Hey people! It's Lab here... sorry I have been absent for a while I have been keeping myself busy as per usual! As I write this it's about 6am in the morning and I'm trying to keep my eyes open after an extremely long night over here in Oz. For the past couple of weeks I have been out of the UK and in LA and Oz doing various things... it's been mental. But all to fuel the fire of what I like to call my 'Musical Express'.
Although at first I wasn't sure about going - I must say my time in LA was blessed. I was one of the few producers who got to hit the studio with Dr Luke and for those of you that don't know who he is - the man is pretty much the epicentre of the pop world. He is a pop 'architect' if you will. A 'pioneer' of pop music. The man is a powerhouse and has made records for Katy Perry, Rihanna, B.o.B and Nicki Minaj amongst others. In my eyes one of the most respected and creative producers of the last 10 years. I learnt a lot from him man. I want to do a big American collaboration and there have been talks going on with a few people but I don't wanna say any more than that! But watch this space!
Those that know me know that I'm not 100% in love with commercial pop music. It's not my preferred genre - I don't do squeaky clean pop. But it was interesting to see it from a different angle and see how others understand pop music. I met up with my good friend Mike Posner (who co wrote my new single Beneath Your Beautiful) and worked with one of Dr Luke's producers called Ammo whilst I was over there and it's healthy for me to see how other artists work. I learned we all take different approaches and use our own environments to shape the sounds we come out with. Different cultures produce a different 'cool'. And your perception of 'cool' changes depending on where you are.
It's been interesting to see how my music is received over in Oz - it's totally different - the album reacts and appeals to different audiences within their perception of what they love and how they interpret it. Until you play your music out to an international audience you never really appreciate the full extent of this I don't think.
It's cool to understand this on a much bigger level and then be able to apply it to the new music I am making.
I also went to Oz to play in the Parklife tour alongside some of my UK peers such as Benga, Chiddy Bang, Rizzle Kicks and Plan B - it was insanely crazy on a whole new level. I met some cool people and one night we had a crazy jam in our little penthouse in the Hilton Hotel in Sydney - me, all the band members and some of the other artists - we had everyone rammed into one room and we made some new sounds! It was good to meet a lot of other artists that I have been crossing paths with but never actually got to spend any time with. Knowledge is (musical) power and what better way to learn that to see others do their craft!