We spoke to DJ duo Testpress as they prepare to headline TRNSMT’s Boogie Bar for the second time

From Manchester to Ibiza and then back to Glasgow DJ duo  t e s t p r e s s  are gearing their decks to headline the Boogie Bar at TRNSMT for the second time on 9 July. When the boys performed the same slot back in 2021 they attracted a bulging crowd that stretched through Glasgow Green and moved in ecstatic waves against the music. Since then, they have evolved as individuals and thus, artists. They have ventured down new avenues and experimented with different genres, ultimately elevating their creative ability. They have met artists from all corners of the world who have introduced them to fresh sounds and encouraged them to challenge their musical philosophies. They have gone full time in their endeavour, cancelling outside responsibilities and moving their passions for producing and performing to the forefront of priority. If that was the show they could deliver two years ago, the prospect of this year’s set is even more exciting.

Fraser Whalen and Dan Leggett met at a night club in Aberdeen as teenagers, the city they both grew up in. How  t e s t p r e s s  came to be could be considered a happy accident. Fraser had lent Dan equipment to use over the summer whilst he was in Ibiza and when he returned to collect it the pair partook in an impromptu jam. From this session it was evident they were musically and socially compatible, and so they took a break from their solo endeavours and formed an official alliance. After securing a residency at Sub Club the pair relocated to Glasgow where they still reside today.

Chatting about the duo’s upcoming TRNSMT performance, Fraser said: “We’re so looking forward to it after headlining in 2021, this is out first time back so we can’t wait. It became one of the most iconic things that we’ve ever put on our Instagram. We re-uploaded it the other day to announce we were playing TRNSMT again and everyone was like ‘oh my god that was the best video ever’ because the crowd are just bouncing up and down. We’re looking forward to seeing that again hopefully. We’ll put on a show don’t worry.

“As DJs we don’t particularly tend to plan set, we go by crowd vibes. Obviously if you’re there and you play a song and people aren’t feeling it as much you can tell so you can switch it up. It’s more of a journey, it’s more fun that way rather than planning it, but sometimes I guess with the bigger crowds you always kind of want to have your moments that you know are going to work.

“We’ve been making lots of new music recently; we managed to recently go full time. I used to work at End Clothing on Ingram Street and I managed to quit so we’ve been able to spend a lot more time in the studio to prepare and make lots of fun new music.

“Our creative process can be different every time, I think what we tend to do is Dan will find a vocal, an a Capella from somewhere. Or I’ll come up with a symph line and then we just go from there and it starts to flow and flow and flow. We work quite fast as producers, we don’t really spend like months on end on one track. We’ll kind of like make a track in a day and then the next day we’ll make another track. We have made everything from house to techno to break beat. We’ve made a couple of garage songs, we’ve made a bunch of different things. I think now we’ve kind of settled more on the euro dance, sort of trance sound.”

Dan said: “Just need a little practice beforehand and we’ll get the crowd to do the same things as last time. Normally we’ll just make a tune in a day. Just sit down, from A to B to C, and do it straight through. But we are trying to add a little bit more thought and time into it. Especially with Fraser’s dance stuff, it’s quite a Capella driven. It’s more work for me sitting on YouTube though. It’s super fun.”