If past experiences are anything to go by, it’s easy to see why house hot-steppers Obskür are “absolutely buzzing” to be on the bill for Longitude. The Dublin duo, consisting of Faustas Astrauskas (Fausto) and Lorcan McCarthy, have fond memories of Marlay Park, having closed out a swelling Heineken Stage in 2022.

“We were a bit on the fence,” says Fausto. “Because we were clashing with Dave on the main stage,– but the place was packed.”

“I was nervous,” adds Lorcan. “We were just starting to break out and I remember thinking, ‘Nobody’s going to show up’. When we walked out and the tent was full, I was blown away.”

The packed tent was emblematic of things to come, not only in terms of the pair’s success, but as an indicator of Irish youth’s insatiable appetite for EDM. A glance at this year’s Longitude line-up suggests organisers are leaning more towards dance music, with an impressive array of homegrown acts in the ranks.

“It’s fantastic, it reflects a lot of what’s going on in Ireland at the moment,” comments Lorcan. “There’s more of a culture in Dublin now. You’ve got Index reopening and booking some of the biggest acts in the world. You see a lot more locals headlining. There’s Irish names like BLK who did the 3Arena, as well as Belters Only. Dance music has a strong hold on the market and that shows where the country stands.”

Obskür’s return to the Heineken Stage two years on is a case in point. What’s the secret to their partnership?

“We try to be in as many studio sessions as possible, which is not always easy as it’s expensive in Dublin,” says Lorcan. “When we’re not in the studio, we’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other. We fire projects back and forth on FL Studio until there’s something that we’re happy with.

“We’ve been mates for 10 years – so we’ve got that chemistry. The longer you know someone, the easier it is to make music with them. If there’s something good we build on it, and if someone has a bad idea, we’ll say it to each other.”
“Our tastes are similar,” adds Fausto. “We’ve always listened to the same stuff.”

Their musical interests stretch into the past, evident in their recent remix of Depeche Mode’s ‘People Are Good’, from the electro-pop legends’ 2023 LP Memento Mori.

“It was huge,” notes Lorcan of the opportunity. “Growing up, my dad played them a lot and it really influenced me, so it meant a lot in our family. It was a nice full circle moment. We wanted to make sure the value of the original track was still there. We had to balance bringing our own sound to it without changing the original idea, while also making it suitable for our sets.”

In addition to Longitude, the tune will be getting a spin in some of the world’s party capitals this summer, as the lads gear up for shows in Malta, Croatia and the US. With an Ibiza residency thrown in for good measure, it’s important, I’m told, to remain professional amidst the hedonistic allure.

“At the very start, when things were beginning to kick off, we burnt out a little,” reveals Fausto. “Catching a flight after two hours sleep isn’t exactly the greatest feeling in the world. You have your fun, but you have to learn to limit yourself and rest up for your next gig. I think we kind of copped onto ourselves early on. Obviously you enjoy it, it’s the best job in the world – but sometimes, you still have to treat it like a job.”

• Obskür play Longitude on Sunday