Diplo: ‘Calvin Harris did EDM better than anyone else’

In an interview with Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 show this week, pop production polymath Diplo discussed his ever-turbulent relationship with EDM.

In telling Mac about his new EP ‘California’, which will find the producer veering away from his EDM palette, he admitted that both he and Calvin Harris were opportunistic when it came to adopting the immensely popular style when it was on the rise.

"Me and Calvin [Harris] hijacked the term EDM when it was good for us,” he said. “We might be in magazine articles [being called] the EDM guys, but we were never that. I've known [Calvin] for so many years and he was doing funk music, singing on records... We hijacked [the term EDM] at the moment and he refined it. He did it better than anyone else."

‘California’, which is named after his current abode, finds the Major Lazer and Mad Decent founder taking a step away from the polarising genre into different territory, with collaborations with the likes of  Lil Yachty featuring on the release.

When asked about his recent performance on Jimmy Fallon where he was seen dancing with Danish popstar MØ (with whom he previously worked on the massive ‘Lean On’) and Goldlink he wasn’t particularly phased about looking silly. "As a artist or producer, I'm working on borrowed time anyways,” he told Mac. “What does a DJ do on stage? Nothing. So I'll try anything.”

Diplo is known to be rather self-deprecating and has spoken about the contentious nature of his career and popularity before. In November last year he told Rolling Stone, “I know I'm a poseur pushing buttons onstage!” He also ruffled some feathers back in January when he said that he was going to play an alt-country set at revered techno festival, Movement, Detroit.

During the interview on Radio 1 he also talked to Annie Mac about his forthcoming collaboration with Mark Ronson, Silk City. 

Calvin Harris recently shared his own thoughts on the whole EDM palaver, telling Annie Mac that "some of the best producers in the world are EDM producers".

Listen back to Diplo's interview with Annie Mac here.