Dillon Francis is one of the leading names in the new 'Moombahton' sound. After his collaboration with the legendary Diplo on Que Que, his new track I.D.G.A.F.O.S came out in October on Mad Decent and he is set to hit Europe later this month as part of the Visions tour with Mele and Brenmar. We caught up with Dillon to get the lowdown on his career so far. 

 

First things first. Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do...

My name is Dillon Francis, I am an artist on Mad Decent records. Diplo is my dad, and I DJ everywhere. I am also a professional air plane pilot and billionaire!

 

You’re signed up to Mad Decent records, along with a host of other names – Rusko, Boy 8-bit, Major Lazer, Mumdance, Crookers and so on. How did this come about?

I sent a song over to Diplo, and then we talked on Twitter. We hung out at a bar in Attwater Village  in California and talked about music. We then decided to work together and that’s how Que Que came about. We decided to release my EP on Mad Decent.

 

 

You’re widely known as one of the biggest names within the Moombahton genre, but for those not so familiar with it, what’s it all about?

Moombahton is basically tropical bass music at 110 beats per minute. It has influences of Dutch House, Reggaeton, Dubstep and everything in between.

 

We’ve already mentioned Moombahton, but it’s probably fair to say that just as many people know you for your more traditional dubstep as much as anything. Tell us about that? How did you get into dubstep?

I got into dubstep through listening to Rusko. When I heard his Pro Nails remix, I was obsessed! After hearing it, that’s when I started producing dubstep and wanted to make sounds like Rusko.

 

You’ve worked with Dave Nada and Diplo, two guys known for their ‘bleeps and basslines’ music. What was it like to work with them? 

Working with Diplo has been an incredible experience. He’s got such an amazing ear for what the track needs and what it doesn’t need. That’s one of the main things you need as an artist and he’s really good at it. Working with Dave was so much fun. It was one of the easiest collaborations ever. We just bounced off of each other and were both extremely excited about everything we were doing together.

 

What can we expect to hear from your new track – I.D.G.A.F.O.S?

With I.D.G.A.F.O.S you can expect a way different sound. I’m leaning towards the noisy side of what dubstep is, and doing what I like to call ‘New Jump Up’, which has both drum and bass and dubstep sounds that are relevant right now.

 

Dillon Francis - I.D.G.A.F.O.S. by DILLONFRANCIS

 

 

Your track, Que Que, with Diplo, featuring Maluca , has made waves internationally. From listening to it, there are a lot of different flavours going on – dubstep, reggaeton, Afrobeat, dancehall, garage even. Did you listen to this sort of stuff growing up? What and who are your major influences?

When I was growing up I listened to 102.7 KIIS FM,  the most “poppy” radio station in LA. I pretty much only listened to pop music until I was 12 years old. At about 12 years old, my parents stopped having a hold on what I was listening to, so I started listening to metal, punk and indie rock. When I was 18, I started getting into electronic music and artists like Bloody Beetroots and Crookers.

 

Notting Hill Carnival. Enjoy it?

HELL YEAH! Notting Hill carnival was one of my favourite things to be at. Watching Diplo and Switch during their Major Lazer set was my highlight of the event!

 

You’ve got a tour starting soon. Any particular places you’re looking forward to playing?

Yes, I’m super excited for the upcoming tour! I’m excited to play in Madrid, I’ve been wanting to go to Spain for so long. Brenmar and Mele are cool too so I know it’ll be a fun tour!

 

What’s the next year looking like for you? Any big plans and ideas you’d like to tell us about?

Next year, I’m definitely going to release an album, hopefully in the middle of 2012. I’m trying to do as much as I can each day and trying to continue to put out music as fast as possible to keep me relevant in this fast changing electronic music scene.

 

Words: Max Glover

 

Visions Tour dates:

NOVEMBER

15th Leeds, Mint Club

17th Dublin, Twisted Pepper

18th London, Fabric

19th Southend, Sunrooms

23rd Madrid, Sala Heineken

24th Paris, Social Club

25th Brussels, Forma T

26th Berlin, Prince Charles

29th Glasgow, Buff Club

30th Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

DECEMBER

1st Aberdeen, Snafu

2nd Sheffield, DQ

3rd Bristol, Motion

 

 

Related Links:

• Diplo Announces Mad Decent July Releases
• Diplo Presents Dubstep
• Video: Diplo On Komplete 7
• LAXX Guest Mix
• Chase & Status ft. Tinie Tempah - Hitz Video

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