A Conversation with 2Cellos aka Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser – HuffPost 4.15.13
Mike Ragogna: You guys have a new album, In2ition. What’s up with the title, you guys are intuitive?
Luka Sulic: When we make music there is a good match between our characters. We are different, but we compliment each other in a musical way, and also character-wise. So it was a perfect name for the album. Also, the figure “2” in the name is perfect because it is also our second album and because we are 2Cellos. So, it’s a good name on many levels.
MR: Let’s get a little background on you two. You guys are from Croatia and look like you could be brothers. How did all this come together?
Stjepan Hauser: There are only three villages in Croatia. It was not hard for both of us to know each other. [laughs]
MR: [laughs] Yeah, yeah, but how did you guys meet up?
LS: We wanted to make a powerful cello sound in order to show to the world the possibilities of the cello, and to use it in a different way than the classical way they are used to. We wanted to play something exciting, something crazy, something to draw younger generations to this great instrument. This was the main goal.
MR: How did 2Cellos gain attention in The United States?
LS: When our video of “Smooth Criminal” came out, suddenly we started getting all kinds of offers. We were getting calls from TV shows like Ellen DeGeneres, and from record labels. One of the labels was Sony Masterworks, and Alex Miller had seen the video. When the video came out, it was mostly watched in the US, you know? So, it was a great deal to get signed in The States and grow from here.
MR: Were you surprised?
LS: When we uploaded the video we knew we had something powerful that would attract attention, but no one could have predicted such a chaotic response, or that everything would explode in a matter of a few days.
MR: Was “contemporizing” your sound a natural process?
LS: Yeah, it was natural for us because we like to be like rock stars on the cello, and we wanted to show all this power of the cello. We were never happy with the way cello was recorded and we wanted to experiment in the studio to make the cello rock as much as possible. On the second album, we had great help from Bob Ezrin, who helped us develop our sound even more.
MR: Your first album featured songs such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Welcome To The Jungle,” but you also focused on Michael Jackson with “Smooth Criminal” and “Human Nature,” those tracks having gotten attention for obvious reasons.
SH: Yes, “Smooth Criminal” got most of the attention at the beginning. “Human Nature” also fit perfectly because we used a different technique on cello, pizzicato, which is plucking the strings, and it’s totally different. With every song we cover, we try to make something completely different.
MR: So how do you pick your material? Is it just stuff you like a lot?
SH: Yeah, it’s the stuff we love. Every song, we love so much. “Human Nature” and “Smooth Criminal” are two of our favorite songs of Michael Jackson. We just love every song we do. Of course, they have to fit on cello.
MR: On In2ition, you feature a few other artists in addition to yourselves, such as Elton John, Lang Lang and Naya Rivera.
LS: Yeah. We wanted to expand the concept by having some guest instrumentalists and vocalists, to see how they would blend with our sounds. It was really hard to find the right songs for this second album because not only did the songs have to fit the cello, but they had to fit our guest artists vocally and instrumentally also. I think it worked out great because every song feels like it’s written for the artist.
MR: Seeing Steve Vai appear was a pleasant surprise. How did that come together?
SH: Very often, we try to recreate the sound of electric guitar on the cello, but we never really collaborated with a real electric guitar player, so we thought this would be so interesting. It’s like a battle between cello and guitar, and it’s us showing the guitar that we can rock too.
MR: What was it like working with producer Bob Ezrin?
LS: He has so much knowledge, not only about rock music, but about everything. He told us that cello is his favorite instrument, so he was really happy to work on this project.
MR: Well, he comes from a very musical past, too.
LS: Yeah, he’s a legend. He produced some legendary albums.
MR: What advice do you have for new artists?
SH: Today, you have a very powerful tool–it’s called “internet.” Use it! Don’t be stupid. You can connect to the whole world in a second.
LS: Don’t wait for someone to call you up. You can do anything. You have all the possibilities in the world.
MR: What’s the best advice that 2Cellos ever got?
LS: The best advice you can ever get is to be yourself, and go on, and never give up.
MR: By the way, what was that tour like, being out with Elton John?
LS: It was a great experience for us. We developed a lot because we played in front of so many people, so we developed a lot more confidence and grew as a live act. Now, we can do it better by ourselves. It doesn’t get any better than that.
MR: Who else would you like to go on tour with?
SH: [laughs] Sting, U2, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones–these little bands, you know?
MR: Yes, those up-and-comers, we wish them well. Guys, I wish you well too, this has been a lot of fun. Thanks so much.
LS & SH: Thank you, thanks.
Transcribed by Ryan Gaffney