ARJAN TIMMERMANS

Don’t try to put Diplo in a box. Raised on a diet of freestyle, rap and Miami bass, this young DJ/producer crosses genres, mixing up techno, crunk, hip hop and favela funk to create a unique style of his own. Quite successfully, too. His work for girlfriend M.I.A. gained him notoriety, underground and above.

Born in Mississippi, Diplo (aka Wesley Pentz) started working the turntables as a teenager in Florida. He took his act to the next level when he started to organize the Hollertronix parties in Philadelphia. Cool kids and hipsters quickly latched on to his wild mixtape sessions. Now, he’s sharing some of his favorite tunes on a new Fabriclive 24 compilation, that features a diverse lineup including tracks by Yazoo, Ludacris and Le Tigre. Because in the end, no matter what style it is, “It’s all about the beats,” as Diplo likes to put it.—AT

This is a hot record. How did you come up with the tracks for Fabriclive 24?
I just wanted to throw different styles together. I’ve been picking up new music from Brazil lately. I also wanted to include some Latin freestyle and Detroit techno. The record connects Brazil, Miami and Detroit, and then I put some stuff in there that I made myself.

You even included “Love Song” by the Cure.
Yeah, that’s a really hot track. That’s one of my favorites. It blends well and is sort of a cool-down towards the end.

How’d a white kid from Mississippi get into hip hop and freestyle?
I grew up in Florida where there is a strong DJ culture, and hip hop is really the new pop music. But my main thing has always been bass music. That’s the essence. You see how things are changing now with rock stations playing Jay-Z and hip hop stations playing Gwen Stefani. It’s all about the beats.

Have you played at gay clubs?
Sure. People actually dance at gay clubs. They’re the best to play.

What are the biggest crowd-pleasers right now?
People are really responding to new dance music that comes from Baltimore. It is a mix of house and breakbeats. M.I.A.’s “Bucky Done Gun” also does very well. I put a lot into that song.

You’ve pushed the dance frontier by blending sounds from Brazil and Asia. What’s next?
I’m really looking at Kwaito, that’s really hot pop and house music from South Africa. But in the end, people just wanna get drunk, meet people and go home with somebody.

Fabriclive 24: Diplo (Fabric) is in stores now.

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