14 questions for Cedric Gervais (Interview)

(Source: CG's FB page)

Cedric Gervais is a legend in the scene. Known best for his Grammy for remixing Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness" in 2014, Cedric Gervais started off as a DJ first and foremost when he was a resident DJ at one of the hottest clubs in Paris in 1998. Having moved to Miami at 19 years old, he's always made sure to create memorable sets at Ultra Music Festival in his hometown. 

2017 has been a good year for the French artist as he's released multiple tracks on a strong release schedule including his latest releases "Touch The Sky", "Somebody New", and "Dead". Most importantly he has created arguably one of the hottest tracks of the summer season with his remix of "Mi Gente" that has been played by some of the biggest DJs this festival season like Tiesto.

EDM Canada had a chance to meet up with the iconic artist at ÎleSoniq in Montreal last month. We discussed his latest tracks, including how he created his "Mi Gente" remix in David Guetta's mansion in one evening. 

How's the summer festival season been treating you? 

Cedric Gervais: Very good. Been in Europe since the middle of June, and touring around Europe. Went to Ibiza and it was just amazing. I'm mostly touring Europe until September.

Can you tell me a bit of the differences between the festival scene in Europe vs.in North America?

Europe is still very heavy into electronic music, rap and trap music doesn't really work there. It's good to see that because I'm an electronic music fan. Over here it feels like it's getting more hip hop as we're seeing with the changing lineups.

You just came from the Ilesoniq mainstage - how did it go?

It incredible, and an amazing crowd. The way they treat the artist with the catering is very impressive. I've never seen a festival like this.

Did you drop any new IDs in there that you can share? 

I played a lot of things. I played my new song “Touch The Sky” which is on the radio right now featuring Dallas Austin and Digital Farm Animal. I played my remix of “Mi Gente”, which is a really big record that everybody is playing right now.

"Producing is very important, and if you share it on Soundcloud, people will find it and play it. A lot of artists were discovered by guys like Tiesto, when they were simply passing him their tracks."

Tell me about your latest single "Somebody New"? How did you come about working with Liza Owen?

She's a songwriter that writes with another songwriter friend of mine, and when we listened to one of her tracks I fell in love with her voice and wanted to work with her. We sent the track to Island Records and they released it while preparing for a major radio push.

Did you enjoy creating a slower and a little bassier track? Is it a new direction?

(Source: CG's FB page)

No it's not something new. I just did a similar type of track with Madison Beer. It has a bassline and it is slower but it still does have a house bassline, but it is a little different for me so let's see where it goes.

You were one of the pioneering electronic producers getting major radio play with your Lana Del Rey remix - do you feel like you help pave the way for the new generation of producers who have followed your success to the mainstream?

They were there when I was there, like Zedd was already there. I was one of the first to break top 40 radio and Billboard's top 100. But it was David Guetta that was there before me.

Your remix of Mi Gente by J Balvin and Willy Williams has caught fire with you and Tiesto playing it last night. Is the Latin influence on club music just the beginning, do you plan on making any of these sorts of tunes? 

2 years ago I produced a track with Juanes, a respected Colombian artist, that had people questioning on what I was doing. The song connected with South American fans, which was the first step.

This latest track came from a funny story. J Balvin is a Colombian artist, who shares the same manager as Juanes. We were all staying at David Guetta's mansion in Ibiza and listened to the original Mi Gente track, which I immediately thought that it needed to be remixed. I texted his manager who immediately sent me the parts of the track. David Guetta was gone and I was staying at his place and did the remix at his amazing studio in one night. When David Guetta came back, I played him the track and he thought he created the track of the summer.

When was this?

2 weeks ago.

So when David Guetta started playing it, all sorts of artists were wanting it for their own sets including Martin Garrix. Ingrosso, Steve Aoki and Tiesto called me up for the track as well. Zedd asked for the record yesterday. The reception has just been nuts. It's a great club record and the original is already massive in Latin America.

What's the scene like in Latin America?

If you go to Peru, Argentina and Chile, the scene is very techno. Colombia is very EDM. Depending on where you go, there will be a hot electronic genre of music played there.

Do you have any advice for new producers who are just now trying to break into the scene? 

You got to make music. If you want to be a DJ, you have to learn where the DJ comes from, the history, the different genres. You have to know how to play in clubs, how to play in festivals, how to tell a story, and how to make people dance. I from a background as a resident DJ, and I think knowing how to make people dance is very important.

Producing is very important, and if you share it on Soundcloud, people will find it and play it. A lot of artists were discovered by guys like Tiesto, when they were simply passing him their tracks.

What's your view on the French artist scene and the new generation of talent emerging from France including tchami, DJ Snake, Malaa, Petit biscuit? 

It's great. There are two different scenes where Pardon My French is very cool as they all have their own style. Then you have you Martin Solveig, whom I'm a big fan of what he does. Then you have David Guetta, Bob Sinclar and myself. Daft Punk did their thing and Laurent Garnier was huge in the past. French electronic producers will always be there.

(Source: CG's FB page)

What can fans expect from Cedric Gervais for the rest of 2017 and next year? Any new EPs or LPs. 

A lot of music. Just have to make sure we're putting out things at the right time without flooding the market. I have “Touch The Sky” which is doing very well. Got my new track with Madison Beer just coming out, and a new track 'Somebody New”, that will be released in September. Then there's the “Mi Gente” remix that's going around right now.

What's going to happen to your “Mi Gente” remix, is it just being played by other Djs but will it have a wider release?

My label is freaking out right now because they had no idea about it as I did it directly with the artist. Now some of the big radio stations in the U.S. including Sirius XM have started playing it. It spread so fast because of all of the big Djs playing it. It proves to you the power of the DJ to break a new record.

Hottest tracks of the week (September 4th - September 10th)

This list is for the fan on the go who wants to listen to the hottest tracks from the past 7 days, all in one place. All of these tracks were selected by top DJs, radio shows. and EDM Canada.

9 questions for Alan Walker answered (Interview)

Alan Walker is a rare talent. At only 20 years old he's created not only one, but multiple mega hits that have generated over a billion views, massive Soundcloud appeal, and hundreds of millions of Spotify plays. With a regular release schedule and a focus on bridging the gap between EDM and pop music, Alan Walker has all the makings to be one of our next biggest stars in the scene. 

EDM Canada caught up with the Norwegian artist at ÎleSoniq in Montreal where he played on the mainstage to a packed crowd in early August. We talked in depth about how he created his hit tracks, future releases, and who's at the top of his wishlist for a future collaboration. 

Your tracks are emotional and more on the chill side, how do you translate them into your festival sets? 

I play a mixture of playing my tracks in its original form and doing live edits of my own songs or playing a remix of them. I try to mix a bit of my own songs so they can get a taste of Alan Walker and playing up tempo, harder tracks, so they can get a different vibe. I don't play constantly down tempo because people may get bored so I would say my shows are like a wavy experience. I play a mixture of BPM's of down tempo, up tempo, and melancholic songs.

What is the process that you use to make your tracks, especially your latest single 'Tired' and using a new vocalist like Gavin James?

“Faded” was a song I have written back in 2014, and “Sing Me To Sleep” was a follow-up to that track. I had both of these melodies just laying around and never used, but then we got the vocalist in the studio and wrote the lyrics along with a few different songwriters. We had her sing both tracks and she absolutely nailed them, so we used the same vocalist for both songs.

With “Alone”, that was the first time I started and finished a song in a studio on the same day. We worked the lyrics on the same day and everything came together. Usually I write the entire track as an instrumental and then I send it to a vocalist. The vocalist then makes their adjustments and then I go back and change the song to fit the vocals.

With “Tired”, it was my music lawyer who introduced me to Gavin James. His manager told my lawyer that he had already done the lyrics to “Tired” and was looking for a producer to create the track. My music lawyer then sent the track to me and I just tried it out.

"I'd love to do a remix or an original track with any vocalist or artist, it's just a matter of timing and everything needs to come together."

How long did it take you to create the instrumental to “Faded” and your newer track “Tired”?

With “Fade”, the predecessor to “Faded”, it took months because I couldn't figure out what to do with the second drop. I really want to create my tracks to have a 1st drop and then have a variation on the 2nd drop. When it came to “Faded”, we combined the melodies into one drop.

For “Tired”, I tried to evolve the Alan Walker sound to try to show a new side but felt it was maybe a bit too much for the mainstream.

Do you have any new songs that you're ready to talk about? You've had a steady release schedule and it's been a few months since you've released “Tired”.

I have a couple songs coming out, one is called “The Spectre”, which is similar to the story of “Fade” to “Faded”, where I take one of the old songs, re-create it, give it a vocal and a brand new mix.

The other track is with a new French duo called Y&B. It's called “Diamond Heart”, and it's kinda like a Faded 2.0.

When will both of these tracks will come out?

“The Spectre”, hopefully very soon. With “Diamond Heart”, sometime later this year.

You have remixed so many major stars like Sia, Miley Cyrus, and Bruno Mars. When do you think it will be time to sit down with one of them and create an original track with one of them? 

I'd love to do a remix or an original track with any vocalist or artist, it's just a matter of timing and everything needs to come together. I'm always up to working with a new one.

If you had one artist on your wishlist that you'd love to work with, which one would that be?

If I had to pick an artist, it would have to be Ellie Goulding. A lot of people thought she was the vocalist on “Faded”, so I think having an actual song with Ellie Goulding will be pretty cool.

With the festival season winding down, do you have any plans to release any EP's or LP's, or more touring announcements?

Nothing yet, I have thought about it, but nothing 100% yet. I did 53 shows this summer, and in the Fall I'm going to Asia tour. It's a busy year but I think me and my team are handling it quite well.

Why the mask and hoodie for your live shows?

The mask and hoodie was a style that was inspired by my personal habits and interests. I wanted to find a unique way to put out Alan Walker and then myself and my team discussed my personal interests. The hoodie came from those discussions and also from inspiration from the video game Watchdogs, and the TV series Mr. Robot. Mr. Robot was a big inspiration for the music video for “Faded” because in Mr. Robot you always saw a guy in a backpack, same as in the music video.

We wanted to use the hoodie and mask as a symbol of unity, and that anybody can be a Alan Walker, no matter who you are, your ethnicity, what you've done, or what you do. I think that's a pretty cool image to have.

I don't want to hide myself, it's for the artist image. I've done pictures with and without the mask, and if you search, you can find me.

What to do this weekend (September 8th - 10th)

If you want to keep track with what's going on electronic dance music wise in your city, then check out this weekend guide. Just click below and start planning!

Hottest tracks of the week (August 28th - September 3rd)

This list is for the fan on the go who wants to listen to the hottest tracks from the past 7 days, all in one place. All of these tracks were selected by top DJs, radio shows. and EDM Canada.