P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) make some of the most entertaining music on the scene today. Hailing from Montreal, Quebec, the duo met as childhood friends, and share an encyclopedic knowledge of the rap game. Dave is also the older brother of A-Trak (Alain Macklovitch), arguably the best DJ on the planet, winning international DMC battles as early as 15 years old. To boot, they bill themselves as the only successful Jewish/Arab collaboration since the time of Christ.

Their breakout album, Fancy Footwork, was actually the band’s second, launching the duo into the indie forefront, with songs like the disco-tinged “Bonafied Lovin” and “Momma’s Boy,” which sees P-Thugg and Dave 1 at their most Hall & Oates. Their next release, Business Casual (out September 14^th), seeks to take the funk to the next level.

While they’re currently on the road in support of the new record, I got to talk to P-Thugg about what it means to work, and bear the vision, in the music world.

Chromeo is set to perform this Friday night (July 30^th) at the House of Blues with Neon Indian.

– Matt Rohr

Hey P thank you for joining me. So, do you like Boston?

I love BAHston, Jammin’ 94.5 guy! (laughs) But tough loss for the Celtics this year, I hate the Lakers, and all west coast sports teams. Don’t talk to me about west coast sports.

Well, talk to me about the new album, Business Casual. Personally, your last album Fancy Footwork, was a huge favorite of mine, can we expect a direction shift, or anything different?

Basically the new record is kind of like Fancy Footwork. We took two of the directions we already had, and accentuated them. There’s still a lot of fundamental funk and electro, but with some more dramatic shifts– kind of like electronic Parliament. You’re gonna get straight ahead funk, but at the opera. It’s a little tough to describe, but you can rest assured that the funk element is still very much present.

It’s just a bit more musical. The other kind of direction we took, was late 70’s style piano chord progressions and some more two-part harmonies. We did a lot of work on piano. Really, the whole record was written on piano and vocoder. Our thought was that if our songs could survive on such a simple framework, then we’d be able to really develop and gel our ideas better. That’s how you find your winners.

Certainly, a lot of funk is based upon a jam, or a groove, so this approach really must have opened some new doors for you guys.

Absolutely, there’s always a loner on the album too. Last album, it was “Momma’s Boy.” The song was still very much Chromeo, but we always try to include something a little different to keep things from heading too much down one direction. That’s always tough with the funk.

What has it been like working with someone you met and have been friends with since a young age? It must have been difficult wading through the younger, less focused years, and still standing together to do something you guys love.

Well I think the key is what you just said; it really is something we love to do. It’s easy to get distracted when you set yourself some goals, and then aren’t 100% convinced on what it is you’re doing. You get a couple of riffs together and book gigs, and you start to think, well, maybe I should just get a 9-to-5 and get married. But if you fiend for it when you wake up in the morning, and all you wanna do is get to your piano. I think that’s the key, the true love. And as far as being a duo, when you wake up every day, for the last 20 years, and you have someone who is digging the exact same stuff, all the time. That’s where the magic happens. Something will give at some point. It’s hard work and it’s definitely not easy, but if you have the vision, it will happen.

I know Dave-1 is a professor of French Literature at Columbia, and I believe is pursuing his PhD as well, but has there ever been anything in your life that you’ve tried following like that?

Music is my full-time job, especially when Dave is in school. I take care of more of the day-to-day things that a band needs to do, the blogging, the maintenance, the bill paying.  That basically takes up all my time. I’m more of a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy, not really a scholar. I was a travel agent, and I was an accountant, which I went to school for. I used to make didgeridoos and sell them. I even used to make gold fronts and sell those too.  I grew up in an immigrant family with a strong business sense, so we did everything we could to pull in money. At times, it was kind of all over the place. And it kind of carried over to my music. You know, if you have a clear vision, and you can taste and see what you want to make, then you can turn your music into that product, that didge, or those fronts.

So what’s on repeat these days?

Hm, let me open my iTunes…. Oh yeah, I just got Big Boi’s new album, and it’s pretty sweet. Also, a lot of Boz Scaggs. I’m an early hip-hop and funk guy. A lot of Zappa too.

So the ultimate question then must be, how important is to stay Business Casual?

Incredibly important. Business Casual is definitely the way to be.