SUPPORT BY MNTRA & CHANGO B2B WET VELVET Ryan and Nik of The Sponges have made a name for themselves in recent years with an incredibly unique sound, blending funk, tech house, and bass house in a seamless and fun way. The duo is from Palm Beach, Florida. Growing up outside of Miami, Club Space quickly became one of their favorite venues and helped introduce the two to electronic music. “The sound system is so pristine. I’d want to see Tipper or Eprom… bass acts that make the system really work. We saw Disclosure there and they played ‘You and Me (Flume Remix)’ and it was the only time we’ve ever seen a track under 120 BPM and it was just insane.” For The Sponges, creating music is a complex process often driven by older samples and two unique production styles that Ryan and Nik bring to the table. “The oldies is what we sample. We’re constantly listening to… James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire. The great disco/funk artists from the 70s and 80s… All of our songs have a different story as far as how they began.” Sometimes the guys will find a sample and build a track around it. Other times the bassline comes first. When producing their track ‘Funked Up,’ the goal was to make an edit for a Rick James song just for fun. Three months later it became a breakthrough release. A unique sound has led to unique support. A wide variety of artists have shown love to The Sponges, ranging from Zeds Dead and Griz, to Malaa and Destructo. For Ryan and Nik, it’s a sign that they’re doing something right, and that their diverse abilities give them tremendous career flexibility. Whether it’s opening for The Knocks to a pop crowd, playing a small dark club, or opening for Griz, The Sponges bring high energy to their live set no matter where you catch them. Ryan and Nik hope to eventually get into the studio with jam bands in order to fully flesh out their funk sound. On the live side, they have long-term goals of creating a hybrid DJ/live set performance inspired by the likes of Gramatik. The Sponges will be putting out a track with Griz in July, and will hopefully be coming to a city near you soon.