There’s a certain alchemy that happens when feeling meets frequency — when a lyric aches for yesterday, but the beat insists on right now. That’s where Two Friends and Quinn XCII find their pulse on “Way It Was,” an emotionally charged dance track that feels like sunlight through old film stock: warm, flickering, impossible not to move to.

First teased at Lollapalooza to a roaring sea of fans and a pyro-drone spectacle that lit the sky with a flaming saxophone (yes, really), the single has already cemented itself as a defining moment of the duo’s live set — that rare blend of adrenaline and nostalgia that hits somewhere between euphoria and memory.

Built on Two Friends’ trademark high-octane production and Quinn XCII’s sharp, sentimental storytelling, “Way It Was” doesn’t just drop — it glows. It’s the kind of track that rewinds your timeline in 4K: first loves, late nights, the taste of something you can’t get back but still dance to anyway.

“We’ve been fans of Quinn for years,” the duo says. “This collab just clicked. It’s reflective but electric — a song that remembers while it celebrates.”

For Quinn XCII, the emotional core runs deep. “It’s about the good old days you don’t realize you’re living until they’re gone,” he says — a feeling that’s both universal and painfully specific to a generation raised between VHS and TikTok, between mixtapes and streaming drops.

With “Way It Was,” Two Friends prove that the drop doesn’t have to erase the story — it can amplify it. The result is a pop-dance hybrid that burns with sincerity and moves with precision: nostalgia you can dance to, catharsis you can shout.

MUNDANE: First things first — what’s the story behind “Way It Was”? How did this room come together?

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): Long time coming. Our fans have been yelling “do something with Quinn XCII!” for years. We finally lined it up, got in the room, and it clicked.

QUINN XCII (Mike): I actually brought a song I’d written for my album. It leaned… country (I know). Didn’t fit my project, but the topline felt special. I took the vocal to Matt and Eli at Matt’s parents’ house — the OG HQ — and they rebuilt the track from the ground up into this big, anthemic dance record. Rare move, but it worked.

MUNDANE: The title says it all: nostalgia, but with bass. What’s the emotional center?

QUINN XCII: It’s about those “firsts” — buying booze, first love, that anxious joy before everything changes. I kept thinking of that “Office” line: “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” That’s the song’s spine.

MUNDANE: On the Two Friends side — you’re storytellers in a genre that often goes for instant reaction. How did you thread that needle?

TWO FRIENDS (Matt): We love capital-S “songs” — verse, pre, hook — but we also DJ to crowds who need lift-off in seconds. The goal was to keep Mike’s narrative and still build a drop that explodes live. That balance is the job.

MUNDANE: Be honest: any creative friction?

QUINN XCII: Only at the finish line. I sent a voice memo like, “Love it… but the drop isn’t bouncing.”

TWO FRIENDS (Matt): Producer brain decoded it as “more motion.” We added crisp hi-hats and slight percussion tweaks. Suddenly the whole thing glued.

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): Funny twist: the live version drops the hats so our sax can scream the melody. The Spotify version keeps them for the ride.

MUNDANE: Speaking of sax — there’s pyrotechnics involved?

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): Our guy Casey plays the hook on sax. Sometimes there are sparklers. It’s a moment.

QUINN XCII: Think Timmy Trumpet energy, but… Two Friends.

MUNDANE: You road-tested this one before release. What did the crowd teach you?

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): We closed with it on our bus tour for months. Even unreleased, it became a set highlight. By the time it dropped, front rows knew every word from YouTube rips and the Big Booty Mix.

QUINN XCII: The flip side exists too — you play a new song you swear is “the one” and the room goes… quiet. This wasn’t that. Thank God.

MUNDANE: Where did you actually make the record?

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): Mostly our studio — though the Palisades fire made going back weird this year. We’ve done writing camps, but the magic often happens local, familiar, quick.

MUNDANE: Let’s zoom out. Why are we so obsessed with “the way it was”?

QUINN XCII: We’re the bridge generation — analog childhood, social-media adulthood. VHS to TikTok. That whiplash makes you mourn simplicity. I’m also writing from where I’m at now — married, new dad, present tense gratitude. Not everyone shares that stage, but honesty lands.

MUNDANE: Craft note: where else are you drawing from?

QUINN XCII: Books. I’m re-reading Harry Potter on tour and tripping over how world-building works — tiny details most people miss but that make the universe feel lived-in. I like hiding those “sprinkles” in lyrics, even if only a few listeners catch them.

MUNDANE: Two Friends, your remix choices are delightfully left-field — “Sweet Caroline,” hip-hop, indie, even country. What’s the green light?

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): We have to love the original. Then the question is: how do we keep what people recognize and give it a Two Friends twist without disrespecting the source?

TWO FRIENDS (Matt): The “Sweet Caroline” anniversary project was perfect — we were already ending shows with the original while saying hi on stage. Our version just bottled that communal chaos.

MUNDANE: The dance world can go “loop + drop = done.” Why keep chasing full songs?

TWO FRIENDS (Matt): Because we care. Different vocalists mean different viewpoints; we don’t want to say the same thing with a different voice. The hard part is: a gorgeous song might not naturally slam at 1 a.m. We’d rather build a live edit than amputate the song’s heart.

MUNDANE: Favorite stage memories — the ones you’ll brag about on the porch when you’re old?

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): Central Park’s SummerStage — outdoor NYC shows are unicorns. Instant lore.

QUINN XCII: Salt Lake City on a Tuesday can be the loudest room on earth. It’s not always the marquee venue; sometimes it’s 1,000 people with nothing but belief.

MUNDANE: If you ran this collab back tomorrow, what’s the rule of engagement?

QUINN XCII: Lead with feeling; fix the science later.

TWO FRIENDS (Matt): Keep the door open for notes. If everyone in the room is truly stoked, the song tells you it’s done.

TWO FRIENDS (Eli): And never underestimate a well-placed hi-hat.

MUNDANE: Final word on “Way It Was”?

QUINN XCII: It’s a polaroid you can dance to.

TWO FRIENDS (both): And it goes off live.