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Michael Brun

Michael Brun

Photo: Steve Baboun

News
Haiti's Michael Brun On 'LOKAL,' J Balvin & Legacy haitis-michael-brun-talks-debut-lp-lokal-friendship-j-balvin-diplo-his-legacy-global

Haiti's Michael Brun Talks Debut LP 'LOKAL,' Friendship With J Balvin & Diplo & His Legacy As Global Artist

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"The deeper I got into my own culture, the more it allowed me to connect with others. I felt like that was so important to get a clear vision of what Haiti represents to me and that led the album," Brun told the Recording Academy
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 26, 2019 - 10:32 am

Haitian DJ/producer Michael Brun may just be 27, but he is already focused on his musical legacy: to serve his life-long vision of being able to give back to his community in a meaningful way. With his music, he wants to world to also get to know and love the vibrant sounds of his home country, and to showcase other Haitian and global artists in the process.

His new debut album, LOKAL, which dropped today, does just that. On the project, he collabed with more than a dozen featured artists for its nine upbeat, joyful tracks, weaving in traditional Haitian Rara and Konpa sounds with hip-hop, reggaetón, house and other danceable beats in a beautiful sonic tapestry. While it is his first full-length, Brun has been releasing tracks since he was in college, then with a more EDM during its early '10s boom.

Brun also aims to recreate the sound and liveliness of the block parties he used to throw back home to new audiences; his hugely successful North American Bayo 2019 tour, which he recently wrapped, featured a selection of Haitian artists and more special guests in every city.

"Those kinds of moments with the music that I grew up and to see artists that I really love and support have this platform, I think that's my personal favorite. That's this whole mission that I'm working on, to get my culture and my music heard," Brun told the Recording Academy in a recent phone interview that dove deep into the new album and his vision. He also tells the story of how he serendipitously met one of his mentors, Colombian reggaetón sta, J Balvin, and what he learned in working with him, among other topics.

You're releasing your album LOKAL soon. What are you most looking forward to about sharing it with the world?

I think just the fact that I've been making music now for coming into eight years professionally, and this is my first album project that I've ever done. So just being able to take all these different experiences from the last eight years of touring and collaborations with all these different types of people around the world, and then also bringing my culture, Haitian culture, and sounds in a really unique way to this project, I felt like this was the moment to do it and it's just representative of that whole journey.

Where did the idea for the project start? And how did it grow and shift as you began working on the songs and working with different collaborators?

I think part of the concept for this came from the tour that I was doing. It's called the Bayo tour; "bayo" in Creole means give it to them, or to give. The concept for that was just to create a showcase and a presentation of Haiti and Haitian sounds and culture for the whole world to be able to learn something new, hopefully, and then maybe find a new genre of music or artist that they like a lot.

So I was doing that tour, and that incorporated Haitian sounds but then also in my sets and in the actual live performance I'd play Latin music and I'd be playing African music. And I realized that they were way more similar than I ever initially thought. And I had these moments where I was like, I want to transition from an African song to a Haitian song or Caribbean song to a Latin song, and I felt like with the album it was an opportunity to create those transition moments where it showed the links between those different cultures. It was just over the course of two years of touring, finding those pockets where I could come up with something that would help tell that story.

Bayo Tour 2015 vs Bayo Tour 2019

Never give up on your dreams. pic.twitter.com/AO5rnlA8ET

— Michaël Brun (@MichaelBrun) April 1, 2019

That's so cool. You did the Bayo tour first in 2016 and then again this past year, correct?

Yeah, so it started out as literally a free block party in and around Haiti. I would just set up speakers or find a spot, it would be in the street sometimes, sometimes it would be in a venue, but we would just set up, and I'd invite all these different artists around Haiti to come and perform and it just a complete surprise. So we did that in 2016 and it started out with 50 people, if that. It was super small, but just, it was more about the sound and the vibe, but it grew.

When I brought it to the States, I did it in Miami first at the Little Haiti Cultural Center and then I did the first New York show in Brooklyn. And then it just went from like 50 people to like 500 people to 1,000 to now we sold over 10,000 tickets for the tour in the last year. So it's crazy how it's continued to evolve and just become this way bigger concept than I thought it would be.

It must be surreal and also just really powerful to share Bayo outside of Haiti to such big crowds.

It's been such an amazing experience to see the crowds and then also just to see the artist support too. Because I think what made this tour special, the one that we did in the spring, is we had such a diverse Haitian line-up but then we also had Maxwell in New York and Major Lazer and Mr Eazi in Miami, and then Adekunle Gold in Boston and Demarco and Kevin Lyttle, and all these different artists from around the world came in for the support. That was just so cool seeing all these different genres represented and these different countries and cultures, but somehow it could connect via Haiti. That was what I always hoped for this.

I want to talk a little bit about some of the different collaborators on the album. Did you know who you wanted to work with going into it? Or did that sort of grow organically as you started working on the album?

Partially. I knew that I wanted to work with the best of the best from Haiti. I wanted to find all the artists that I thought were doing a really amazing job across the board, not only as musicians but also as representatives of the country and supporting community and building up the image and the sound of Haiti. I had actually so many songs that didn't even make it on the album, just for the sake of time.

From those artists to the international artists that I was close with, like Diplo and Major Lazer. I'd been doing some stuff with them for years now and to finally get a track together was really, really cool. Diplo's been so supportive with everything. They came out in Miami it was a complete surprise, him and Walshy Fire [who is in Major Lazer with Diplo and Ape Drums]. It was really cool. Yeah, so they were one of the artists, just talking to them about the song and saying, "Let's make a song that represents the streets of Haiti that's a hot track but we can take it into a place where it can also be international and global." So that was one example.

And then Mr Eazi was another example. I went on tour with him, opening forJ Balvinlast fall, and we became really, really good friends and collaborating on so many different things outside of even just the two songs on the album. We have dozens of stuff together, music and projects that we've been doing. He's an amazingly talented artist, so getting him on there was a no-brainer.

And then Arcade Fire too. They had invited me to New Orleans for this project that they were doing and we got to spend a few days together, playing music and just talking. Win and Régine [of Arcade Fire] are such amazing people and to have them and the Preservation Hall and RAM all together on one song, it's such an honor really. I feel that all these international artists and the Haitian artists, they really are some of the best in their entire industry so it's really incredible.

The track list, with all of its featured artists, is really impressive. Was it a powerful experience for you, working with all these different artists?

Yeah, I'm so grateful, honestly. Because I feel like when you make a collaborative album, you're dealing with so many different people, you can have a vision, but if people don't fully connect with your vision maybe it won't work out. But in this case, it was so smooth. I think also just the fact that I worked with people who are friends and people that I really look up to, so that we've connected on a level before we even made the music helped. I think you hear it when you listen to the songs, even if it's in Creole or in French or in English, whatever language it is, I think it does feel really authentic and honest.

This song is really special to me because it not only features many of the artists from the Bayo Tour, but it also samples a song from my dad’s band Skandal. I also found out that it’s the 25th anniversary of that project. There are no coincidences in life I guess. #LOKAL pic.twitter.com/y8wRPFuOWw

— Michaël Brun (@MichaelBrun) June 23, 2019

Can you speak to the different styles and sounds that you explore in the album? You mentioned how some of them are native sounds to Haiti, so it would be really cool to learn a bit more about those specifically.

I would say there's probably two specific genres that really were the focal point for me in Haitian music. One them is Konpa music, which is slower dance music, very Caribbean sounding with guitars and keyboards and a very iconic beat. It's mid-tempo. That dominated Haitian music for years. My dad actually had a band that made Konpa music, when I was a baby, so that's probably where I got some of the music production genes or whatever. [laughs] And actually, "Nouvo Jenerasyon," which is the second to last song on the album, has a sample of his band, funny enough. 

That was one genre. I feel like that's probably the most iconic Haitian genre that's existed. Somebody like Wyclef [Jean], for example, sampled that for some of his stuff. It's been known for a while. Then Rara music is the other kind that I really, really love. That's honestly one of my favorite genres of music in the whole world. It's this traditional, ceremonial music that's a mix of the Western African vodou rhythms and Haitian vodou rhythms with the tying of original native sounds. It's very percussive, it's very ritualistic. It's so hypnotic and powerful, when you hear that music it just puts you in a trance. 

I used to hear it every Sunday, actually. There was a Rara band that would always be near our neighborhood that would play and I love the rhythm so much. That very drum-heavy vibe, you hear throughout most of the album. You feel that accent, it feels like the earth. 

That whole combination of the two genres and then Afrobeat, and electronic music and hip-hop, and all these other genres that I was listening to and making, I wanted to infuse them and find a way to tell both of those stories.

The fourth preview off LOKAL is a reinterpretation of my brother @paulbeaubrun’s amazing song Voudou Ceremony! The rara sounds were recorded with @lakoumizik and it was also an honor to bring in Lolo from @BoukmanEKS as a special guest. pic.twitter.com/a8d7HDVpoy

— Michaël Brun (@MichaelBrun) June 21, 2019

Do you feel like the two Haitian genres were the threads throughout the album that kind of tied it together? Or, as you were integrating all these different sounds, what was the thing that kept it sounding so cohesive?

I think the main thing actually was, as a producer and why I haven't done an album yet, this is the first time I ever felt confident in it, as I wanted to have a really clear vision with the music I was making. I wanted to make sure that when I was going to do a project like this, that it would be timeless and be something that I could be proud of in my legacy as an artist, I wanted to make sure I could put these different sounds and genres and artists, put them into this vision of a mosaic of Haiti. Actually, when you look at the artwork for the album, it is a mosaic. It's meant to be connecting all these different parts of my culture and Haitian culture as a whole and putting that into perspective via this music.

And then something that I learned while being on tour with J Balvin and also just working with him and Mr Eazi, who are Colombian and Nigerian, was seeing how much they connected with what I was doing. The deeper I got into my own culture, the more it allowed me to connect with others. I felt like that was so important to get a clear vision of what Haiti represents to me and that led the album, that led the organization of it and the sounds. Because really genre-wise, there's all types of vibes on this album but I still feel like it's cohesive.

It's that transition from local, very, very local sounds, to global that I think is what I wanted that album to be about. If there was one thing I could say about it, you listen to it and you feel like, this is Haitian, but then also wait this makes me connect with all these other cultures too.

"The deeper I got into my own culture, the more it allowed me to connect with others. I felt like that was so important to get a clear vision of what Haiti represents to me and that led the album, that led the organization of it and the sounds."

So you collaborated with J Balvin on "Positivo," the 2018 World Cup song, in addition to joining his Vibras tour. How did you guys originally connect? What was the biggest thing you learned from working with him?

It was really so random, it was one of the craziest experiences of my life. I was in a meeting with Apple Music for my label, because I have my own label that I founded with my manager called Kid Coconut. We were doing a label meeting with upcoming releases and we were meeting with a few different people at Apple, and they asked at the end of the meeting, "Hey, do you have anything that you wanted to play that you're working on?" Because I was actually not focused on me, it was more like a general label meeting. And I was like, "Actually, yeah, I have this song 'Bayo' that I'm working on." I had made a list of international collaborators a few weeks earlier, and I was like, "I want to work with these artists around the world." J Balvin was the person that I had in mind for "Bayo."

I played them a 30-second section of the song and then they're like, "One sec. Can we get somebody else to come in here?" And so they brought the Latin editor at Apple, her name was Marisa. I spoke to her for a bit and played her the song. She was amazing, I mean everyone on the team was so nice, but she said, "Hey, you want to get J Balvin on this. I actually know José. I'll put you in touch." And I've heard that a million times and in every kind of way, like, "Yeah, I know that person." I was like, "Okay, but thank you, I don't expect that at all, but I appreciate you saying that." And then legitimately one week later, she messaged me, "Hey, José loved the song and he wants to speak with you."

And that was it. He sent me "Positivo" one week later and then three months later he hit me up again and he was like, "Hey, the World Cup's been asking me if I had a song that we could use." I was like, "Of course, use that. Why are you even asking?"

It just happened so naturally and he's been such a leading mentor and also given me a really great spotlight consistently, bringing me on any way he can. Bringing me, for example, to work on his upcoming album. It's been blessings for the last two years, nonstop blessings. I'm really grateful and also excited because I feel like all these different things I'm working on, they're now going to be coming out. I can't wait for people to see it.



View this post on Instagram


Global music taking over in 2019!! Elevating our cultures and breaking boundaries  @jbalvin @rosalia.vt @mreazi

A post shared by Michaël Brun (@michaelbrun) on Apr 21, 2019 at 8:01am PDT

That just sounds like such a serendipitous but also very much meant-to-happen moment of connecting you and J together.

I know. Another really funny thing, which is insane, was I was with Arcade Fire in New Orleans in February for this event that we were doing together. Diplo was there too, so I met up with him and spoke for a bit and then was like, "So where are you going next?" He's like, "Yeah, I'm going to Colombia." I'm like, "You're going where?" And he's like, "Medellín. Wait are you going to Medellín?" And we literally went to J Balvin's camp, like the day after, where we were working on music. We played football and made music, it was something crazy. I can't imagine anybody else in the world besides Diplo going from New Orleans to Medellín, working with Arcade Fire and then working with J Balvin. It was crazy.

You talked a little bit about your Bayo tour, which you just wrapped up. What's your favorite part about sharing music in that format?

I think there's a few parts. One of the personal favorite things was just the fact that all these artists that are on the tour, we had I think it was about 15, both women and men, of so many different genres. They're some of my favorite artists. And I feel like the diversity and just the quality of the music is so special, and yet it's not really known outside of Haiti. So being able to bring these different people on these pretty big stages. Like some of these shows are like 2,000 people and sold out. We sold out Brooklyn Steel, which was nuts to have all Haitian lineup sell out there.

Those kinds of moments with the music that I grew up and to see artists that I really love and support have this platform, I think that's my personal favorite. That's this whole mission that I'm working on, to get my culture and my music heard. So to see it happen from this tour so relatively quickly and to get the kind of support and feedback that we have been, it's been worth the sleepless nights and the crazy investments in every way possible. Like, making sure that everything goes as smoothly as it could, it's been worth it all. Because just to see further opportunity come up for some of these different artists has been amazing.

"Those kinds of moments with the music that I grew up and to see artists that I really love and support have this platform, I think that's my personal favorite. That's this whole mission that I'm working on, to get my culture and my music heard."

You mentioned your dad was in a band when you were growing up; what music were you jamming to when you were younger? Was there a specific moment when you knew you wanted to make music yourself?

Funny enough, I was pre-med in college and I thought I was going to be a pediatrician my whole life. That was my whole plan, because I grew up in Haiti and I felt a responsibility for the community that I was in that I had to give as much as I possibly could because I received so much. I felt like being a doctor was the most direct way. And I was volunteering at different hospitals. I got a full scholarship at Davidson College for that, to be a doctor.

But I loved music too. And both my parents were really musical. They played piano and different instruments. I did violin also, I sang, played guitar, a bunch of different things. Eventually I was producing when I was like 14, 15. And it was a hobby, I never thought, "I'm going to do this as a career." And then while I was in college, there was this one thing that ended up going viral on Hype Machine and it opened up this Pandora's box of music stuff. But it was really serendipitous. I feel like I've had a lot of serendipity in my life. The fact that I was able to speak with the school and with my family and friends and making music was the option that everybody supported. Because school was always going to be there for me, so that was amazing.

And then the other part of your question; musically, I listened to so much different stuff. My parents were really, really into '70s and '80s music, so like Earth, Wind & Fire. And everything from the '80s, my dad was a huge Tears for Fears fan, he loves, loves, loves that group. And my mom listened to everything contemporary too, so it was a mix of all these different international genres and then whatever was on in Haiti at the time, so Kompa music and Rara music, hip-hop and all of that informed my music. EDM too, because I made it for like the first five years of my career. That was during that whole amazing boom of that music, so it really gave me an opportunity.

When you tell that story it really makes sense with how your musical path has all come together now, exactly where you are today.

Yeah, I mean the thing is, even though I'm making music now versus being a doctor, I feel like that is also improving the community that I came from. And to work with those tools and with the people and provide more opportunities and just have that as the focus of what I do; it's always been there. And I can see the results now with music, that maybe as a doctor you get to reach a few thousand people in your life, which is already incredible, right? But then with music you can reach millions. And I think that as I continue on with this, I always want to keep that really in the forefront of what I do, because it's a responsibility and I want to create as much good as I can.

I love that. And it goes perfectly into my next question; what do you feel is your biggest duty and goal as a rising global artist in 2019?

I think as a global artist, the people that I really look up to in the industry like J Balvin or Mr. Eazi or any of these international artists that I feel like are representing their cultures really proudly; they know where they come from, they really know who they are. And that allows them to not only have the support of their entire community and wherever they grew up or their country or even the continent. Eazi represents all of Africa in my opinion, not just Nigeria. J Balvin represents all of Latin America, he doesn't just represent Colombia. And the reason they can do that is because their identities are so strong that you just know that's what they are and they know that too. I really want that same level of clarity when I'm working as an artist so people can connect with that.

And I see that honestly, I've already seen it in the last few years of working on it, and being able to work with some of these impossible-to-reach people, it's been such a blessing. And I think that goes hand-in-hand with making great art. And then also representing your community; when you do that, I feel like doors open for you and it allows you to create bridges.

What is your biggest dream for the trajectory of your path in music over the next few years?

I really want to leave an amazing legacy for what I do. I don't want to ever have anything that's middle of the road. I'd rather you hate it than you love it, honestly. I feel like that's the purpose of art, it's supposed to make you feel something. And with my legacy, when you first listen to something that I worked on, I think you'll have that reaction. Then when you look deeper into it and you see how carefully I've been thinking about this and how much I'm incorporating community into the work that I do, I hope that it inspires people too.

I feel like education allowed me to get this far in my life, especially coming from Haiti where that's not always that accessible, and it can really completely change the course of your life. I hope that when people see how I've been able to get to where I am today, it's because of a combination of all these different things. They're tools you can share, it's not things that only a few people have access too. I want it to be accessible to everybody. So, legacy is really important to me right now.

It's been amazing talking to you and learning more about your story and being able to hear your music, thanks so much for sharing it with us. 

I really appreciate it, because that's what helps to get this further out to the rest of the world. Everybody that's helped support this has made it into something way bigger than I could have imagined, and I'm really grateful. 

Thank you all for supporting me.

Thank you all for believing in me.

Thank you all for allowing me to do what I love. pic.twitter.com/wdTlWX12SV

— Michaël Brun (@MichaelBrun) April 18, 2019

SOFI TUKKER Announce R.I.P. Shame World Tour, Reveal New Music Is Coming

CRAY at Lolla 2019

CRAY at Lolla 2019

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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CRAY On Singing Live At Lolla & Tour With Skrillex cray-talks-singing-live-first-time-lollapalooza-touring-japan-skrillex

CRAY Talks Singing Live For The First Time At Lollapalooza & Touring Japan With Skrillex

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"I'm transitioning to being a live act, so being able to sing at Lolla for the first time was a really amazing accomplishment," the L.A.-based singer/DJ/producer shared right after her big Lolla moment
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 5, 2019 - 4:56 pm

Gamer-turned-singer/DJ/producer CRAY has an infectious energy both on and off stage. The Croc-loving artist—whose stage moniker is a childhood nickname adapted from her full name, Cheney Ray—started DJing and making electronic music for fun shortly after relocating from Vancouver to Los Angeles for college. In 2016, she put out her catchy first single, "Infinity Signs," and quickly started to make a name for herself in the indie-electro scene.

Fast-forward to 2019: CRAY is playing major festivals across the country, dropping new tracks along the way and even has a Japanese tour with GRAMMY-winning electronic legend Skrillex under her belt. While On The Road at Lollapalooza 2019, the Recording Academy sat down with her right after she debuted new music—while singing live for the first time—during her set.

CRAY On Singing Live For First Time At Lolla 2019

So, you performed earlier today here at Lolla, how did it feel? How was the vibe?

I mean, it was the first time I ever sang live. So it was very intense and I almost barfed, in a good way. But it was incredible, honestly just being able to do that. We've been working so hard to get there. I'm transitioning to being a live act, so being able to sing at Lolla for the first time was a really amazing accomplishment.

That's awesome. Did you have a lot of nerves going in? And then once you did it, did it feel like a relief?

Yes, I was shaking at first, and then I started and…everything went away. And then after, I was like, "What the hell just happened?" And I almost barfed, it was good.

Thank you @lollapalooza for having me. Singing live for the first time truly opened up my entire self. I’m so excited for the future. Thank you guys for being so open and for all ur energy today. Happiest day I’ve had in EVERpic.twitter.com/8TMSPvEcnq

— CRAY (@craysounds_) August 2, 2019

You did it! That's awesome. And you're doing an Aftershow here also tonight; are you looking forward to that?

Yes, I am.

Are you going for more of a nighttime vibe?

Yeah, I'll play a little harder, a little more fun, a little more night time stuff. Because today was more my stuff and my singing and everything. But tonight I'll be a little more afterparty vibes, which I'm excited about. I'm still going to keep the hair in, it hits people, I like it. But I'm excited to play. I love Chicago, I love being here, I love the crowd, I love the people here. I'm excited.

And you've been up to a lot lately. I think last year you went on tour with Skrillex?

I did, yeah.

What was that like?

It was an incredible experience, Sonny [Moore a.k.a. Skrillex] is an incredible human being and so open and honest and I felt so inspired. I've never been to Japan. I've never been that far away, ever. So going there was so eye-opening of the world and different cultures. And their music and food and people and customs, it was beautiful to learn that. I felt really, honestly, blessed to be a part of it, and also so inspired. I came back home and was like, I gotta work harder. I gotta keep going. It was awesome.

My song idontwannatalkaboutlove comes out in 5 days. I sang it live at lolla and I can’t wait till it’s out and I can share it with you.

Presave: https://t.co/Q1LbUh2FMm pic.twitter.com/Hw1QTFxzrP

— CRAY (@craysounds_) August 4, 2019

Are there any artists you're excited to see at Lollapalooza?

Yeah, I want to see Yaeji. Bring Me The Horizon I want to see as well, and Death Cab for Cutie. I kind of want to go back to old-school stuff, some more band type stuff. Party Favor is playing, he's a good guy. There's a lot of fun stuff happening. I'm really excited.

SHAED Talk Lolla 2019, Touring The World & The Meaning Of "Trampoline"

Shaq at Lolla 2019

Shaq/DJ Diesel at Lolla 2019

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

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Shaq/DJ Diesel On Lolla Debut & DJing Since '88 shaquille-oneil-aka-dj-diesel-lollapalooza-debut-loving-bass-music-djing-88

Shaquille O'Neil, A.K.A. DJ Diesel, On Lollapalooza Debut, Loving Bass Music & DJing Since '88

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"I like bass music. I'm seven foot, 350, I consider myself hard, when I played on the basketball court I was hard. I like the hard drops," the NBA Hall Of Famer told us before his lit Lolla set
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 7, 2019 - 12:56 pm

NBA Hall Of Famer Shaquille O'Neil may be best known for his awe-inspiring moves on the basketball court, but now he's perfecting the art of making crowds go crazy from behind the DJ booth as DJ Diesel. With his Summer League 2019 tour, Shaq has brought his favorite bass drops to clubs and festivals around the world, most recently at Lollapalooza 2019.

The Recording Academy caught up with him before he got the kids dancing at his packed—and apparently very lit—Sunday DJ set. We discussed his musical evolution, love of bass music, how he crafts his sets on the fly, scratching his father's Commodores record after getting his first turntables in the '80s and more.

Shaq AKA DJ Diesel On Lolla Debut & DJing Since 88

"I was taught a long time ago that when you find something difficult, break it down to where it becomes easy. For an artist, being a DJ, it's hard work. Everything has to be done right, so I always break it down. The only common factor that I'm familiar with is large crowds. So, then I say to myself, 'What did I do to make the large crowds go crazy in L.A.?' You make a great play," Shaq said.

He continued, emphasizing that he's not a celebrity DJ, as he's been doing it since before he was famous. At the end of the day, he just loves making people jump and have fun.

"I've been doing this since 1988, so a lot of people, especially on social media, they think I'm doing it for the fad. One, I'm not getting paid anything. I enjoy watching people jump up and down. I take pride in looking at people and saying, 'Okay. You paid money to watch me perform? I'm going to give you your money's worth.' So, it's about the sport. I could have chosen any style music, I like bass music. I'm seven foot, 350, I consider myself hard, when I played on the basketball court I was hard. I like the hard drops."



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JUMP @lollapalooza JUMP

A post shared by DR. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL Ed.D. (@shaq) on Aug 4, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT

CRAY Talks Singing Live For The First Time At Lollapalooza & Touring Japan With Skrillex

Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding

Photo: Recording Academy

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Ellie Goulding On Songwriting, Skrillex & Björk ellie-goulding-talks-songwriting-loving-skrillex-bj%C3%B6rk-growing-electronic-music

Ellie Goulding Talks Songwriting, Loving Skrillex & Björk & Growing Up On Electronic Music

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"If I could be described as being a musician that gave people hope, then I'd be really happy," the GRAMMY-nominated pop singer/songwriter told the Recording Academy in the latest episode of Up Close & Personal
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 27, 2019 - 2:38 pm

Looking back at the music that British pop singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding has put out over the last decade, it's clear that her powerful voice works well on all types of tracks. The GRAMMY nominee is the perfect vocalist for EDM bangers like "I Need Your Love," from Calvin Harris' 2012 GRAMMY-nominated heater 18 Months, and Skrillex's "Summit," from his 2011 GRAMMY-winning rave album, Bangarang, as well as for more laid-back, piano-backed love songs like "Flux" and "How Long Will I Love You."

Ellie Goulding On Songwriting, Skrillex & More

Her latest single, "Hate Me," released June 26, showcases her prowess as a collaborator with rappers. On the new track, the songstress links up with rising rap star Juice WRLD, as the pair stands up to unappreciative lovers.

Goulding recently stopped by the Recording Academy headquarters for an in-depth conversation in our latest episode of Up Close & Personal, which you can watch above and check out on our YouTube page for a longer version of the video, as well as the other recent episodes. Read on to learn how she feels when she looks back on the songs she's written over the last decade, what it was like to work with Diplo and Skrillex and how she's always loved electronic music. She also explains her reaction to hearing GRAMMY nominee Björk for the first time, why environmental activism is so important to her and more.

Your most recent music video, for "Sixteen," is really sweet. Can you talk about the story and message behind it?

Well, I wrote "Sixteen" a few years ago and really it was about the idea that you develop yourself around that age. Well, for me anyway, it was really the age that I was discovering everything about myself and becoming who I am in a way. It was a pivotal time where I was figuring out music I really loved and friends and suddenly falling madly, deeply, uncontrollably in love with people. That song really was intended to be a nostalgic celebration and the video is about two friends who have this very close relationship.

I think now, it's so much more, not acceptable, but you can be so much more open with your friendships and it's okay to have a really close friendship with someone of the same sex or with anyone and there's no black and white anymore, which is great. I had those really close friendships with my girlfriends at that age and then some of my girlfriends are still with the person that they fell in love with at that age and they're now in their 30s and have kids with this person that they met at that age.

You've put out a lot of huge tracks over the past nine years, all the way back to "Starry Eyed" in 2010. What are a few of your personal favorites? Has your relationship with your earlier tracks changed over the years?

Oh my gosh. My relationship with all of my early songs has changed. I only get them out on very special occasions. When I listen back to the songs and the lyrics, I do feel a bit silly at some of the lyrics. I feel like they're kind of immature and they're a real marker of that time, where I feel like I didn't know anything about anything and I would write a very naïve perspective of what I thought love was. When I think back to those situations, I think that actually was me a lot of the time in the raw or me doing something stupid. In the song, I maybe portray it as differently or the other person's fault. I do think about my old songs a lot in that way, but I don't regret writing them. Once time has passed, I keep having to move on with songs. They're real markers in the book that I keep writing. It's very hard for me to go back in time with them, but "Anything Could Happen" is a big favorite because I just remember being in such a happy place when I wrote it.

It was melancholy because I had just broken up with somebody, which as we all know is for some reason the most painful thing in the world, but at the same time I was back in my hometown writing with somebody that also lives in my hometown and we just came up with this song, and whenever I play it live it just has this euphoria and brings everyone together and I see people in the crowd just so happy and it has some kind of rave element to it that makes everyone go a little bit crazy. Yeah, so I have such good memories of that song and it was also just one of those songs I wrote in half an hour. It just happened. I also am very proud of the song "Flux," which I played earlier. I was just proud of myself for the honesty and the way that I managed to capture what I was feeling.

Sometimes I'm like, "God, do I really want to write this about this person?" but sometimes I just have to tell the truth and even if it shows how emotional I am or shows my true colors or whatever, it just has to happen. That was one of those moments with that song. I'm proud of all the songs I've written. I'm proud of the huge cheesy pop songs and I'm proud of the more obscure weird ones, like when I first released a song called "Under the Sheets" on an EP with a song called "Fighter Plane," and I'm proud of how I was thinking at that age. I was maybe 20 and I was already writing in a somewhat mature way. [Laughs.] I'm having a proud moment.

It's like the songs are the chapters of your life, and while the stories are super specific to you, so many people can relate to them.

I think subconsciously I've always written with other people in mind. Not in the sense that I want to please people, but I love the idea of providing people with a resolution, or with some kind of consolation for what they're going through. Music is one of the most powerful things in the world and we all speak its language. When I write lyrics, I understand how much of an impact they can have on people, so I'm always aware of that. When I'm writing about a breakup or I'm writing about the state of the world or the planet or whatever, I try and make it hopeful. If I could be described as being a musician that gave people hope, then I'd be really happy.

"If I could be described as being a musician that gave people hope, then I'd be really happy."

You've worked with some really big names in dance music: Diplo, Skrillex and Calvin Harris, to name a few. Can you talk a little bit about what you've learned working with those producers?

I think collaboration in general is somewhere you learn about yourself and you learn about compromise and it makes you realize how much of a unique artist you are because you're never just going to go in and have completely the same opinions on things and artistic ideas or directions. It's a learning curve, working with other people. I've written with writers where we both agree that it's not right; it was great to meet you, but it didn't quite gel well. Sometimes I write with writers where we're best friends by the next day and we're texting every day. There's some people that I feel so comfortable with, which is not that many people, that I just text them lyrics and say, "What do you think about this?," or send ideas or voice notes.

Diplo is someone I've gone back to. He's completely bat sh*t crazy. [Laughs.] But he's funny and he does respect artist's individuality, so he's really great to work with. And you know whatever he's going to do is going to be completely fresh and new and no one else has done it.

And then Skrillex, when I first met him, he was a pioneer in electronic music. Actually, I really feel like he was a new sound, he was refreshing and I was completely fascinated and completely enthralled by what he was doing and I just wanted to be a part of that. I have such an affinity for electronic music and since I was a kid, my mom listened to lots of rave music and dance music and we had a very specific phase in the U.K. in London, especially of dance music.

We had garage and then we had deep house and we like to think of ourselves as having a very unique place in music in that sense in London. I was completely inspired by that growing up. I only discovered musicians and people playing instruments in bands when I was a teen. I never listened to The Beatles. I never listened to Fleetwood Mac. I never listened to Bob Dylan, so it was just a sensory overload by the time I listened to all these singers like Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, that it was a new world. That's probably when I realized that I could be a singer because I had this really unusual voice that I didn't know could be a thing until I heard other singers with unique voices and lyrics and honesty and I thought, "Oh, I could do this."

Is there a specific moment where you remember an artist that you listened to that you then thought, "Oh, I could have a place in music"?

Yeah, I came home one night and I was a bit drunk and I think we'd been out camping somewhere in a field. I grew up in the middle of nowhere. I switched on the TV. Tiny box TV at the time and Björk was singing on stage somewhere. I think maybe at the Albert Hall in London. I just remember being completely transfixed. I'd never seen anyone sing or perform like it before. All of a sudden I'd gone from listening to pop singers. I loved Lauryn Hill. I loved Alicia Keys. I loved Beyoncé. I loved Destiny's Child. I loved girl groups, and then I saw this singer and it resonated with me because people had always told me that I shouldn't sing because I had this really unusual voice. It had such a lack of control and I could sing high, I could sing low, I could sing hard, I could sing soft. I could do these crazy things with my voice, but it didn't ever really seem to have a place anywhere and I couldn't write the right songs and nothing seemed to sound right.

When I heard Björk, I suddenly was like she's got this beautifully inventive and unusually curious voice and it suddenly made me feel very powerful, like I could sing after all. It took a few years for people to really get me and some people would come along and listen to me sing. Not that many, but I've played my own songs. I carried on. I just kept singing and playing and I thought I had something maybe because more and more people were coming and at that point, I was able to sing and play effortlessly and not have to think about guitar and it was just there. Then, eventually it clicked after a solid few years of trying to get people to come and watch me play. Eventually I signed a publishing deal to be a writer and then I signed a record deal the year after that. After a long, long time of what we call "fanning around" in the U.K.

Related: Rosalía Shouts-Out Lauryn Hill, Kate Bush And More Women During Latin GRAMMY Speech

That's so cool. I love Björk.

Yeah, I saw her the other night in New York at The Shed. Oh my God, you have to see it, if you can. You can't even for a second lose focus or concentration because there's so much going on and the visuals are 10 years in the future. It's mad.

Do you have any dream collaborators you haven't worked with yet that you'd like to in the future?

I'm a fan of so many different producers and classical composers actually, maybe more than I am of artists, just in the sense that I can see so many possibilities with my voice with musicians and producers, but I'm always open to singing with other singers too. There's electronic producers I've always wanted to do things with; Jamie XX I've loved forever. One day he'll work with me. Mura Masa, I love. I love this guy George FitzGerald from the U.K. I love Frank Dukes, who makes a bunch of records here in L.A. There's a guy called Arca, who just did Björk's latest record.

There's actually a guy serpentwithfeet, who I love, who I discovered relatively recently. His voice is out of this world and he's a beautiful pianist, so maybe one day I'll work with him. I love experimenting and I love this classic producer and composer called Ola Gjeilo, who based in New York, he's from Norway, makes beautiful music. And then there's the classics like Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. My dream is to eventually do film soundtracks and go down the Lisa Gerrard road where she's just f***ing cool and just puts her amazing voice on things. You know, in Gladiator she's the voice that you can never forget, and I'd love to do that at some point.

I won’t give up and neither will you. Remember nobody can do everything but everyone can do something. Take action with me and @unenvironment
Let’s #BeatAirPollution pic.twitter.com/LwdOedrGrC

— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) June 5, 2019

For World Environment Day, you posted on social media encouraging your fans to take action. You've done work with the UN and you've always been vocal about standing up for what you believe in. Can you speak a little bit to using your platform as a catalyst for change?

I do think it's important for me to use my social media to influence young people for the better. Social media can be used for all sorts of weird, wonderful and sometimes not-so-good things. Relatively speaking, I have a small following, but it's enough to get people talking and sharing about the things that I care about. The things that I care about, and what we should all be caring about because it's essentially all of our futures at stake, is protecting the environment, which involves things like cutting massively down on plastic and eating less meat, which is better for the environment. When you think about how much goes into producing meat, but that's a whole other story. Go to my Instagram if you want to know more.

I talk a lot about climate change; it is the biggest threat to our existence. There's never been more CO2 in the atmosphere. Every single year it gets hotter and I think that's enough for us all to be quite scared, but because there is another agenda, a huge agenda in this world to promote climate change as a hoax because of oil, the meat industry, things that are trying to crush it for their own financial advantage. We are the warriors on the other side of that, making it come to light and showing people that what they can do makes a difference individually. I really just try and spread the world that climate change will ultimately be the end of us, if we don't do something about it, which means drastically changing our habits, changing the way we live.

Stop plastic production because that is linked to climate change. We need to eat less meat. We need to stop cutting down forests. We're simply not growing trees quick enough to replace the CO2 that is being created. Ice caps are melting, which means methane and other things being released. Ice caps reflect the sun more, so the less ice there is, the less sunlight is going to reflect it back into space. Ultimately, everything is going to screw us unless we act quickly and it's not like, "Oh, maybe we'll be okay. We'll start acting in a few years." We have 12 years exactly to save the planet, so with that in mind, I do use my social media to try and push that a bit and get people on board with me.

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Alison Wonderland

Alison Wonderland

Photo: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images

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EDC '19: Alison Wonderland, Deadmau5, Tiësto, More edc-2019-alison-wonderland-tokimonsta-deadmau5-above-beyond-ti%C3%ABsto-more

EDC 2019: Alison Wonderland, TOKiMONSTA, Deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Tiësto, More

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The world-renowned EDM fest has released the lit roster of over 240 artists for its 23rd annual event, set to return to its ninth year in Las Vegas from May 17–19
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 27, 2019 - 5:55 pm

Today Insomniac, which hosts the now-global Electric Daisy Carnival and other major EDM events, announced the highly anticipated lineup for its flagship Las Vegas fest, set to take place May 17–19 this year. EDC 2019 is positively stacked, featuring GRAMMY winners Diplo, David Guetta and Tiësto, plus GRAMMY nominees TOKiMONSTA, Paul Oakenfold, Deadmau5, Above & Beyond and Kaskade.

Deadmau5 will be making his first return to the fest since 2010, bringing his new "Cube 3.0" stage setup, and Guetta will be back for his first time since the 2012 event. Australian singer/songwriter DJ/producer extraordinaire Alison Wonderland, plus GRAMMY-nominated rave icons Steve Aoki, Armin van Buuren will also bring fire to the three-day event.

https://twitter.com/EDC_LasVegas/status/1110949939092152320

Bring the ENERGY! 💫🎶 #EDCLV2019 #kineticENERGY

See you Under the Electric Sky! → https://t.co/yHMeLym91l pic.twitter.com/wqxyPcVbEV

— EDC (@EDC_LasVegas) March 27, 2019

Unlike a typical music festival lineup, EDC lists theirs alphabetically by day, giving way to a treasure hunt to the many gems across the lines of names. Underground techno queens Charlotte De Witte, ANNA and Amelie Lens will all perform at the event, which has eight(!) stages, along with fellow techno heavy-hitter Adam Beyer.

South African DJ/producer and underground house legend Black Coffee will also perform, as well as fellow house heavyweights Green Velvet, Patrick Topping and GRAMMY nominee Eric Prydz. Green Velvet will be offering two sets, one as Get Real, his project with Detroit legend Claude VonStroke.

Several artists will be hopping on the decks together, including Topping, who will be doing a B2B set (a.k.a. back-to-back, or collab set, for those not up on the rave lingo) with fellow British DJ Eats Everything. U.K. dubstep stalwarts Skream and Rusko are on the lineup for an "old skool dubstep set," which, as Your EDM put it, is "absolutely unheard of."

More Vegas Fun: KAOS Las Vegas To Feature Sets From J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz & More In April

But wait, who are the headliners? Pasquale Rotella, CEO and co-founder of Insomniac, believes that headliners are everyone that attends the festival, spreads the love and makes all the magic possible.

"Being a Headliner means looking at the world a little differently, and seeing beauty and inspiration everywhere you look. It’s about lifting up the people around you and making time for your family and friends. This is a journey we all take together—always connected and committed to one another," Rotella said in a statement on Insomniac's website.

If you want to get your dance on and check out the carnival rides, interactive art and plenty of lights and lasers with EDC in Vegas, you're in luck; tickets are still available. Check out EDC's website for more info.

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.