RS: There's a great line in that Funkerman song "Speed Up" where
the singer says "Baby Step Up Your Game" and it sounds like you're
doing that.
Don Diablo: Yes, definitely. That's what I like about America, when
you have achieved success people are actually happy for you. They like
it when you're different and you do something different and they want
to be the first to discover it. There's always a big thing where
people are just running after the facts which means something's
already happened, and then they come with the news. That goes for all
types of art.
RS: You worked on the Public Enemy remix project. What was it
like working on that.
Don Diablo: Amazing. When I normally do a remix for a big artist, I
never even get to talk to the artist. People have this very romantic
idea of you speaking to the artist and he'll be like yes, I like this
or change that but in reality it's just something that happens between
managers. My manager talks with the manager of the artist and there's
a phone call. But in this case Chuck D was very much involved and he
had to give approval for everything on the whole project, which was
his little baby. When I finished it, I got a personal message from
him within a day saying that he loves it and that he was very happy
and even a personal quote even in the press statement about it and
about me. Later on we met and it was just very strange because he
obviously is one of my all-time heroes. He was one of the first that
actually changed the hip-hop scene and sent it in to a certain
direction. He's a pioneer, and to see that he actually knew who I
was, it was for me like wow, Chuck D likes what I do. So funnily
enough, after that I got in to a little panic attack, it was like oh
crap, what did I do? I was like I have to make another remix. So I
turned everything around, which I normally never do, and I made
another remix because I thought the whole project deserved that. I was
happy that I did because that's the remix that I actually put on my
compilation, and that's out now. So it was actually was a very long
process and when Benny Benassi won the Grammy award for the remix
package, it was just another reason why it was a very cool remix
package to be on...
RS: What would you like to say to all the people in the US?
Don Diablo: I could say watch your ass, I'm coming, but that's too cliché.
RS: Nice.
Don Diablo: I'm planning on a tour, so we're working on it right now
and I'm planning on a US release. When I'm coming over to the US I
will do it properly, not like I did in the past and just come for two
or three days. With the album, with the tour, with the support act,
and it will probably be, because now, thanks to Sony, I have a budget
to work on a live act which will be easier to separate myself from the
rest.
RS: So when you're touring right now with this album, you're
performing it live and DJing, or how are you playing the album?
Don Diablo: Yes, that's what we're working on. What I'm thinking of
now, it will be not in my own country but only abroad, and like for
the States I will bring a different show than for Europe. What I'm
thinking of here will be a combination between live and DJing. Along
with a VJ show, so it will be all my videos with a big VJ show, a
lighting show. It might just be that I pick up the mic, sing a song,
and then I'll be just playing a record, walking around, going in to
the crowd. That's the one option and there's another option which I'm
working on, it's called Don Diablo's Drive By Disco which will be what
I'm trying out right now in my own country. These are like festival
sets, where I'm one of the few dance acts that's getting programmed at
rock and hip-hop festivals. What I do is just a half-hour, I take the
crowd by storm. It's not a DJ set because for us it's very cool to see
a DJ and it's a cultural thing that we're used, to see a guy standing
behind turntables for thirty minutes, and just look at one guy just
standing there. For people who are more into the band culture,
they're used to seeing a lot of people jumping around and interaction
with the crowd. That's a totally different thing so we came up with
this thirty-minute drive by show, which means we come in and we have
the bottles of water, we have the barrels around the neck, and we just
go crazy for thirty minutes – no warm up, just phhh, just rocking for
thirty minutes, just the sweat and the crowd surf, go in to the crowd,
pogo, just craziness. That's what I'm working on right now, because
dance music needs a little kick in the ass, especially with all the
more minimal the better and everything, it's getting kind of boring.
Posted April 8, 2008
