Dance
Page: 20
This week in dance music: Fred again.. spoke with Nardwuar, and Rüfüs du Sol spoke with us. Charli XCX continued her winning streak by releasing a remix with Kesha and seeing Brat reach the apex of the U.K. album charts after last week’s release of Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat. The managing director of the Amsterdam Dance Event ran down his top event picks for the conference happening this week in the Dutch capital, SoundCloud announced that electronic music fans are the platform’s most engaged, organizers of Breakaway Music Festival said the touring dance festival is expanding to six new markets next year, we ran down the 40 most played tracks at Pacha Ibiza this season and also debuted exclusive CRSSD fall 2024 sets from Idris Elba, Tinlicker, Confidence Man and Kerala Dust.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
And in the realm of marquee album releases, Kelly Lee Owens dropped her fourth studio LP Dreamstate, The Blessed Madonna put her out her major label debut Godspeed and LP Giobbi delivered her shimmering second album, Dotr.
Trending on Billboard
To all that, we add even more. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.
Kaleena Zanders, Glorified
After releasing the EP’s other three songs over the last few months, Kaleena Zanders rounds out the project with the release of its title track, “Glorified.” A bright blend of disco and soul, the song — like much of Zanders’ work — features her power-lunged vocals as the sonic and spiritual centerpiece. The corresponding video also manages to be simultaneously sexy and adorable. The artist is on tour with DJ Susan through the end of the year, with upcoming shows in Austin, Brookly and Denver. Glorified is out via Helix Records.
Confidence Man, 3am (La La La)
The prevailing response to the Australian act’s third album has thus far been a general adoration for and excitement about the way its dozen tracks capture the bright sound and breezy spirit of the ’90s rave world. Indeed there’s a lot of candy raving warehouse vibes — a sonic and fashion aesthetic that’s been very on trend in the current dance scene and which Conidence Man does with moxie across the project. But things get particularly interesting on “Sicko,” which take a sharp turn from the Deee-Lite references and swerves into darker, druggier, more sexed-up influences of Depeche Mode and INXS, with the group’s Aidan Moore) eventually admitting “I”m such a sicko” as the song again shifts gears into ambient, after-hours territory. 3am (La La La) is out on Casablanca Records.
Mau P, “Merther”
The Dutch producer samples Ini Kamoze’s essential 1984 single “World a Reggae (Out in the Street They Call It Murder)”, and effectively whips it into a tech house song, chopping up Kamoze’s vocals into a stuttering beat and going fully on the nose by adding a few siren sounds. It works so well that Solomun and Michael Bibi have been rinsing it in their sets lately.
Mau P says that after testing the track out on the road for a long time, “it’s sick that I get to put this out with the legendary sample from Ini Kamoze’s ‘World A Music.’ I didn’t think this would be remotely possible a few years ago, but here we are. My fans have also been asking for this one nonstop, so I’m happy they don’t have to keep listening to ripped versions online and can finally get the full finished version.” The track marks Mau P’s first release on Defected Records.
Sebastian Ingrosso, “Flood”
Of Swedish House Mafia’s three members, Sebastian Ingrosso puts out the least solo work, so anything new from him will naturally pique curiosity. His just-out single “Flood” delivers, with the 4:32-long track — a luxuriously long song in the world of two-minute tracks made for TikTok — unfolding across three movements, building from slinky IDM to an theatrically leaning vocal isolation into a peaktime heater. “It’s been a very long time since I worked on something of my own that represents who I have become since then,” Ingrosso wrote on social media. “I am on a journey of traveling inwards, and this is one of the many stories I hope to tell.”
Polo & Pan, “Nenuphar”
Polo & Pan’s output has always conjured a mood of lounging poolside in a silk robe in St. Tropez with a cocktail in your hand and not a care in the world. And so it goes on the French duo’s latest, “Nenuphar.” The track was recorded in Mexico City, with accompaniment by the Mexico-based all-female multi-genre collective I.M YONI (Independent Musicians of Yoni, who add a silky vocals over the layers of percussion and strings. “Nenuphar” is out on Hamburger Records.
Honey Dijon, “Finding My Way”
Honey Dijon and Ben Westbeech come together for the new “Finding My Way,” which comes from the latest edition of !K7’s enduring DJ Kicks series. Melding gospel vocals about searching for peace with a slowly unrolling house production (and a flute solo) the track has all the warmth and cool that have made Honey a global star for ages. “I’m a huge fan of research,” she says of her DJ Kicks compilation, “So putting this compilation together was basically going into my dancefloor experience and finding gems I wanted to present to people that they may not have been familiar with or that they didn’t even know existed.”
Charli XCXxc’s Brat has finally topped the U.K.’s Official Albums Charts, four months after its original release. The release of remix album Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, which had star turns from Ariana Grande, The 1975, The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and more, gave a well-timed boost to the original record to […]
CRSSD started closing out the 2024 festival season when it brought the event’s fall edition back to its longtime home at Bayfront Park in San Diego on Sept. 28-29.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Now in its ninth year, the lineup for this autumnal iteration of CRSSD included Disclosure, Gesaffelstein, Blond:ish, Four Tet, Boris Brejcha, Skream and many others. Produced by FNGRS CRSSD, the event has been a mainstay on the Southern California dance festival circuit since its launch in 2015 and is attended by roughly 15,000 fans per day.
Whether you where there or simply wish you were there, open up your ears to four hours of exclusive music from the festival from Idris Elba, Kerala Dust, Tinlicker and Confidence Man.
Trending on Billboard
Idris Elba
The DJ/producer/actor/noted good-looking person played 75 minutes of driving house, tech house, Afrobeat and more, with key selections including his take on Inner City’s 1998 classic “Good Life,” an extended mix of Mau P’s essential “Gimme Dat Bounce,” The Bucketheads’ ever-ravey 1995 hit “The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)” and of course, his own 2023 Solardo collab “Big Talk,” an extended edit of which ends the set.
Kerala Dust
The London-based foursome played a jammy and frequently psychedelic set that leaned heavy into live instrumentation, with the performance’s frequent guitar solos and a generally mystic mood bringing desert ambience to the waterfront fest.
Tinlicker
The Dutch duo wove progressive house and melodic techno into grandly cinematic soundscapes, with the set going to an especially hypnotic place at its climax. If you were there, you were likely dancing with your eyes closed and maybe tearing up a little.
Confidence Man
The Australian foursome are simply just A+ party starters, whipping up a breezy, blissful set heavy on energy and big singalong moments. The group — Grace Stephenson and Aidan Moore along with producers Lewis Stephenson and Sam Hales — packed a lot of heat into a tight 45 minute set, building to a euphoric place and giving classic ’90s U.K. rave vibes throughout.
Kaskade‘s wife, Naomi Raddon, has filed for divorce from the electronic music producer after nearly 28 years of marriage. A petition filed on October 16 in Los Angeles and reviewed by Billboard cites irreconcilable differences as the grounds for divorce. The couple married in August of 1996, with the filing listing July 22, 2024 as […]
After much fun and many late nights, the 2024 Ibiza season has come to a close. Some tracks commanded the dance floor more than others, with the 40 most-played songs over the summer at island clubbing mecca Pacha counted down below.
While the list includes a few global hits, like Tyla’s “Water,” and a few classic capital-B bangers (see: Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”), the list is largely composed of underground dance music made by known stars and emerging producers alike.
“Pacha Ibiza has its own singular sounds, driven by the world’s best DJs, and is where music lovers first discover new artists and new, previously unheard of, tracks” Aloki Batra, FIVE Hospitality and The Pacha Group CEO, tells Billboard.
The data that created this list was collected by KUVO in partnership with DJ Monitor, which installs technology in clubs like Pacha that functions much like Shazam, identifying tracks within its library. This library is comprised of a database of nearly 80 million songs submitted to DJ Monitor by PROs, which allows DJ Monitor to create setlists with 93% accuracy, the company reports.
Trending on Billboard
FIVE Holdings acquired the Pacha Group in 2023 in a deal worth approximately $330 million. The deal encompassed the Ibiza flagship club, which opened in 1973, along with two hotel island hotel properties, Toy Room Club, which has multiple locations in Europe, India and the Middle East and WooMoon Storytellers, a party that happens primarily in Ibiza and Tulum.
2024 resident DJS at Pacha included Solomun, Marco Carola, Bedouin and many more. This year the club was also graced with the presence of stars including Katy Perry, Rita Ora, Jason Statham, Naomi Campbell, Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz and many others, the club reports.
“Pacha Ibiza believes in the universal language of music uniting a global community of music lovers for over 50 years. The central ethos of Pacha Ibiza remains the same as we move into a new chapter of our time tested values of love, joy, connection, celebration, inclusiveness and diversity. This is evident in Pacha Ibiza’s legendary Flower Power party that is reimagined for a new era in 2024 while preserving its core essence. Evolving from its roots, today’s Flower Power celebrations blend nostalgia with contemporary happy house sounds, offering an immersive experience that transcends generations.”
The Top 40 Songs Played at Pacha Ibiza in 2024
“Move” – Samm (BE)
“Pick Up the Phone” – Pawsa Feat. Nate Dogg
“Last Night” – Serite
“Nocturnal” – Joezi
“See You Sweat (Extended Mix)” – Genesi & Max Styler
“Sweet Moment” – Snirco
“Walk In Amsterdam” – Ugo Banchi
“It’s That Time (FISHER Remix)” – Marlon Hoffstadt
“Sing It Back” – Moloko
“Fuma Ernesto” – Carrera (ve)
“Love Desire” – Cassimm
“Miss You” – DJ Agos
“Umbrella” – Oppaacha
“We Are The People” – Empire Of The Sun
“Dance With Ibiza” – Ugo Banchi
“Famax” – Raffa Guido
“Freddie’s Warmup” – Vlado
“Hope” – Camelphat Feat. Max Milner
“On My Mind” – Ajna (BE)
“Pakit” – Ban Marian
“Somebody That I Used To Know” – James Cole
“Spektrum” – Camelphat
“Still Pushin’” – Youniverse
“Water” – Tyla
“At Night” – Shakedown
“If You Want My Loving” – Prospa
“Kill The Vibe” – David Guetta, Mason & Princess Superstar
“Last Night (Anyma x Layton Giordani Remix)” – Loofy
“Se Acabo” – Cid & Guz
“Shook Part 3” – Nick Morgan
“4Real” – Piem
“Asa” – Âme
“Crazy In Love” – Beyoncé
“Miriam (Extended)” – Robin M
“No Guest List San” – Pacho
“The Rhythm Of Dancing” – &lez
“Work” – Chris Lorenzo
“Black Dress (Anyma Remix)” – 070 Shake & Anyma
“Chase The 80’s” – Ugo Banchi
“House Anthem” – Clüb De Combat
Breakaway is breaking out. The touring electronic music festival announced Thursday (Oct. 17) that it’s expanding to six new markets in 2025. These new cities are Atlanta; Dallas; Huntsville, Ala.; Philadelphia; Phoenix and a yet to be announced Northern California city. The festival will throw two-day events in these cities next year, along with previously […]
On Thursday (Oct. 17) at the Amsterdam Dance Event, representatives from SoundCloud, along with Dutch producer Mau P, took part in a panel during which SoundCloud revealed that electronic music listeners are the most engaged demographic on the platform, among other insights.
This takeaway is based on data that found that electronic music fans over-index for all music activities on SoundCloud, company representatives said, adding that compared to fans of other genres, electronic music fans are 52% more likely to comment, 104% more likely to share music and 85% more likely to repost.
SoundCloud has long been a key hub for electronic music producers, offering a place where remixes and live sets, which aren’t available on many other DSPs, can live alongside new productions, creating a catalog that’s unique to the platform. The way SoundCloud allows for direct artist-to-fan communication has also helped foster the kind of superfans the general industry has become increasingly interested in finding and cultivating. As Jack Bridges of SoundCloud said during a panel this past April, “A lot more artists and labels go to SoundCloud early… and build records from nothing and by artists messaging their fans directly because we have the tools to do that.”
Trending on Billboard
The platform is becoming increasingly popular among producers. The company reports that the platform is seeing increased uploads of electronic music, with those uploads projected to rise by approximately 21% in 2024 compared to last year. Plays of electronic music genres on the platform have also grown, by roughly 6% since 2022, with electronic music expected to account for nearly 22% of all plays on the platform this year.
And while electronic music is a truly global genre, some areas naturally over-index, with SoundCloud finding that Vietnam has the third largest electronic listener base. Elsewhere, Central and Northern Europe have the most consistent and engaged SoundCloud electronic listeners, while Belgium, Austria and Germany are among the top countries where electronic music is the platform’s most-streamed genre.
In terms of subgenres, house music gets the most SoundCloud plays, listening time and listeners. Hardcore is second in plays and listening time, while trance is second in the number of listeners and third in plays and listening time. SoundCloud reports that trance is also the fastest-growing genre, with a 24% increase in listening time and an 11% rise in listeners since 2023.
In the liner notes for her 2017 self-titled debut LP, Welsh electronic producer Kelly Lee Owens includes a quote by German author and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Whatever you dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Released when she was 28-years-old following a stint working in London’s record shops and as an auxiliary nurse in palliative care, Kelly Lee Owens was a culmination of years of absorbing music and beauty on her journey thus far. The dream to create and produce her own music, something she’d harbored since she was a child, eventually became a reality.
On her fourth album, Dreamstate, Owens is still thinking big. The new record, due out on Friday (Oct. 18), sees her collaborate with dance royalty The Chemical Brothers, as well as one of the biggest names on the circuit, Northern Irish techno duo Bicep.
Trending on Billboard
She’s also newly signed to Dirty Hit – home to The 1975, Bleachers and Beabadoobee – and their dance music-focused imprint DH2 to be their inaugural release. The imprint was set up by The 1975 drummer George Daniel and Dirty Hit general manager Ed Blow; Daniel also appears on the record in a producer role.
“This feels like the beginning of a new phase,” Owens tells Billboard of the move from Norwegian indie label Smalltown Supersound to DH2. “A new team felt right. I’m grateful for the past and the present, but I’m excited about the future because I really do believe that DH2 is really going to show the world some great dance music.”
Where Owens’ previous work was a sparse, sometimes experimental take on techno, house and pop, Dreamstate is more euphoric and maximalist. Lead single “Love You Got” is as radio-friendly as her material has ever been, pairing classic songwriting with pounding drums and synths. “Ballad (The End),” co-written with The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands, includes a string arrangement by Owens and builds to an emotional crescendo. These were new avenues to explore.
2020’s Inner Song, which reached No.30 on the UK’s Dance Charts, showed hints of this direction. But 2022’s LP.8, a knotty, left field collection, put paid to that clean upward trajectory.
Even so, the collection and her previous work caught the ear of Depeche Mode, who enlisted Owens to join them as a support act on the road for their mammoth Memento Mori tour. She speaks of the awe of opening the band’s shows in US arenas and Mexico City’s Foro Sol stadium, where the Mode headlined to 195,000 fans over three sold-out nights.
“Without knowing it at the time, they really instilled confidence in me,” she says of the selection. The band’s songwriter and keyboardist Martin Gore also gave crucial feedback on Dreamstate during its formation. As did Xavier de Rosnay of French electro duo Justice, who Owens met a decade ago while she was still bassist in the indie band The History of Apple Pie.
The conviction dovetailed with Owens’ role as executive producer on Dreamstate, a new challenge which included recruiting collaborators far and wide but retaining a singular vision. She points to her heroes Björk and Kate Bush as artists who have done so successfully. “It was something that at this point in my career I felt that I wanted and, more than that, needed,” she says. “Initially I thought that that would mean letting go of control more, but when you create with different people across different songs on an album, you have to be surer than ever of your vision.”
Owens was born in rural north Wales and says that Dreamstate taps into some of those formative experiences growing up, even when the creative industries, or simply just taking time to dream and reflect, can feel out of reach particularly for working class artists. “There is no separation between my personal life and what I do music and it’s an all-encompassing thing,” she says. “There’s a lot of sacrifice which a lot of people who don’t do this [career] don’t want to hear about.”
Kelly Lee Owens
Samuel Bradley
She moved to London and began working in record shops including Sister Ray in Soho and Pure Groove in Archway. There she met future collaborators, DJs Daniel Avery and James Greenwood, and began writing and recording her solo material. It has been a story that has stepping stones, gradual increments rather than overambitious leaps. Now she’s at a point in her life where the monumental achievements – she played Glastonbury Festival for the first time in June – mean even more to her.
“I actually didn’t want to be a big, massive, first album success because I watched a lot of my friends or people around me do that and found that they had nowhere to go,” she says. “I want to encourage artists to know that in your 30s you can be reaching a place with your inner confidence. You’ll get those absolutely epic firsts and you know you deserve to be there.”
Another first came through Charli XCX – who is engaged to Owens’ collaborator and label boss Daniel – when she hosted her Boiler Room party in Ibiza, and selected Owens to appear on the bill at Amnesia, her first time performing at the Balearic superclub. She joined a stacked bill including Charli, Shygirl, Robyn, Romy from The xx and more.
She’s a fan of Charli’s Brat and loves that the lines between pop chart hits and the club remain blurred. “We have so many sides to ourselves and as an artist, you need to be free to explore all of it as long as it’s genuinely authentic to you people will feel that,” she says.
Dreamstate is precisely that; all it took, as Goethe wrote, was Owens to be bold enough to begin it.
If you work in dance music, there’s a good chance you’re currently on a plane or train or are otherwise somehow en route to Amsterdam.
Per mid-October dance music tradition, the Amsterdam Dance Music Event, or ADE, is happening this week in the Dutch capital, with thousands of dance industry execs, artists and fans taking part in a dizzyingly robust program that caters to professionals, people trying to get into the industry and people who just like the music. Programming includes representatives from companies including SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Tresor, Tunecore, Empire, Spotify and more.
While ADE always reliably draws industry types from around Europe, the event is also “seeing a notable increase in attendees from the U.S., Africa, and Asia this year,” says ADE’s managing director Jan-Willem van de Ven, “so it’s a good mix of electronic music industries and cultures and global territories that see ADE as a gateway to Europe in a number of different ways.”
With the thriving electronic music scene in Africa gaining more attention and global influence, ADE 2024 is also hosting representatives from the Nigerian festival Homecoming for a special five-panel series on the dance scene in the country and across the continent.
Trending on Billboard
“The roots of electronic music are deeply tied to African music and culture, so this focus felt timely and essential,” says van de Ven. “The culture across many African territories offers so much we can learn from, particularly in terms of creativity and community, and in return, we can hopefully contribute some knowledge of industry infrastructure, things like that. Our collaboration with Homecoming is designed as a mutual exchange, where both sides — artists, audiences, professionals and ourselves — can inspire and grow from each other’s experiences.”
In total, ADE programming is famous for offering more panels, networking events, performances and mixers than a single person could possibly attend, so van de Ven advises that those going create a schedule based on what they personally want to get out of the conference. He also recommends “making full use of networking sessions and our new matchmaking formats, which are great for connecting with the right people.”
Jan-Willem van de Ven
Sarah Wijzenbeek
This year, ADE has also launched a new ADE App that will help attendees navigate the program while keeping their personal agendas on hand, for maximum productivity and likely a fair amount of fun. As always, ADE 2024 is split between PRO programming for industry professionals, Lab programming for those coming into the scene, festival programming for fans, and arts and culture programming for everyone.
Even van de Ven himself acknowledges that it’s difficult to fit everything in over the conference, with his assistant helping ensure he gets everywhere he needs to be. “I’m also just a big fan of everything we do,” he adds, “so I really try my best to experience as much as possible.”
Below are van de Ven’s top ADE 2024 schedule picks across all categories. (All times are CEST.)
ADE Pro
20 Years of Tomorrowland: How to Rise and Stay on Top – Wednesday, Oct.16, 2:15 p.m.
In this talk, Tomorrowland founder Michiel Beers will discuss the 20 year anniversary of the annual Belgian dance mega-festival, offering insights on the strategies that have made it the world’s biggest dance festival.
SoundCloud – Essential Insider Knowledge – Thursday, Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m.
Representatives from SoundCloud will take part in a conversation with Dutch producer Mau P, focusing on how the platform supports independent artists and offering insights on how artists can find success on digital platforms.
From Detroit to Durban: The Learnings of 30 Years of Dance Music – Thursday, Oct. 17, 1:30 p.m.
Artists including Detroit legend Carl Craig and South African producers Major League DJz will take part in a panel exploring the origins and influence of the techno and amapiano genres. The conversation will focus on growing these genres while preserving their cultural heritage and ensuring creators retain ownership.
Amelie Lens x Charlotte de Witte – Friday, Oct. 18, 4:30 p.m.
The techno titans will take part in a panel focused on their individual careers and newfound partnership.
ADE LAB
BIIANCO: How I Play Live hosted by DJ Mag – Thursday, Oct. 17, 5:15 p.m.
Multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ, BIIANCO — whose 2023 viral hit “Against The Wall” aggregated 35 million streams — will give a talk on live performance technology for creators looking to build a live show and integrate live elements into hybrid DJ sets.
DJ Babatr: The Story of Raptor House – Saturday, Oct. 19, 2:45 p.m.
Venezuelan DJ Babatr, a pioneer of the Raptor House genre, will discuss his role in creating a sound that encapsulates the energy of Caracas.
CLUB Lab – Live Showcases (in association with DJMag) – Saturday, Oct. 19, 8:30 p.m.
The nightclub element of ADE’s Lab programming will feature live music, A/V shows and dancing, offering a place for ADE Lab attendees to celebrate at the end of the event.
ADE Arts & Culture
ADE Opening Concert: 50 Years of J Dilla – Wednesday, Oct. 16, 11:00 a.m.
Speakers including Carl Craig and Miguel Atwood Ferguson will celebrate the legacy of game-changing producer J Dilla in the year that artist would have been 50 years old. Atwood-Ferguson & Metropole Orchestra will perform the longstanding Dilla tribute project Suite for Ma Dukes before the ‘Dilla 50’-talk.
ADE Opening Concert: COCON II – Wednesday, Oct. 16, 7:00 p.m.
Designed especially for ADE, the audiovisual live performance by Cello Octet Amsterdam and Nick Verstand will feature a combination of live playing and robotics.
ADE Opening Concert: 24classics presents Philip Glass by Lavinia Meijer & Nikki Hock – Wednesday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Harpist Lavinia Meijer and multidisciplinary artist Nikki Hock will present an interpretation of Phillip’s Glass music, with Meijer getting special permission for Glass himself to transcribe his music for harp. Hock, meanwhile, will create visuals in the room.
Festival
Tomorrowland Presents Afterlife – Wednesday, Oct. 16 and Thursday, Oct. 17, 10:00 p.m.
Tale of Us and a collection of other artists will play the city’s famed Ziggo Dome venue for two nights of music.
Barry Can’t Swim – Thursday, Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m.
The rising, award-nominated Scottish producer will perform a show incorporating his signature synthesis of piano playing and electronic productions.
Awakenings Upclose ADE presents Four Tet, Friday, Oct. 18, 3:00 p.m.
The U.K. producer will play an extended six-and-a-half-hour set at Amsterdam venue Gashouder, a former industrial gasworks complex.
Jeff Mills presents: Tomorrow Comes The Harvest – Friday, Oct., 8:00 p.m.
The collaborative project Tomorrow Comes The Harvest was initiated by Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen and Detroit techno icon Jeff Mills. Together with keyboardist Jean Phi Dary, the trio toured the globe until Allen’s death in 2020. Now playing with tabla virtuoso Prabha Edouard, Tomorrow Comes The Harvest will present a new chapter of genre-spanning sounds and rhythms.
AMF 2024 – Saturday, Oct. 19, 9:00 p.m.
The night-long festival will feature a host of producers including Maddix, Martin Garrix, Tiësto, Timmy Trumpet and more.
Fred again.. doesn’t do many interviews, but he seemed genuinely delighted while opening up to Nardwuar in a conversation published Monday (Oct. 14). “One of my absolute heroes so I’m just honored to have been in a room with him,” Fred wrote upon sharing the 45 minute chat.
The pair cover a lot of territory during their talk, discussing everything from a night Fred had in New Orleans after an Ed Sheeran show and his thoughts on Sheeran’s live shows generally, to Fred’s current roommate (Henry Counsell of Joy Anonymous) to getting his first copy of of Logic when he was 11 years old.
Fred tells Nardwuar that he’d previously been using a complicated analog method to create multiple tracks, and that his world opened up when his guitar teacher gave him the software that would allow him to layer as many tracks as he wanted. “That was kind of the beginning of the greatest love affair of my life,” Fred says.
Trending on Billboard
Speaking on his long history of working with his friend and mentor Brian Eno, he also talks about how Eno turned him on to U.K. electronic legends Underworld, who he recently went to see at London’s Alexandra Palace with Skrillex. “Sonny walked in and was like ‘This is the rarest crowd dynamic I’ve seen in years,’” Fred recalls of the show. “Phoneless, present, in it, it was all feeling loose in the best possible way.”
Fred also expounds on about how he prefers working in cafes rather than in studios. “There was a coffee shop in central [London],” he says a cafe he liked in particular. “They’d bring out the extension cord, and I got too comfy to the point where I was plugging in interfaces and a mic… It’s nicer to be in the world as opposed to in some closed off, no natural light room.
“I think the reason why I like writing in places that aren’t studios and out in the world is because you get this constant collage of humanity,” he continues, “this thing just walking by, it’s always moving and changing… I think it just keeps your brain alive and moving versus gradually getting stiller and stiller in the vacuum of a dark room.”
He also talks about the personal conversation he had with the Mayor of Perth, Australia, in order to convince city officials to let his team turn decibel levels up by two or three degrees during a recent show there. “‘Two or three?’” Fred recalls the mayor saying, “‘You can push it to 15!’ Shout out the people of Perth.”
The flannel-clad Canadian interview icon then inquires about Fred’s frequent collaborator Four Tet, asking specifically about Four Tet’s early band, Fridge. “I think he’s got this very exploratory, childlike mindset, which makes everything he does have this kind of through line to me,” Fred says. “I think he could do 20 different bands and it would all have the same sort of Kieren-ness to me.”
At the end of the interview, Fred presents Nardwuar with a hand drawn card illustrating major points of Nardwuar’s career and life and a little calendar with a circle around “September 29,” which Fred calls “Nardwuar day.”