Something dirty and fresh for a Saturday night from Diplo.
Tag Archives: Diplo
Interview: Quickfire with Jarell Perry
I’ve featured Jarell Perry a good few times on here. I’m always impressed with the quality of his work, and have loved the few tracks I’ve heard so far from this very promising chap. I threw a few questions his way recently, so I figured you’d like to know more about one of my favourite RnB talents of late…
Hello Jarell! For those readers who don’t know much about you, can you tell us more about yourself and how would you describe your sound?
Simple man turned songwriter turned artist, pushing some boundaries and just making the music I want to hear. The sound is classic and unexpected at the same time.
You’ve taken the blog world by surprise recently with tracks like ‘Awkward’ and ‘Getaway’ – were you expecting the buzz to pick the way it did?
You always hope for the best and look for a record to be that ONE hit that breaks you. But I try to go in with minimal expectations. I’m definitely glad the way it’s turned out – the response has been overwhelming positive. With Getaway, I felt it was more of a risk, but the payoff is looking exponential right now.
You’ve worked with the likes of Usher, Diplo, Thurz and Fat Joe. That’s a pretty varied blend of artists; how did these collaborations happen?
Divine intervention always plays a role I think. My covers on YouTube got me a meeting with Usher, my placement with Fat Joe came through a run-in at the studio…I have a great team and friends always making introductions, too. I want to collab with as many dope artists as possible, regardless of genre – it’s always a learning experience.
What’s happening over the next few months for you?
Releasing Simple Things, planning a tour, and working on the next album.
Who’s your biggest current inspiration?
My number one inspiration will always be Stevie Wonder, for his musicality, songwriting, and vocal ability…
Who’s your favourite up and coming artist that you’d like to share with us?
I recently got into this band called HAIM. They have really sick production and can’t wait to hear more from them.
Your album Simple Things comes out on March 18. Tell us about it. Also what do you want fans to get out of it?
Simple Things is the truest introduction of myself to the world. Musically, I’m exploring all of the sounds I’m a fan of right now, from indie-acoustic to dubstep and chill-wave. Lyrically, I wanted to capture some basic human emotions that can’t always be explained in a love song. Those are the simple things I want people to take away. Every song describes a certain moment – take, eat, it’ll be the soundtrack to your life.
Diplo goes K-Pop
Super produces Diplo tries his hand at working with K-Pop group GD&TOP. I’m not sure I like it but it’s different.
2011′s Random List
So everyone’s doing their lists for 2011. They’re fun to read but a nightmare to compile, so I thought I’d shake it up a bit with my list by using some really rather pointless categories.
2011′s Most Painfully Cool
Woodkid - This is one of those ‘hidden loves’ I have who I don’t really blog about because I want to enjoy for myself. Kinda selfish it sounds but it’s only because if I do blog about them I just won’t stop… Friendly Fires being an example. Anyway, anything Woodkid touches turns to gold.
2011′s Best Second Album
Friendly Fires - Pala. Second albums are so hard to get right but Friendly Fires had no trouble coming back with a piece of genius.
2011′s Best Album To Fall In Love To
Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia. Patrick Wolf has one of the most devoted set of followers for any musician that I know in the UK. I have a few records of his, but this is by far the standout album that he’s produced to date. Just because the story behind it is so simple- he fell in love. And the songs that feature are a pure joy to listen to.
2011′s Most Underrated Album
Alex Clare - Lateness Of The Hour. Produced by Diplo and mixing some really heart-stopping beats with a raw voice and big lyrics, it’s just stunning from start to finish. I really hope it picks up in 2012 because this record is just too good to not be heard.
2011′s Most Bittersweet Album
Amy Winehouse – Lionness. You may know that I am a huge fan of the late Winehouse. So when this was released last month I was stunned at how some of the songs which had already been released sounded so different when arranged the way Winehouse actually wanted. It’s a beautiful record, but I really hope her estate releases more.
2011′s Most Addictive Track
M83 – Midnight City. This track makes you feel like a kid running around in the dark pretending to be a space hero or something. It’s amazing.
2011′s Biggest Pisstake
Ed Sheeran – ‘+’. I know people love this kid to bits, but I physically wanted to snap his album in half when I brought it. It was without doubt one of the wettest, most boring pieces of music I’ve had to make myself listen to. Which is a shame because I was really excited about the talent. And they definitely went overboard with the ginger- an orange album and having that Harry Potter kid play him in a music video gets a bit sickly after a while.
2011′s Most Anticipated Debut
Penguin Prison – Penguin Prison. This chap’s been causing a stir on the blogs for a couple of years now and his debut album came out a few months back. Most of the songs have already been out, but there’s something about hearing them in full set that makes the ears very satisfied.
2011′s Most Welcome Return
Man Like Me. One of my favourite bands by a mile, purely because of the genius behind their sillyness, Man Like Me released some new material this year that got me a bit excited.
2011′s Most Interesting Lyric To Come Out Of A Rap
Childish Gambino – Freaks & Geeks: “An elephant never forgets, so my dick remembers everything”.
New Music: Expendable Youth
Coming out of the new Mad Decent imprint label ‘Jeffries’, this is a fun dance track that has the Diplo stamp all over it.
First Watch: Nicola Roberts ‘Lucky Day’
Nicola Roberts, one-fifth of Girls Aloud, didn’t make as much of a splash on the fickle world of British pop earlier this year with her Diplo-produced debut, Dance To The Beat Of My Drum. This is her second go at selling some records.
It carries that same vein of ’can’t be bothered to belt out some chords’ vibe which she seems to be carving out to be her sound. She was always the underdog in the Girls Aloud-do-solo-projects race, but she’s being the most original so far. I approve.
First Listen: Nicola Roberts ‘Beat Of My Drum’
I know, a lot of people will look down on this single but for what it’s worth, this is about as edgy as mainstream pop is in the UK right now- and it’s actually a lot of fun. Produced by Diplo and Dimitri Tikovoi. She was always the odd one out from Girls Aloud, and this single is pretty left field compared to what the other girls have done with their solo stuff. And dare I say, I see small hints of Robyn in there too. Check out here.
Live: Alex Clare at The Lexington
One of my favourite new artists of recent months, Alex Clare played The Lexington tonight in London and was really good. Championed by Diplo, every song played tonight was crafted with precision and Clare’s rough, soulful voice gives it an edge that’s just so cool right now. I didn’t expect him to be so shy, and the way he smiled kept reminding me of an old friend. I want more. Again, apologies for the shit quality of the pics- I think it’s time for a new camera…
First Watch: Robyn ‘Dancehall Queen’
This song originally featured in Robyn’s first Body Talk album. I have to say though, this whole M.I.A VHS-retro mashup video thing is maybe a couple of years out of date now in my opinion. But song is good!
New Music: Alex Clare
I got a bit excited when I heard this – best of British! ‘Up All Night’ just sounds so so good. Produced by Diplo and Switch. Check out here.
New Robyn!
I love Robyn. I have done since I was at school (in the 90′s), which is kinda embarrassing to admit to, as she wasn’t always very cool! She ditched a big recording contract and an already successful career back then because she wasn’t happy with how her label was selling her. So she went her own way and paid for her huge 2005 album ‘Robyn’, which had all those big hits like ‘With Every Heartbeat’.
A sampler for the first album called Body Talk Pt1 is here. You can here a snippet of her first single, Fembot, on that link. So far, I’ve heard Dancehall Queen which is pretty sweet (produced by Diplo- I can’t find a link for the full clip!). Looks like it’ll be a fun summer when the first album is released in June!
