WESLEE

WESLEE

Photo: Sergio Necoechea

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WESLEE Talk Exes Of "London Love," Billie Eilish, Support From Annie Mac & New Album

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The electro-R&B duo sat down with the Recording Academy after their L.A. debut to talk about new music, how the first song they ever wrote together, "Gassed," started them off strong and more
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 26, 2019 - 11:35 am

Meet WESLEE: a vibey, electro-R&B duo featuring London-born Emma DD's smooth vocals and Kansas-raised Josh Grant's grooving production. The pair first met in New York City in a writing session and they've been on a roll since. 

Though they initially didn't reveal their identities, WESLEE's 2017 single "Gassed" (the first song they ever wrote together) got the new act noticed in the U.K. right away, with DD and Grant being picked up by an influential handful of early supporters, including Annie Mac and Pete Tong on their esteemed BBC Radio 1 shows. In 2018, Emma and Josh continued to make groovy waves, dropping their debut EP, 9F.

Now, WESLEE is ready to keep the momentum going and make their mark Stateside. They're working on their second EP and have released two more big-vibe singles, "London Love" and "Something Bout You." On the eve of their Los Angeles debut, the Recording Academy sat down with the pair to talk about new music, dream collabs, what they've learned from working together, getting support from a major British personality like Mac and more.

You guys just made your L.A. show debut. How are you feeling? How do you feel like it went for you?

Josh: Still hungry.

Emma: Yeah, it was fun. It was good.

Josh: Made us hungry for more. [Laughs.] No, it felt good. It was a fun venue. We're just going to watch the sunset go down while we—

Emma: Yeah, it's a cool venue.

Josh: —see the trains go by and see the rest of L.A. Yes. A good way to start for a good first L.A. trip.

Yeah! How do you guys usually feel when you're on stage?

Emma: I think maybe I'm normally more drunk thank I am right now. But he's always like that, laughing. We're all really nervous. I had a bit of a weirder experience, though. I was just indifferent, I didn't think about it.

Josh: Emma was good. I'm always nervous.

I always wonder what it's like getting on stage with those lights...

Josh: In your head, you're like, "This is fine" and then you're like "I don't know what the f**k I'm doing."

Emma: Yeah, 10 minutes before, you're like, "I don't know anything I've done, what do I do?" And my stomach's doing somersaults, but I'm like," pass me the whiskey" and they didn't have whiskey here. And I just find out if this [holds up bottle] is basically just kombucha…

Josh: So, it's not alcohol at all.

Maybe there's a placebo effect at least?

Emma: I do this every day, so it's good that it's not alcoholic because I would be an alcoholic.

Josh: Do you prefer drunk shows versus now knowing that there's no alcohol in there?

Emma: It's different. Today's just weird. But yeah, it felt good after. It feels good now.

Can you talk about when you first linked up and how WESLEE was born?

Josh: So, we both write and produce for other people and so we met just doing sessions that way in New York. And then it sort of happened out of that, basically. We came from a session, I think we were burnt out on doing that sort of stuff. We hit a point of "We're over this" at that moment. We needed a day to make music on our own and we wrote "Gassed" then. That's how it started.

That was literally the first thing song you made together?

Josh: Yeah, we wrote it that night. It never changed from then until today.

You started working together and something clicked. How do you feel that you balance or challenge each other creatively? How does that push the project along?

Josh: I think, for me, I change up as like, I'm nervous on stage. I'd be likely to overthink everything in my world and Emma helps me not do that. I just go based on an energy and a feeling and I can keep that and we can put it back to where we just create music now that we're together based on whatever feeling we're having that day. It's not like, "Oh, let's make it this or this." And we don't have an end goal of an EP or an album is going to be about this thing. At least, so far. It's just you go with energy and feeling of the day and then see where that takes you. And I think she's making me get better at that rather than my brain overthinking 10,000 things.

Emma: Yeah, what he said. He's better at this stuff than I am.

Josh: She has nothing nice to say about me. [Pauses.] That's not true. [Smiles.]

When you're working on your own music and in that space of more so going with the dynamic and the flow of the day, do you feel like you're able to be more creative then when you were writing for other people?

Josh: I think it's more creative for me freedom-wise. You can just go and not stress about what it is.

Emma: It's what makes it more stressful.

Josh: Yeah. Because of that.

Your name's on it.

Emma: That's exactly what it is.

Josh: It's freeing, but you're also putting [more] pressure on yourself.

Emma: And then you're starting a lot of stuff between the making music. Like...

Josh: What do you mean?

Emma: …like interviews.

Josh: Oh, right.

You want to talk about it?

Emma: Yeah, I'm not good at talking about a lot of things. Especially, "What kind of music do you make?" I don't f**king know. Sh*t, you can hear it.

Josh: You're good at talking about things in music form, but talking about that is a different thing.

Emma: I don't like to talk about myself.

Josh: But it's also kind of nice cause it makes you reflect and be like, "Oh, that's what that was about." Maybe you haven't thought about it. It's like therapy in a way. You're like, "Oh wait!" It's kind of nice.

You guys are working on your second EP. Did you have a vision going into it, and have things changed or shifted since you started working on it?

Josh: I think for this second EP we realized that all this stuff has been made in L.A. and it sounds like that, I think. Whereas all of the last EP was made in London and it sort of feels that way. I don't know how to describe what that sound is. But when you hear these songs, you can tell we were in L.A. If we're going to write a song in London, it's going to feel like that vibe of London in that day and here it's a different thing. They feel completely different.

Sunnier.

Josh: Yes. Sunny, hot. Yeah, it feels that way and sweet, in a way.

Emma: Yeah.

One of the lead singles is "London Love," which is a really fun song. And the video matches it really well, where it's really pretty. And can you talk to that song a little bit specifically? Maybe the emotions that went into that and the vision of the video.

Emma: The song is literally about my exes. One of my friends, when she first heard it, was, "Oh, my God, this is about that guy! This is that guy..." "Correct." Not all of them are real because I haven't dated that many guys. I feel like the song lended itself to the video. Even when we were writing it, I had that vision in my mind.

Was it filmed in London?

Emma: Yeah.

Josh: It was in London on a f**king cold-ass day, which is very London.

Do you feel like writing that song helped you process? I mean, no one likes talking about their exes, but we all do it.

Emma: Every other song I ever write is about one of my exes. I think I talk about them enough. New boyfriend, new ex.

You guys also recently dropped the Ben Pearce remix of "London Love," which is great. Do you guys have your eyes on any specific artists to collaborate with?

Josh: I mean, it always changes. What we listen to changes all the time. We're like, "Oh, it'd be cool to work with that person or this person", but no one specifically. I think it changes every week.

Emma: I'm gonna say Bass and Dave. Is that what they're called?

Josh: Oh yeah! Wait, is that their names?

Josh: But this is another song that's coming out is, not to give anything away, is like a duet, but there's no feature on it.

Emma: Don't give it away. He wasn't really supposed to tell you.

Josh: We're sort of open to collaborating with anybody. A lot of stuff that we do on our own or with other people, you play them stuff and then it's "Oh, we should do something together," and just see what happens after that.

So, then, how did the Ben Pearce remix come out?

Josh: That one was actually through management. They reached out and he was a fan of the song and, I think he hadn't done anything remix-wise in a while. He was just like, "I want to remix this" and he did it.

We have another one coming out with [British-Jamaican Dancehall artist] Stylo G on it, which is actually really cool. It's sort of reggae-ish. And then an Afrobeat style one going to come out as well, with [producer/songwriter] P2J, who did a bunch of work the GoldLink album.

Josh: So, just stuff like that where people hear it and go; "Yeah, that'd be cool. I'll do it" and we barter. I'll do one for you, you do one for me and we'll see what happens.

Emma: Pete and Bas! That's who I want to [collaborate with].

Josh: Everyone look out for Pete and Bas.

Emma: If you don't know who they are, f**king YouTube it.

"Gassed" was the first song you ever actually wrote together, which is pretty crazy. It was the first single you put out and, right off the bat, got a lot of love from BBC1. How do you feel that getting the positive response right away shaped your artistic path? 

Josh: For me, it's super exciting because you're like, "Oh sh*t, this thing we've done, people actually like it," which is sort of weird. However, that then puts weird pressure like, "Well, what happens if they don't play it again and our next song? How does that work?" It makes me just get a little bit too heavy about sh*t. Puts pressure on yourself that doesn't need to be there. Emma's getting good at being like, "Don't f**king worry about that sh*t, let's make music." So as amazing as it is, then it's like, "Well, she didn't like our next song." But then it's, "Oh well, she'll like the next one after that."

And then Annie Mac brought you to her AMP fest, right?

Josh: Yeah, it was super fun.

She's so influential. What was that experience like at AMP, and did you guys learn anything specific from connecting with Annie and watching her work?

Josh: I think just that she is a good curator of music that we all like. She's good at putting together and finding—

Emma: Finding new sh*t.

Josh: —new stuff, it's really good. Then joining that together to see how she picks and chooses what's gonna do what and her team around her. She's a massive influencer, especially in the U.K., still, so to be a part of that, you're like, "That's f**king cool." I just wish that we had played with Billie Eilish.

Was she were there too?

Josh: She was there the week before us, she did a show. If we had only known. [Mac] is on this stuff super early. That's amazing because we saw her a year and a half ago. And then we saw Billie Eilish play a massive stage at Coachella this year.

Emma: Yeah, it's just crazy.

Who are you guys' biggest influences?

Josh: It changes. I'm always listening to Frank Ocean. He's what I always go back to. Other than that, it is constantly changing.

Emma: I don't know if she's one of my influences, but I'm gonna say her because I just saw her and she f**king killed it: Kylie Minogue. She deserves a shout out. She may be the most opposite person to me, but yeah.



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What is your biggest goal and mission, right now as an artist putting out music?

Emma: Well, right now, to get food. Dumplings.

Josh: Trying to get Burgerlords. They do vegan tahini milkshakes that are better than actual milkshakes.

And just keep putting out music and seeing where it goes and playing more shows. And hopefully more people like it, or even if they don't. Just keep making, being creative, pushing each other and putting out music, that's satisfying. Whatever else happens, you don't really have power over. But we can control what the two of us do. And writing songs, that's a happy place.

Emma: Keep making, keep creating.

Yeah, you can't overthink it.

Josh: Yeah, we try not to.

Emma: Overthinking is the death of creativity. We're learning it fast.

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Yotto plays Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, 2019

Yotto

Photo: Demian Beccerra

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Yotto On "Is This Trance?," Launching Odd One Out & Building A BBC Essential Mix

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We sat down with the Finnish DJ/producer before his final show of 2019 to hear about the vision behind his brand-new label, the electronic music he listened to as a kid and more
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2019 - 12:42 pm

For a globe-trotting DJ/producer who isn't convinced he's made any great dance tracks "yet," Yotto has a pretty impressive musical resume that has many others at odds with him on the matter. Hailing from Finland, Otto Yliperttula, a.k.a Yotto, has been signed to Above & Beyond's beloved deep house sublabel, Anjunadeep, since 2015 and has been packing dancefloors around the world with his emotive, pulsing beats rooted in deep and progressive house.

His tracks have been celebrated by longtime icons of the global house scene, including Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Sasha and Laurent Garnier. In addition to landing at least five of Tong's "Essential New Tune" selections over the years, the British DJ also invited him to do a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in 2018, a major DJ rite of passage moment. 2018 also saw the release of Yotto's gorgeous debut LP, Hyperfall, on Anjunadeep. This past summer, the "Radiate" producer launched his own label, Odd One Out, and toured historic venues and theatres across North America to celebrate, bringing his energetic music and down-to-earth presence to new spaces.

The Recording Academy sat down with the Finnish artist before his final show of 2019 to talk about the vision behind the label, the electronic music he sought out as a teen (including Sasha) and what he thinks makes a great dance track—which he'll make "hopefully one day."

You launched your Odd One Out label this summer. What made you want to start your own label?

I always wanted to have my own label because when I grew up, I was listening to all these DJs that were playing great music and then I found out they have labels. And I was able to dig through the labels' catalog and be like, oh, yeah, this is really, really good. And that always gave me a glimpse inside the head of the DJ who I really admired and the music they wanted to play. I like the idea of the label being an extension of the DJ.

The person who runs the label, shares the music he likes or thinks people will like, or the music that works well in his live DJ sets through it. That was the core idea of it and I don't know where it's going to go, I don't really have a big plan for it. It's going to be a lot of my own music, but also I'm going to sign a bunch of artists.

I just get so much really good music sent to me, from kids that don't really know what to do with it, so I'm just going to take some of it and put it all together. I'm working on a small compilation for next year, a curated album kind of thing. That's going to be the first thing I'm going to hop into when I'm back [home in Finland] from the tour.

Who are some of these people you were listening to when you were younger?

It was like Desyn Masiello, Sasha, [John] Digweed, the old progressive house DJs pretty much. Hernán Cattáneo was a big one. Also, there was this label called Underwater, Darren Emerson was on it. Those were probably my favorites.

How old were you when you first started getting into electronic music?

Around then, I was maybe 15. It was really hard to get that, because the internet was just slow. It was there, but just not the way it is now, of course.

Were there any good record stores where you grew up?

Yeah, there was one that I would always go to, and that's where I kind of found most of the records and the DJs because they would also sell music magazines. Ministry of Sound had a magazine back then—"Muzic" with a "z"—that was really good, really tasteful, kind of sarcastic, really good reviews on dance music. And Mixmag was around already, so then reading those and their reviews, and then going to the record store, trying to buy the records. Because I was underage I couldn't go to the clubs, so I would just have to listen to the records and think about how they worked.

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You got into it early, that's cool. It seems like in Europe, electronic music has been a lot more embedded into youth culture, and also just music in general, than in the U.S.

I think yeah, especially in the U.K. and Germany.

When I was a kid, I only knew about, like, Daft Punk. But so did everyone. Of course there were kids here that were really into electronic music, but it was a lot more sub-culture here in the '90s and '00s.

Oh yeah, sure. It was the same in Finland, it was very, very underground. There was a big scene around trance music, but the rest of it was small. It's a small country, so in relation to that, it was a healthy scene. So the best things, at least for me, I found out as a kid, were just reading about it and listening to the music.

Okay, back to 2019. To launch Odd One Out, you released "Shifter," then "Nova" and, most recently, "Is This Trance?"—the best track name ever. Can you talk a little bit about that one? And when you're working on a track—and on "Is This Trance?" specifically—where do you start?  

It depends on so much, each track is a bit different. That one was, I was in Italy for a couple of weeks on holiday. I was listening to old '90s trance that day for who knows what reason, and I was inspired by it after not having listened to it for a while. I just put my little spin on it, it's a lot slower than what the music was back then.

The name was a joke, but I just thought, you know, it works. Trance can be anything. It can be like ambient, slow music, it doesn't have to be club music. I think trance was always more about the emotional content of the music than a very particular style.

And you're about to wrap up the North American leg of the Odd One Out Tour here in L.A. tonight and you've done a lot of shows this year. What's been your favorite part about this tour?

This tour has been a bit different because I moved away from clubs a bit, doing venues like The Fonda and Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. I played a bunch of theaters and ballrooms and warehouses to just to do something a bit different and special. So it's been a challenging tour, but also one of the most rewarding ones. I'm excited to see what we're going to do next, I don't know yet.

I can only imagine that with touring, part of it is exciting, but it can also be kind of draining to not have a home base. What do you do to stay upbeat and grounded when you're all over the place?

I fly back to Finland quite often. I recently stayed here [in L.A.] for a couple of months just to make the touring easier, which was nice. But in general, I don't party that much, I try to work out a lot, eat healthy, just sleep as much as I can. Today is a party night, so I can have a few drinks because it's the end of the tour, so I'm happy about it.

You don't meditate to trance music or anything?

I've tried meditation, I haven't really got into it yet. I'm not a very anxious person. When I'm alone at an airport, I think that's already a form of meditation. I'm just sitting there and my head just empties.

That's a good skill.

It's kind of helpful, but also not ideal sometimes. I might drift away during a conversation and be totally somewhere else.

Well, when you're DJing, do you feel kind of immersed in it? What's the experience like for you when you're sharing music with people?

Yeah, there's part of me that's constantly thinking about or analyzing it, in a way where I kind of think about what record I want to play next. There's a few tracks that I know the people that actually bought tickets want to hear, so I have to figure out a way to make those tracks come through in the set, but also I just want to keep it fully free-flowing. I don't really plan the sets that much. I just play whatever feels right in the moment.

Last year, you released your debut album Hyperfall. You've put out a lot of music and mixes before then, but did it feel different working on a cohesive album versus a one-off track?

Yeah, it started just by having a few tracks that didn't make sense to me as singles at the moment, so then I started building something larger around them. It was something I always wanted to do. It's not a necessary thing for a club act today. Personally, I just wanted to have an album that has music that's not just what I play in the shows, it's just something different.

Also in 2018, you made your BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix debut, which is a big deal. Were you happy with how it turned out?

I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I used to listen to all of the Essential Mixes when they came out. I would the download sh*tty quality ones the next day, when they were available online after being broadcasted on BBC since 2003 or '04.

So yeah, when they invited me to do one, obviously my first reaction is, "Yay, that's amazing," but after that you get a bit nervous. You're like, "What if it's going to suck?" But then I just thought, I'm just going to record a mix of me playing music that I like, so then I just did that and then edited it a bit more, added a few extra in there, like an intro and outro. That was it.

I think it kind of functions as a really good, thought-out mix for me, and also a time capsule of where I was musically in that time of my career. If I were to make a new one right now, it would sound a lot different, but also similar. You never know.

Sounds like you didn't overthink it and it flowed pretty well.

I started overthinking it, but then it was like, yeah, this is not going to sound natural. So then I approached it as just another DJ set with just a few extra things.

What do you think makes a great dance track? 

I don't know if I've made any great tracks yet, hopefully one day.

You really don't think you've made a great dance track?!

I think I've made some decent ones, time will tell if they're great or not. But I think it's the combination of capturing a moment that people will remember from their lives and then, whether it's melody or just something that grabs their attention. And then with that, combined with the club functionality of a dance record. When those two things meet, then it's like a recipe.

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SiR 2019

SiR

Photo: Christian San Jose

News

SiR Is 'Chasing Summer' And, With A Little Help From Kendrick Lamar & Others, Making His Dreams Reality

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"It feels different, it feels evolved and it feels like a great direction. And I'm really proud of the work to say the least," the Inglewood singer/producer says of his vibey new album 
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 24, 2019 - 3:08 pm

You may have already jammed out to SiR's big 2019 summer mood single, "Hair Down," featuring the one and only Kendrick Lamar. If so, you already have a good starting place for understanding who the smooth R&B singer/producer, born Sir Darryl Farris, from Inglewood is. The vibey track is driven by SiR's warm, rich vocals over a slow-bubbling trap beat, elevated even further into the golden summer sunset by Lamar's verse. It's confident but laid-back—two words which also describe the artist himself well—a true slow-burn of a fire track.

"Hair Down" is the first track and the lead single to SiR's third album, Chasing Summer, which he dropped during Labor Day Weekend, on Aug. 30. It is his second LP released since he was signed to heavy-hitting Los Angeles label Top Dawg Entertainment. As he explains, it sets the tone for the rest of the album and also marks a major point of growth in his musical career and self-confidence.

"This time I was more direct about what I wanted, and I think that's huge. Your intentions when you go into things have to be put in the forefront if it's important. So this time around when I went into sessions, I was very vocal about exactly what I wanted, and the sessions went a lot better when I did that," he recently told the Recording Academy over the phone.

You recently dropped Chasing Summer, which is just such a perfect mood as summer comes to an end. What has the experience of this release felt like for you?

Man, it's one of a kind. Being the type musician I am, I'm very involved with each release, and this one feels different than the last two. Everybody around me was locked in, not just me. All the musicians and all of my team, my management had the common goals set almost a year ago, and just were building on this idea. So, it feels different, it feels evolved and it feels like a great direction. And I'm really proud of the work to say the least.

That's amazing, and I'm sure that's a really just great feeling to sort of be marinating in right now.

Yeah. It's awesome. It's definitely new territory for me. I'm just trying to keep up with myself now, which is fun.

 "It's a very honest album, and I think that's a big reason why people gravitate towards it because I didn't really hold back this time around. I kind of made sure I was as honest as I could be and I think that's shining through for sure."

I love that. Can you speak to what your main vision for this album was?

The vision for the album is, it was all based off of my life on the road and all my experiences that I had accumulated over the last three or four years. With seeing my peers and just dealing with personal relationships, business relationships and trying to balance home and the road, and just my evolution as a human. I kind of put a lot of it into wax. It's a very honest album, and I think that's a big reason why people gravitate towards it because I didn't really hold back this time around. I kind of made sure I was as honest as I could be and I think that's shining through for sure.

I feel like it really does. I wanted to talk about the producers on the album. You worked with a handful of different people including Kal Banx and Sounwave from TDE as well as Boi-1da and a few others. How do you feel that working with these different creative minds helped challenge you and shape the trajectory of the album?

I'm going to answer this question, but I have a very specific thing about me that I really like. I work with people that want to work with me, so I don't chase beats; there's no rhyme or scheme. I didn't select certain people. I just put my head down and kept writing songs until we felt like we had a body of work. And then, what I do with most of my production is I'll get players to come in and add actual instrumentation to a good beat so that it has more life to it. I'm hands-on with all my mixes and masters. With all of the production, I was blessed to have really talented musicians around to help just elevate the sound, and I think that helps so much, man.

Working with cats like Boi-1da was an honor, of course, but I wouldn't hold him in higher regard than I would a Kal Banx, who damn near had six records on the album that he helped me produce and work on. So, I feel like everybody added their own sauce to it and it ended up being way bigger than I expected. But as far as like who produced what, I think that's not as important as the overall body of work, and we all knew that. With Kal, he wasn't worried when I told him I got a new base plate on the recipe. He didn't ask any questions, he just knew it was going to be saucy. You know what I mean?

I think, like I said, we all had a common goal. Once I laid out the plan and the vision for everybody, they were on board. So, we went into the every session with a specific goal in mind and we executed properly and I think it's going to pay off for all of us in the long run. I'm so excited for Kal. I'm excited to share this moment with him and see the response to his hard work, and it's all a blessing, really and truly.

It really seems like it was everything you would hope for in the studio, that everything is moving forward and flowing together, even with all the different people.

Yeah. I learned a lot from November and just how I kind of let a lot of people in the process in certain points where I didn't really necessarily mean to. This time I was more direct about what I wanted, and I think that's huge. Your intentions when you go into things have to be put in the forefront if it's important.

So this time around when I went into sessions, I was very vocal about exactly what I wanted, and the sessions went a lot better when I did that, and I think that helped give people an idea of what they should be doing when they come around. If you're a producer, I might not need you to make a whole beat, but I might need you to make these drums, or I might need you to play keys. Just be prepared to translate what I need, I'm not coming to you to get what you need. I produce myself, so I think this time around I was able to really fine-tune things the way I like, and it shows, man. This is my baby for sure. I feel like this is a very special project.

The album opens with "Hair Down," featuring Kendrick Lamar, which you also released as the lead single. Can you give a little bit of the backstory on that song and video and what it was like working with him?

That was probably the first song I wrote for the album that we were probably going use as a single. We usually don't try to shoot for singles, you know what I mean? When we're building a project, we'll make sure that the songs can all stand on their own two legs. As soon as I did that one, it just felt like what I wanted the album to look like, and to me it was the perfect starting point. It was the perfect launch point for what we were trying to accomplish, and I didn't get the [Lamar] verse until two months ago or something like that. I wrote that song probably a year ago while we were on the road at [TDE's 2018] Championship Tour.

That's not something you ask for. It was something that we talked about, but that's not something that you ask for. It's like the Jill Scott thing, I didn't really ask for that. You got to let them make that decision. I think with working with artists like Kendrick, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne, it's a blessing and I think I do everything I can to just make myself someone that people want to work with. I think I do a good job of standing on my own two feet, and that's something that I had to embrace over the last two years.

Just working with your idols is always awkward. It's weird. I met [Childish] Gambino at the BET awards. I wish I could take that back because it was so awkward, you know what I mean? And I still go through the everyday life stuff of I'm human and if I see somebody that I'm not used to seeing, it's going to be weird. This year, I had to really step outside of that and become SiR, and really accept that. I think it shined through when I sat and talked to people about the project, they were more open to it because I was more confident in myself, and that really helped a lot, just giving me that confidence. [Lamar's] conversations are more important to me than that verse ever will be. I'm appreciative of the verse for sure, but I can really say that's my mentor. This dude really takes care of his team and really cares about us, man. So, it's definitely a blessing to have him on deck.

And what would you say the biggest thing you learned from the collaborators on this project?

Spread love. Because I feel like most of them, they didn't have to do what they did. Miss Jill, she's getting so much love on her acting career, as she should be. She really doesn't need to feature on anything. All of these artists, they got their own things. People are looking for them and checking for them.

When I get on, if I'm ever in a position to bless somebody, and I feel like they are working hard and they've got their thing together, I definitely would want to be what they are to me. I'd want to be a blessing and give back to the community. They see that I'm a part of the same community, I have the same common goal with music. It's not me trying to get on or be a flashy type. It's not that. I really care about the music. So, I think they saw that and they wanted to reciprocate the same kind of love I'm trying to get off it.

That's all it's really about, is spreading love and giving back to what you want to see thrive and flourish. And I think they really see something in what we got going, and I was just lucky. I really feel like it's the right place at the right time, but I don't want to make it that simple. But I feel like they really are just spreading love, man, and they blessed me. I'm still in shock. I can't really process it. It's all new territory for me. It's lovely though. I don't take it for granted.

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How would you describe the L.A. music community now? From that explanation, it sounds very supportive and nurturing, but I'm interested in your perspective, whether it's just like that with TDE or just in your experience with who you've worked with.

L.A. is a weird place. It's very divided, with the people that are actually from L.A. to the people that come out here and claim L.A. The music industry's a weird place in general. I'm from L.A., so I definitely abide by the L.A. rules before I abide by the music industry rules. But when it comes to the music scene, there's a small community. What I'm learning is the further along I go in my career, the community gets smaller and smaller, and that's a great thing. You find people that are like-minded, and you got to let some friends go sometimes.

But for the most part, the goal is to find common ground that you can really build on. And I feel like I've found my community of people, from Mind Design to Kiefer to D.K. the Punisher to Kal Banx to all of my musician friends, The Catalyst, my band. My brothers, and just all of the musicians that I've been working with for the last 10 years, I still work with the same cats. L.A. is small, it's big, but at the time it's small, and I really want to keep it that way. I'd appreciate it if it stayed that way.

What does that summer mood look and sound like to you?

Well, summer mood has that sunset tint to it. It's like, to me, this album is best listened to riding down Malibu about six o'clock sunset. That's the vibe. I'm a Cali kid through and through, and I hope it translates through with the music. I think we hit it on the ball. If you want a glimpse at what summer's supposed to be, just take a listen to the album, close your eyes, and it should do the trick.

Stepping back, who are your biggest influences?

Oh man, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway. These are people that my mother listened to when I was growing up. I grew up in the church, so I love Fred Hammond and Noel Jones. I don't know if you know who Noel Jones is, he's a preacher from L.A., his voice is so crazy. My mom sang background for Chaka Khan back in the day, and Michael Jackson. So, I grew up with an ear to R&B for sure, from the '60s, '70s, '80s. Of course I have hip-hop influences, but my spectrum is wide. We could have a 30 minute conversation about all the music I listen to, I promise you.

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of The Beatles. "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" has been on repeat for a couple of weeks, then Innervisions [Wonder's 1973 album]. I go back and forth between [Wonder's] Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. Then, my real guilty pleasure is John Mayer, I'm a huge fan.

I love it.

I think with music, and this is my advice to young people, it's like careers almost, you won't know what you want until you taste a few things. I think Gary Gee says that. You got to taste things to know what you want to be. I feel like music is like that too. You can't just listen to country music because you're from the South. You've got to listen to something else just to try it. You don't know, you might like classical music. If you never listen, you will never know.

I did a lot of that when I was younger and I found my vibes for sure. But I listened to some stuff that people probably wouldn't expect. But I think that helps to shape me as a musician in general. I definitely don't shy away from exploring and trying to find different vibes that I really like. One of the most fun parts about music to me, is exploring and finding new things that you never would expect you to enjoy, you know? So, yeah, my spectrum is wide, it's a rainbow for sure.

Growing up in a musical family, how do you feel like that impacted your journey to becoming an artist?

I can't really explain it because it's weird for me to be the artist in my family. I still wake up and kind of laugh because I never expected this. When I was younger, I didn't want to do music. When I was 14, my mom would make us sing in church every Sunday, and I got sick of it. That's when I kind of decided I didn't want to do music. I went on about my life, at about 19, 20 started working dumba** jobs and that turned into me wanting to find something that I was passionate about, and turns out it music was it all along. I had to step away to kind of find it for myself.

But I started really getting serious about music when I was 22, and then I ended up going to school, graduated in 2011 from film school, and just never looked back from there. I think that was what I needed was to really find it for myself, because my brothers' all sing or write songs, and my mother is still active in the industry, and they always said it was what we needed to be doing. I just had to see it for myself and I think that made me a better musician. My life experiences helped shape how I write songs. I appreciate my time away from music, but also I'm glad I found my way back because I don't know what I'd be if I wasn't a musician. I'd probably be—let's not even talk about that.

I'm blessed. My family is amazing. My brother is an amazing singer/songwriter. My older brother Daniel, he's an amazing rapper and he's the writer, and we're all supportive of each other. I know that I probably wouldn't be where I am today without the support of my family and them pushing me to be a better writer and a better musician.



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You come back to where you're supposed to be at some point. You touched on it a little when you talked about your influences, but what advice do you have for younger people that have a passion for music but aren't really sure where to start to pursue music professionally?

Don't be afraid to be wack. Don't be afraid to fall on your a**. You got to start somewhere. But it's just like anything else in life, and I could preach this to the ends of the earth. It doesn't matter what you decide to do or when you decide to do it, but it's about staying dedicated to it and really working at what you want. If you want something then put it in the universe. Write it on a piece of paper, say it every day when you wake up and just don't worry about when it's going to happen. Just keep working.

I think that's the best thing I ever did for myself. I put my head down, I shut the f*** up and I worked for five years on music, and didn't try to release anything, didn't try to do anything. I got to the point where I was so ready to go that I had three projects worth of music ready to go, and we started with Seven Sundays and from there worked our way into being with TDE and all that.

I really developed my craft first and made sure I was confident in what I wanted to hear. So, I think for anybody that wants it, just don't be afraid to fail, and keep working at it. It's not easy, none of this is. But I feel like if you want something, you can just really work at it and it'll come. You just got to be willing to f***ing eat dirt and mud for a little bit. Eventually, hard work pays off, no matter what you do. If you want to sell ice cream, sell ice cream every day. Get up, get your cones right, make sure your freezer's at the right temperature, make sure your music's playing and hit the block and get on that ice cream.

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BANKS

BANKS

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BANKS Talks 'III,' Exploring Life's Messiness In Music & Loving Fiona Apple | Up Close & Personal

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The "Gimme" singer stopped by the Recording Academy headquarters to discuss her latest album and the themes and sounds behind it
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 11, 2019 - 11:45 am

L.A. native Jillian Banks, a.k.a. ethereal pop singer/songwriter/producer BANKS, is a creative force of nature. In 2014, she confidently asserted her presence with the first major dose of her sultry voice and trippy beats on her debut album, Goddess. Earlier this year, on July 12, she dropped another powerful project, with a big dose of empowerment; her third studio album, III.

BANKS On 'III,' "Contaminated" & More

Before she finished the U.S. leg of her III Tour, the "Gimme" singer stopped by the Recording Academy headquarters for our latest episode of Up Close & Personal to talk about the new album and the intricacies within. She also shared what she's most looking forward to on tour, which artists drew her in at a young age and more. You can watch part of the conversation above and read the full interview below. You can also visit our YouTube page for a longer version of the video, as well as for other recent episodes.

You released III not long ago. How are you feeling about having this project out in the world?

I feel amazing. I was writing it for two-and-a-half years and so it feels exciting, scary, liberating. I'm just excited to tour it and perform it and all that stuff.

What are you most looking forward to about sharing the songs in that element?

I don't know. The more you perform songs, the more personality they all have. There's a different vibe to each one, and so I'm kind of just excited to get in the groove of each vibe and each world of each song. It's fun to see the reactions of the crowd, which ones resonate the most. I have a lot of movement in my show, so it's going to be fun.

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The album, to me, feels very powerful and bold, and also very vulnerable and honest. Can you tell us about some of the overarching emotions and themes that you explored on it?

Wow, that's a big question. It's a lot of self-love, learning that life is not just black and white. There's a messiness in there, very messy. Perfectionism. Trying to be okay with not being a perfectionist. I have been one and it's been quite painful at certain times in my life. Yeah, owning everything. Owning yourself, what your desires are, who you are, what you stand for, your body, everything. It's just [about] being a woman, I guess. But that's kind of awkward because it's not really just for women. So, being a human.

There's a lot of really great sonic texture across the album, which you executive produced with BJ Burton. What was it like working together on the production aspect of it?

Yeah, it was really fun just because I have so many layers to who I am, and each song kind of tapped into a different part of who I was. Certain songs, I felt like, needed a lot of grit and distortion and stuff like that, songs like "Stroke." Then there's a lot of songs that feel, I wanted it to be very stripped back, like "If We Were Made Of Water," "What About Love." There's an innocence that I wanted to capture on a lot of it sonically, because a lot of what this album is about is going from this innocent person, like a child turning into an adult. It's like you go from being really quite naive, but maybe in a romantic and a really positive way, you're not jaded or bitter or anything, and then you go through heartache and all that stuff for the first time. Coming out the other side but maintaining that innocence, I think, is really important.

I feel like I captured a lot of that. "Alaska" is a very sassy song, but it has that playfulness to it. Yeah, every song is different, it was fun. Each album I do, I don't really work with a big group of people just because it's almost like therapy sessions every [studio] session. It was pretty much just, I had a few people, and me and BJ went in on every song, and made sure they all flowed.

One song that I want to look at specifically is "Contaminated." Can you talk a little bit about that song?

That song is like a hard lesson in being an adult. It's funny because this album is a lot about how things are not black and white and how things can be messy, and opening your mind and allowing to understand things in a different way. But then there are certain things in life that you wish were not black and white. Like usually the things that you want to be black and white, good or bad, are just really messy and gray and confusing. Then there are certain things that you want to be really gray and confusing, but they're just black and white. "Contaminated" is a song about a relationship that is just toxic and it's bad for you. That's it, it's a black and white thing, and you don't want it to be bad for you.

Because when you want something to continue, it's like you're addicted to it, so it's like you want to find the gray in there. But there are certain things that are not gray, they are black and white, and you have to kind of be a savage about it. And so with that type of situation, I had to be, and I wrote about it.

And then can you speak to the "Contaminated" lyric video?

I think that there's beauty in learning and pain. I guess it sounds kind of cheesy, but the video, it's very human, but it's painted in a million colors. You go through life and you're just this body, and you're just a human, and you have all these emotions and you go through all these experiences that are really beautiful. But they can hurt you, and it could be colored dark and it could be colored light. That video is about showing the earth, but contaminating it in certain ways. So there's the body with paint moving around, and these may be really beautiful ways and there's also really contorted ways. It's a little bit like the graphic part of life. I've always had a lot of black and white in my visuals, so it's been really fun on this album to have a lot of colors, in my own way.

You recently published a poetry book, Generations Of Women From The Moon, which is so cool. Were you working on that while you were working on the album? What's the story behind it?

Well, every song is kind of like a poem, and I've always written poems. Before I even got into songwriting, it was more of just this stream of consciousness thing that turned into to having melodic chants behind it, and just turned into a song. But with poetry, I just got really into writing and there's definitely a theme to my poems.

It's funny, writing music and writing poetry comes from, it fulfills the same need in me, but they come from different voices. Sometimes, I feel like my music is about the nitty gritties of life, different dynamics and relationships and stuff like that. And then my poetry feels like it's bigger concepts, like speaking from this wise woman voice that I have in my stomach. There's a lot of moon imagery in my poetry that I didn't even plan on. The first poem in the book is called "Generations Of Women From The Moon." It's a two-part poem.

When do you tend to feel most creatively inspired?

God, I don't know. For me, creativity just comes. There's not really a setting. I mean, I do like to have a nice couch in a studio, a really comfortable zone to get in there. But, I mean, any time of day, it's more whenever a certain mood hits.

When you were younger, were there any artists that you admired that made you think, I want to go into music or I want to make something like they're making?

Anybody with a voice that didn't feel perfectly trained, but you felt their soul in, that was for me growing up, any voice that I heard that had that grit, and lyrics that weren't just—you can tell when an artist writes their own music. For me, that's what it's always been about. Fiona Apple was somebody that I always loved. Ben Harper, I used to listen to all the time. Tracy Chapman. And Brandy's voice kills me, still kills me. It's like butter. My dad would play a lot of Peter Gabriel, which is always amazing. Yeah, I'm really into atmospheres as well, so a lot of stuff that just took you into another world but maybe didn't even have lyrics.

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Damian Lazarus at Day Zero

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero Tulum 2019

Photo: Juliana Bernstein

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Damian Lazarus Discusses Day Zero 2020, Spiritual Awakenings, Meeting Tiesto & '90s London Raves

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The globetrotting house music wizard dives deep into the beginnings of his magical Tulum event, cutting his teeth in the '90s underground U.K. club scene and his biggest hope for the new year
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 26, 2019 - 4:53 pm

British DJ/producer/mystical event wizard Damian Lazarus' well-loved sound is much more of a mood than genre. The music he favors is ethereal, emotive and takes the listener on a journey. His parties often take place in awe-inspiring locations, from the expansive dustiness of Burning Man to the jungles of Tulum, Mexico. His DJ sets tend to last for hours, often until the wee hours of the morning.

With his iconic house and techno label Crosstown Rebels, which he founded in 2003, Lazarus has helped catapult the careers of fellow underground game-changing DJ/producers, including Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones and Francesca Lombardo, to name a few.

In addition to throwing down at major electronic music events (Amsterdam Dance Event, Desert Hearts Fest, Lightning In A Bottle, Art Basel Miami) and legendary clubs around the world (Miami's Club Space, Ibiza's DC10, Berlin's Watergate), Lazarus has been carefully curating his own beloved events, namely the Day Zero and Get Lost series.

The Recording Academy caught up with the globetrotting wizard, who called in during a rare moment of downtime in Mexico City, in between debuting a new party to close out ADE and bringing the spooky vibes to Los Angeles' HARD Day of the Dead. He dove deep into the surreal beachside origin story of Day Zero (which returns to Tulum on Jan. 10, 2020), what makes a great DJ set and more. We also revisited his teen and young adult years in London, where he got a healthy dose of club life during the then-burgeoning rave scene.

You were just at ADE not long ago. How was that experience for you?

It was really good, actually. Funnily enough, I was just at lunch here in Mexico City and saw Tiësto. I had to tell him about what I did at ADE because it was because of him that I started something new there this year. Many years ago, I was in Chicago about to play a show and the promoters said, "Oh, do you want to come see Tiësto play? He's doing an early evening thing." I'd never seen him play before, so I was really intrigued.

So we went and they took me to the green room. When Tiësto arrived, he made a beeline directly to me and was like, "You're Damian Lazarus, right?" I had no idea that I'd be anywhere on his radar. And he said, "I've got to tell you that your name is the best name in dance music. You know what it means, Lazarus, in Dutch?" And I was like, "No, I have no idea." And he says, "Well, when we go out on the weekend and then your friends call you in the week and they're like, 'What did you get up to in the weekend,' you're like, 'I got really lazarus.' It means to get really wasted."

So this year, I decided to create my own event in ADE; of course I just called it "Lazarus." Because people in Amsterdam would totally get it, but anywhere in the rest of the world, it's just my second name. That was on Sunday, so it was an ADE closing party. It started at midnight and I played all night until 7:00 a.m. That was really special. I also played Circoloco as well, which was on a Saturday.

I tend to just go in for a couple of days. I don't really go for the business meetings and stuff. I know it's very worthwhile for promoters and management but I find if I need to talk to someone or have a meeting about something, I can just pick up a phone. I don't need someone to tell me where to go and have a meeting.

I was always curious about that; is it really like the electronic music mecca that it's made out to be, or is it just a cool space to be when everyone's there?

It really is. I mean, first of all, Amsterdam is a really cool city on so many levels. They have more clubs per capita than anywhere else—throughout the year, not just during ADE. While I was there, I was polling quite a few of my friends and people in the industry about how useful it's been for them that week at ADE and everyone loves it as a business opportunity and also as a good chance to go out. It's one of the best places to go and do business but have fun at the same time.

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Recently, you shared some details for your Day Zero 2020 event, which I think is the seventh iteration of it.

This will be the seventh, yeah, we took one year off.

What are you most looking forward to, especially as we plummet into this new decade?

That's a good point. I just look at it as 2020, I haven't really thought about making a big statement with the new decade. Well, Day Zero began at the end of the Mayan calendar, which I saw as the beginning of a new opportunity as opposed to the end of the world. This time in the world is very difficult, there's a lot of unrest. I think for people in our world to gather together as a community, to celebrate with a backdrop of this beautiful jungle and incredible music—Tulum is a really an incredible place to create a joyful experience for people.

Every year, my mission that I set before my team is to make the next event even more impressive than the last. So we're in the planning stages at the moment and we have a lot of fresh ideas. After every event, we're fine-tuning the minutia of the experience. There's so many things that we plan out at this event. Everywhere you look, everything you smell, everything you touch, everything you do, every place that you go has been well considered by us before you get there, because we want this event to be a full sensory overload. We take pride in it and work very hard on it. So, I'm looking forward to this year.

I would love to hear a little bit more about the origin story of Day Zero and what throwing the party each year means to you, to be able to share it with people.

I had a very spiritual awakening back in 2012 on the beach in Tulum. A medicine man I'd seen earlier that day suggested I stand beneath the moon and stars and raise my arms up towards the moon at a certain hour that night. He wouldn't give me any more information about what I should expect to happen. Fortunately, I remembered to do it later that night and I had the most incredible energy—force field—connection with the universe. It was like a physical being.

You know that feeling when you're young and you try poppers for the first time? Not saying that that's a good thing to do, but imagine that feeling for like 20 minutes; nonstop connecting to the universe. So I had this incredible experience and I took that as a signal to create something that I had rolling around in my head. I'd been going to Tulum for many years; I've been going there for well over 15 years now.

I was playing in Playa del Carmen two years before the BPM festival began there. I'm very connected to that area. But I'd always refrained from DJing in Tulum because it felt like a very beautiful, pristine, secret place that maybe shouldn't open its doors to parties. I knew that the first time I would play music there and bring electronic music to the natural beauty of the area, I wouldn't be able to stop. So I prevented myself from doing it.

And then a couple of people started to come see the area and ask me to play it. But then I had this experience and I could see that I was really fighting against the winds of change. More and more people were discovering Tulum and the hotels, the restaurants and bars were building up. I could feel there was something coming. So, the Armageddon was supposed to be coming on the 21st of Dec., 2012, so I started to plan Day Zero then as a way to reset and recharge, and, like I said, gather people to create a very special experience. 

Sharing the experience means the world to me. This has been by far the most thrilling ride that I've been on in my career creating parties and stuff. And now we just started to open it up outside of Tulum for the first time this year. We just created Day Zero Masada at the Holy Mountain in the Dead Sea area. We had 15,000 people there for an incredible first show, I was very happy with how that went.

So now we're looking up where to go in the future. The idea of Day Zero is to get the best electronic music, forward-thinking, future music with ancient civilization. So we like that juxtaposition of the two things going hand in hand. For seven years now, we've been connecting with the Mayans in the ancient area of the Mayan jungle, complete with the
Cenotes underground. We delve into the Popol Vuh, which is the creation story of the Mayans, and work out performances around these ancient Mayan stories and connect with Mayan spiritual leaders from that come and join us.

We really try to show the new young generation the differences in historical background to how people used to live and the stories and the influence that these people have had on the world. But the thing is to not do too many because each event takes about a year in advance to plan. So yeah, so we have two running now, Masada and Tulum, and we'll see where we go in the future. And the Get Lost events which are really big as well. So yeah, it's a little bit busy.

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero Masada

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero Masada | Photo: Karim Tabar

Your sets are known for having a journey element to them. When you're DJing, say at Day Zero or in other special places, do you feel like you're connecting to something?

Oh yeah, 100 percent. Well, at my events, when I start playing there's an extra buzz around the place because it's like, "What's he going to do? What's he going to bring?"

You've set the bar high for yourself.

Yeah, I do. Every year I try to make it better and I spend a lot of time trying to find some music that is really going to make people go bananas. Of course, over seven years, it's difficult to continue to find those records every time, but I work very hard at that. I never plan a set, I never know what I'm doing from one track to the next, whether it be at Day Zero or anywhere else. When I'm DJing, I kind of tell myself I'm playing Sudoku or chess, so I'm always thinking two, three or four moves in advance.

So, I'm telling a story but I'm thinking about them throughout the whole experience. Of course there's some records that work really well together and you want to throw them together a few times. I like to think that I save my best work live at Day Zero or Get Lost. Of course I love to play at sunsets or sunrises. And the beauty of throwing your own event is you get to choose when you play and work everybody else around you. [Laughs.]

What has been one of the most powerful moments from your Day Zero events?

Oh my god. There's so many. But you've got to remember that I'm the kind of person that can't just rock up an hour before my set. I've got these events that I run from beginning to end every year and I generally am playing at the end. So I'm spending 16 hours running around the festival site showing my friends around, having fun, experiencing it for myself and making sure everything's working properly. And then I have to start playing.

It all kind of blurs into one. I could tell you that the magical moments are many. But I actually take more pride and enjoyment in reading other people's comments and what people react after these events, especially after Day Zero events. People do find them quite life changing. I've had people meet on the dance floor there and they're married within 12 months. There's people that write to me and tell me that they literally had their life changed. They were going through some trauma, and the energy that they felt at Day Zero helped them kind of rearrange and reorganize their life and their thoughts.

You never know how much of this is actually true. But if someone's going to take the time to write to me and tell me a story like that, then I want to believe it. So I think that's really the best thing that comes out of it for me, the fact that I get to make so many other people happy and that's the main focus.

I love that. What do you think is essential to a great DJ set?

Well, obviously the ability to read the energy in the crowd. Many times I've walked into a room and I feel that there's no vibe, no energy. And I think to myself, it's not that difficult to change this, you just need to be aware of it. Really focus on what music is going to lift people's spirits in time. I think it's important to be innovative but not too overly technical. Of course, it's important to mix and blend your music perfectly, because no one likes to hear dodgy mixing.

And I think there's a very fine line between showboating and really being into what you're doing. I like to think sometimes I'm a performer, but only realize that afterwards, when I let myself go, because I was really feeling the music in the booth.

Last year, you released Heart of Sky with your Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons project. Can you talk a little bit about that album and creative group?

Basically what happened was when I first made the first Ancient Moons album back in 2015, Message From The Other Side, I worked with so many different musicians from all over the world. I'd been touring and finding amazing musicians from Egypt, Pakistan, New York. I somehow managed to record all of these amazing people and I was making the new Damian Lazarus album. But once I realized that I had all these incredible other voices and musicians on this record, and it felt very cinematic and it also felt like I could perform this live, I realized that I should create this fake band name, which was The Ancient Moons.

Once I decided to take the project live, I actually had to put The Ancient Moons together. So when it came around to making the second album, I started to work with the band that I found from the first time. So we actually then did become a band making music together. Whereas the first album, I made it with a producer and some guest musicians.

I think that The Ancient Moons project's some of the best creative work I've ever done. But it's not something that I could just knockout every time I'm in the studio. Right now, I'm not working on any new Ancient Moons material but I'm focusing on doing a little bit more kind of straight ahead Damian Lazarus club music right now.

In fact, I've just made this track with Diplo and the band Jungle, which we're still trying to decide what to do with. I've just done a couple of remixes. I just worked on a remix with Teddy Pendergrass. And I did a remix for Art Department. I just did this really killer remix of this Rosalía track. I'm just waiting for her to listen to it and see what she thinks.

But yeah, so that's where we're at. I mean, maybe next year I'm thinking about some Ancient Moons material probably towards the end of the year. I'm already kind of pretty hectic for 2020. I'm already a bit busy for the first half of the year. And I have family at home as well. I need to prioritize my kids right now. So yeah, quite a lot going on.

And then with Heart Of Sky—

Heart Of Sky is actually from the Popol Vuh story. Did you see the film that we made? It's called "Heart Of Sky," by Jessy Moussallem, an amazing film director from Beirut. It's a 15-minute film that we made in the fields of Lebanon where they make Lebanese hash. So it's all the families of the community of people that are making hash. They've never allowed themselves to be filmed before. Obviously, the soundtrack is music from the album.

That's super cool. Zooming out, when did you first start getting into music?

Music was always kind of around in the house. My mother, in the '60s was involved in the the [Rolling] Stones scene, and hanging out in Carnaby Street and stuff like that. And my dad was more kind of into Motown and soul, Isaac Hayes, James Brown. So I had a really good combination there, but my grandfather really was the most influential person for me because he was proper East Londoner, really into the show tunes and musicals. He and I used to have a lot of fun with music together.

But it wasn't really until I was about 11, 12, that I started to buy music and be obsessed with listening to the radio and finding new music that I liked. By the time I was 14, I'd persuaded my parents to let me buy some turntables and a mixer. And I got myself a Saturday job in a very cool record store called Groove Records in SoHo, Central London and then just went on from there.

I did a gig for Pirate Radio, and then went to college and started making parties there. It wasn't really until around 2001 when I had the City Rocker record label that people really started to take notice of me. I always knew I wanted to be a DJ but I wasn't very good at it. It took me ages to work out how to mix properly, but maybe that was because there were so many different styles of music that I was into. So by 2001, I managed to really hone in on and focus on it.

When we were running City Rockers, we started this party called 21st Century Body Rockers in London. We did it for 10 weeks, every month during 2001 or '02. We had DJs like Soulwax and I was the warmup DJ. It was there that my friends said to me, "You're actually getting quite good at this. You should think about it as a career." It wasn't until I got friends and loved ones telling me that that I really thought I could make a go of it. And within a couple of years, I was playing at Circoloco [at DC10 in Ibiza] for the first time, and the Sónar festival [in Barcelona]. I guess the rest is history. [Chuckles.]

I started Crosstown Rebels in 2003 and it was pretty much seen at the forefront of underground electronic music since then. So that always kept me at the front of people's minds, I think, because I was always working with a lot of cool people and discovering new talent and putting on great parties. I guess my DJing skills improved. Things started to get better and better.

Do you have any photos from these 2001 parties? That would be amazing.

I'm not sure they're really for GRAMMY.com. [Laughs.]

Did you have a favorite club or place that you went to when you were younger in London?

There was one club that was really influential for me and helped shape my wide range of appreciation for music. It was called That's How It Is. It was every Monday night at Bar Rumba in London and was run by James Lavelle and Giles Peterson. They were playing anything from all the early Mo Wax stuff to rare groove or funk to jazz to techno. And then they kind of started to discover the jazziest end of the drum and bass sound. It was just this melting pot of all these amazing new, fresh sounds, like Massive Attack, all that stuff coming out at that time. I was on the dancefloor every Monday for a good few years.

But then, you know, I also went to Rage, which was the primary kind of early jungle party in the U.K. There was a couple of things I went to New York as well when I was young. But yeah, so many places have influenced and inspired me. And they still do. I sometimes think back to various places I've been to and I think how I can create something like that.

"One positive thing is that in times of economic hardship, you tend to find that's a really good time for underground music to really come out of the cracks."

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What is your biggest dream that you hope will come true in 2020?

Impeachment.

Which one?

A few. I don't know. The world's f**ked right now really. It's starting to really get people down. But one positive thing is that in times of economic hardship, you tend to find that's a really good time for underground music to really come out of the cracks. I think it's been getting a little stale, a little safe. I think we've lost that kind of punk and DIY attitude in electronic music right now.

As a label owner, I'm finding it really hard to find really unique, new voices in electronic music. I mean, I do have a few people that I've discovered recently that I'm really excited about, but I think that something needs to happen.

I think that maybe the current state of the world and the climate crisis and everything else hopefully will take music more underground because people are struggling, I think, mentally with figuring out how to deal with all the issues that we face. When keeping your eyes open and not walking around with your eyes closed, you can't escape the fact that the world is f**ked. So I'm looking forward to some exciting new musical trends to come through.

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