Having been confirmed to warm-up for Les Petits Pilous on the 18th of July, the Squadron crew met up with Jay Zinga and Jon Sterling, collectively known as Mathematikal. The duo are considered to be one of Malta's hottest talent, and their fast growing popularity has already earned them International appearances in London, Milan and France. Before they spread their Plonk style on the dance-floor at Squadron, Mathematikal tell us about their main influences, styles and more...

For those who don’t know, tell us more about Mathematikal...

Mathematikal is Jay Zinga, and Jon Sterling. Before coming together to collectively produce music, we'd been around the 'Maltese music scene', as members of various different bands. We were eventually introduced to each other by Temple Studios' David Vella, and we then started playing together as members of the same funk-rock band. That lasted a couple of years. In 2006, whilst we were both living in London and Brighton UK, we were introduced to Erol Alkan, the TRASH and Bugged Out at The End nights. That was the time when we decided to bring all of our funk, rock and dance music influences to the boil and that, in turn, gave rise to us as 'Mathematikal'.

We know you've both been involved in some rock bands before, however what triggered the idea of producing electronic music?

Jay: As the guys at Squadron know, I myself have been DJ-ing individually, under different monikers, since before the birth of Mathematikal. I've always played synths, and my role within our old band was the synth player and 'turntablist'. I come from a family which is particularly fond of music, and I was introduced to 'the beat' at a very early age, through my Uncle's Michael Jackson record collection, and my older cousin's synthesizers.

Jon: Being a bass player, I've always been a fan of funk and disco. I'm also a fan of indie and early french house. You can find awesome basslines everywhere, from indie, to rock to hip hop to Electro. I've always been into music, irrespective of the genre.

Which artists have influenced you?

Jay: Moroder, Michael Jackson, Subsonica have all been significant influences. We certainly cannot hide the fact that we remain influenced by rock music, and the synth/bass ‘riffage’ on our tracks bears witness to that. Bands like Led Zeppelin and Guns n’ Roses, which I still listen to very regularly today, have certainly left their mark on us.

Jon: George Clinton, Bootsy, Fred Falke, Michael Jackson, Giorgio Moroder & Red hot Chili Peppers.

You recently played at Festival Nuits Sonores '09 in France, how did it feel like to play along side the likes of The Proxy?

Playing Nuits Sonores with The Proxy was a great experience.  The venue was huge and the atmosphere very intense.  Given the magnitude of the gig, we got a bit tense before our performance, but our French friends in Lyon made sure we loosened up.  It turned out to be a great gig, we got some great responses (The Proxy also turned out to be a really cool guy).  Both Nuits Sonores ’09 and Transmusicales de Rennes in ’08 have been very significant milestones for Mathematikal.   

We call it rave... you call it plonk! This genre is still in its infancy in Malta, where do you see it going?

Well, in all honesty, this is a genre which could go ‘out’ as easily as it came ‘in’. Although producers like Boys Noize, Les Petits Pilous, Brodinski, D.I.M. and The Bloody Beetroots are achieving ongoing success across Europe, the US, and Australia, everyone seems to be realizing that unless we, the musicians, promoters and all relevant parties constantly re-invent ourselves, people will get bored and the hype will die. I’m sure that, as Mathematikal and together with the crews from Squadron, The Devil Digs Rave, DonDisko and The Mothership, we’ll be trying our best to keep it going, and as fresh as possible, for as long as possible.

The difficult question... your favorite top 5 tracks at the moment?

Jay: They change all the time, but most played on my iPod the moment are, in no order:

Faith No More – Epic
Guns n’ Roses – You Could Be Mine
DatA feat, Sebastien Granger – One in a Million
Jay Z – D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)
Pony Pony Run Run – Hey You (Mathematikal Remix)

Jon: Shit, I hate this question. My most played vary according to mood but right now it's:

Tonight - Yuksek
To Hell with Gravity - Just a band
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
Listzomania - Phoenix
Thriller - Michael Jackson

If you had the luxury to choose two artists to collaborate with, who would they be?

Jay: Justin Timberlake, and if people could really come back from the dead, J Dilla (R.I.P).

Jon: Pharrell and Bloc Party

You'll be performing a live show, warming-up for the famous French duo Les Petits Pilous from BoysNoize Records on the 18th of July, how excited are you? any surprises in store?

We’re very looking forward to the performance. We actually had had a few online chats with Jean-Pat and Pacey, before they got signed to Boys Noize/Kitsune and we had imagined it would be cool sharing a stage some day. You guys are making that possible, so props for that. We’ll be giving it our best shot.