EXCLUSIVE: CelebMix chats with pop's hottest new duo ACXO

ACXO is the brand new project from Adam Parker and Cliff Lynch, who you may recognise from boyband Roman Road. We introduced you to the band last year however, since then they’ve taken a hiatus with Adam and Cliff now focusing on a new genre.

From boyband stars to pop’s hottest new duo, ACXO look set to bring a new edge to the music industry. They are currently working hard behind the scenes to perfect their debut release, which will channel an electro-pop, Chainsmokers vibe. They blew us away during their time in Roman Road, so we’re anticipating even bigger things as they continue to experiment with their sound.

We caught up with Adam and Cliff to get the lowdown on their exciting new project, life as a duo, questionable song titles and all things Fortnite. Check it out below.

Hey Cliff and Adam, welcome back to CelebMix! Last time we spoke to you, you were part of boyband Roman Road but now you’re about to take on an exciting new adventure as duo ACXO. Can you tell us a little about your new project?

Cliff: Hey CelebMix, thank you for having us back again. So many exciting things have happened since our last interview.

Adam: As you can see we are a few short this time (looks around laughing).

Cliff: It’s just the two of us… (sings).

Adam: So a lot has happened since we last spoke. Obviously everyone knows us as the guys from Roman Road and now it’s just me and Cliff on our new music venture.

Cliff: It’s very exciting! It does feel weird without the other lads being here, but me and Adam have always had a very similar taste in music, so it felt natural to continue as a duo and move in that direction and give people another insight to our other musical influences.

We hear that you’re going down a Chainsmokers type route with your new music. What do you love the most about that kind of scene?

Adam: I’m a massive Chainsmokers fan, their music and success speaks for itself.

Cliff: I think pop music has changed a lot over the past decade, even more so over the last few years on the mainstream scene. DJs, electro pop and dance are the in thing at the minute.

Adam: It’s definitely the current trend in chart music, especially the top 40. The majority of music in the top ten is heavily influenced by the dance genre, so it was a good opportunity for us to show off some of our other styles which we couldn’t do as much in Roman Road.

Cliff: One of the exciting new aspects of ACXO is the chance to collaborate and work with a variety of artists on our new songs.

When can we expect to hear new music from you?

Cliff: In a couple of years if you are lucky (laughs).

Adam: That’s how good our music is (laughs).

Cliff: We are currently working with German music producer Fabian Faupel on a bunch of new songs… I so just named dropped there, but he is pretty awesome!

Adam: Fabian is super talented and the style of music we are writing, is his bread and butter, so we make the perfect songwriting team.

Cliff: He also lives in Paris, so it’s pretty cool when we get to fly out to France on a songwriting binge or recording.

Adam: We are currently writing our first song for the EP, which should be ready for a release this summer.

Can you let us in on a little lyric teaser?

Cliff: Oooh we can definitely let you in on some of the ridiculous song title ideas we had!

Adam: Are we really gonna do this? (laughs)

Cliff: So let’s see we had Karma with a backwards K- how Coooool (sarcastic). This one is actually genuine….“YOU NO LONGER TWEET ME”

Adam: (laughing) oh god!

Cliff: I’m guessing that was about Demi Lovato not replying to my tweets (wink face).

Adam: Just for the record these were Cliff’s crazy ideas (laughs) I like going for more simple or catchy ideas.

Cliff: “Simple like Simon”, there you go Adam add that to your list mate!

Adam: Just writing it in the diary (on phone)

Having been working as a band of four/five for the last few years, how are you finding life as a duo so far?

Cliff: I certainly have more hair spray that’s for sure!

Adam: I’m still the last to get up in the morning, nothing has changed there.

Cliff: Not much has changed in terms of routine. We still do most things the same- Curry nights, songwriting sessions, shoots etc.

Adam: When we were in the band, we’d do songwriting sessions separately most times. It would be like 2am and I’d get a voice note from Cliff with a new song idea or melody arrangement. We found it easier to write in pairs and then bring the ideas together. Now me and Cliff bounce ideas off each other and it’s a lot more free flowing that way.

Cliff: Another good song title there Adam, “free flowing”.

Adam: I’d love to have your brain for an hour…

Cliff: …Borrow it for two and write a new song (winks)… but I guess the one thing that was new, was having less people on stage and not having people on either side of me. It’s just me and Adam now, like the new Ant and Dec.

Adam: We don’t stand in order or anything, plus we never stay still on stage anyway.

We love the name ACXO, it’s edgy and fresh. Were there any other names on the drawing board? How did you settle for this one?

Adam: Oh no we are back on the name game again (facepalm).

Cliff: Me and Adam spent about a week running through hundreds of names and ideas.

Adam: We wanted something current and edgy, that would make people question the meaning behind it.

Cliff: We also wanted something that would reflect the type of style we were going for. So FFAD (ferrari for a day) and Stole the Show, seemed a little too rock band or punk for us.

You previously mentioned The Chainsmokers as musical influences, who else is inspiring you in the industry right now?

Cliff: One of my favourite singers at the moment is Post Malone. I think the guy is extremely talented and very humble. He is mixing all his influences into one big sound and it’s totally working for him.

Adam: We also love Bruno Mars and Kygo. Kygo is probably the most successful DJ at the moment. He is making big movements.

Cliff: We also love our pop music. Backstreet Boys just released a banger of a tune. It’s so good to see a band like them who’s been going for 25 years and still breaking charts, it’s very encouraging for singers like us.

What is your ultimate goal for ACXO?

Adam: I think quite simply just to make good music that people love and tour the World doing it.

Cliff: We’d not long finished our last tour with Roman Road before the hiatus, so we’ve definitely got the buzz to get back out there and show off our new music with everybody.

Adam: We are currently writing and recording the new EP, so finishing that and then focusing on another tour will be the next step. We’ve also got some collaborations lined up so it’s going to be a very busy time for us over the next few months.

You’ve done a lot of performing in the past, whether that be at London Pride or on school tours. What do you enjoy the most about performing?

Cliff: Performing and being on the road is the biggest buzz ever. Waking up in a new city and doing what you love, you can’t really top it.

Adam: We loved performing around the UK. We got to see some great places and meet some amazing people. It’s always a great feeling when someone appreciates your music and we are very grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Cliff: One of the best feelings for any singer is hearing a crowd sing your songs back to you. I remember we performed one show and the crowd were absolutely insane- I don’t think any of us slept that evening, total adrenaline rush.

Do you have any upcoming performances lined up?

Adam: At the minute it’s the studio, recordings and song writing for us. We have a trip planned to Paris to record then back to London for a couple of other shows.

Cliff: Then it will be a summer of promo for the new single.

Obviously you’ve been busy working on your music, but what do you enjoy doing in your spare time? We hear that Cliff is a big Fortnite fan…

Cliff: (laughing) you’ve seen our insta posts then!? One of the coolest things we learnt from touring, the school tours in particular, was you got to find out all the latest trends, and Fortnite was one word that sprang up every show.

Adam: We had no idea what Fortnite was or what they were referring to.

Cliff: Then we jumped on the hype, and now we are down with the kids (gesture). I still haven’t ever won a “victory royale” though. Where’s my slurp juice at!

Adam: Other than our fortnite evenings, we enjoy watching the football and normal lad things. I’m an Arsenal Fan and Cliff is Chelsea.

Cliff: At least we got a cup this year, Adam was excited when Wenger left. He actually phoned his mum to tell her mid performance of a show.

For anyone who’s yet to hear about ACXO, why should they check you out?

Adam: Because if they don’t check us out, Cliff will cut off all of his pretty hair!

Cliff: I definitely didn’t agree to this but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Adam: It’s going to be great opportunity for us to share something new with everybody. Our music is going to have an element of everything, hopefully for everyone to enjoy, with a variety of different influences including collaborations, so it’s always got a hint of fresh to it.

Finally, do you have a message for your loyal fans?

Adam: You guys are the BEST!

Cliff: Honestly the support and love from the fans, family and friends since the beginning has been amazing. We are extremely grateful and overwhelmed for everything they have done. Our music is our thank you to you, so keep supporting and stay tuned for some exciting music. Much love…#acxoarmy

Thank you to ACXO for their time. We can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeve for us.

Make sure you follow them on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news.

Are you excited to hear what ACXO have in store? Let us know on Twitter @CelebMix

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