Run through three recent songs assembled by super-producer Diplo, and it’s hard to tell if they all came from the same artist. There’s “Waist Time,” a throbbing bass-house collaboration with Toronto’s AutoErotique, a fuzzed-over, robo-dancehall track. There’s a chilled-out remix of MØ’s “Final Song,” with Jauz; and there’s the futuristic, icy R&B ballad “Nothing Without You,” produced for The Weeknd’s Starboy.
Diplo’s dramatic range helps explain why he’s the most sought-after musical mind in the game today, no matter the genre. It’s also the reason Wynn Nightlife brought Diplo and his hitmaking “side project” Major Lazer back as 2017 residents.
In February, Diplo’s up for two Album of the Year Grammys for his production on Beyoncé’s widely acclaimed Lemonade and Justin Bieber’s comeback effort, Purpose. Major Lazer’s next album, Music Is the Weapon, doesn’t have a release date yet (it’s expected in the first quarter), but it has already scored with the Bieber/MØ feature “Cold Water.” One thing is certain: It will have all types of sounds and songs.
“A great artist is someone who can change the direction of music, not someone who stays the same all the time,” Diplo told NME last year. “Otherwise music would be so f*cking boring.” Diplo at XS at Encore, January 21.