The Electronic Duo, BIG GIGANTIC Discuss Their Sound, Favorite Artists, Favorite Shows And Much More!

Dominic Lalli (Production/Sax) and Jeremy Salken (Drums) make up the electronic-dance band, Big Gigantic.

Here’s a few fun facts about them:

-The Chainsmokers had Dominic Lalli sit in as a surprise guest at Coachella this year

-Big Gigantic just toured with Major Lazer through India and have played with them and Diplo in The US through various Mad Decent tours.

– Their song “The Little Things” was the season 3 promo song for Empire & the theme song for Wimbledon this year on ESPN.

– It was also used in the NBA playoffs and So You Think You Can Dance.

Get it on All Access here: https://www.allaccess.com/audio/player/q/aid/7936/big-gigantic/the-little-things-f-angela-mccluskey

Learn even more about Big Gigantic in the following All Access interview with them:

Thanks for your time! Now that we are more then half-way through 2016, what are some words you would use to describe it? What were some of the highlights of 2015 for Big Gigantic?

Band – Thanks for chatting w us! Man going into it 2016 seemed mellow but ended up being super rowdy! We kicked the year off in Denver at Decadence, went to India w/ Mad Decent, did a month long spring tour that was killer, played a ton of festivals, ALL while working on our new album!!! 2015 was a great year for us as well.  We did 2 big tours, played festivals all over the country & sold out our annual 2 Night event at Red Rocks Amphitheatre called Rowdytown! Honestly we’ve been pretty nonstop since we started in 2008! (Laughter) We just love to hustle!

Growing up, did you both always want to be musicians? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?  

We’ve both been playing music since we were kids!

Dom – I definitely feel like, for the most part, I’ve wanted to be a musician. There was always music around our house. My mom sang, my dad played the drums and mom was always dragging us to church choir rehearsals and we took piano lessons and stuff like that. So, there was always a music happening in our house, it was awesome.

Jeremy – I remember getting a little kids Muppet Babies drum set when i was like 3 or 4 and just naturally wanting to beat on things!  My mom has pictures of me with pots and pans set upside down and beating on them w drum sticks.  There were no other musicians in the family so everyone was like “where did this kid learn to do this?”(Laughter)

Where did you two first meet? Why do you think you work so well together? 

Jeremy — We met thru the music scene in Boulder, Colorado. Dom used to play with a group called the Motet that I was actually a big fan of.  They were the nastiest players in town.  All schooled jazz musicians that just destroyed on their instruments.  I ended up randomly doing some graphic design work for the Motet and Dom and I became friends thru that.  We ended up living together pre-Big G and I think that experience of being in tight quarters and building a friendship helped a ton down the road!  I remember while living together, Dom bought this used white Macbook from one of his band-mates in the Motet.  He got this program called Ableton and just started making hip hop beats.  He’d play them for me then every so often we’d put them on speakers and just jam to them in the basement.  That’s how Big G got started! It was all over after that!! (Laughter)

How do you think being from Colorado has influenced you two as musicians and your sound?

Band – There is such an amazing music scene in Colorado!  It feels like a real community out here from the artists to the fans. EVERYONE is very supportive but also want you to challenge them. I think being in the Mountains plays a huge part as well. There is something so relaxing yet invigorating here.  The vibe is very laid back, no worries, island type of vibe yet people are still working their asses off! Between the people and the beautiful mountains it definitely makes its way into the music!

I’m curious to know how you found your unique hybrid sound? What are some of the inspirations for your music? Is that constantly changing?

DOM – I think we found our sound more naturally than anything. It kinda developed between us just being players and loving to play our instruments and also thru the electronic music scene that’s been developing over the last ten years. We were inspired by the scene itself and how it was expanding as well as the many artists that were pioneering at the time like, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, STS9 and Skrillex just to name a few. But we’re also really inspired by amazing musicianship and great writers and there are a lot of them out there. Also, our inspirations absolutely change all the time especially because electronic music is in part driven by being new and fresh, so we’re always looking for new inspiration.

Can you talk about your documentary, “Dream Big: A Big Gigantic Story”? Where did the idea for it first come from? What’s it been like shooting it? 

Band- Man, it was so much fun making Dream Big!  It was something we’d been talking about with our manager, Ben Baruch, for a long long time. Ben had a great videographer that we’d worked with in the past and we all sat down and brainstormed the story and shot a ton of footage as well as gathered old videos of us. Ben worked a million hours to edit & produce the video to make it flow the way it should.  Those guys really made the magic happen with it. It was so much fun making the film though.  Reliving our past and going even deeper into our childhood, etc. We’ve done tons of interviews but there was nothing out there really explaining where we came from and what brought us to where we are today.  It was an amazing experience and so happy with the way the film came out! It gets us emotional every time we watch it!

You have been praised a lot for your elaborate live shows. Do you think that is where you are happiest? Performing on stage? 

Dom – For me I’d have to say it’s a love affair between both. I think there is something so magical about performing live and improvising and bouncing energy between yourself and the crowd. At the same time there is something  so sacred and special about writing music. Writing for a specific emotion or range of emotions and also the fact that a piece of music or song is kind of ‘forever’ so you get to be a part of the history and lineage of that process

Jeremy – For me I’d have to say playing drums is my happy place for sure! I love performing live and vibing off the crowd! We’ve both played in bands since we were younger and know what its like to play in front of an empty room except for the bar staff so having people there is seriously an honor! Its something we cherish and never take for granted.  That relationship you get between the crowd and band while you’re playing is super special too.  There is a conversation going on even though you’re not necessarily speaking directly to one another.

What’s been a favorite festival that you have played at in the past?

Dom – Electric Forest is always a special place for us to play. We really came up as a band thru that festival so it’s always an extra special experience to perform there.

Jeremy – Okeechobee festival was my favorite this year!! It was the first year and in March so it really got spring/summer kicking off! We hadn’t played in the states since New Years and had a bunch of new tunes so it really felt like a special show! The crowd was innnnnnnsanely hype too which just made us play harder!

What are some upcoming summer festivals that you are looking forward to playing at?

Band -We’re midway thru the summer now but there’s still a bunch of fests left!  Really looking forward to going back to Camp Bisco & playing with BigGrizMatik then we head straight to British Columbia for Pemberton Festival.  We played Pemberton a few years ago and that place really won me over. The people are amazing, the lineup is massive and you’re nestled in the mountains so the views are legendary! It feels like a Colorado fest set in Canada. Maybe that’s why we love it so much! (Laughter)

Who are some of your favorite artists? Who would you love to work with in the future? 

Dom – been listening to quite a bit of Herbie Hancock, Flume Anderson, Paak and Joshua Redman these days but I would love to work with some more singers and rappers in general in the future. Anderson Paak, G Eazy and lots more.

Jeremy – There are so many great artists out there right now! The bands on repeat for me are Hiatus Kaiyote, Snarky Puppy and Anderson Paak!

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

Dom – we just want our music to make you feel good and really just be the soundtrack to your day or life for that matter!

Jeremy  – We just want peace, love and a dance party!!