Our resident DJ discovers it's fun to mess with Designer Drugs.

In the 1980s, grunge kids were the coolest thing around, while the 1990s had the ravers and the noughties had the indie hipsters. These days it seems the ultimate in cool are skinny electro kids from New York wielding synthesisers.
Kids such as Designer Drugs, aka Michael Patrick and Theodore Nelson, who appear regularly at Ruff Club, New York City’s sleaziest electro party, and who’ll be the latest electro act to appear at Volar when they hit the decks on March 5.

They offer huge, synth-driven club electro in the vein of the Bloody Beetroots and Boys Noize, with a dose of dirtied-up Giorgio Morodor 70s disco. They’re not ashamed about their love for pop music – the more electronic, the better – and have also spoken about the influence of noisy guitar bands including My Bloody Valentine.

Designer Drugs had a busy 2009, playing more than 100 shows around the world and producing 23 remixes for cool labels including Kitsune and Dim Mak – and also more commercial artists including Mariah Carey. Some people would see a contradiction here, but not Designer Drugs, who say it’s all about the Benjamins.

“My philosophy has always been based on dynamics,” says Patrick ahead of the Hong Kong show. “I believe that objects that lie on the opposite ends of social acceptance tend to resemble each other. Some people think business and art have nothing in common, but understanding both is key to realisation.

“We love a challenge and we also love money so there is a line,” continues Patrick, “but it's on a sliding scale attached to a price tag.” He adds that remixes for the likes of Flo Rida and Nelly Furtado are in the pipeline.

Designer Drugs have also benefited from their association with IHeartComix, a hip music/comic blog and record label which is also home to masked electro fiend the Toxic Avenger. The label released their killer debut single, Zombies, around Halloween last year and is now preparing to release their first artist album.

Of the upcoming record, Patrick says: “It hopefully will encompass banging electro with something for everyone. We have some punk rock songs, love songs, pop songs, rap songs, piano interludes and other various assorted weird shit. I think overall it makes sense but it is definitely dynamic and has our signature touch on each track.”

As their name suggests, the boys are notorious for their love of a good time and their press release exclaims “you haven’t partied until you’ve partied with Designer Drugs”. So exactly what kind of a party can Hong Kong expect from the New Yorkers?

As an example: “After a party recently these girls tied Theo up in the hotel room and were rubbing pizza on his balls. It was the craziest shit I’ve ever seen.”

Michael Patrick (as Designer Drugs) play Volar on Friday 5.