Camelphat: The superstar DJs who want to hear your music

"I'm going to start wearing my pants up super high, like Simon Cowell!"

Dave Whelan from Camelphat is, we hope, joking. But (trouser choice aside), he and Simon have one big thing in common.

Dave is, in a way, running his own version of The X Factor - with the prize of being able to work on a track with two Grammy-nominated DJs.

The big difference: there aren't any TV cameras in sight.

The Liverpool duo are starting their own record label, but instead of hiring talent scouts they've set up an email address - anyone can send music across and the guys will personally listen to it.

"I've got through about 600 so far," Dave tells Radio 1 Newsbeat, "it's not easy."

The record label is the pair's latest attempt to find undiscovered talent. They also took email submissions while they were recording their debut album Dark Matter, which was released in 2020.

"It's exciting when you actually find someone and it can change everything for the artists," Dave says. "We're working with a few now.

"One of the singers we ended up using on the album, he's called Max, his vocals are unbelievable.

"And that all came from the email address. So it does work, but you've got to have patience."

Dave (r) and his partner in crime Mike Di Scala at the 2018 Grammy Awards

Camelphat have been making music together, under various names, for nearly 20 years, but it was their 2017 song Cola that finally pushed them into the mainstream.

It was a top 40 hit in charts all around the world, and became a nightclub staple.

"We want to give an opportunity to other artists and up-and-coming DJs and producers out there who are maybe struggling to find their way," Dave says.

"The pressure for us is that we're trying to find the next Cola - not so much in terms of how it sounds, but as a track that can be that big, if not bigger."

Play your cards right and you, too, could one day become a silhouette

As well as new talent, Dark Matter also featured collaborations with the likes of Noel Gallagher, Au/Ra, Jake Bugg and Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis.

But Dave's biggest tip for anyone who's sending him music is to not stick too closely to what Camelphat have done before.

"Just be yourself. I wouldn't make another Cola - and actually it would be better if people go out of their way to do the opposite of what we do.

"One of the things I would say is we've had a lot of tracks that are just very similar to what we already do and we need something different.

"We need someone to show us the way and discover what's going to be cool in the next ten years."

Unbelievably, after sifting through the first 600 tracks, Dave isn't sick of it. Yet.

"I can literally press play and hear the kick drum, or the synth used, and I can decide whether I like it.

"It sounds terrible but you can tell in a split second whether the production is at the level we need it to be.

"I'd never encourage anyone to quit, though.

"Don't get hung up on failing, it's important that you keep going because the next track you make might be the one."

Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.