First off we wanted to congratulate you for your Grammy nomination earlier this week for your remix of the Charlie Puth track ‘How Long.” Where were you when you heard the news and what did you think when you found out? Is there any significance of the remix being called the ‘Dubai Skyline Remix?’
Thank you so much! It was absolutely incredible news when I found out. I was actually on a plane from Italy to North America when the nominations were announced, and when I landed and I turned my phone on it almost exploded! It’s been a long journey on the remix side for myself and my studio partner Christian. We’ve been working on remixes together for over ten years and it feels so special to finally receive a Grammy nomination for our remix of Charlie Puth. It still hasn’t really sunk in and it really is a dream come true!
Continuing your big week, you have a new remix of Chromeo’s track with French Montana and Steffon Don that dropped on the 14th. How did that come about?
I was sent this remix request by Chromeo over the Summer and it turned out to be a really interesting record to work on. The vocals from French Montana and Stefflon Don are so on point and the style of the track really steered me to create something sexy, groovy and a little bit different. I was also able to add some old school disco elements to the track which was really cool. I’m super excited about this remix.
Besides the Chromeo remix, you recently have taken turns at tracks by Janelle Monae, Bazzi feat. Camila Cabello and David Guetta. Do any of the remixes you did this year stick out as your favorite?
I love all the remixes to be honest, but I think the David Guetta track is the one that sticks out the most. Having said that, Janelle’s team were amazing to work with and I’m super excited about what’s going to happen with the Chromeo remix. It’s impossible to choose just one!
You have also had a big year with your singles Jaded, Anthem and Sillage and you have a new track “Who Cares’ on the way in January. The ‘It Takes Two’ sample in Anthem definitely brought on a smile when we heard that. Was that a big track for you when you were younger?
The sample from Anthem is actually a sample that has been used a number of times. It wasn’t just from ‘It Takes Two’, it was actually a sample on one of the old Roland dance machines that got discontinued, which I still happen to own. 2018 has been an amazing year for me, but I would say the focus for this year has been more on club tracks. Everything we release as part of EDX draws inspiration on my years as a clubber (a long time ago) and the same goes for ‘Who Cares’. It’s going to be released on January 11th via Spinnin Deep and I can’t wait for everybody to hear it.
Saturday night at Avalon in Hollywood was the amazing debut of your new live show XIRCUIT. The show combined elements of lighting and video into an interactive, sensory live experience. Can you expand on your vision for XIRCUIT and what it was like for those that didn’t experience it? Was the technology developed just for this show? The lighting component was designed by Alex Hesse. What was it like working with him?
I have a whole team that has been working on this new show concept for a long time, and it’s such a blessing to have so many amazing people supporting you. From the first idea to the execution of XIRCUIT, the whole process has been amazing. Alex Hesse joined the team fairly recently and having known him for years, he’s somebody that I love to work with. He has so much experience working on big shows all over the world and I couldn’t be happier with how the show went. The production was really incredible and I think people experienced clubbing and the EDX show in a completely different way. It’s going to be rolled out at clubs and festivals internationally in 2019 and I can’t wait for more people to see it.
How did the idea to do a live show come about? Have you had a desire for a long while to do this or was it a more recent desire to expand your horizons?
We try to do something new every year to keep the EDX experience fresh. Last year we did the Two Decades concept, incorporating tracks from my whole career into my live shows and this year we wanted to really push the boundaries on the production side. We put a lot of time and effort into the XIRCUIT experience and I’m super happy about how it came off. The show was absolutely incredible and I want to thank everybody for coming down.
Congrats again on such a big week in your career. Good luck at the Grammys and congratulations on the debut of your XIRCUIT show on Saturday in Hollywood.
Thank you so much for having me and thank you so much to everybody that is reading this interview!
