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The Knocks in 2020

The Knocks

Photo: Joe Perri

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Record Store Recs: The Knocks record-store-recs-knocks-brooklyn-online

Record Store Recs: The Knocks Reveal The Grooviest Shops In Brooklyn And Online

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The beloved New York electro duo The Knocks take us to their favorite vinyl stores in the Big Apple and on the World Wide Web
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 11, 2021 - 1:36 pm

With the unprecedented global disruption of COVID-19, it's important to support the music community however we can. With Record Store Recs, GRAMMY.com checks in with vinyl-loving artists to learn more about their favorite record stores and the gems they've found there so you can find some new favorite artists and shops.

New York-based electro-pop duo The Knocks–consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson—have made a name for themselves with their upbeat bops and energetic live shows. Their last album, 2018's New York Narcotic, is a kinetic tribute to the city they love and that loves them back. On Feb. 5, after a year without concerts, Ruttner released his vibey debut solo album, Holiday87 (which is also his solo project's name).

While New York may have finally caught up on sleep in 2020, the pulse of the city—its music—never really stopped. For the latest Record Store Recs, Patterson shares the act's favorite vinyl hot spots and what's on their vinyl wishlist.

Holiday87 · Daybreak (feat. The Knocks)

What are three to five record stores you love?

Second Hand Records in Brooklyn, New York

Superior Elevation Records in Brooklyn

Human Head Records in Brooklyn

Discogs (online)

Juno Records (online)

The Last: Record Store Recs: Producer Bongo ByTheWay Shares The Music Of His Mind

The Knocks' Ben Ruttner at a record store

The Knocks' Ben Ruttner

Why do you love these shops? And what kind of goodies have you found there?

Second Hand, Superior and Human Head are all run by great DJs and have well-curated selections. They also happen to be good friends, and we love supporting the community. We have found some great older house records and rare disco cuts there.

For at least one of your favorite shops, share a recent record or two you bought there and what you love about the record/artist.

We haven't been doing as much analog digging due to COVID restrictions and basically quarantining for a year with no gigs. We have, however, purchased a few jams online, one of which we've been obsessed with by a relatively obscure artist named Jesse Henderson. It's called "I Did It Again" [1977, Lasso Records].

The Knocks go vinyl hunting

What's an upcoming/recent release or two you have your eyes on picking up and why?

There's an Al Kent release that's coming out [on March 8 on Million Dollar Disco] called "The Loneliest One" that sounds like an absolute melter. It's definitely on our Juno wish list. There's also a Dimitri from Paris edit pack on the way. We are always excited about his stuff because it's usually heat.

Another Record Store Recs: Salt Cathedral Talk Favorite Brooklyn Indie Shops & How To Support Artists Of Color

How would you describe your record collection in a few words?

Funky house, disco and edits mostly—for getting the party started.

In your opinion, what can music fans do to better support Black artists and businesses?

I think real fans are already good about showing support by purchasing/streaming/sharing our music, but I think the industry could do better about supporting Black artists and artists in general by giving us bigger cuts of money being made off the music we create.

Life On Planets Talks Astrology, Inclusivity On The Dancefloor & Why We Have To Be Like Martin Luther King Jr.

Life on Planets

Life On Planets

Photo: Courtesy of artist

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Life On Planets On Astrology, Inclusivity & More life-planets-talks-astrology-inclusivity-dancefloor-why-we-have-be-martin-luther-king

Life On Planets Talks Astrology, Inclusivity On The Dancefloor & Why We Have To Be Like Martin Luther King Jr.

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I've always felt comfortable [speaking] on the mic and [raising] people up and [building] that energy and [trying] to transmute it into something that can go beyond just that moment," the singer said
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 18, 2021 - 6:02 am

Baltimore-bred singer, guitarist and producer Phill Celeste, a.k.a. Life on Planets, is an Aries—the fire sign represented by the ram. Aries is known for taking charge and getting things done, and that's exactly his MO. "I'm always trying to keep it flowing, keep going, keep pushing ahead. I guess that's gotten us here," he told GRAMMY.com from Miami, where he is living for the next few months with his girlfriend.

Celeste's music—a sweet blend of house, funk, R&B, and soul, bolstered by his rich, deep vocals—embodies movement. His catalog easily shifts between sunny daytime vibes and sweaty dancefloors. Yet, his joyful music is made not just with the intention of getting people grooving, but—in the vein of soul greats like Al Green, Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye—with thought and feeling in his lyrics that celebrate love, friendship and the possibility of a brighter future.

"Everybody always comes together to unite under the music. So, I feel like [the dancefloor's] always been a powerful place to spread messages," he said. "I've always felt comfortable [speaking] on the mic and [raising] people up and [building] that energy and [trying] to transmute it into something that can go beyond just that moment." 

The inspiring artist recently spoke to GRAMMY.com about his love of astrology and using music as a catalyst for social change. He also talks the inspiration and creative journey behind his latest single "Grateful," how he covered Afro disco classic "Only You," and more.

I really want to know where the name Life on Planets came from.

Back when I first started this project, I was working for a producer who goes by Discoogie. I guess he doesn't make music anymore, but I was busking and making these house tracks with him. I would ask him, "What's your astrology? When were you born? What's your moon sign?" All that stuff and eventually he was like, "Yo, we should call this project Life on Planets because you're so into astrology."

He would always give people names and I was like, "All right, I'll take it. Life on Planets." I guess people think it's all about aliens and space, and it is. That's half of it, but I'm really into astrology, and I like to think of ideas and places and things as planets that we orbit around.

What sign are you and how do you feel it affects your art?

I'm an Aries. I am very, how do I say? I want to say the good things because when you say Aries, people are always [look sideways at you], like, "Ohhh. Okay." And I'm a Leo moon and Leo ascendant. They say these placements can lead to performer, exhibitionist, outgoing personalities.

I feel like, as the [Aires] ram, an embodiment of this energy of pushing through things and moving forward. I tend to be very, "How can I get this done as fast as possible, as easy as possible?" Whether it's working on an idea and bringing a collaborator in, I'm always trying to keep it flowing, keep going, keep pushing ahead. I guess that's gotten us here.

Read: Justin Michael Williams Talks "I Am Enough," Teaching Kids Meditation & Pivoting Towards His Truth

This would be cool if it was an interview just about astrology, but we should also talk about music. You have a few tracks coming out on Studio 54 Records and I would love if you could take us through the creative process and the inspiration for one of them: "Grateful."

 "Grateful" I wrote when I was living in New York. To give some background, I moved to New York from Baltimore in August 2019 and was trying to figure things out and get into the scene there, start meeting people. I wrote "Grateful" shortly after I went to a show at Elsewhere [in Brooklyn] and the big headliner was The Knocks. We were walking around and hanging out and getting squished. I was just feeling really ugh [about the packed crowd] and then The Knocks started playing all this throwback stuff, like Foster the People and MGMT. It was super high school. I was like, "Oh snap," and everybody was blissed out. I was thinking, "Ah, man. I want to make something that can give that old school vibe."

I used to listen to Daft Punk and MGMT and all this cool electronic pop and I was like, "Give me some of that vibe." Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I started recording "Grateful" and trying to do some more weird effected stuff and some electronic pop-influenced stuff. The lyrics are about my girlfriend. Over the course of our relationship, I would always think, "What if that one moment never happened? Would things still have turned out the same if I hadn't offered to help her with her bags? Would we have still connected?" Because it just feels so important and this one moment led to this and then now my life is completely different.

The song is basically half about peering into the alternate dimension, looking at those moments as if I was Marty McFly or something, and the other half is appreciating how special the relationship is.

I love that backstory. I'm also curious about the technical side of the different beats and approaches you used to make "Grateful."

Sometimes I feel self-conscious about this influence, but I'm a big fan of Justin Timberlake and what he did with Timbaland and Pharrell. All of that stuff, you throw it on, I just start singing and dancing. I did a lot of vocal percussion on both this track and "Everyday." I was doing a lot of prrr chhh prrr, in the beginning, you can hear it, and then I threw that through a bunch of effects and delay and phasers and stuff to try to make it sound like this texture or this groove that you just can't always capture in a sample.

And then I've got my guitar going, just trying to hold down a little steady thing. It was always my idea to combine psychedelic guitar with house sounds and R&B influences for the vocals. For the guitar stuff, sometimes I like to run it through an effects chain where I almost make it sound like a synth. I did it on this one a little bit in the pre-chorus, where it slowly ramps up. And I'm trying to take a little bit of CHIC, Nile Rodgers, always a little bit of that chicken pickin' going throughout. 

So, there's that and then the drums. I feel like I always try to take a really soft kick. I love those hip-hop kicks that KAYTRANADA likes to throw around. On this track, I was trying to take a soft kick, but then boost it. There's some side-chaining going on, especially with the guitars so that that kick really stands out and punches. I took some trap drums and some 909s and 808s and layered them.

And there's that bass. That's also along that KAYTRA hip-hop, trap sound. I love to take 808s and put them into this dance music world. In the chorus, there's a really heavy piano sample that I found through Arturia, like the Mini V, and so I layered that and it just sounds like bam, baa, baaa. It's like "Alright, here we go!" When I wanted to take it to the next level with textures and the vibe, I went to Splice because everybody's on there. I was like, "Okay. Let me finally join the hive." I got some weird little loops. There was a clock ticking and I pitched it down and tucked it in.

\

One of the other songs I want to talk about is "Only You," one of your many 2020 releases. It's so dope how you flip the Steve Monite Afro disco classic. Can you talk about your approach to that track and, again, some of the different elements that you brought into it?

I was cleaning the house or something, and had Spotify radio going and I heard [Steve Monite's] "Only You" and I was like, "Holy f***. What record is this from? Who is this?" I started listening to that boogie and Lagos [compilation album the track is on] all the time. I started hearing it out. I would hear it at every afterparty, like Sunrise Vibes, and I was like, "Okay. This is so hot."

Then I got inspired by dvsn. I was watching the highlights from Coachella, and I was like, "Holy sh*t." [Daniel Daley] starts singing Usher, riffing, and then they go into this Usher song. I was like, "Oh, it is so cool. I need to do more covers. I need to do more singalongs." Usually, I play for an hour and it's all my stuff and it's fun, but people can't always sing along. 

I was like, "'Only You' will be perfect because ... everybody vibes with this song," and I hadn't heard a 1:00 a.m. version—not that you can only play my version then. But I wanted to have one for 1:00 a.m. at my set at the club because the original is more for sunrise or sunset. It's chilled out.

I was in Barcelona [for a show], trying to figure out what I wanted to do with this "Only You" thing because I had a couple hours and I didn't have my flash drive. I was like, "Alright. Let me just see what I can make with what I have here." I started throwing together some 808s and trying to make just some really cool little beats with that tap, tap, tap [rhythm in the original]. I was really trying everything in the box because I didn't even have my interface or a way to really record anything.

So, I arranged it all and then sung over it through my computer microphone and mimicked the guitar. Then I sent it to my homeboy Mateyo, who DJs for me when we play bigger shows, so I can be out front, jumping around. He also does sound engineering and mixing and mastering. I'm like, "Bro, what do you think of this? Can we work with it? Let's get in the studio and record this proper." 

I don't think we even really did anything to it from that initial session. He just mixed it really well and we came to the studio. I recorded my vocals and an actual guitar, but for the most part it stayed the same. That was before I had Splice, so on YouTube or Freesound.com I found a couple of [samples of] fire alarms, horses galloping and sprinklers. There are some sounds like that for the transitions at the beginning. And then of course, there's the worst alarm [sound], your alarm clock when you wake up. I was like "How can I take these elements and then make them percussive?"

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With a lot of the music that you put out this year, you've donated part of the proceeds to Black Lives Matter, ACLU and other organizations. How you see dance music and more generally being an artist as part of the catalyst for social change and racial justice?

Every time I go [to a house music party,] there are always so many different people from different backgrounds. You've got people like the OGs who have been in the scene watching it grow and do it for years and then you've got young kids, you've got DJs, you got dancers. It's like everybody always comes together to unite under the music. So, I feel like it's always been a powerful place to spread messages and somewhere that I've always felt comfortable [speaking] on the mic and [raising] people up and [building] that energy and [trying] to transmute it into something that can go beyond just that moment.

I feel like a lot of the DJs and producers I've worked with are super woke and always staying up on the issues and trying to make way and to work for change. I see plenty of other guys trying to make a stand and do what they can. This whole [donation] thing happened organically from a couple of conversations with Soul Clap. We started saying, "Yo, what can we do to still put this music out there, but to make it something, make it help?"

Since that conversation, [there's] just been more conversations with Kitsune where we're like, "We're donating X amount to Black Lives Matter. What can we do?" We picked Campaign Zero because that's a little more targeted with Kitsune ... I think we've always paid respects to those who have come before and the dance floor has always been a safer space—with P.L.U.R. [or, peace, love unity respect]—for trans folks and for gay people, for everybody just to come together and give it up to the ether.

Related: Jayda G Talks New EP, Promoting Diversity In Dance Music & Sharing Joy

What do you see as an essential part of bringing the dance music industry back to its inclusive and radical roots?

It's an interesting question because there's only so much I can do as an artist of color and people like me can do. I feel like it's really on the gatekeepers in every avenue to wake up, and it's my job to help them wake up and pass me the key. I was talking to Seth Troxler about this on this "Schmoozing and the Soul Clap" weekly talk show. We were saying it comes down to more promoters waking up and trying to add more artists of color, and of every background to their roster, to fill in the paint by numbers. It comes down to PR companies trying to get more press, writers wanting to write about and to get to know artists of color.

I think it's definitely on us to keep making our voices heard, to keep making art and to keep expressing ourselves, and to keep fighting for change, but I think the music scene, as we know, is dominated by white people that are just booking their friends or hooking up homies or whatever. And so, they have to turn around and say, "Oh, I need to make some new homies," and really try to do their part. Hopefully.

I mean, I've seen it happen. Our interaction here. Working with Infamous PR, they reached out to me and said, "Hey, we want to help and do our part and make more Black artists and more artists of color visible. That's what we've done for other artists." And so, they want to really take the time to support. A guy like me, that's just been making music and touring and trying to scrape by as an artist, doesn't necessarily have the funds to pay these crazy premiums for marketing. I've been fortunate enough to have all that come into my circle because more and more people are waking up to it. I hope it keeps happening. We'll keep waking up and we can all get to a level where things are a little more equal.

Related: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor And Elijah McClain Are Drifting From The National Discourse—These Musicians Remind Us To "Say Their Names"

In 2020, we experienced a much-needed reckoning with systemic racism in America and there's been a lot of really important conversations that have come out from it. How do you think we can keep the conversations and activism going, especially when things seem to get better, back to "normal," or how so often the cycles go?

I think we've seen it happen already. I don't hear anybody talking about Breonna Taylor. Obviously, life is going to return to some normal and we've all been cooped up, and people need to have their mimosas or their dance parties. I've been seeing all these crazy pictures of people going out here in Miami and they don't care at all, but I just think for those of us that haven't forgotten and that have to keep playing this game, I've had to keep posting stuff on social media and to just keep checking in, keep making sure that our message is there. I do think that there has to also be some sort of shift a little bit in the way we approach these things.

I was actually talking to some homies the other night. We just got really deep on all of this and I forget who said it, but you have to lead with love, right? And there are so many people that are just like, "Ah, I don't want to be a downer," or, "All lives matter," or, "You can't defund the police," and I feel we can't just isolate them. The more we let them be in their vacuum chamber, the more toxic that community is going to become. So, we have to be bigger. We have to be like Gandhi, like Martin Luther King, Jr. and not worry about the blows we might receive and approach the other side with love and try to educate them.

There's got to be a way to talk their language and get them to open their eyes and so, I think we need to almost study the psychology of the naysayer and try to meet them on their ground or something. Otherwise, there's going to be this division forever, and we need to come together in order to tackle these bigger problems.

I did phone banking with voters in Georgia and the organizers talk a lot about meeting people where they're at and how you don't have to have the same views as someone to be able to relate to them as a human. And it's not about proving them wrong, but offering a different perspective or offering some realness to the lies that they've been consuming.

It's not a sprint, right? It's a marathon and so, we don't have to immediately change or transform anybody in one conversation. That's impossible. You just have to keep having those little conversations and try to just make those little steps forward.

With music it's an easy way to capture someone. They hear that beat, they hear that bang, and then you slide in a little message. They might be affected on some level and take that message and take it to heart and impart that onto someone else. That's the hope at least.

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Record Store Recs: Estereomance Are All In Their Feels With Vinyl From El Paso, Los Angeles & Mexico City

Baauer smiling in his at-home studio in Brooklyn

Baauer

Photo: Kylie Hoffman

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First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Baauer meet-first-time-grammy-nominee-baauer

Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Baauer Talks 'PLANET'S MAD,' Daft Punk & Shaking The "Harlem Shake"

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"To me, it's such a beautiful validation. It's like, 'Check this out—I made this album and boom, now I'm nominated for a GRAMMY,'" Baauer tells GRAMMY.com of his nomination
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 24, 2021 - 9:05 am

It's been eight years since Brooklyn-based DJ/producer Baauer found viral fame with his bouncy debut single, "Harlem Shake," released on Diplo's Mad Decent label in 2012. He's followed up with numerous singles and two full-length albums, 2016's Aa and 2020's GRAMMY-nominated PLANET'S MAD.

Yet, as he explains, it's been hard to get past being the "'Harlem Shake' guy."

"To me, it's such a beautiful validation," Baauer, born Harrison Rodrigues, tells GRAMMY.com about PLANET'S MAD's recent nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album. "It's like, 'Check this out, I made this album and boom, now I'm nominated for a GRAMMY.'"

He also takes us into the fantastical musical and visual world he created for the GRAMMY-nominated project, how Brooklyn influences his sound and his lifelong love of Daft Punk (this interview was conducted before their breakup was announced).

First of all, congrats on your first GRAMMY nomination. How did you find out and what was your reaction?

Some people started texting me, "Congrats!" and I had no idea what was going on. I was like, "Oh wait, something's happening." I asked somebody who texted me, 'What are you talking about?' And they're like, "Oh, the GRAMMY nomination." It was amazing. I freaked out. I was jumping up and down, like, "Woooo!" It was one of those rare moments of pure joy.



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That's awesome. And yeah, in a year that felt like a lot of sh*t, I'm sure it has an extra contrast.

Yeah, absolutely. After such a year, and a year putting so much work into the album, and at times feeling like, "Oh man, is anyone even going to listen to this? Or is this just going to fall on deaf ears?" and sometimes feeling a little bit down about the circumstances, it was just very amazing, fantastic—a validation of all that hard work.

Read: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Arca Is Expanding Latin Music On Her Terms With Electronic Album ‘KiCK i’

What does it mean to you to be nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album?

Oh, it means so much. It means the world. I've had a journey where I got my main exposure from the meme moment of "Harlem Shake." So I'm always, always working within the context of, "Oh, this is the 'Harlem Shake' guy." I've accepted it. And I'm grateful for it, but it's also something I'm constantly trying to move past and shake, you know what I mean?

How do you feel that your sound and approach to making music has shifted since releasing "Harlem Shake" in 2012, especially being that it was the first single you ever put out?

I feel good that I've never tried to cash in again after that happened. I had the chance to be like, "Okay, let's try to do 'Harlem Shake Two.'" And I just felt like, "Nah, don't do that. Keep trying new stuff, keep experimenting." And a lot of the things didn't work, a lot of experiments didn't work, but I'm proud that I, despite that, just kept trying to do different, new things.

And this album was absolutely one of those too. It's an experiment; it's kind of a risk. And this nomination is just an amazing lesson of a risk that absolutely paid off. It's good to know that sometimes if you roll the dice, you can get a reward.

I want to dive into the album a bit more. Can you take us into the vision behind PLANET'S MAD?

Absolutely. Basically, I wanted to make a new album and create a world for it, almost like making a movie. And so instead of just having a collection of 12 electronic tracks, I used this opportunity to create a world. And that was the basic inspiration for it. From there, it was just a matter of imagining this world and making characters. [Plus], going back to movies and albums that I took in when I was discovering music, and trying to recreate that. Like Daft Punk, Prodigy, The Avalanches and Fatboy Slim—all the albums that sort of created a universe.

Related: 'Tron: Legacy' At 10: How Daft Punk Built An Enduring Soundtrack

Is the movie something that you were thinking about while making the album, or is it something you decided to do after?

I definitely wanted some visual elements from the get-go. But whether or not it was going to be a full movie for the whole thing, I didn't have that in mind until I realized that that was possible a little later on. But visuals are definitely important. For a minute, I was thinking to maybe do a video game too. But that's something that, along the way, turned out to not be possible.

I found these awesome animators, Actual Objects. They were able to create these visuals inside of a video game engine, and they were able to do it so quickly that I realized we could actually make a full little movie here. So, yeah, it was in meeting these animators that that plan and the whole movie came about.

So, the video game didn't happen, but it led to the movie, which is cool.

Yeah, exactly. And it's kind of cool, because, since they built the whole world inside the video game engine, it is actually playable as a game. So that's something that maybe, who knows, down the line, we could still do. This stuff is pretty alien to me, but, as I understand it, with a click of a button, it could become a video game. It's something that's possible.

How did the collaborative process between you and the animators and anyone else involved in the movie go? How did you work with them to create the world in your mind?

I started off with a pretty general storyline. I worked with my brother, who is a writer trying to make it out in Los Angeles right now. He's a great writer, and he's very good at understanding basic story structure. I gave him some movie influences. A big one was The Fifth Element, which has been one of my absolute favorite movies for so long. So, I started off making a basic framework with him.

And I knew I wanted the little alien creature because I love character design. I'm so into Jim Henson, "Sesame Street" and the Muppets. From there, we developed the story. We knew it was going to be about a planet that came into Earth's atmosphere and people on Earth had a reaction to it. They were scared at first, then discovered it was peaceful and everyone became friends.

The story happened bit by bit. And I think, honestly, that means that there are some holes in it. But from what I can tell, that's how it goes sometimes with telling a story, whether it's in a movie or in a show or whatever. You build it as you go, and sometimes there are little holes in it. But sometimes, it doesn't matter, because you're so enraptured in the world that's created.

And you also released a Blu-ray DVD version of the movie with music video extras, which feels very throwback. What was the inspiration to release a physical version of it?

It was Dominic, who runs LuckyMe, the label [I'm on]. We've done a bunch of really cool videos in the past, and for one reason or another, maybe they didn't all get the big exposure [we wanted]. So he had the idea to compile them for this special edition thing. Making it a Blu-ray is kind of throwback, huh? But it's a pretty recent throwback—Blu-rays aren't from that long ago, but I don't have a Blu-ray player. But yeah, it's a cool physical item to have. It's a little look back and a way to have everything in one space.

Did you have any music DVDs growing up? I have a couple I had that I'm thinking of.

Yeah. I'm curious, which ones did you have?!

In sixth grade, I was really obsessed with Sugar Ray. Specifically, Mark McGrath. It was their Australian tour DVD and I watched it endlessly.

Wow. That's one of my favorite things [to learn about people]. You have that thing, like that DVD, that you watch over and over and over again.

The big one for me was Daft Punk's Interstella 5555. You know, they did like a whole anime film that goes along with their album Discovery, which of course is a huge influence of mine. That's a big one that I had and loved. I'm trying to think if I had any more, like, live ones. I'm not sure if I had any live DVDs. I definitely wanted some.

There are so many different sounds and textures on the album. So, I want to look at one song specifically that I really liked, "Pizzawala." Can you break down the different elements on that track?

It all started with a sample that came from a—speaking of old, now obsolete media—a sample CD. There were these CDs in the '90s and 2000s that had all kinds of samples on it—little vocal chops or drums or whatever. People would use them the way now you download a [sample] pack. On the CD is this guy singing a Middle Eastern-sounding chant. The song was all based around that vocal chant, which was actually also used in a Prodigy song. I only discovered that kind of recently, which is kind of crazy.

Around it, I built these drums and tried to use all kinds of different percussion—any cool percussion that sounded different or interesting to me. And the groove was definitely inspired by Timbaland, who's probably my favorite producer ever. I don't even know how to describe it, but [I created] a bouncy percussion based around this sort of chant sample.

And then around that, I built this melody of bells—[which are] still percussion, but more melodic percussion, like bells and marimbas. And I also put in vocals from an amazing writer. I recorded her on it like a year before, doing ad-libs and stuff. I don't even really know what she's saying. So yeah, an old sample, vocals I recorded and then a bunch of different, crazy percussions I found from all over the internet.

That's really cool. I want to find these boxes of sample CDs.

Yeah. I mean, honestly, it's not the coolest, but I just found it on YouTube. It was called, like, "old sample CDs." Even though it's from a CD, I still found it on the internet.

So when you first used the sample, you didn't realize that Prodigy had also used it?

Yeah. A friend of mine texted me after like, "Hey, did you sample Prodigy for that?" I looked up the song and it was using the same sample. I was like, "Oh my God." It's perfectly possible that they also got it from the same CD. Or maybe somewhere else. It's just a really old sample that's been used a bunch of times.

You've talked a bit about some of your inspirations both visually and musically, but was there an artist that made you want to get into DJing and producing yourself?

Yeah, it's tough. I mean, I mentioned them before, but Daft Punk is definitely one of the biggest. That's like the first CD I ever bought. I was so into them, I loved them so much. I saw them live as many times as I could. So, they'd probably be number one, but there are a million other people along the way that also gave me a boost. Prodigy is definitely another one.

When did you first start listening to Daft Punk?

I was probably 12 or 13. And at that time, there was already a lot to dig into. They had already been putting a lot of stuff out and had a cool history to get into and find new stuff and all that.

How does Brooklyn influence your sound and aesthetic?

Oh, wow, great question. It's tough to say. Throughout my whole musical career, I've always lived here, so I guess it's definitely soaked in, in some way or another, whether I knew it or not. It's more of a subconscious thing, I guess, like the type of music I hear from a car that's passing by.

Maybe it's walking around. It's my favorite thing to do, take random walks where I don't have anywhere to go. I think, in doing that, I soak in all the weird sights and sounds and everything about New York in general. That just seeps in and mixes with everything else and somehow inspires the music.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Philly, then I moved to London until I was 12. Afterward, I moved back to the U.S., to Connecticut, then I moved back to London for one more year. I moved to New York when I was 18. So, I grew up between the U.S. and London. And being in London was huge, that's where electronic music was happening. It was on the radio all the time. That's definitely where I got the love for electronic music.

How will you be celebrating the GRAMMYs?

I'm going to try to get the nicest outfit I can and do it up as best I can!

GRAMMY Flashback: Watch The Evolution Of Style At The GRAMMYs From The 1960s To The Present

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Black Coffee

Black Coffee

Photo: Alari Teede

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Black Coffee Talks New LP, 'Subconsciously' black-coffee-new-album-subconsciously-interview

Black Coffee On New Album, 'Subconsciously': "Music Is Life To Me And I Want You To Feel That With Every Beat And Melody"

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"That's what music should do, it should divide barriers and unite us under this one universal language," the South African DJ and producer says of his new album, 'Subconsciously'
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 4, 2021 - 1:29 pm

If you have yet to immerse yourself in Black Coffee's captivating, atmospheric beats, now's a perfect time. The South African DJ and producer's emotive sixth album, and first in five years, Subconsciously, drops tomorrow, Fri., Feb. 5, on Ultra. To craft the enchanting soundscapes therein, Black Coffee tapped a diverse, talented group of collaborators, including vocalists Usher, Sabrina Claudio, Celeste and more, and fellow producers David Guetta, Diplo, DJ Angelo and Pharrell Williams (who also provides vocals on "10 Missed Calls").

Black Coffee has been big in the international house music scene since 2013. That year, he won bingo on the DJ bucket list, playing spots like Berghain in Berlin, Amsterdam Dance Event, Circoloco in Ibiza and his first Boiler Room set. In 2017, while he was busy bringing joy to dancefloors around the world, he made waves in the mainstream with his standout feature on Drake's More Life. "Get It Together" featuring Jorja Smith is a remake of Black Coffee's 2007 track "Superman," its pulsating beat traversing decades and borders.

The Drake spotlight led the talented producer to "Get It Together" in the studio with other heavy-hitters like Diddy, Akon, Usher and Pharrell and to where he is today. Subconsciously is a culmination of Black Coffee's two-plus decades refining and redefining his sound, limitless beyond borders and genres, yet rooted in his South African identity—he's never too big to work with fellow artists from his home country.

Ahead of his exciting new album, GRAMMY.com caught up with the "Wish You Were Here" artist over email to dive deeper into the project and its collaborators, as well as what representing South Africa means to him.

What does your new album Subconsciously represent to you? What was your creative vision for this project?

When jumping into this new project, I wanted to remind the world that we're not confined by genres. As an artist, that's a value I hold very close to me. I create music that I can connect with, that provokes a certain emotion.

That's what music should do, it should divide barriers and unite us under this one universal language—and that's exactly what I wanted to do with Subconsciously. My artistic touch will always be defined by my music, but I want to break barriers and convey a global message, not just on dancefloors. This album goes way beyond. 

Read: Record Store Recs: Producer Bongo ByTheWay Shares The Music Of His Mind

There are a lot great collabs on the project—how did you choose who to work with on this one?

There are different processes for making every song and so I didn't go into this album thinking that I had to work with a particular artist. As the music evolved, we played around with many different elements. Sometimes a particular voice just meshes well with the direction of my production and it works. Other times, we're pitched a vocal and I adapt my music to make it feel right. These different processes sort of create an equal playing field for collaborators. 

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What is your favorite part about working with other artists? And what do you feel like is one of the more challenging elements of collaborating?

Sometimes, you've put your heart and soul into a particular song and you feel there's nothing else that can be done, but then you add another creative on board and the song is elevated to a place that you couldn't have imagined before. Every vocalist, producer or writer can add a certain key element that changes the whole dynamic of the music and I think that's the real beauty in collaborating. I wouldn't say there are challenges, only creative motivation!

More Convos: Popcaan Talks 'FIXTAPE,' Working With Drake And The Globalization Of Dancehall And Reggae

When you released "LaLaLa" with Usher in 2019, had you already finished the album? For you, in what ways did this track feel like a shift into new sonic territory?

Back when I released this single, the album hadn't been 100 percent completed. The general tracklist had been outlined, but we were still going in and adding finishing touches to make it what it is today. The creative process and journey in making this album spanned over a couple of years.

For me, it wasn't necessarily a shift, but rather a gateway to spreading the joy of different sounds and reminding people that one particular musical way of thinking isn't superior to another. To me, if a song can evoke emotion and power, it's already done its job.

The music I am producing is oftentimes very different than the music that I DJ. I create music that you can blast on your car speakers or clean your home to. I create feel-good music that can universally bring us together. It's all about that feeling. 

"To me, if a song can evoke emotion and power, it's already done its job."

As a whole, Subconsciously is very captivating and immersive, and it definitely has a bit of a chilled out and moody vibe. How would you describe the mood and the feeling of it?

Every time I listen to Subconsciously, I have a new favorite song. That's what makes this album unique. There's something for every mood; it evokes a lot of emotion. You have the deeper sounds of "You Need Me" [featuring Maxine Ashley and Sun-El Musician] or "Ready For You" [featuring Celeste], upwards to the more poppy side of the spectrum with songs like "Never Gonna Forget" [featuring Diplo and Elderbrook].

What do you hope your fans will experience while listening to the album?

I hope that it brings anyone who's listening from anywhere in the world joy. That's what the music is all about for me. I've been working on and evolving my sound for pretty much my entire life. Music is life to me and I want you to feel that with every beat and melody. 

What does it mean to you to represent South Africa across the globe? What is a misconception people often have about your home country?

My South African roots are something extremely important to me. I want to bring South Africa to the world. The talent emerging from my country is growing by the day and being able to collaborate with outstanding artists like Sun-El Musician, Tellaman, Una Rams, Msaki and C-Tea, to name a few, means I'm taking the sounds of South Africa one step further on the global spectrum. It's such an honor to be able to carry the flag on a more global spectrum.

When people from outside the country or even further, the continent, think of South Africa, they have a very cut-and-paste conception, but it goes so far beyond that. My country is home to some of the most incredible musicians, artists and great minds, even beyond the obvious household names. Our culture is vibrant and booming and I'm so proud to call it home. 

Do you have your eyes on any rising African artists right now?

It's hard to pinpoint any one particular artist right now, as there is so much emerging talent. In the music world, there's Da Africa Deep, in the visual world, there's Ghariokwu Lemi, but these are just two of so many. I could go on for days and the scope is constantly changing and evolving.

Life On Planets Talks Astrology, Inclusivity On The Dancefloor & Why We Have To Be Like Martin Luther King Jr.

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BLOND:ISH

BLOND:ISH

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BLOND:ISH Is Living In The Present blondish-finding-real-community-twitch-staying-present-remixing-foreigner-fela-kuti

BLOND:ISH On Finding Real Community On Twitch, Staying Present & Remixing Foreigner & Fela Kuti

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GRAMMY.com caught up with the lively DJ/producer to chat about her latest music, finding inspiration in the present moment, advocating for sustainable parties with Bye Bye Plastic and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 23, 2020 - 8:47 am

Vive-Ann Bakos, a.k.a. BLOND:ISH, is a vibrant being who creates joyful soundscapes and spaces for all to dance and play in. The Canada-born, Los Angeles-based DJ/producer has been a global force in the underground house music scene for the past decade-plus, which is fitting for someone whose sets take you on a journey with rhythms from Colombia, Nigeria, Berlin and beyond. While she's played major clubs and festivals around the world, including all over Tulum, Mexico, Miami, Ibiza, Spain and at Coachella 2019, it's perhaps her Burning Man sunrise sets for which she's most beloved.

Now, with the global shutdown of 2020, Bakos has brought her sunshine personality, love of collaboration and joyful music to the world via Twitch with AbracadabraTV. Every week, fellow artists and dance music lovers gather virtually for the lively music from resident and rotating artists on "Magic Saturdaze," as well as yoga, meditation and music during "Self Love Sundays."

Collaboration and connection are at the core of her ethos. Her label, Abracadabra Records, launched in 2018, is another expansion of the BLOND:ISH universe. 2020 releases on Abracadabra have included the Troublemakers Vol. 1 compilation EP and two-track EPs from Canada's Gab Rhome, Paris duo and AbraTV regulars Chambord, Greece's DSF and others. Look out for a new single from the label maestro herself on Dec. 11: a mystical house collab with Rowee called "Garden Of 3Den."

And with Bye Bye Plastic, also created in 2018, Bakos is paving the path for a more sustainable global community with plastic-free, environmentally friendly guidelines for dance music events and festivals.

GRAMMY.com caught up with Bakos to chat about her latest and upcoming music, finding community online, sustainability, collaboration and more.

 
Your birthday just passed. Happy birthday!

Thank you.

I'm a Libra, too. I'm sure you know, Libras are known for being social, diplomatic, creative and other fabulous things. Do you identify with these qualities? And how do you feel being a Libra influences your creativity in your art and your music?

I didn't know that Libras are creative. My girlfriend's looking at me like, "You knew that." [Laughs.] But no, I just do my thing, you know what I mean? I didn't realize that it was potentially a Libra thing. Today, I was walking on the streets, I'm just really inspired by my surroundings. I was walking around New York and [there are] so many inspirational quotes and stuff everywhere. And I'm just so inspired by all that. I could be in Egypt, walking into a hotel and the door's creaking, and I get inspired by that sound and I'll record it. So it's really random for me. I didn't know it had to do with Libras.



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So, you're sort of constantly amused, entertained and inspired by the world around you?

Yeah. I was hanging out with a lot of kids during quarantine. And I was making songs about plastic and poop and stuff. It really depends who I'm around.

Earlier this year, you officially released your fun remix of Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is," the only remix they've ever approved. Can you talk about the journey behind the remix?

It was a long journey. Every year at Burning Man, I try to make a special edit for those sunrise moments. And I like it to encapsulate that feeling of being completely free—and the sunrise—in the middle of the desert with your best friends. It's just the best moment ever that exists, so I like to make an edit for that moment. Somehow, Foreigner came on and it's a super cheesy track. For some reason, I thought it would be good for Burning Man because it would encapsulate that moment. I thought it was risky because it was so cheesy, but then I realized, "It's OK, let's take that risk." And I made the edit because it was really fun to play with it and to replay the basslines and stuff.

When I played it, it was one of the last tracks at the Robot Heart set and, literally, hundreds of people took videos. And I realized after I played it that, "Wow, this is actually a track that people really connect with. And it brings back people to so many different memories." So I was like, "I want to release this. How can we do it?"

We tried so many different routes. I got a lot of nos: "No, they're not going to release it." It's not even [from] Foreigner—I was even asking my friends, "Who knows Foreigner?" And I had a bunch of friends who knew that was someone's dad or someone. So we got connected with them and they said, "Yeah, we would love to release it."

But at the end of the day, they don't own it, so we had to get the publisher to release it. And sometimes these are just people sitting behind a desk. They don't really understand. It was an edit, right, it wasn't a complete super remix. And I think some of those A&Rs, they need some EDM remix or something to make it valid. I don't take no for an answer; I just try to find another way. I think that's great advice for people, is if you hear no, just find a different way, potentially. And yeah, finally we got to the right person and we got a yes, and we got it released officially. It took a year and a half.

What's one of your other favorite edits that you've done for Burning Man over the years?

What did I do? I don't even remember. I'd have to check my computer and check my tracks. My girlfriend's like, "Do you need help?" My brain doesn't work like that. I'm so focused on the present or the future; whatever happened in the past is passé.

What are some of the ways that help you stay present or grounded? How has being present in the moment become so natural for you?

Morning rituals, for sure. Morning meditation to start off the day. It's best, when you wake up, to stay away from those distractions as much as possible. So stay away from your phone and laptop. I mean, it's really obvious advice, but it grounds you for the day. It sets up your day in the right direction.

I try to do my morning rituals as much as possible. I try to do some yoga, stretching or Pilates in the morning. I would love to get more into Qigong; right now, that's calling me. I've practiced it, but I don't have it in my daily practice. You know when you just get those downloads? I got that download, I just haven't pressed play yet. And literally, honestly, I try to stay present. I turn off all my notifications and all that stuff. I don't even use Facebook. Have you seen The Social Dilemma?

I still need to watch it, but I've heard good things.

Yeah. Watch Social Dilemma and My Octopus Teacher. I mean, those are two totally different documentaries, but very important for understanding the idea of presence. So even just walking around New York—when I'm walking on the street, I am just listening to the sounds and observing people. And that's also presence, but in a different way. So simple things like that, just being aware.

That's so true. And you're right, it is technically simple, but I think we're so used to being on our phones.

Yeah, for sure. So the whole goal is to get more in your heart, into where your second brain lives, your intuition, which is near your solar plexus. And right now, as humans, we're so in our heads, which is just really top layer, where we're constantly distracted. And that's the furthest away from our true essence. So it's about turning those things off so we can get deeper into ourselves.

Abracadabra TV · Fela Kuti - Mr. Grammarticalogylisationalism Boss (BLOND:ISH Remix) (ABRA006) [clip]

You've remixed a lot of great tracks and a lot of really different stuff—Fela Kuti, Black Coffee and Kaskade with Sabrina Claudio, to name a few. How do you typically approach a remix? And what do you feel is the BLOND:ISH touch?

[Laughs.] Honestly, if I like the track, [I'll remix it]. Fela Kuti is such an inspirational character in so many ways. The BPM was so hard to work with on that track, but I was like, "F*** it," because it has such a positive message and he's such an incredible human being that I was inspired by that. And also the whole idea of Africa and the drums; that inspired me.

And then for the Sabrina Claudio remix, they were like, "Oh, they want to release it in two weeks. Can you do a remix in a few days?" And this was at the beginning of quarantine, when there were no clubs, nothing. I was just at home quarantining. And I thought, "The only place you can really listen to music is at home and in your car." I was inspired by the fact that people like to escape from their house and go take a joyride in their cars, so I wanted to make a remix that sounded good in a car. Also, it's that kind of thinking, what's relevant to me in that moment.

I'm working on a remix right now for Christmas. Universal's doing some sort of Christmas album, so I'm remixing an old Temptations track. I remember the Temptations because my parents used to listen to them, and I'm inspired by those really nice basslines they had. I was listening to music all over the house, so I'll make it sound like something you'd like to listen to in your home.

I love that. BLOND:ISH beyond Burning Man, beyond the club.

That's great. Actually, that's a good tagline. I like it.

What's your favorite part about collaborating with other artists?

My favorite part of collaborating is the unknown, where it's going to go. It's like at Burning Man. The reason why Burning Man is so special is because everyone is coming there, sharing their passion or their arts. You'll have the Orgasmatron and then you'll have someone that's really inspired by, I don't know, bourbons or tantra. And they're all living, camping beside each other, and they're interacting. From there comes all the spontaneous moments. That's what art is. It's mixing two creative people.

If you draw two circles, each circle is a collaborator. And there's a part of them that overlaps, and that overlap is unknown. That, to me, is where the magic happens. That's why I love collaborating with other people because you don't know what's going to come out of it. You trust the process because you love what they do, you collaborate with people that you respect and that you're inspired by. So out of the collaboration, new things are born. And you had no idea, you just trusted that process.

Obviously, Burning Man didn't happen this year due to the pandemic. It was just in our hearts. In its absence, what element of magic from the Playa do you feel society could use most right now?

You don't feel lonely at Burning Man. No matter where you are on the Playa, you just feel together; it's one unit. And [there are] 80,000 people there. You feel you all have similar goals and it's all positive. I'm generalizing, but it's really that togetherness, the unity feeling, I guess. And right now, in this world, I'm very optimistic, but things feel so f***ed up and like there's no way out. I hate to say that, but at Burning Man, you don't feel that. You feel everything is going to be OK and that we're all in this together. I feel that's definitely what we can use in this world right now.

I feel like I live in a bubble and I want to make this bubble the size of the world so every human can really feel that freedom and happiness. It's one of our rights. That's what we're trying to do with AbracadabraTV on Twitch and stuff. We're really building the community that way so that they get all those positive reinforcements and those tools. And happiness, ways to feel happy, and music. We go live on Saturdays and Sundays on Twitch, and when we're not live, there's a community gathering on our Discord. There are all sorts of different channels on our Discord: There's a general channel, one on music, on weed, all our different interests. And we talk there when we're not live, so we're still hanging out.

That's where we share a lot of mindful practices, just to hit the messages [from the Twitch programming] home. I've noticed that a lot of people introduce themselves and share they are having mental health issues. And they really find Abracadabra to be a safe space where it actually brings them a little bit of breathing space, out of their mental health issues. I'm all for helping with that.

Wow. That's really powerful. With AbracadabraTV and everything you're doing on Twitch, what has it felt like to have that space to share your music and your message while not being able to do live events and to connect with people in person?

It's such a breath of fresh air. Because if this never happened, I would have never discovered this. I'm so grateful to have discovered it and to actually witness it. Being so connected to the community when I'm playing live—listen, it's amazing, that feeling. And I know DJs miss it very, very much. But honestly, when you're playing a gig, you don't interact with the crowd. You can't get instant feedback. Twitch has chat, which is instant feedback. You can basically have a conversation with your community while you're playing. The conversations they are having online can dictate how your live set progresses and evolves. So it's super cool. The community has never been able to speak with the artists while they're DJing or be connected so closely. That's been an amazing discovery during—whatever this is called—2020.

The thing that is 2020. In addition to the weekly Twitch content, you also hosted the two virtual Abracadabra Festivals. What was the most fun part of the fests for you?

The most fun part, honestly, was being live in the studio in L.A. with the production team, and Channel Tres, Paris Hilton, Diplo, everyone coming through. And everyone just being happy to be a part of it and to be a part of that bigger message. The second festival, we decided to do 80 hours—I don't know why—in a row. It was very exhausting.

But when we were in the studio and everything was just running and we were live and there [were] millions of people watching, I was like, "Wow, it was all worth it." And then getting the feedback from people from all around the world, friends and people that just discovered us. And again, I got that sense of unity for a second. And unity, if you want to backtrack, is one, right? And so this presence, everyone being completely present, also equates to unity as well—they're all in the same space.

Read: Dave Maclean Is Livestreaming With The Band & Chatting With Cats

I've experienced those moments on Twitch where the chat is really fun, the music is really good and I'm dancing with my cat. I never expected a livestream or the internet to be a place where I could really feel present.

The one vibe.

Yeah, it's cool.

It is, right? I'm trying to show the other DJs. Because there's a bunch of DJs that are really not into streaming at all and everyone's different, of course. But I have a feeling that a lot of DJs just haven't gotten that experience, of the chat on fire and all the goodness, of that one vibe on Twitch.

I wonder what the future looks like when we're able to gather again at festivals and in clubs. It would be really interesting to see if artists do more livestreams, where people that can't physically come to the festival can still feel like they're a part of it, too. Do you have any idea of what you'd want to do?

Want me to tell you the future? I'll tell you how it is going to work. So physical events are going to come back. And you have the people that buy tickets and will be there. But you also have another layer, the livestream component. So you have another revenue stream now, where you're going to be selling tickets to the people around the world. For instance, Tulum is open in January, as of now, so we're planning a physical event, obviously reduced capacity, and we're also planning a livestream. So we're going to sell tickets to that as well, for the people that can't be there because many people are not going to travel to Tulum this year, especially from Europe and stuff.

And then, VR is actually getting a huge push because of COVID, and it's all these different worlds. You can come as an avatar to the event; we can build an Abracadabra world in VR. And with a drone, you can control cameras at the event. There are all sorts of different experiences you can have around this one event. And [there are] also ways that—we haven't figured this part out yet, but we're working on it—the audience at home will be able to interact in the physical event somehow.

Read: Bye Bye Plastic: BLOND:ISH, Annie Mac, Eats Everything & More Advocate For Eco-Friendly Parties

To the point of raving in person again, I want to talk about Bye Bye Plastic, because if we want to keep partying, we need to do it in a way that's sustainable. Can you talk about how you are approaching sustainability at events? I'd also love to hear about the initial experience of getting a bunch of DJs on board with the Eco-Rider?

Yeah. I mean, we're trying to just produce the least amount of waste as possible and also being conscious about any fuel we're using to minimize the footprint. We think about the whole circularity of the sustainability process—any waste we produce, what are we doing with each and every thing. Like cigarette butts, where are they going after we collect them? And the compostable cups, where are they going? There isn't any plastic at our events, but even if [there are] bottle caps ...

At our last Tulum event, there was something little that was plastic, and we made sure to repurpose everything. We always make sure it goes to the right place. Even when we do a beach clean, we don't just put the plastic in a recycling bin. We figure out where it's going and make sure it's processed properly because the waste management systems are not trustworthy right now, so we handle it all ourselves.

So [there are] a lot of things that happen in the background with the beach clean. It's not just you show up at the beach, pick up some garbage and that's it. We take inventory and we distribute it properly, so it's upcycled. There's a really cool machine that they've developed in Tulum called Petgas that we're working with. Basically, you can throw any grade of plastic in it and it creates some sort of clean fuel. It's a great collaboration because that will create wealth for the locals.

And your question about the DJs—I mean, listen, I had an assistant last year when I had extra cash. And we had this strategy where it was like, "OK, well we know all the agents, managers, DJs and business. Let's reach out to every single one of them. Let's start a movement." We spent six months getting everyone situated and organized, and then we did a viral push with the video. And that was that. Now we're expanding with more DJs. And working with more agencies and artist houses that have a lot of DJs, so you get 50 artists at a time, not one by one.

I don't know how many times I've wanted to cry leaving an event and walking over crumbled plastic water bottles. The plastic-free Eco-Rider is so smart and seems so common sense. But it is different than the status quo. Were people excited about it?

Yeah, totally, people are excited about it. But then there's a lot of work that's babysitting, basically. When you go to a gig, the DJ doesn't really have time to make sure about all that stuff. So the logistics team, or whoever's helping with the gig, needs to make sure a week before—there's a whole bunch of steps to take care of in the babysitting process.

Right now, there are people doing parties at home, safely or however they're doing it. We want to create a culture of people not buying the red plastic cups, so we're creating a guide for the U.S. of what the alternatives are and how to do a plastic-free event for small private parties and stuff. I noticed people just don't know what to get.

Can we talk a little bit about your label, the other side of Abracadabra? What do you look for in an artist or a release for it?

Well, this is changing right now. Typically, we had a certain vibe, but now there are a lot of artists that come through ABRA TV that are super, super talented and have different styles. It's not just about a genre anymore, it's about the message. So we're expanding that horizon to a positive message with the music.

What BLOND:ISH releases can we expect in the next couple of months, beyond the amazing Christmas track you mentioned?

I did a remix for Sony of [Ethiopian singer] Aster Aweke. It's a really emotional track. You don't understand the words [unless you speak Amharic], but when you feel it, you get the emotion out of it. It's another super cool car track to listen to in your car or dance to in your backyard. That's coming out next. And then I have a release, an original track, with a female vocalist coming out on Spinnin'. It's called "Waves." I don't know when it's coming out though, but probably in a month or two.

And what vibe is "Waves"?

It's very vocal and [features] a lot of piano chords. When you hear the piano chords, it just instantly makes you smile. That kind of vibe.

Brandon Lucas Talks Staying Hopeful, Working With Dr. Cornel West & Empowering Dance Producers Of Color

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