Belfast is a happy breeding ground for madness and chaos. We celebrate our failures while ensuring our renowned keep their feet firmly on the ground. If Belfast didn’t laugh we would all drown in tears. So its no surprise these two tune monkeys have taken their exchange with a pinch of salt.

Do not let their inane ramblings fool you, this pair have some serious musical chops. Defcon didn’t get into the musical illuminati without breaking some hard funk/jazz/bass eggs. Both these loons have excellent musical skills and together along with Kab Driver have started Belfast’s first super group. Their jam sessions are legendary, sometimes lasting weeks at a time, and one day they will do a gig to some public humans.

Aside from stretching their jazz brains to the max, they also boast releases & remix work for Boxcutter’s Kinnego Records, Reset Industries, Planet Mu and Rudimentary Records. On this exchange they deliver up a classic mixtape style adventure with a few slices of Jazz, Funk, hip hop and a snippet form one of those secret recording sessions.

• Defcon: Alright m8??

  Ken & Ryu: Well.

• Defcon: Right, I'll make with the questions. Serious business - Frost vs. Nixon.

  Ken & Ryu: That makes me Nixon? Class...

• Defcon: Do your parents rate your tunes??

  Ken & Ryu: My mum doesn't even know I make music apart from the bands I'm in, and if it doesn't involve blues rock or Jazz fusion me Da doesn't want to know! He thinks electronic music is jumped-up ringtones. I might try spoofing him that I've sampled Stevie Wonder on some trax, might get more love.

• Defcon: My Mum says all my tunes are next-level. On balance, I would say she's bang right.

  Ken & Ryu: Nah, definitely not! She just doesn't wanna vex her little soldier.

• Defcon: Let's leave the Mother chat there, shall we??  Gonna make a quick admission at this point - I don't have any real questions, per se... So... Speak me some words about pop music. 

  Ken & Ryu: I'm really interested in the bizarre tryst between pop music/culture and 'underground' sounds (regardless of genre), especially when as 'underground' people we're almost obliged to rail against the pop world for its lack of integrity and innovation. Granted, the vast majority of Radio 1 pop is dire, vapid dross, but a well-constructed pop number is a wonder to behold and all of it has its roots in a previously 'underground' sound. I also like reading into the potential conspiratorial nature of proliferating base themes and culture to maintain a servile proletariat. Check Katy Perry's Dark Horse tune and vid for some heavy Illuminati references.

• Defcon: I’m in the illuminati. Believe me, there’s nothing untoward going on - all we do is drink, play poker and like each others tunes on soundcloud... But enough monkeying around! Time for some serious questions.

  Picture the Scene - the original Ken & Ryu from Street Fighter give up martial arts to pursue their lifelong dream of becoming globe-trotting producer bros. What sort of music do they make? And is it any good??

  Ken & Ryu: It would be amazing mate! A sound somewhere between Teddy Riley and Tangerine dream. A blissful milieu of cosmic space travel soundtrack jamz...

• “My Mum says all my tunes are next-level”.

• Defcon: Sorry, but I couldn’t disagree more - these are two men who spend their free time down at the docks kicking the shit out of cars for fun - they don't want want to hear a load of old wishy-washy, synthy hogwash! I reckon they'd make the kind of chart-worrying hi-NRG dance muzak you hear in gyms, with loads of auto-tuned pop diva vox and stadium-sized EDM riffs thrown on. Ryu does everything, Ken mostly just stands behind the mixer with his arms in the air waiting for the drop so he can take his shirt off.

  Ken & Ryu: Ken is a thug through and through, fair enough - but such macho 'sports bro' vibes are well channeled into swingin' riddims. Ryu is a renaissance man, with a bag full of synth chops. A perfect combo!