. And I don’t know if the table was wet or what or it was too much momentum… But as soon as he got on the table, he flew forward and just dropped in the crowd. We didn’t see him for a second. He just popped back up like, I’m fine. I’m like hell to the nah. 

Melly: The whole room was silent.

Milo: I landed on my back.

No one caught you?
Milo: Nobody caught me. I think I landed on this poor, poor girl and she stood up and was like, I’m okay, are you okay? And I’m like, I don’t know. And then she pulled me up and I was like, I’m okay. And everybody was like, let’s get it. But I also fell on our first show, meeting up with Danny Brown and shit. I fell from a big ass stage and landed right on my back again. I always fall on my back.

Melly: Kind of like the opposite of a cat.

Milo: What…

Melly: Cats land on their feet. You just land on your back. The opposite of a cat.

Chops: Meow.

Milo: That’s my dog.

And Chops?
Milo: Chops is never embarrassing. Actually, he rebuilds the molecular structure of time so that he can move things in our favour. We blame it on his antennae. 

Melly: Yeah, his antennae. It’s pretty powerful. 

Milo: It’s like he moves our flights around. He prevents us from getting into crazy shit. He’s like, yeah, nah. And then everything shifts around it and everything’s okay. Anytime we’ve been close to missing a flight, it always gets delayed. Anytime we get close to making a big boo-boo, everything is okay as long as Chops does something. He prevents it every time. It’s always him saying something, and then the source code changes for him. It’s amazing.
Melly: And pretty magical. 

Maybe Chops is using his powers for a little bit of evil and that’s why Milo falls off the stage so much.
Chops: YAAAAA.
Milo [his jaw dropped]: That slob. I slobbered because I just went stupid by that fucking phenomenal moment you just brought to light. Thank you for understanding how he actually wishes this on me.
Chops: It’s a balance, you know what I’m saying?

Higher powers love an equilibrium. It’s been so fun talking to you, are you guys coming to the Netherlands any time soon?
Chops: Yes! We’re coming for Dekmantel.
Milo: Do you drink Henny? Come party with us!