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Burning Man’s famous Mayan Warrior art car has been destroyed in a fire that happened earlier this week in Mexico.
The car was en route to an April 8 fundraiser in Punta de Mita — a beach town on the country’s central Pacific coast — when, according to a social media post shared today (April 5) by Mayan Warrior organizers, it caught fire and “burned to ashes.” The cause of this fire has not been given.
“Over the last twenty-four hours, I have felt a roller coaster of emotions, from sadness, shock, and devastation to immense gratitude while reflecting on what the Mayan Warrior family and this community means to me,” Mayan Warrior founder Pablo González Vargas wrote in the post sharing the news.
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Since debuting at Burning Man in 2012, Mayan Warrior grew into the event’s biggest, flashiest and most beloved art cars, becoming a prestige stage for DJs on the playa. Over the years, Mayan Warrior hosted sets from DJ Tennis, Jan Blomqvist, Damian Lazarus, Bedouin, Carlita, Francesca Lombardo and other stars of the underground house and techno world, along with artists from the Mexican electronic community that the Warrior is focused on showcasing. Producers today expressed their shock at the events, with Adam Port commenting “Please no….” and BLOND:ISH writing simply “all love.”
Based in Mexico City, Mayan Warrior more recently become a traveling venue, going on tour throughout Mexico, Europe, the U.S. and points beyond, drawing in the community it had developed at Burning Man while pulling more people into Burner culture. Money raised from these shows funded Mayan Warrior’s return to Burning Man each August, with González Vargas last year telling Billboard that costs of bringing the car to the event hit around $300,000 annually.
Funds raised also went to Planet Buyback, a charitable initiative that works to protect habitats and cultures in Mexico and beyond, with whom Mayan Warrior has a partnership.
Mayan Warrior will host three more fundraisers in Punta de Mita, Mexico this Saturday (April 8), in New York on July 8 and in Los Angeles on Halloween. According to the Mayan Warrior team, these will be the final Mayan Warrior shows.
In the post González Vargas also notes that the team will return to Burning Man in some form, writing that “as a community, we will continue to thrive and return every year to our beloved home in the desert. We strongly believe it is in these unplanned moments the universe finds ways to amaze us and plant seeds for growth. Only time will tell what our next artistic expression to the world will look like.”
Check out Vargas’ full post and see photos of the fire below:
Hulaween will once again unite the heady forces of dance music and jam bands with its annual soiree, happening in Live Oak, FL this October 26-29.
Leading the lineup are jam favorites The String Cheese Incident, Trey Anastasio Band, Goose, Dispatch and Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. From the dance side, headliners include Channel Tres (who indeed recently told Billboard he’s ready for “that big stage type of energy”), along with John Summit, Elderbrook, BLOND:ISH, Manic Focus, Eprom and a headlining set from Pretty Lights, who on Tuesday (April 4) announced this show as part of his 2023 comeback tour. See the complete lineup, featuring more than 90 acts, below.
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Hulaween, which is independently operated by Collectiv Events, the same company behind Chicago’s North Coast Music Festival and the Sacred Rose fest, which debuted last year in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview.
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“The festival and concert industry landscape continues to be bought up and homogenized by the majors, so staying the course as true independents and surviving through all of the highs and lows we’ve endured to this milestone 10 year anniversary, is incredible,” says Hulaween co-founder, brand manager and talent buyer Michael Berg.
“We think back fondly of all the people who have been part of the Hula journey with us, and how the team continues to learn and grow to elevate the experience and lineup every year,” Berg continues. “We’ve proudly stayed true to this community and culture we are servicing and hope to keep doing that for at least another 10!”
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After nearly five years of silence, Pretty Lights has announced his return on Tuesday (April 4).
This morning, the elusive, New Orleans-based producer shared a two-minute video via social media announcing The Soundship Spacesystem Tour. The video also previews his first official new music since 2017’s “Rainbows & Waterfalls.”
The Soundship Spacesystem Tour will hit nine stops: Denver, Lake Dillon, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago, Pelham, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Besides the stop at The Caverns in Pelham, Tenn., Pretty Lights did not yet give any detail as to which venues he would be playing or specific dates. Each stop will feature Pretty Lights playing multiple nights, with 27 shows in the nine cities in total.
Pretty Lights was also announced as one of the headliners of Suwannee Hulaween, the annual three-day music festival happening at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Florida this October 26-29. (This performance, however, was not listed as a stop on the tour.) Capping off a big morning, Pretty Lights was today also named the headliner for a new festival, Cascade Equinox, happening this September in Redmond, Ore. This new show will be produced by the organizers of Arizona’s longtime Gem & Jam fest.
Meanwhile the official Pretty Lights tour will include two new types of performances: Pretty Lights in Dub and The Fantastic Pretty Lights, the latter of which is expected to be a collaboration with longtime friend Michal Menert and The Pretty Fantastics.
The Soundship Spacesystem Tour announcement video features Pretty Lights performing a new, currently unnamed song with lyrics that seem to reflect his return to the scene: “I’ll fly a starship across the universe tonight/ And when I reach the other side/ I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can/ Perhaps I may become a pretty light again/ Or I may simply be a single drop of rain/ But I will remain/ And I’ll be back again.” Hear this track below.
Pretty Lights’ absence from the industry over the past five years has been a mysterious one. The producer, born Derek Vincent Smith, had last live appearance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2018, where he headlined the venue with his live band over two sold-out nights. Following those shows, Pretty Lights wiped his social media and began an unannounced hiatus, leaving his cult following wondering when he would return.
Throughout the duration of this hiatus, Pretty Lights made brief public appearances. In April 2020, shortly after the protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, Pretty Lights wiped his Instagram account and announced that he would be donating $10,000 to “help support the heroes on the frontlines of this movement.” He also vaguely mentioned how it was time to start participating again.
Several months later, Pretty Lights appeared virtually during a live performance from friends and collaborators Break Science. On a screen behind the band, he remotely jammed with them for two of his songs, “Shining Bright Despite The Plight” and “High School Art Class.” Two years later, this past February, Pretty Lights appeared in a promotional video for Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, a small Denver venue that was celebrating its 20th anniversary.
See Pretty Lights’ announcement below.
With festival season 2023 roaring currently roaring to life, Pennsylvania’s Elements Festival has thrown its hat in the ring with an expanded lineup for its upcoming event.
Elements 2023 — which takes place August 11-14 in Long Pond, Penn. — announced on Tueday (April 4) that it will feature Gorgon City, Lane 8, REZZ, Seven Lions, STS9, Eli & Fur, Giolì & Assia, Lotus, Will Clarke, Moore Kismet, Coco & Breezy, a live show from Manic Focus, Tony y Not and more.
These artists join a pre-existing lineup that feature Skrillex, Porter Robinson, John Summit, LP Giobbi, Chris Lake, Tokimonsta and many more.
The sixth edition of the camping festival is taking place roughly two hours north of Philadelphia. In addition to music, the festival will offer health and wellness activities including yoga, aromatherapy, dance, comedy and sound baths, workshops, art cars and a 24-hour food court featuring local, organic food provided by Pocono Organics, one of North America’s largest regenerative organic certified farms. Tickets for Elements 2023 are on sale now.
Elements made headlines during the pandemic for producing 250-person mini gatherings, using a robust system or protocols that founders say helped establish the show among agents and artists.
“It was a super small-scale event, but doing all of that, seeing how it went and working out all the kinks was a really smart thing, because now agents, artists and management are all really confident that we will pull off the safest festival possible,” Tim Monkiewicz, who founded Elements with Brett Herman, told Billboard in 2021. “There’s been a lot more camaraderie this time around, and it’s been a really nice feeling to feel that we’re on the same team, even though they’re trying to get more money for their client and I’m trying to get them for cheaper.”
See the full lineup for Elements 2023 below.
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A big part of Daft Punk‘s allure was the mystery behind the machine. The pioneering French electronic dance duo called it quits in 2021 after nearly three decades of anonymous music-making from underneath their signature shiny robot helmets. But, according to member Thomas Bangalter, part of the reason he and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo hung up their mechanical man gear was because of the advance of technology.
“[In Daft Punk,] we tried to use these machines to express something extremely moving that a machine cannot feel, but a human can,” Bangalter told the BBC. “We were always on the side of humanity and not on the side of technology… As much as I love this character, the last thing I would want to be, in the world we live in, in 2023, is a robot.”
Never ones to give a simple, clear answer, the pair revealed their break-up with the cryptic eight-minute “Epilogue” video in which the robots walked into the distance, with one of them exploding, with nary a word from either man explaining what any of it ever meant.
Now, Bangalter has pivoted to his first solo project in more than 20 years, Mythologies, which began life as a ballet score performed at Bordeaux’s Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in July 2022. The orchestral album, which drops on Friday (April 7), was inspired by his late mother and aunt — both dancers, and his uncle, a choreographer. He said that after decades of making electronic dance music, he was moved to write songs that were not amplified and “didn’t require any electricity. It was just me and the scoring paper.”
That is a hard pivot from the driving, electronic sound of Daft Punk, which Bangalter said was a conscious, necessary choice. “Daft Punk was a project that blurred the line between reality and fiction with these robot characters. It was a very important point for me and Guy-Man[uel] to not spoil the narrative while it was happening,” he said of their focus on keeping the story wrapped in mystery during their 28-year run in disguise.
“Now the story has ended, it felt interesting to reveal part of the creative process that is very much human-based and not algorithmic of any sort,” he explained, noting that the central thesis of Daft Punk was that the line between humanity and technology should be very stark.
“It was an exploration, I would say, starting with the machines and going away from them. I love technology as a tool [but] I’m somehow terrified of the nature of the relationship between the machines and ourselves,” he said, describing their robot characters as a kind of two-plus decade “performance art installation” in the vein of beloved performance artist Marina Abramović.
In fact, one of the reasons he’s stepping away from his group’s pioneering electronic sound on Mythologies is his fear about the rise of artificial intelligence and its influence on the creative arts at a time when ChatGPT and other programs are churning out music, art, literature and other creative facsimilies that are hard to separate from human-made endeavors.
“My concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence go beyond its use in music creation,” he said.
What the world needs now and forever is love, sweet love — and Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Elderbrook does his part with his second studio album Little Love, released this past Friday (March 31) via Mine Recordings.
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Divinely smooth and warm, the album washes over the listener like a joyful embrace, pushing upward with uplifting beats and lyrics that tell human stories of vulnerability and hope. It’s a bit of a love note to the U.K. producer’s children and a continuation of the signature sound he’s honed since breaking out with the 2017 viral house hit “Cola,” a collaboration with CamelPhat. Since Elderbrook began releasing music in 20115, his catalog has earned 152.48 million on-demand official U.S. streams, according to Luminate.
A little bit indie singer-songwriter, a little bit dancefloor daydream, we spoke to the artist born Alexander Kotz in the midst of his ongoing tour — which this week swings through Louisiana and Texas before hitting Coachella, then crosses over to Europe for an expansive summer run. Here, Kotz shares a bit on the music, musings and memories that make him the man he is today, and how all that comes together on Little Love.
1. Where in the world are you right now? Describe the scene.
I am in Charleston, South Carolina. Just got here. It’s suddenly sunny for the first time on this two-month tour. I’m in a little green room above the Music Farm, which is the venue that I’m playing at tonight. I actually played the same venue with RÜFÜS DU SOL back in 2018 when I was supporting them on that, so it’s come around in a nice way. It’s a two month long tour, and I’m just over the halfway point. The first half was in the snow. Second half is in the south, so sunshine until Coachella, where it will continue to be sunshine and warm for the rest of the year.
2. Where are you from, and how did that place shape who you are?
I am from just outside of London, obviously a huge music hub. There’s people coming in and out from all over the world, as you can imagine. I was able to see basically whoever I wanted to see whenever they came and toured through London. That shaped the fact that it got me going to live music really early on.
3. What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid? What do they think of your job now?
My father had a sports tourism company. So when football teams came over to the U.K., he would sort out their accommodation, travel and all of that stuff. It’s not too dissimilar to what a tour manager might be doing, so they’re always really interested whenever I tell them the logistics of my tours. They’re always looking out on the master tour app to make sure that my tour manager’s doing a good job.
4. What is the first album or piece of music you bought, and what was the medium?
It was a CD. I think it was The Darkness. I don’t know if The Darkness was a thing in the U.S.? That was my first ever CD that I consciously went out and wanted to buy for myself.
I believe in a thing called Little Love.
Oh there you go! I smell a cover coming along.
5. If you had to recommend one album for someone looking to get into dance or electronic music, what would you give them?
I would say The xx’s first proper album. I know it’s not like a big electronic album, but that’s what got me from indie music into electronic, just because of the samples and the different… I don’t know, it’s a good intro to electronic music.
I mean, once you hear “Intro,” you’re done for.
Hey yeah, that’s a good point. It starts with a song called “Intro.” That was clever of me.
6. What was the last song you listened to?
Recently I’ve been putting on pop country playlists on Spotify, now that I’m getting down into the southern States. So probably someone like Jordan Davis or Luke Combs?
7. Do you usually let the city you’re in dictate the style of music you’re listening to?
Sometimes, it’s a fun way to feel more a part of it, I guess. But to be honest, I just love pop country.
8. I know you’re a bit of a multi-instrumentalist. How many instruments do you play?
I wouldn’t say I play any of them particularly well, but I can make some good sounds on maybe about four or five; keys, guitar, and then I’m going to add bass guitar to that just because it’s kind of the same but sonically different. And then drums as well.
The first instrument that I wanted to have lessons in was saxophone — but I had one lesson, and then I said, “That gave me a headache.” So I didn’t do that anymore. And I played guitar as well. I was young, must have been when I was like 10 or 11.
9. You started selling hip-hop beats while in college. How much did you get paid for your first one?
It was £250 per beat. It was good for me at the time, I liked it. That was when I was in college, so I would have been like 18, 19. It was nice extra income. I don’t know if I spent the money that well or that sensibly, but I got the extra money.
10. When your first 2020 album came out, Why Do We Shake in the Cold?’, you were firmly locked down in COVID. What did you learn about yourself with all that downtime?
Well, with regards to writing and recording and doing music, I learned that if you wake up at 9:00 a.m., and you just go and try and start working, you’ll eventually be able to do it, and you don’t have to wait for creativity. You can find it yourself by going and locking yourself away and just pressing buttons.
11. Is that how these hotel sessions and bus sessions came about — this newfound most creative routine?
Yeah, I just found myself in hotel rooms and on the bus with a couple of extra hours to spare during the day. It was just cool to be able to keep on writing new stuff, with no pressure about it being an Elderbrook release. It was a cover or something cool to do; another creative outlet. Some of them are even almost country-style. I could be a bit more free with what I could put out through that. I personally like doing covers, just so I can completely re-imagine them and make them completely different sounds, the challenge of doing that.
12. What songwriters influence or inspire you the most?
I would say Matt Berninger from The National. The lyrics of The National are really good, and the songwriting. That’s what really inspires me, especially at the beginning, to write in that way; kind of lyrically abstract rather than being on the nose; writing in a way that what I say can be interpreted however the listener might want to interpret it. It creates an energy that people can subscribe their own meaning to.
13. You recently got a tattoo that says “What Would Pooh Bear Do?” So, what would Pooh Bear do?
He would just be a really nice guy and just wander around, have a bit of honey. He would chill out. That is the most important thing to remember in life. That’s why I have that [phrase] tattooed on me. When you’re stressing out a bit, or things things aren’t going right, just have a think about what Pooh Bear would do, and it’s always whimsical and fun.
14. How has being a father changed you or your music?
Lyrically, more than anything. It’s made me want to focus more on the bigger picture stuff, the stuff that I’d want my children to get from my music almost as a lesson, or in a teaching kind of way.
15. Is that a big part of what’s on Little Love?
That is exactly what is a big part of Little Love. I started writing it almost as a message to my children and what I’d want them to get from my music, if they ever listen later down the line. I started writing, and it gave me a different perspective on my own stuff that I don’t know if I would have thought about quite so deeply before.
16. There’s an uplifting feeling to the whole album. The beat just drives throughout the whole thing. It doesn’t ever let you down, even if the lyrics feel a bit bittersweet. To what do you attribute that feeling?
I think that’s really in the music. I’ve been listening to a lot of people like Ben Böhmer and stuff like that. It’s just very gradual, uplifting, continuous. It’s really the chords that make it seem that way. I definitely wanted to keep that going throughout — and I guess the lyrics play into that a little bit, like you said. [They] kind of go against it, but in a bittersweet way.
17. The PR says all the voices on the album are yours. Is that true?
All of the voices are me, other than the song “Walk Away,” which has a folk singer called Ailbhe Reddy on it. She actually wrote the song, and I found it on Spotify and really liked it. Now I’m releasing it as my own with her. Other than that, it’s all me.
18. You’ve worked with so many incredible artists. I was so excited to see you work with Amtrac and Tourist on this album. Also Bob Moses, Kölsch. You were Grammy-nominated for your breakthrough collab. What makes a good collaboration work?
I think it’s different for everyone — but for me, a good collaboration is when you don’t worry about where you’re coming from or where the other person’s coming from. For example, when I worked with Tourist, I didn’t try to make a Tourist song, and he didn’t try to make an Elderbrook song. We just got together and saw what we could make. I think what makes a good collaboration is not having any expectations before going in, and sometimes it’s going to sound shit and sometimes it’s going to sound amazing.
19. Who has been your greatest mentor, and what was the best advice they gave you?
One piece of advice I always remember is… I worked with Rudimental quite a while ago, but I remember they said it it was okay to say no, like in the music industry — or in any industry, whatever — it’s OK just to not burn yourself out, it’s OK not to do that feature and it’s OK not to do that remix. Just do whatever you want, and it will be OK. That’s one piece of advice I definitely keep on falling back on. I’m still learning how to say it, which is maybe why I’m on a two-month long tour. No, I’m enjoying the two-month long tour. I’m good.
20. Finally, where do you want to share a little love?
On stage, every night with the lovely people that make the time and effort come and share these beautiful moments with me.
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Nestled between the pale sands of South Beach and the hustle and bustle of Collins Avenue sits the vibrant W Hotel South Beach. The seemingly hidden gem located steps from the Atlantic Ocean is one of several W Hotels where tourists and locals convene to enjoy live music.
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“Music has been such a big part of our DNA,” Carly Van Sickle, senior director, global brand marketing at W Hotels, told Billboard during a visit to the South Beach location last week. “We’ve always supported up-and-coming musicians and artists. More recently, working with Leah ‘LP Giobbi’ Chisholm [global director of music at W Hotel], our team has really been focusing on the electronic and dance scene, but also making sure that [the experiences are] still varied and connected to local culture.”
With electronic and dance music surging in popularity, and megastars like Beyoncé and Drake exploring the space, the hotel is digging even deeper into the genre by way of W Presents, an “innovative live electronic showcase” featuring artists handpicked by Chisholm, including opening acts from her organization, FEMME House, which creates “equitable opportunities” for women and gender-expansive individuals in the music industry.
The live music series, announced Wednesday (March 28), will take place in the W’s lobby/lounge area called Living Rooms. Rapper and producer Channel Tres will kick off the series with a performance at the new W Hotel Toronto on April 6.
The live music series comes on the heels of the W South Beach’s Miami Music Week celebration. The hotel hosted a series of events attended by influencers and tastemakers in the EDM scene, including Diplo and Frances Mercier.
Fans from all over the world flocked to Miami for the 10-year anniversary of Miami Music Week. The annual celebration, which was held from March 21-26, coincided with this year’s Ultra Music Festival.
W South Beach invited Billboard to attend its Miami Music Week events and installations, the first of which was an invite-only dinner at Irma’s W South Beach on March 22. The hotel teamed with Senza Fine to present a fine-dining experience co-hosted by Chisholm and Senza Fine co-founder Carlita and sponsored by Volcan De Mi Tierra Tequila.
Attendees at the W Hotels x Senza Fine Dinner in Miami Beach, FL on March 23, 2023.
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Attendees included EDM titans and VIPs such as Diplo, Pete Tong, Damien Lazarus, Bedouin, Thomas & Julien de Bie (a.k.a. the “Parallells”), Ape Drums of Major Lazer, Anfisa Letyago, Mercier, Joplyn, Arielle Free, Spotify head of electronic dance development Ronny Ho, WME head of electronic music Stephanie LaFera, and Nü Androids founder Nayef Issa.
The menu, courtesy of DJ Tennis, featured small bites served on tennis rackets and seafood dishes such as blue crab with polenta, wild-caught swordfish, ragu paccheri pasta and fish cigars.
Day 2 kicked off with a yoga session on the beach, led by Ahana Yoga, followed by a breakfast mixer with sounds provided by a guest DJ. New York City wellness company WTHN provided cupping and custom ear seeds, while guests enjoyed fresh fruits, breakfast bites and sips of cacao.
“We want to make sure that W is showing up during cultural music moments, but showing up in a way that isn’t just always a party,” explained Van Sickle. “That’s why we had the dinner and wellness event. We know that it’s super important to take care of artists and people in the industry at large and to take care of mental health and wellness.”
For night 2, the W partnered with Mercier’s Deep Root record label for “Deep Root Tribe,” an Afro-House music event at W South Beach’s WET Deck, sponsored by El Cristiano 1761 Tequila. The event, which was held March 23 and open to the public, featured intimate sets from EDM stars including Major League DJz, &Friends, Bontan, HoneyLuv, Nico De Andrea, Ninetoes, samblacky, D’WITCHES, Gianni Petrarca, Sam Haze and a special performance from Mercier and Diplo.
Diplo and Francis Mercier perform at W Hotels x Deep Root Showcase in Miami Beach, FL on March 23, 2023.
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“Our Wet Decks and pools are a really good platform for music too,” Van Sickle noted. “In Barcelona, for example, they do what they call their Wet Deck summer series. Every summer [there’s] a different lineup, again, free to the public. We want the locals to come in. We want people traveling to know that if they’re looking for music experiences, they can go to W Hotel. We’re popping up in a lot of different ways. Just making sure we’re always activating around that passion point of music.”
W South Beach’s Miami Music Week event series commenced with a panel presented by FEMME House and a cocktail industry mixer at W South Beach’s Living Room. The panel was hosted by FEMME House co-founders Chisholm and HERMIXALOT and discussed creating opportunities for marginalized communities, providing safe spaces for diversity and building “authentic community” in music.
Apart from special events, exquisite rooms and sprawling views, the W Hotel further caters to music fans and creators by offering private recording studios and writer’s rooms. The Sound Suites are available at a few locations, including the W Hollywood, W Seattle and W Bali.
“Ultimately, our goal obviously is to have people stay with us, but we want to make sure that our experiences are open to others too,” said Van Sickle. “We don’t want [these experiences] to be exclusive. We’re inclusive. We want everyone to come, be themselves, have fun and experience the music.
“So it’s both sides of the artist community,” she continued. “It’s a creative space for the community, kind of like a mix of both: fans, but also for artists as well.”
Tapping into the local community is a large part of creating live music experiences at W Hotels around the world. “Local culture is a really big thing for us that we want to tap into,” added Van Sickle.
“I think that post-COVID, we want to make sure we’re bringing these experiences back in a really accessible way, but a fun, innovative, culturally relevant way too.”
SXM Festival thumped back to life on the island of St. Martin on March 8-13. The lineup included Black Coffee, Marco Carola, DJ Tennis and Carlita performing together as Astra Club, Yokoo, Camelphat, Mochaak, Gordo and other house and techno producers from around the world.
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Anyone who’s been will attest that dancing barefoot in the sand while the sun rises over the Caribbean is truly a special experience. But whether or not you were on the island for the fest, we’re bringing those sea breezes and beats to your earholes via three exclusive SXM 2023 sets from Iranian legend Dubfire, Italian star Francesca Lombardo and rising German artist Tony y Not.
Dubfire delivers a pristine and wide-ranging three-hour performance spanning house, deep house, electro, progressive and more. Lombardo’s two-hour set bumps to life from the jump with Mr. Flip’s bouncy 2022 track “Da Boogie,” which she follows with all variations of house music, from deep to tribal to piano. Tony y Not offers two hours of music that digs deep into the experimental, hypnotic realms of electronic music. Listen to the trifecta of sets below.
Together, all three artists capture the festival’s steamy atmosphere complemented by both its tunes and its tropical locations, which this year included a private jungle, the beach, a villa and a beach club. Since launching in 2016 on St. Martin — a territory of both France and The Netherlands — SXM has drawn fans from more than 35 countries.
Check out their sets below:
Dubfire
Francesca Lombardo
Tony y Not
Kygo has remixed real-deal icons including Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Donna Summer. On Friday (March 31), he’s adding another set of all-time artists to the list with his remake of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson‘s 1983 classic, “Say Say Say.”
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The project was a year in the making, with the Norwegian producer and his team reaching out to the respective artist teams in 2022.
“It’s no secret that I love working with iconic vocals from the ’80s, and ‘Say Say Say’ was one that I really wanted to work on,” Kygo tells Billboard. “We initially got in touch with Paul McCartney’s team and Michael Jackson’s estate over a year ago to get approval and the stems to start working on an idea.”
After getting this greenlight, Kygo was sent the stems of the song and, he says, “started on an idea that I liked, which took a few days. Overall, it took a few months to get it to the final version.”
“It’s the same process that I use on all my remixes,” he adds, “which starts by stripping back some of the original production then trying new melodies and ideas with the vocals.”
Indeed, this remake begins with an isolated chop of Jackson’s voice, before slipping into McCartney’s first verse, then stripping down most of the production to spotlight Jackson’s voice before going full Kygo by adding some emphatically hit piano chords and a chorus composed of chopped up vocals from the two masters in addition to some weighty, funky synth.
“I feel like it has some great added energy and brings a masterpiece from 1983 into 2023, which is exactly what I was trying to achieve,” the producer says.
It’s also the same format Kygo brought to his edits of Houston’s cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” in 2019, Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It” in 2020 and Summer’s “Hot Stuff” that same year.
“Say Say Say” was released in October of 1983 and spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately spending 22 weeks on the chart. The song ranks at No. 50 on the list of the Greatest Hot 100 Singles of All Time.
Listen to the Kygo remake of “Say Say Say” below.
Kx5, the superstar DJ pairing of Kaskade and Deadmau5, commands a No. 6 start on Billboard‘s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart (dated April 1) with its self-titled debut set.
Kx5 starts with 4,200 equivalent album units in the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate.
Seven of the album’s 10 cuts have hit the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with “Bright Lights” featuring AR/CO leading the way at No. 17 with 864,000 U.S. streams. It’s Kx5’s second-highest-charting track yet, after last year’s “Escape” featuring Hayla (No. 11).
Kx5 also rises with “Sacrifice” featuring Sofi Tukker (48-27; one spot short of its No. 26 high in March) and re-enters with both “Alive” featuring The Moth & The Flame (No. 30) and “When I Talk” with Elderbrook (No. 50). Both tracks peaked at No. 26 earlier this year. Rounding out Kx5‘s charted Hot Dance/Electronic Songs hits are “Take Me High” (No. 38 in October 2022) and “Avalanche,” featuring James French (No. 48 in November).
Additionally on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Fred again.., Skrillex and Four Tet bow with “Baby again..” at No. 11. The team-up makes for Fred again..’s highest debut among 15 charted titles; Skrillex’s fourth-highest of his 56; and Four Tet’s top arrival. Skrillex is now tied with Marshmello for the third-most appearances, after only David Guetta (75) and Kygo (61).
“Baby” earned 1.5 million streams and sold 900 downloads, the latter also good for a No. 5 start on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart.
On the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Cash Cash collects its ninth top 10 with “Anyway,” featuring RuthAnne, who achieves her first (12-3). The track is drawing core-dance airplay on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM Channel, WCPY (Dance Factory FM) Chicago and iHeartRadio’s Evolution, among other outlets.
Also on the survey, Metro Boomin notches his first top 10, The Weeknd adds his 14th and 21 Savage scores his second with “Creepin’” (11-8). The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.