(ThisIsFakediy.co.uk) When Major Lazer made their entrance in 2009 with 'Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do', Diplo and Switch were unknown quantities to the majority of those the album reached. But to followers of the EDM and house scenes, the prospect of two of the biggest producers in the game getting together for an LP was tantalising.
Switch's consistent hand in the early days of what-would-commonly-become-known-as fidget with tracks like 'Get Ya Dub On' and 'A Bit Patchy' made him a household name, well, in the right circles. At the same time, Diplo was becoming synonymous with his trademark blend of ludicrous and brilliant originals ('Smash A Kangaroo', anyone?) and infectious remixes (his remix of 'Bingo Players', a good start), oh, and his ridiculously hip label, Mad Decent, too of course. Long story short, nobody knew quite what to expect from Major Lazer, but those in the know expected something special.
And it was. Sort of. To some people. But maybe not those in the aforementioned 'know'. The debut album rode, and was partly responsible for, the crest of the rising wave of house and electro becoming accessible to the populace. There was barely a club in Britain, nay, the world, which did not blast out 'Pon de Floor' at some point. The mainstream embraced Major Lazer as newcomers, potentially helped by Beyoncé's penchant for that track (she used it for a snazzy version of 'Run The World'), Blackberry employed Diplo to...
try and shift their suits and briefcases image with little of the desired effect, and both Diplo and Switch racked up production points, gaining enough clout to work with almost anyone in the world.
Fast forward to 2012, and dance is the new pop music. The charts are saturated with more guff than ever before. And it's stagnating. It does not have the freshness of three or four years ago, when the masses lapped it up. The game, as they say in the business, has changed. Oh, and Switch is no longer part of Major Lazer.
Diplo is a gent prone to working with more people than you can shake a stick at to craft Major Lazer's releases, and second album, 'Major Lazer Frees The Universe', will be no different. With vocals set to be lent by everyone from Shaggy to Peaches, Leftside to Amber Coffman, and with the likes of Raf Riley and Flux Pavillion involved in production, the LP is due out this October. So has Switch leaving even made a difference?
“I made and recorded most of it myself” says Diplo, real name Thomas Pentz, “but saying that, Switch is the best and craziest mixer in the game.” Are we to take from that Switch has had a hand in mixing? Diplo's pretty cryptic. “Switch lost interest in the project so it made it easier for me overall. The album's been coming a long time – I love our movement and the energy coming up to this new release.” And given the levels of energy Diplo puts into all his productions, this bodes well.
Major Lazer seemed to take the success of 'Gun Don't Kill People…' in its stride, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for two underground producers. Three years on, when the novelty of dance music, its drops and breakdowns, has worn off for the paying public, what do you do with your second album? Do you feel the pressure of it all?
“Not really," Diplo asserts. "I'm always playing out my records and making sure they are right. I think this album will have a few bigger mainstream tunes actually... always with our unique style. Just wait to hear it.”
Genres tend to move quickly in EDM, and its fans can be the most fickle in music but helpfully, such is Diplo's nature; only foolish people could expect him to sit still and follow the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' mantra. “Diplo just does weird shit and this and that and is an idea maker,” he says, “Major Lazer is just one of my ideas.”
He says he is a big fan of Joe Strummer for “his work in genre mashing back when genres didn't have a name”. But now, genres are the gaping pigeonholes of music - they're restrictive and unavoidable. For all Diplo's cross-genre pollination, he still sits well within the electronic dance sphere, occasionally dappling in hip hop; the two genres whose aforementioned bastard children populate the charts. “If it gets kids into more underground music that's a good thing,” he muses, “but yeah, dance music is over-saturated right now and most DJs are looking at what tunes can make them successful – I mean, so many bad vocal tunes – instead of trying to do something that is revolutionary.”
He gives the impression of a kid with the old blue Smartie syndrome, leaping from one project to the other (What's your favourite dinosaur and why? “Diplodocus. I dunno'. I need to read about other dinosaurs.”). Major Lazer is just one of many pies accommodating one of his fingers; presenting an opportunity to do what he wants, working with as many different people from different places as possible, and not be drawn on what it needs to sound like. He says he'd love to work with Bon Iver, Miley Cyrus and Tupac, if he could. Diplo is one of few producers who could make all three of them sound good, and that right there is something to admire and appreciate, even if it's not your cup of tea.
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