Dance

Back in 2007, Diplo and Switch were ready to launch the music they’d been working on together; they just needed to figure out what to call themselves. They each chose a bunch of words at random, wrote them on pieces of paper and threw them in a hat. They pulled two out, first was “major” and the second was “lazer.”
With that, one of the most influential dance music projects of the late 00s and 2010s was christened.

Billboard News recently spoke with Diplo and Switch for a rare joint interview, with the duo discussing the origins of Major Lazer and the 15-year anniversary of the group’s debut album, Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do.

The pair first met at Fabric London, realizing, Switch says, that “we both had a soft spot for Jamaican music at the time, and we were both doing our individual sounds, so it was a good excuse for us to come together and do stuff.”

Both producers had been working with M.I.A. on her albums Arular and Kala, with Diplo calling her “the catalyst for our music.” Shortly thereafter, the guys were making monthly trips to Jamaica to make music, falling into the local music community and having Jamaican artists including Vybz Cartel and TKTK record music that would ultimately end up on the Major Lazer debut.

They knew they were doing something right when they heard their track “Pon de Floor at a gas station in Kingston, realizing that their music was, Switch says, “penetrating this market that we felt was very special.” From Jamaica, they took the sound to the U.K., where the pair played one of their first big shows at London’s Notting Hill Carnival. Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do was released on June 16, 2009, hitting No. 169 on the Billboard 200 the next month.

The catalog of the group — which included Diplo, Walshy Fire and Jillionaire after Switch’s departure and now features Walshy Fire and Diplo alongside Ape Drums — has since aggregated 4.8 billion streams, according to Luminate.

“With our videos and everything we did, [Major Lazer] would be cancelled [nowadays] before we even started,” says Diplo. “Because people wouldn’t have given us a chance. They would have been like ‘We don’t really understand this and this isn’t correct.’ But back then, nobody really gave a shit. They were like, ‘I like the way this sounds.’ Today there’s too many tastemakers and rules.”

The group continued having breakthrough moments, with Beyoncé sampling “Pon de Floor on her 2011 smash “Run the World (Girls)” and Major Lazer and DJ Snake’s “Lean On” becoming what was, at the time, Spotify’s most streamed song of all time.

“We had really invented something with the Major Lazer language,” Diplo continues, “but by the second project we were able to make records that were actually hits. It was awesome to see our trajectory, something so chaotic and then to build something that made sense for people.”

Watch the full interview above to hear the pair talk about why Switch left the group, why Diplo thinks “Get Free” is Major Lazer’s best song and what it’s like working with Beyoncé in the studio.

This week in dance music: Charli XCX performed “Sympathy Is a Knife” and “360” on Saturday Night Live, Skrillex announced that his next project will be his last with Atlantic Records, Giorgio Moroder was named as the recipient of an upcoming lifetime achievement award from The Society of Composers & Lyricists, Ultra Music Festival added more than 50 artists to the lineup for its March festival in Miami, Coachella announced its 2025 lineup (a third of which is made up of electronic artists), Tomorrowland Winter dropped the bill for its March event in the French Alps, Troye Sivan was a big winner at the 2024 ARIA Awards, Pawsa announced a major show at London’s Gunnersbury Park this August and Charli XCX announced four dates for the North American Brat arena tour.

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And of course, there’s the fuel that makes it all run. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

Trending on Billboard

Martin Garrix, “Told You So”

Dutch mainstay Martin Garrix links with New Jersey-born singer/songwriter Jex for the sugary dance pop single “Told You So.” As the duo tell it, the track — out on STMPD RCRDS/Eddie O Entertainment/Casablanca Records — has origins in TikTok, where Jex posted a video of her singing the song’s hook. Garrix then reached out to ask about doing the production, with the result being his eighth single of 2024. Of the track, Jex says that “from writing this hook alone in my apartment, to Martin finding it and bringing it to life, this entire thing has been a dream come true.” Garrix plays Omnia in Las Vegas tonight and Marquee in Las Vegas tomorrow.

Subtronics & Alison Wonderland, “No One Does It Like”

Bass leaders Subtronics and Alison Wonderland join forces together for their collaborative track “No One Does It Like,” with the result being as hard, sharp and heavy as you might hope. Out on Subtronics’ own Cyclops Recordings, the song is pure-riding-the-rail dubstep and follows the pair’s work on their remix of Creeds’ “Push Up.” Alison Wonderland performs this weekend in Las Vegas, while Subtronics will play the Apocalypse Festival in Long Beach, Calif. on Nov. 30.

Rusko, “Wassup”

The British bass pioneer returns with his first solo single in two and a half years, the frenetic “Wassup.” Out on Monstercat Uncaged, the track is deliciously unhinged jump up d’n’b and also the lead single from an EP set to drop next year. The producer says “Wassup” was started last year on tour in Australia “and ever since, has been a puzzle I couldn’t quite crack and get just right… but it’s always been stuck in my head. After adding ‘Wassup’ into my DJ sets, I had an earth-shattering break-through, and within the first couple of nights spinning the tune, it was finished!”

Above & Beyond, “Another Breakdown”

The gentlemen of Above & Beyond are having a big week, as the trio was listed on the Coachella 2025 posted that dropped Wednesday, the day before the group released “Another Breakdown.” The track’s celestial production has the same thoughtful quality that defines the entire Above & Beyond oeuvre, and is also infused with the soaring trance elements that are the trio’s signature. Another Breakdown comes from Above & Beyond’s forthcoming EP Tranquility Base Vol. 2, coming December 6 on their own Anjunabeats label.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Joe Goddard, Neptunes EP

Los Angeles-based producer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & U.K. producer, DJ (and Hot Chip member) Joe Goddard get together for their gorgeous three-track collaborative EP, Neptunes. A no-skips situation, the EP (which also includes two remixes) has a stunner of an opening track, with the pair saying that “Neptunes” stems from Goddard’s wish to make a song reminiscent of Pharrell and Chad Hugo’s game-changing production work as Neptunes. “I loved what the rhythm made me feel when I first heard it,” Smith says of the track. “I actually thought he was tapping into Neptune as a planet, and the qualities I felt it possesses. So my side of things brought out more space-themed sounds as a result.” The project is out on Domino’s Smugglers Way imprint.

Dave Mackay, The Looking Chamber

The English pianist, keyboardist and composer takes a turn into electronic production, with affecting results. His 11-track debut album, The Looking Chamber, is smart and stylish experimental synth music, that emphasizes Mackay’s ability to make music that sounds like the machines employed in the production process are actually speaking. The album is out on Colorfield Records.

The 2025 Coachella lineup has been announced unusually early, and again — as always — the bill is heavy on electronic artists. Some of the biggest electronic artists who’ll be playing the prestige festival next spring include U.K. legends The Prodigy, progressive trance icons Above & Beyond, EDM architect Zedd, German trio Keinemusic, Brazilian star […]