To recognize the life of Florence Nightingale, the founder of the modern nursing profession and head British nurse during the Crimean War, the first National Nurses Week was observed from Oct. 11–16 in 1954, marking the 100th anniversary of Nightingale's mission to Crimea. This celebratory week was officially proclaimed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1974, and in 1981, May 6 was sanctioned National Recognition Day For Nurses.

In 1990 the American Nurses Association Board of Directors expanded the holiday into a weeklong celebration beginning May 6 and ending on May 12 — Nightingale's birthday.

As one of the nation's largest healthcare-related events, this week recognizes the contributions and commitments nurses make and educates the public on the significant work they perform. It may not be a cure for the common cold, but in honor of these notable nurses mentioned below, and nurses everywhere, we present our healing GRAMMY playlist.

**"Help!"**
The Beatles, GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, 2008

If there was ever a nurse who offered a little help, it was British nurse Edith Cavell. During World War I she was known for helping all soldiers, but achieved everlasting fame for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium. The Beatles didn't need much help, as "Help!" reached No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic in 1965.

"Survivor" (iTunes>)
Destiny's Child, Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, 2001

In this GRAMMY-winning song the ladies of Destiny's Child vow to never give up or stop, promising to work harder. Clara Barton must have made this same vow when she found herself on a short vacation in Europe due to the toll that helping soldiers of the Civil War's First Battle of Bull Run took on her health. She eventually became the founder and first president of the American Red Cross, which was established May 21, 1881, in Washington, D.C.

"I Will Survive" (iTunes>)
Gloria Gaynor, Best Disco Recording, 1979

As long as she knows how to love, Gaynor declares that she will survive. Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, showed her love and loyalty to the Union when she visited, fed and treated Union soldiers during the Civil War.

"Fever" (iTunes>)
Peggy Lee, GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, 1998

Hazel W. Johnson-Brown could likely cure the common fever and more when in 1979 she became the first African-American woman to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army. "Fever" was the right prescription for Lee, as it ascended to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.

"Breathe Again" (iTunes>)
Toni Braxton, Best R&B Vocal Performance, 1994

Pioneering nurse Mary Breckinridge probably felt as if she could finally breathe again when she fled to Europe following World War I to join the American Committee for Devastated France after leaving her husband. After returning to the United States, she founded the Frontier Nursing Service in 1925. Braxton was able to breathe easy with "Breathe Again" picking up GRAMMY honors in 1994.

"Help Me Make It Through The Night" (iTunes>)
Sammi Smith, Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, 1971

If there was ever a nurse, not just any nurse, who could help you make it through the night, it was Nightingale. In 1854 she traveled to Turkey, where she cared for wounded British soldiers and checked in on them at all hours of the night, earning her the nickname "The Lady of the Lamp." "Help Me Make It Through The Night," Smith's biggest hit, was written by fellow GRAMMY winner Kris Kristofferson.

"Healing Chant" (iTunes>)
Neville Brothers, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 1989

The Neville Brothers' "Healing Chant" perhaps serves as an appropriate theme for nurse Jeanne Prentice, who is known for her work in protecting a mother's right to choose a licensed professional to supervise home births in South Dakota.

"Feel Good Inc." (iTunes>)
Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul, Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, 2005

In her 1966 book The Nature Of Nursing, Virginia Avenel Henderson became famous for her formal definition of nursing: "assisting individuals to gain independence in relation to the performance of activities contributing to health or its recovery." Henderson surely wanted to ensure that every patient of hers felt good, similar to the Gorillaz's musical intentions on the GRAMMY-winning "Feel Good Inc."

"Doctor's Orders" (iTunes>)
Aretha Franklin And Luther Vandross, Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal nominee, 1991

It must have been the doctor's orders that Mary Ezra Mahoney followed when she became the first African-American registered nurse. Mahoney also founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in 1908, which eventually merged with the American Nurses Association between 1950 and 1951. Unfortunately for Franklin and Vandross, the doctor ordered a GRAMMY for Boyz II Men's Cooleyhighharmony album in 1991.

The Healer (iTunes>)
John Lee Hooker, Best Traditional Blues Recording nominee, 1989

Sophie Mannerheim is known for her work in pioneering the modernizing of the nursing profession in Finland. In the early part of the 20th century, she worked as head nurse of the Helsinki Surgical Hospital and later became president of the Finnish Nurses Association. Though his album ultimately didn't make the grade, blues pioneer Hooker picked up a GRAMMY for Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1989 for his collaboration with Bonnie Raitt on "I'm In The Mood."

"Sick, Sick, Sick" (iTunes>)
Queens Of The Stone Age, Best Hard Rock Performance nominee, 2007

American writer and poet Walt Whitman was sick, sick, sick when he read a story about wounded soldiers in Fredericksburg, Va., in 1863. The list included his brother's name and Whitman immediately took a train to Virginia where he worked as a volunteer nurse at more than 40 hospitals. Similarly, the Queens likely felt "Sick, Sick, Sick" when they lost, lost, lost to the Foo Fighters for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2007.

"Heartache Tonight" (iTunes>)
Eagles, Best Rock Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group, 1979

If there's going to be a heartache (or any type of ache), the first person you'd want around is a nurse, or Lillian Carter, the mother of President Jimmy Carter, who in 1966 dedicated her time as a Peace Corps volunteer in India. The Eagles were able to turn their heartache into GRAMMY gold in 1979.

What song best typifies National Nurses Week to you? Or maybe one that makes you sick…. Drop us a comment and let us know.

William Bell, HANSON and Elle King have been added to the lineup for the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum's inaugural GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala, taking place on May 21, at The Novo in Downtown Los Angeles.

Previously announced performers include Andra Day, Ravyn Lenae, Shinedown and The War and Treaty. The evening will include a red carpet and VIP reception on the Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum followed by a one-of-a-kind concert at The Novo. The Gala will also pay tribute to iconic record label Atlantic Records. The evening will be hosted by veteran CBS broadcast journalist Anthony Mason, who will be joined by Michael Sticka, President/CEO of the GRAMMY Museum, Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, and Julie Greenwald, chairperson and CEO of Atlantic Records Group. 

Performers will pay tribute to the 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inducted recordings. Andra Day will perform a song from Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill; William Bell will perform his song "You Don't Miss Your Water"; The War and Treaty will perform Charley Pride's "Kiss An Angel Good Morning"; Elle King will perform Wanda Jackson's "Let's Have A Party." HANSON will perform the Doobie Brothers' "What A Fool Believes"; Ravyn Lenae will perform Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly;" and Shinedown will perform Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven." Tickets are on sale to the general public and more information about the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala is available on the website. 

The inaugural Hall Of Fame Gala will honor the 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inducted recordings on its 50th Anniversary, including De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising, Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction, Buena Vista Social Club's Buena Vista Social Club, and Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, as well as recordings by Donna Summer, Charley Pride, Wanda Jackson, Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra, the Doobie Brothers, and William Bell. 

This year's show will be produced by longtime Executive Producer of the GRAMMY Awards, Ken Ehrlich, along with Chantel Sausedo and Ron Basile. Musical Direction by globally renowned producer and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. The Gala is presented by City National Bank. 

An online auction is currently underway alongside the Hall Of Fame Gala, featuring a vast collection of guitars signed by an array of major artists including Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, and many others, as well as Platinum tickets to the 2025 GRAMMY Awards and more. Proceeds will benefit the GRAMMY Museum. Click HERE for more info. 

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973. The inducted recordings are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. With 10 new titles, the Hall currently totals 1,152 inducted recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. Recipients will receive an official certificate from the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum. See the full list of past inducted recordings here.

GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala 2024 Performers Announced

The Recording Academy has announced 10 recordings to be newly inducted to the distinguished GRAMMY Hall Of Fame as part of its 2024 inductee class and in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year. This year's GRAMMY Hall of Fame additions, the first inductions since 2021, include four albums and six singles that exhibit qualitative or historical significance and are at least 25 years old. The inducted recordings, which will be added to the iconic catalog residing at the GRAMMY Museum, will be honored at GRAMMY Museum's inaugural GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala and concert, presented by City National Bank, taking place Tuesday, May 21, at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets for and performers at the Gala will be announced at a later date. 

The 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inducted recordings range from Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction. Others include recordings by De La Soul, Buena Vista Social Club, Donna Summer, Charley Pride, Wanda Jackson, Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra, the Doobie Brothers, and William Bell. Eligible recipients will receive an official certificate from the Recording Academy. With these 10 newly inducted titles, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame currently totals 1,152 inducted recordings.

See below for a full list of the 2024 recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, and see the full list of all past GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inducted recordings.

Full list of 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inducted Recordings:

3 FEET HIGH AND RISING
De La Soul
Tommy Boy (1989)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
Guns N' Roses
Geffen (1987)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
Buena Vista Social Club
World Circuit/Nonesuch (1997)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

“I FEEL LOVE”
Donna Summer
Casablanca (1977)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

“KISS AN ANGEL GOOD MORNIN'“
Charley Pride
RCA Victor (1971)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

“LET'S HAVE A PARTY”
Wanda Jackson
Capitol (1960)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
Lauryn Hill
Ruffhouse/Columbia (1998)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

“ORY'S CREOLE TROMBONE”
Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra (As Spike's Seven Pods of Pepper Orchestra)
Nordskog (1922)
(Single)
2024

“WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES”
The Doobie Brothers
Warner Bros. (1978)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

“YOU DON'T MISS YOUR WATER”
William Bell
Stax (1961)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

"We're proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in its 50th year," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said in a statement. "The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it's a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond."

"The artists, songwriters, producers, and engineers who composed this year's inducted recordings are a reflection of the sheer talent and hard work that goes into creating such seminal music," GRAMMY Museum President/CEO Michael Sticka said in a statement. "It's a privilege to be able to welcome these new additions into our distinguished catalog and celebrate the recordings at our inaugural gala on May 21."

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973. The inducted recordings are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees.

This year, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala will be the first of what will become an annual event and includes a red carpet and VIP reception on the newly opened Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum, followed by a one-of-a-kind concert at the NOVO Theater in downtown Los Angeles. 

The inaugural gala and concert is produced by longtime executive producer of the GRAMMY Awards, Ken Ehrlich, along with Chantel Sausedo and Ron Basile and will feature musical direction by globally renowned producer and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. For sponsorship opportunities, reach out to halloffame@grammymuseum.org.

Explore the history of the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

She will survive, indeed! As a poster child for the disco era, an advocate for the power of resilience, and an artist who has mastered the craft of the comeback, Gloria Gaynor has proven that her triumphant classic, "I Will Survive" isn't just her signature hit — it's become her mantra.

In addition to her triumphant classic (which won the only GRAMMY ever given for Best Disco Recording, in 1980), Gaynor has carved out a unique career full of risk, reward and longevity. That includes taking major bets on herself, including self-funding and releasing her 2019 spiritual album, Testimony — which earned her a second GRAMMY 40 years after her first, this time for Best Gospel Album. 

Along the way, Gaynor faced both health and financial issues and stayed true to the meaning of the song. These days, she's been on a victory lap, still a queen of the modern disco scene — even releasing a track with another club icon, Kylie Mingoue, with 2021's "Can't Stop Writing Songs About You" — while basking in the enduring legacy of "I Will Survive." 

Now 80, the legend's inspiring story of highs and lows is on full display in the new documentary aptly titled Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and hits select theaters for one day only on Feb. 13. Gaynor reflected with GRAMMY.com about the hit that made her a household name, its lasting effects and her remarkable longevity.

I know it's been an eight year-long process working on the new documentary. What was it like bringing it to life with director Betsy Schechter?

It was difficult because I was working and there were things happening in both our lives that hindered us from coming together from time to time and progressing with the process — so part of what made it take so long was personal reasons. It was fun and tedious, but most of the time it was fun. 

What was it like seeing your emotional story on screen for the first time?

Well, I went through several emotions. It was kind of cathartic. It was surprising to see the reactions of people in the audience with me. When I was watching it on my own, I was like, "Is this going to be popular?" Because when you're watching your own life, you don't think anything big of it. You think everybody has the same problems and stories. But it was mixed emotions. 

People are saying they're learning new things about me that they've never known before or suspected. But a lot of people are also saying that they're being encouraged, and uplifted, and empowered by what they've seen in the documentary. It's been really wonderful, when it comes to the response. It's been tremendous. 

In the midst of production of the documentary, you entirely self-funded the album Testimony which later won a GRAMMY for Best Roots Gospel Album in 2020. Why was it important for you to release this independently and take on that risk?

Because I really believed it was something that God would have me do. When He calls you to do it, of course you do it. Unless I was totally wrong in what I believed I heard, in which case it'd just be an experience. 

But I really felt I had been called to do this, because it was something I've wanted to do for many years. My old management didn't think it was important. He was so interested in the money that would not come from whatever other music I did. So he thought, why bother? But for me, it was more than money. 

What did vindication of the subsequent GRAMMY win mean to you?

It was awesome and very, very validating for me. Just uplifting and encouraging. The GRAMMY is an award that comes from your peers; people who are in the business who know what it takes to record an album or talent when they hear it. It was extremely rewarding for me to win a GRAMMY for that album that was so not championed by everybody in the business. 

And leading up to the win, what was it like when you heard you were nominated?

It was like, "Okay, if this happens I'm going to be flying high." And for sure I was.

But this wasn't your first GRAMMY, because I know that distinction goes back to 1980 for "I Will Survive." Do you remember anything from that night?

Well, I was not familiar with the filming of the televising of the GRAMMYs; it was my first time there and I was actually not there when I received the GRAMMY.

Where were you?

I was in the restroom! I thought I could run to the restroom and get back and seated before it started, and then [my category came up]. Someone else received my GRAMMY and held it for like five years.

Five years, why?

I didn't even know who had it. But it was Tom Moulton, who was the geneious mixologist who did "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "I Am What I Am." He received the award for me and kept it before I even found out where it was. [But] I got it back from him! 

"I Will Survive" was waiting for you for a couple years until you recorded it. So what did you say and what did songwriters Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris say when you decided to record it?

What had happened was, I was sent to record a song that the record company president had chosen because he was newly over from England and had a hit with a song there ("Substitute", originally by the Righteous Brothers). He wanted to repeat the success of it here in the United States with me. 

They asked me what could be on the B side because they weren't sure about it, and wondered what kind of songs I liked. So I said, "I like songs that are thoughtful, meaningful and touch people's hearts and have a good melody." So they said, "Well, we think you're the one we've been waiting for to record this song we wrote two years prior." I was like, "Okay, what song is that?" 

When I read the lyrics I said, "What are you stupid, you're going to put this on the B-side? This is a timeless lyric. I'm standing here relating to this song since I had a back brace on from a surgery I had just had. I'm relating it to the fact that my mother passed away a few years prior, something I never thought I'd survive. Everybody is going to relate every traumatic situation they're going through with this song. Any situation they find seemingly insurmountable, they can relate." So they said, "Well, that's the deal we made." So I said, "Well, if it's for me then it won't stay on the B-side."

What happened when it was released?

It was definitely on the B-side, but they gave us a box of records, and there were 25 in a box, and we took them to Studio 54 and asked the DJ there, Richie Kaczor, to play it. When he did, the audience definitely responded to it, so I thought, "Okay, this jaded New York audience is losing their mind over this record, I have no doubt I'm right that this is a hit." 

So I asked him to give the records to his DJ friends in New York to play it, and they did and people began to request it on radio. The stations started calling the label: "Where is this record people keep asking for?" And the rest is history.

The song has impacted so many people over the years. Do you have any special memories of hearing how it impacted someone?

What immediately comes to mind is a situation that happened when I was in Italy. I had actually rewritten the words because I had become a devout Christian and wanted it reflected in the song. So I changed it from saying "It took all strength I had not to fall apart" to "Only the Lord can give me strength not to fall apart." And then when it said, "Now you see me somebody new," I changed it to say "He made me somebody new." 

After I sang those words for the first time at the concert in Italy, afterwards a young lady came to me and said, "You saved my life. I've been living here for almost a year and its been really, really difficult for me and I was going to home to commit suicide. But now that I've heard you sing that song, I know where my strength can come from and I don't have to die." I'll never forget her.

Before "I Will Survive" you had an early hit with "Never Can Say Goodbye," which was originally recorded by the Jackson 5. Take me inside the studio for that one.

What I remember about recording that song is that we went into the studio, the track had been done and now I'm putting my vocal on it. The producer told me, "Look, you can't sing it like Michael Jackson. You have to do your own thing with it. Let's stop now, go home and rehearse it and stop trying to sing it like Michael." 

I was so frustrated and came back the next day after not rehearsing anything, because I thought, This is the way I sing it. So when I got into the studio I knew I wanted to do something different, so I thought of the words and tried to make them really personal to me and just do it. My attitude after I finished was, "That's it, and if you don't like it, too bad!" And as I was thinking that, he jumped up from the console and said, "That's the take!" 

Clive Davis first signed you to Columbia Records in 1973. How quickly did your life change after that?

I was taken to Columbia and introduced by Paul Leka, a producer there at the time, and he was the one who introduced me to Clive. What I remember most of all is that Clive had me do three auditions; I went to New York to sing for him three times. I said, "There's no way this man has to hear me sing three times before he determines I can sing, he just likes my voice and wants a free concert." [Laughs]

He finally did sign me, but unfortunately right after I recorded my first song he left to form his own company. And I was not signed to Clive, I was signed to RCA, so he couldn't take me with him and I remained at Columbia. So my career took a different course I'm sure than if I had been signed to him specifically.  

New generations continue to discover your music and "I Will Survive," and you've even recorded new material as of late with people like Kylie Minogue. What has your recent resurgence been like?

It's wonderful, I feel like I have not missed my calling and that I'm on the path I'm supposed to be on. It's extremely rewarding, validating and encouraging. It's wonderful. I feel like a family heirloom, passing me down from one generation to another.

An Ode To Donna Summer's 1970s: How The Disco Queen Embodied Both Innovator And Vixen

Dom Dolla rang in 2024 on a creative high. 

Last year, the 32-year-old Australian DJ and producer worked with his long-time idol Nelly Furtado, collaborating on her first new music in six years, including multiple unreleased tracks. Their bossy dance floor banger "Eat Your Man" lit up clubs and festival stages in summer 2023 — including several where the artists performed the track together live. But this wasn't the only mountain Dom Dolla climbed in 2023. His latest tune as a solo artist, a euphoric, Euro disco-inspired bop called "Saving Up," was released in October.

To top off a productive year, the artist born Dominic Matheson earned his first GRAMMY nomination, for Best Remixed Recording for his stellar remix of Gorillaz's "New Gold" featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown. It was the only remix that Gorillaz commissioned for Cracker Island, which is nominated for Best Alternative Music Album,  and the Aussie DJ felt a lot of pressure to make it a great one. The Dom Dolla remix brings a sense of urgency and electricity to the star-studded tune, picking  up the tempo to 127 BPM, then speeding up and looping Brown's raps.

After years of DJing and rising in his hometown Melbourne's vibrant club scene, Dom Dolla broke onto the U.S. dance scene with two tech house heaters, "Take It" and "San Frandisco," in 2018 and 2019, respectively. He was supposed to play Coachella 2020, which due to the pandemic, didn't take place until 2022. There, he debuted the big tunes he'd release later that year: the deep and moody "Strangers," with Mansionair, and the '90s house-infused "Miracle Maker," with Clementine Douglas. Since then, he's been on an ever-evolving upward trajectory. 

GRAMMY.com caught up with the "Miracle Maker" producer to learn more about working with Nelly Furtado and the Gorillaz, how a bad bout of tinnitus taught him a helpful studio trick, and where spaceship Dom is headed next. 

This interview has been edited for clarity.

What was your initial response when you found out you were nominated for a GRAMMY?

A lot of yelling. My manager is a very funny guy. He called me up [after the nominations were announced] and immediately started talking about something else. I challenged myself to write a song a day for a week. So he's all, "Day three, how's it going? You need to punch out a really good one today." I was like, What? And he's like, "A f—ing GRAMMY!" and started laughing. He really bait-and-switched me. I was on a high all morning. Then I flew from L.A. to Miami to play at [Club] Space and later that day I had EDC Orlando. I kept running into members of my team and just heard yelling.

Everyone brought signs to Space. Someone held up this enormous sign, "Congratulations on your GRAMMY" and people [held up messages] on their phones. It was quite a lovely, emotional moment, at such a debaucherous place.

What does it mean to you to be acknowledged in this way by your music industry peers?

It's really special. I started touring America in 2016. When you start touring in a new country, particularly when you're quite green, which I was back then, it's quite lonely. You don't really know anyone. But over the years, as I released more music and was running into people, I really felt like I was kind of gaining people's respect the more music that I put out.

The best thing about the music industry in America, at least in dance music, is if other DJs are playing your records, you're adding value to their DJ set and they respect you for it. That was happening more and more [for me over the years]. So [the nomination] feels like the antithesis of when I first started touring in the U.S.; it's being acknowledged by my peers and being respected and knowing that they genuinely like my music.

Did you ever imagine you'd be where you are today as a DJ/producer?

No way. My goal when I first started uploading music was to hit 10,000 plays on a song on SoundCloud. I think on the third track I'd released, I ended up hitting like 30,000 streams. I screenshotted it and printed it out. And I was like, I've made it. That's it.

It was the same with touring. My goal when I first started producing was to headline the venue called Prince Bandroom in St. Kilda in Melbourne, my hometown. Now we're doing the stupidest venues. [Laughs.] Each year, my manager asks me to write down what my new goals and aspirations are. A GRAMMY nomination wasn't even on the list because I didn't think it would ever be achievable. So now that that's happened, I have to write a new list.

How did you get connected with the Gorillaz for the remix?

It was pretty cool. Jahan [Karimaghayi] is on my marketing team and he's also on the Gorillaz's marketing team. He's a big fan of my remixes and he's always like, "I feel like you'd smash a Gorillaz remix." Apparently, he brought it up and they were like, "Hell yeah, let's do it." He thought he was introducing them to my music but I think someone already knew my stuff. I got sent the parts and it was ultimately up to me not to f— it up, really. [Chuckles.] That's why I put so much pressure on myself to nail it, knowing that it would be the only remix [from their album].

When did you know that the remix was ready?

It was actually a sort of visceral, emotional reaction in the studio. Every producer or songwriter will know there's two modes. One is, I'm terrible. How did I ever succeed in this as a career? I'm probably going to quit after I walk out of the studio. That was the first three days of me working on it. On the fourth day, the mood was, I'm a f—ing genius. I can't believe I doubted myself before. This s— is fire. 

When you hit that feeling in the studio, it actually doesn't matter if the song comes out or the remix gets approved or if your team likes it. If I have that feeling, I've done it for myself, and I'm happy. The best thing was, I sent it to my team who said, "This is really great." And then I sent it to the Gorillaz and they loved it, so that was some nice external validation.

How did you bring the Dom Dolla touch to that track, which already had three different iconic, quite eclectic artists on it?

For me, it was picking the stems or the vocal sections or the synth elements of that record that I felt I related to the most. That's the way that I always do it: Which parts of this vocal would sound best on a Dom Dolla record?

The reason I don't do more remixes is because it's hard to come across those moments. I suppose the headline would be "finding moments in an existing record that you wish you'd written." If I'm being pitched a remix, are there enough bits in this that I can then rearrange or twist into something that I wish I'd done myself?

How was working with Nelly Furtado on "Eat Your Man," and what was your initial response when you found out she wanted to work with you? 

We were both going to play [Beyond the Valley] festival in Australia and she listened to my music. [Nelly's management] reached out and said she'd been listening to a bunch of my records on repeat. She wanted me to produce some stuff for her comeback, basically.

I'm sure she had a buttload of potential producers sending her demos. So I recorded this little selfie video that was like, "Hey, Nelly, what's happening?" just to prove I wasn't a psychopath. She said I didn't need the video but I was very memorable from that point on. We started messaging back and forth on WhatsApp and writing a bunch of stuff before we even met in person. 

She sent me her ad-libbing over one of my demos, and I quickly changed the subject because I wasn't actually a fan of what she'd sent me initially. I [was worried] I ruined the relationship. She said that was the reason she wanted to work with me, because I'm not a "yes man." I loved the second one she sent me. From then on, we hit it off and she trusted my taste.

We met in person three months later when we performed at Beyond the Valley. After that, I flew to Philadelphia and we got in the studio and started writing a bunch of stuff for her upcoming releases — none of that music has been released yet. That's more like her pop stuff. Halfway through the sessions, she turned to me, she's like, "I'd love to feature on a Dom Dolla record." "Eat Your Man" was written in the space of a few hours; it all came together quite naturally, which was fun.

What was it like for you working in the studio with Nelly, versus what I'm assuming is usually you and your computer? What did you take away from working in this way?

A lot of the time for the Dom Dolla project, I tried to do everything myself. I'd write all the top lines and basically bring in a session singer. I have a very specific vision. [With Nelly,] it was really a collaboration. For me, it was really learning how a lot of these pop sessions happen.  

[Nelly] had one of her best friends, Anjulie [Persaud], who's a brilliant pop singer and writer. The three of us were handing a microphone around that we had plugged into my Ableton. Each of us sang adlibs over this looped beat. I then went through the session and picked all of the little melodic adlib moments that I thought were really catchy. 

It taught me a lot about communicating tastes and being patient. It was exciting for me because I feel like that's the way the pop world works. It's great because it's more creative and more collaborative. "Eat Your Man" we did more my way. It was like, "This is what I can hear. What do you think?" That's why it happened quite quickly. But with her pop stuff, we did it more the traditional way.

Has that inspired you to do more in-studio collabs with vocalists?

Yeah, I've been doing a lot of writing with other people since then. Now I really can see myself doing a lot more production for other people and pop artists or even for bands. I'm confident in my executive production, production and engineering abilities. It's a new muscle that I'd like to develop. It's just hard for me because I'm touring so much and you've got to be in the room. Touring [non-stop] doesn't really leave much in the way for collaborative pop production. I think that time will come but it's not right now.

You brought out Nelly Furtado during your set at Portola Fest and performed with her a few times this year. What has it felt like getting to perform with her on stage?

She's so experienced and has been doing this for so long. I've learned a lot. In pop music performances, there's timecoding and synchronized dancing. DJ culture is like, I'm feeling like this needs to go here now, so I'm gonna full 180 and just throw this on the audience. You don't have to check in with anyone or plan anything. [Nelly] needs to know exactly when this is going to happen because she needs to know when she has to start singing and how much time she's got to dance before she has to start singing again. It's given me a real appreciation for pop live performance and how the pop world does it.

Planning for those sets [with Nelly] has been awesome; she asked me to send her the files from the mashups I did of her records and my records. I went to watch her [Portola] set, which is just her, I had nothing to do with it, and she performed the mashups. I was like, This is so sick. Her manager turned to me, "She's actually been doing this in every one of her shows." I'm over the moon. The dance music influence is kind of rubbing off on her hip-hop, R&B world, which is really cool.

In your DJ Mag cover article, you shared how an experience with hearing loss and tinnitus led you to produce music quieter. How did that change the way you think about production and dance music?

I really had to retrain my ears in how to produce music, but it added a bunch of longevity to my career. Now I can write and perform for years, because I'm always wearing earplugs or writing music quietly. It taught me that if the song's got to be really loud to be exciting, it sucks. People always crank stuff up in the studio. If it's exciting when it's quiet, you want to turn it up because you want to hear it. I think that's a testament to the kind of record that's being written. I always challenge myself to write the most exciting record humanly possible at the quietest level possible, [where you're] itching to turn it up.

It's also a mixing thing as well, because you've got to be able to hear all the key elements of the record quietly too. No matter where it's translating, whether it's on someone's laptop, their phone, their headphones, or cranked up to 120 on their home speaker system, that mix is right. 

How would you describe the evolution or your sound, production-wise and in your DJ sets?

I get so bored so easily. I just want to keep moving [on to new sounds]. The best thing about that is it keeps your audience excited. My last record, "Saving Up," is a completely original record that I want to sound like a throwback sampled disco tune. I've never released anything that's disco before, but I love disco. It's almost like Euro disco, a really fast offbeat baseline. It's jacked up, it's not a traditional disco record, but the elements are still there. Even the stuff I've been writing for Nelly, her pop stuff, I think people will be able to tell that I wrote it and produced it because it sounds like me somehow.

On "Saving Up," did you use any samples or did you just make it sound like it was sampled?

Everything in that record is completely original. I wanted it to sound like a sampled record, so the vocals are pitched up. It's a friend of mine, Clementine Douglas [who is featured on Dom's "Miracle Maker"]. I wrote it with her and some other friends, Toby Scott and Caitlin Stubbs, down in Brighton Beach in the UK. I've always been really obsessed with writing music on my own, doing everything myself from start to finish, and I feel like I've proven that to myself. After working with Nelly Furtado, I was really open to the idea of sitting in a room with a bunch of talented people and writing songs as a group 

As soon as I got to Brighton Beach, I remembered that Big Beach Boutique massive rave that Fatboy Slim hosted there 20 years ago. I wanted to write something that sounded super U.K., something that sounds sampled. We actually wrote the song really, really slow, at like 95 BPM or something. It was just chords and hooky vocals and we wrote the lyrics after. To make it sound sampled, we sped it up to 130 BPM and pitched the vocal up six semitones and made it bouncy as f—. 

What's next for you?

I actually have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just kind of hanging on for dear life. I know what I'm doing in the studio and I know what a great DJ set is made of. For me, it's about building upon that each and every time — giving a better DJ performance, creating a better set and writing better music.

I think that's the only thing that's really changing, the shows are getting bigger and more people are discovering the music. Honestly, it's quite shocking. The audience is literally compounding but I'm not really changing anything that I'm doing. I'm sort of doing more of it and trying to up the frequency and learning from the mistakes I've made before. 

Any big goals you're trying to hit, or anything where you're like, Okay, that would f—ing blow my mind if that happened?

Honestly, I recently did a dream B2B with Solomun in Ibiza. That was really cool. He reached out and I was like, No f—ng way. I have a good feeling about the next few years, so it's gonna be exciting. 

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