Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Fly By Midnight

Following a successful co-writing session, songwriter Justin Bryte and producer-songwriter Slavo decided to join forces and form Fly By Midnight. Since then, they’ve done things on their terms, owning the entire creative process. They’ve built a dedicated fanbase with hits including “Vinyl”, “Vibe”, and “You Belong”. They’ve performed at popular music festivals like Firefly and Panorama, and been featured in Forbes, Billboard, Apple’s A-List Pop, and Spotify’s NMF. This week, they dropped their highly-anticipated new single, “I Need You More Than You Want Me”, and we sat down with the guys to chat all about it.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Slavo: When I was nine, my brother got a drum set. I remember I spent the entire next year talking with my mom; I said, “He got a drum set! What am I going to get?” It was a jealousy thing, which is funny. [laughs] That’s how I got into music. At ten, I got a guitar and it all started then. Eventually, I played in a rock band with my brother and then moved to New York. It transitioned into pop pretty quickly from there.

Justin: My background started in theatre. I was definitely the theatre geek in high school. Similarly to Slavo, I fell in love with pop and writing original music. I was intrigued by writing, and that’s what brought us together.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your careers?
Slavo: I grew up on Billy Joel. My mom was obsessed with him. He’s had a big influence on me and my songwriting.

Justin: Both Slavo and I have a lot of retro influences, from ’70s bands and artists like The Hornets and Elton John to ’80s bands like Toto and The Outfield.

Slavo: We’re also big fans of Styx and The Eagles.

PC: You guys have had a lot of success in your careers. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Slav: I was just thinking about this today! We did this international songwriting competition and out of thousands and thousands of applicants, we won first place for our song “Vinyl”. It was a cool moment in our career to be recognized for our songwriting and artistry.

Justin: Slavo and I operate in a similar way; we’re constantly on to the next thing. We’re not great about taking in our accomplishments whenever they happen.

Slavo: Lately for me, it’s been cool that we’ve been able to push Fly By Midnight forward as an artistic project and still find success writing for other artists. We didn’t anticipate for this to pick up as much as it has, but we’ve been able to find a nice balance. It’s a relatively new thing for us, but we’ve been able to excel at both. That’s been one of my favorite things lately.

PC: You guys have a new single out. Tell us about “I Need You More Than You Want Me” and what inspired the track.
Slavo: We wrote the song in L.A. with writer-producer Alessandro, who actually worked with us on “Waking Up” as well. Similarly to “Just Say It”, we wanted to tell a heartbreak message in a unique way. At the time, we were both in good spots in terms of our love lives, so it didn’t really match the tone then, but I think it’s super relatable. It’s about being more passionate towards someone than they are with you and dealing with that.

Justin: When we came up with the line, “I need you more than you want me,” it really hit home. Although we were in happy relationships, we’ve both been in that spot where we’ve wanted someone more than they’ve wanted us. It’s a relatable feeling. It’s a song with a serious concept, but you can dance to it, too. It’s one of those dance and cry songs. [laughs]

PC: It’s a song off your sophomore album, which in many ways represents a new chapter in your career. What can you tell us about this next stage?
Slavo: Yeah! We’re still working on a lot of the music for it. We have songs and collaborations that we’re so excited about. We’ve matured in our music and this next wave feels like a whole other level, both in our writing and sonically. We’re in a really good spot and we feel good about it.

Justin: We’re really fortunate that we have fans that appreciate how consistently we put music out. We have a lot of songs already in the pipeline for the next couple of months, like Slavo eluded to. We also have a really exciting collaboration that we’re 99% positive will come out—it’s another game changer for us. We’ve been really grateful to be working in the L.A. music scene and also taking it back to our home base in New York. We have some really exciting people on this next record. We want to continue to develop our sound. We’re working with people that we never expected to at this stage in our career.

PC: If you had to pick one song that best encompasses Fly By Midnight, what would it be and why?
Slavo: That’s a good question. I think it has to be “You Belong”. It’s the first song that not only led to a string of success, but also resonated with the two of us from all standpoints.

Justin: Being that we’re very hands on creatively, it feels like we’ve outgrown a lot of the older tracks, but “You Belong” is one we haven’t outgrown. It’s such a strong song that we love playing live. We wrote it together and Slavo produced and mixed it. It’s had success from day one, which was eye-opening for us. We realized that we could do this ourselves and still find success—it was a huge confidence boost.

PC: What are some of the benefits and challenges of being an independent band?
Justin: There are definitely a lot of pros and cons. We’re in this routine where we’re releasing music whenever we want. We’re tied to the visuals, so we’re painting this story for our fans any way that we want. We don’t have to go through any other channel or get any permissions from anyone. On the negative side, we’re getting to this point in our career where we have so many things going on that it can feel very overwhelming at times—we’ve seen that in the past year. There have been extreme highs and these victories, but there are also these moments where we’re frustrated because there is a lot going on. I think we’re approaching this pivotal moment in our career, and we’re excited to take the next step!

PC: What’s one thing that you guys know now that you wish you knew when you started Fly By Midnight?
Slavo: That’s a good question. I like that.

Justin: That’s awesome.

Slavo: It’s hard to find people you trust. We’re so hands on, so it’s difficult to hand over our baby to someone else and say, “Hey, can you work on this? Can you take this to the next step?” Luckily, we’ve found a group of people now that we really trust and can rely on.

Justin: For sure! I would also say to trust the process. I feel like early on, Slavo and I were invited to a lot of big meetings, which we were extremely grateful for. We made a bunch of connections early on, but a lot of things didn’t come to fruition. You got to let your music speak for itself. We’re constantly growing. I wish I could have told my younger self to keep making the best music of your life and don’t over-stress everything.

PC: You guys have been a band for several years. What’s one thing fans would be surprised to learn about the other?
Slavo: That’s hysterical.

Justin: With social media, we try to put everything out there. We’re friends and we’re brothers, so we see each other a lot. [laughs] We don’t always agree. My tattoo artist actually asked me recently, “You guys look so happy all the time. Do you ever fight?” I was like, “Believe me, more than you know!” Not in a bad way; it’s part of a healthy relationship. I think fans would be surprised to learn that we fight, but we’re human beings.

Slavo: We fight and then we get along. We’re brothers. We’re with each other every single day. We definitely get under each other’s skin, but not as much lately.

Justin. Yeah. We should probably fight after this interview. [laughs]

Slavo: Definitely! We’ll keep you updated.

PC: You guys have two shows coming up in New York and Los Angeles. What can fans expect when they head to a Fly By Midnight show?
Slavo: The one thing that we always have is a lot of energy. We leave it all on the stage whenever we’re performing and love getting the crowd involved in all aspects.

Justin: Since the beginning, our live show isn’t where you’ll just hear one song after another. We have a lot of interludes and different versions of live tracks that we incorporate. It’s a completely different experience from listening to songs on Spotify, which excites us! It’s a completely different passion of ours.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Slavo: Kim Petras

Justin: Yeah, Kim Petras…and Olivia Newton John

PC: First album you ever bought?
Slavo: I would say 50 Cent.

Justin: Hilary Duff’s Metamorphosis.

Slavo: [Laughs]

Justin: Those were dark times. [Laughs]

PC: First concert you attended?
Slavo: The Eagles in Florida.

Justin: I don’t think I saw a concert when I was younger. [laughs]

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Slavo: Blink-182’s Enema of the State. There were so many good songs and melodies.

Justin: Backstreet Boys’ Millennium. It was a pop smash and it geared me towards pop music.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Slavo: Madison Square Garden

Justin: That or Barclay’s Center. Those are two great east coast venues where we’ve seen great acts.

PC: A must-have on tour?
Slavo: Red Bull or coffee.

Justin: Definitely any form of caffeine!

Slavo: We go through a lot of Red Bull, especially if we’re on tour. If it’s after five, you can throw in some vodka.

PC: Someone you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
Slavo: Jon Bellion! He’s from the east coast and he always thinks outside the box when creating music.

To keep up with Fly By Midnight, follow them on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up “I Need You More Than You Want Me” on Amazon Music, iTunes, or stream it on Spotify.