Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Diplo Talks Early Days As Producer and Decline of EDM

Diplo

Diplo recently stopped by the Philadelphia chapter of The Recording Academy for an interview with journalist Dan DeLuca. The Mad Decent chief discussed his early days as a producer and vinyl dealer, the decline of EDM, his advice to artists, and other topics.

On the development of his sound: “I was finding these kind of crevices and things that people weren’t doing. I don’t think I was ever that great at the music I was making, but I kept finding things that people weren’t doing and like just doing them, like you know and trying to do my best at taking up that space.”

On the decline of EDM: “Some of these [artists] are great that are part of [EDM] and make great music but for the most part you already see that it’s in decline. . . . There hasn’t been a dance song on the radio except Calvin Harris and Rihanna this whole year. I think people have moved on. They’ve moved on to hip-hop again . . .”

On his advice to artists: “You should always be an artist for yourself first. Do what you want to do. Never adhere to this genre or whatever. There was [once] a young DJ that played me his demos that were kinda cool, they different than what he made. But he was like, ‘I can’t release this because all my fans expect [that].’ I’m like, ‘Man, that’s the worst attitude ever.’ What if David Bowie thought that? He always was the guy who was changing the game. He was always the guy who decided to do something against the grain and always made records that were were forward thinking and ahead of the time. That’s what any artist should pursue.”

Watch the conversation below.

Related: Diplo Remixes M.I.A.’s New Single, ‘Bird Song’

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