What’s in Don Diablo’s Box?

What’s in Don Diablo’s Box?

24 August, 2010 | 2.57AM

• Written by: Kornel Koch
• Filed under: Music News: diplo, don diablo, in the box, make you pop

It figures than an artist whose parents named him after Captain Beefheart‘s Don Van Vliet might be kinda cryptic. Don Diablo (real name Don Pepijn Schipper) says of himself on his SoundCloud page, “Some people hate me, I hope more people love me. I make music. 
I play music and I might have killed a man in a past life”.

We don’t know about that last part, but the devilish don is definitely killing it with ‘Make You Pop’, his new collaboration with the promiscuous Diplo. (Diplo must have a thing for the Dutch: first Tiesto, now Don Diablo?) It’s a high-octane electro-house banger with some of the gnarliest bass we’ve heard in a while, with a vocal hook and a breakdown designed to incite maximum mayhem. In addition to the original mix, radio edit, instrumental and acapella, Don Diablo also drops a dubstep remix that’s as nefarious as his alias would suggest.

We asked the hotshot producer to give us a glimpse inside his CD wallets, and were surprised to discover almost everything but electro-house bangers. Jamie Lidell, Debussy, Madonna… There’s even a bit of blues, which is fitting, given Diablo’s namesake. Read on to check it out…

Jamie Lidell, ‘Little Bit of Feel Good’ [Warp]

Record outside your usual tempo range
Jamie Lidell, ‘Little Bit of Feelgood’. I am a big fan of Jamie’s music, it’s so dirty and funky at the same time! For me it’s the perfect music to get down to when I am on the dancefloor myself.

Trippiest record
Claude Debussy, ‘Claire de Lune’. I always play this song when a fight breaks out on the dancefloor. No. That’s not a joke. Unfortunately. 

Guilty pleasure
Madonna, ‘Holiday’. Two words: killer bassline. I made a little edit of this Madonna classic, which works like a treat everytime.

Record you play when you’re in a bad mood
Ryuichi Sakamoto, ‘Bibo No Azora’. Sakamoto is one of my favorite modern classical composers, together with Ludovico Einaudi. Their music really lifts you to another level.

Secret weapon that only you have a copy of
Moby, ‘Feeling So Real’ (Don Diablo Remix). This was always one of my favourite Moby records and now I have made an updated version of this rave classic that does the trick as an unexpected secret weapon in my sets.

Closing track for those “one more tune” encores
System of a Down, ‘Chop Suey’. Still perfect for those ‘’crowdsurfing-bodycrashing-sing-a-long-chant’’ moments at the end of a show.

Record with a great intro/outro, for occasions where you want to change tempo/mood
Felix da Housecat, ‘Silverscreen Showerscene (Thin White Duke Remix)’. A great remix of a track that was already great, but the intro and additional orchestration to this remix is simply brilliant.

Felix Da Housecat, ‘Silver Screen Shower Scene (Thin White Duke Remix)’ [New State Music]

Bassline weapon
Diplo & Don Diablo, ‘Make You Pop’. What can I say!? It’s all about the bassline in this track I just did with Diplo. Try before you die, you will not be disappointed!

Diplo & Don Diablo, ‘Make You Pop (Don Diablo Dubstep Mix)’ [Sellout Sessions]

The record that will never leave your box
Ram Jam, ‘Black Betty (Don Diablo Re-Edit)’. What can I say!? This is still the best cover version of the Lead Belly blues classic and even though the record is over 30 years old, it still does the trick for me!

Diplo & Don Diablo, ‘Make You Pop’ [Sellout Sessions]

Don Diablo on Beatport

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