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00:00Thank you for being here. I'm Katie Bain. I'm the Senior Music Correspondent of Billboard and this is, of course,
00:06the talented, globetrotting phenomenon, Mao P.
00:10Me?
00:11You!
00:16Okay, we have a lot to talk about, but I think where to start is just, I feel like talking
00:21upstairs, the last 48 hours of your life has been so, like, classic DJ weekend.
00:26Just tell these people where you've been and what you've done since Friday.
00:30Um, so, I was in San Francisco and then I played a show. I got four hours of sleep. Then
00:41I flew to Vegas. Then I slept because I was really tired. Then I woke up. I had dinner. I
00:47played a show. Got really drunk. Then I got three hours of sleep.
00:52And then, um, I gotta be honest, I was supposed to fly her on Southwest, but, uh, I didn't. And
01:02we, we managed with God's help to get a jet last minute.
01:06So, my life got pretty comfortable coming here and I'm very blessed and, uh, I'm very happy to be here
01:13and, uh, now we're having a little Bloody Mary to, like, get into the situation here.
01:19As it goes when you're a world-famous DJ, you can kind of pull the jet out of thin air
01:24to get where you need to be.
01:25You can't, but, like, it was just gonna be a brutal Southwest flight at 7 a.m.
01:29Thanks.
01:30That's, no, that's not acceptable.
01:31Well, give him a round of applause for doing all that.
01:34It really wasn't that hard.
01:36Oh.
01:37There's no applause.
01:38I want to give you a lot of credit for all that.
01:41Okay.
01:41So, um, let's start with the music because I feel like, you know, the last time we spoke, we talked
01:47about how you really found this pocket where you make dance music that's very uniquely you.
01:52I feel like when I hear one of your tracks, it's just, I can tell.
01:55Um, and so what would you say are your signatures?
01:59What are you doing in these productions that make them yours?
02:03Um, I think it's because my goal is, is to, um,
02:10not just create a song to have a song, but create something that will like leave a dent in, uh,
02:16in whatever's here already, like in, in, in the dance music world, in the music world in general.
02:21Like, what can I do that hasn't been done before?
02:24So I think that stands out on its own.
02:27And also I just tried to embody what, uh, you know, sort of my favorite music was growing up and
02:34what my favorite music is now.
02:35And everything that I put into my brain when I listen to music or when I absorb music, so to
02:41say.
02:42Um, and, uh, yeah, I guess that what's, what sort of generates your own sound or style.
02:48Sure. It's kind of like an amalgamation of all of your.
02:51I don't know that word, but probably.
02:54Pulling together.
02:55Amalgamation.
02:56Amalgamation.
02:57Yeah.
02:58What does that mean?
02:58Uh, amalgamation is like when you take a bunch of different things and you put them together.
03:03All right.
03:04Yeah.
03:04So you're amalgamating.
03:05We're learning new words.
03:06We have vocabulary lessons as here.
03:08It's a whole thing.
03:09Um, but okay.
03:10Tell me about the music that you listened to when you were young, that you are now amalgamating.
03:15Um, I listened to a lot of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell.
03:22And my dad would always play like jazz in the car.
03:26Um, that I had no interest in at the time, but it always stuck in my head.
03:32And so now I'm sort of, uh, still listening to that because I it's, it's nostalgic, but
03:38not in a way that like I chose for it to be nostalgic, you know?
03:43So, um, it's a, it's a little bit of everything here.
03:45And you come from a musical family.
03:48Like your dad is obviously, he was a very accomplished musician.
03:52Your mom was a singer, right?
03:53Like tell me about growing up with parents that just did music.
03:58Um, it really was, uh, normal to me.
04:02I have to be honest.
04:02Like it's, uh, uh, it was always around and the whole, uh, lower floor of our house.
04:08Where I grew up was a recording studio, so I could always just go downstairs and play
04:13whatever instruments, uh, was available.
04:17So to me, that was just like, Oh, whenever I don't know what to do later in life, I can
04:21always fall back on whatever my parents were doing, you know?
04:24And so it was a traditional sense.
04:25I, I feel like that must've put you at an advantage because it didn't make music seem
04:30like this far away, crazy dream.
04:32Like you lived in a house with a studio.
04:33Like how well did that set you up for just growing into what you did?
04:37No, perfect.
04:37It was almost like the last resort.
04:39If I didn't think of anything else to do, that was not music.
04:43Yeah.
04:43Did you think, did you consider other career paths?
04:46I think I wanted to be a designer and I had this weird obsession of being a cameraman,
04:54but like, not, not like a cameraman with just like the, the handheld camera in cool situations.
05:01Yeah.
05:01I wanted to be like the cameraman that had the big, the thing at the TV show, just like sitting
05:07in the seat.
05:08Why?
05:09Turning around filming.
05:10What?
05:10Why?
05:11Were you, I don't know, like that thing, that thing looked big and intriguing.
05:15So I was, let me operate that.
05:18Sure.
05:18But okay.
05:22So what.
05:23Where did your mind just go?
05:27Pause.
05:27Okay.
05:27Next question.
05:28Great.
05:29No comment.
05:30Uh, so at what point in your growing up were you like, okay, I'm actually good at this.
05:36Like there's something here for me to focus on.
05:39Um, I think, wait, let me answer first.
05:42Um, I think I started making music in garage band.
05:48Yeah.
05:49On like Apple computers.
05:51And it was made very easy to like make something that sounded good.
05:55Cause it had like all the loops and stuff and it wasn't the right key and you could just
05:58put it together.
05:59Um, but I also started singing over the loops and.
06:05And I started making like EPs and uploading them to YouTube.
06:09And I was like 14 or something.
06:11Yeah.
06:11But then at some point I started showing my friends, my music a little bit later on in
06:16high school, they got super hyped about it.
06:19So, I mean, I guess they were super enthusiastic.
06:22So it got me like, Oh, I guess I'm doing something right.
06:25Or it makes them feel something.
06:26At least the music that I'm making.
06:28Were you playing out at all during that?
06:30Like, were you playing parties and like high school parties and local stuff?
06:34Yeah.
06:34Okay.
06:35Okay.
06:35And weddings.
06:36Okay.
06:37He was a wedding.
06:38I know you have a wedding coming up.
06:39We've talked a few times and I did not know you were a wedding DJ.
06:42So.
06:43Yeah.
06:43Whose wedding are you playing coming up?
06:45Yours.
06:47I mean, if we can get that as a contract right now, I'm probably going to hold you to
06:52that.
06:52Why not?
06:53Thank you very much.
06:54Where is it at?
06:55Okay.
06:55That's settled.
06:57It's going to be in LA or Yosemite.
07:00Okay.
07:00Yeah.
07:01Thanks.
07:01Yeah.
07:03I did not see that one coming.
07:05Thanks.
07:06Okay.
07:07My fiance will be doing it.
07:09And everyone's invited.
07:10You guys.
07:12You're all coming to my wedding.
07:14Uh, the headliners.
07:15He, so you, I think that this really interesting thing because you were obviously making music
07:21as Maurice West.
07:22Yeah.
07:22Before you were Mao P.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And it was EDM.
07:25It was a different style of dance music.
07:27Yeah.
07:27So you kind of have like one foot in that, not one foot in, you were doing that, but
07:31then you kind of became Mao P and you're in this different, I would say sound, but also
07:36different era of dance music.
07:38Like things kind of like changed and you changed with it.
07:41So tell me about the differences sonically, and then just kind of the differences in the
07:45scene itself between these two aspects of what you've done.
07:49I think music always goes in waves and sort of the stuff that I was doing back then seemed
07:56really far away from what I'm doing now.
08:00Yeah.
08:00But when I transitioned into, uh, Mao P, it sort of felt like my whole background of
08:07doing Maurice West was being put to use for just a different kind of direction.
08:13So I had this knowledge of really big sounds that were made for really big stages.
08:19And just the only goal was to get everybody jumping up and down.
08:22Yeah.
08:23So my thought was how do I package that into a sound that is sexier and like also, uh, approachable
08:34for the clubs and just not just for the big stage and the big speakers, like also just
08:40for your earbuds.
08:42Right.
08:43You know, so, um, and I think the sounds also not because of me, uh, well, I hope partially
08:50also because of me, but like it grew closer together.
08:53So there was a point in time, I think last year or two years ago where I thought, okay,
08:58now everything's just, what was the word again?
09:01Amalgamated.
09:02Yes.
09:02Yeah.
09:04Amalgamated.
09:05And, um, the whole scene was that it was like David Guetta was playing something that
09:11was considered underground and like an underground DJ was playing something that I thought like,
09:16like, but they probably don't know who that guy is.
09:20So they just listened to the song and they're like, that's a good song.
09:22And it probably works.
09:23I'll play it, you know?
09:25So everything was just sort of all being put into, into this like ball of energy.
09:32I feel like, and now it's exploding and everyone's like sort of picking a side again.
09:38How do you mean picking a side?
09:40I mean, not consciously, but I think definitely that there are DJs now that are being considered
09:46more like bigger, almost pop acts.
09:50Yes.
09:51And I play this game where it's a very thin line between me being able to play Circo Loco,
09:57but also me being able to like play an hour at Coachella at a headline slot and like still
10:04make it entertaining for, you know, people.
10:07And, um, not just in a way that's like fireworks and flames and this and that.
10:12It's just like, I was mixing for a very long time.
10:14Like those transitions weren't like rushed.
10:17So I still wanted to show people like I'm actually just taking my time DJing and doing
10:21this craft.
10:22I think that's one of the most fascinating pieces of, of what you do because you are,
10:26you are able to walk this line that not a lot of artists can where you're considered underground.
10:32You exist in the underground, but I was at your Coachella set.
10:34There must've been 40 or 50,000 people there.
10:37Like that's not underground.
10:38And so like, how, how are you doing?
10:41That's the funny thing.
10:42So it's like at the end of the day, the consumer doesn't really know what they want.
10:47They just consume, you know?
10:49So if I'm now in a position that I can just show them what's up.
10:54Yeah.
10:55And I think like, it's, it's cooler to show them cooler stuff instead of like choosing
10:59the stuff that'll make me the most money.
11:02Yeah.
11:02You're not giving them something that's going to be automatically pleasing to them and not
11:05to press a button and they'll jump.
11:07Yeah.
11:07Cause that was my whole thing.
11:09When I was Maurice West, I was just trying to be with other people already showed me that
11:13was successful.
11:14Yeah.
11:14And then when I started doing my LP or even before I changed my name to my LP, I was
11:18just
11:18making stuff to make stuff that I liked and that I thought wasn't there yet.
11:23And then when I started releasing music, it was like, okay, now everything clicks and works.
11:29Yeah.
11:29And I mean, we've talked about this before as well, but not just on the music level, but
11:34you know, aesthetically too, like you talked about how you thought before you needed to
11:38have some really high price creative director and like the best photographers.
11:42And you realize that you can just kind of do it yourself and have the people around
11:47you that you trust do it for you.
11:49Like, tell me about how that's kind of made your world, you know, just like working with
11:55these people that you know.
12:01Um, can you rephrase that?
12:03Yeah, I can.
12:04I made that confusing.
12:05So, um, why is it okay now to work with, you know, just a friend of yours as a photographer
12:12versus, you know.
12:13I mean, it's not, but they're really good.
12:14Yeah.
12:15So, and we, I figured out that it's not just, um, that everyone's just figuring it out.
12:22Like even the guys that I thought like, wow, they're really big and they must have a crazy team.
12:27Sad.
12:28At the end of the day, everyone's in their own sort of like bubble.
12:30Mm-hmm.
12:31And they're all like, every DJ thinks that they're the biggest, but they're all just
12:35like stressing out and figuring out like how to do this thing.
12:38And like, everyone's like debating about what artwork to use or like messes something up uploading
12:44to DSPs or like.
12:47Yeah.
12:47Happens to us too, you know.
12:49So, um, but to the outside world, it'll probably, when you look at my profiles or whatever,
12:56it looks like, wow, they kind of figured out.
12:57Yes.
12:58Like we are sometimes that one SpongeBob scene with all the pulling out all the archives
13:04and everything's on fire.
13:06And you know, like.
13:07Yeah.
13:07Yeah.
13:08Did that create for you any sort of relief knowing that everyone else is just kind of
13:13on fire behind the scenes?
13:15It's perfect.
13:16Okay.
13:16Okay.
13:17Um, but so as you're saying, like what you put out does look really slick.
13:22And it, I think it has like a very particular aesthetic that is all yours.
13:26Oh.
13:26In terms of world building, what kind of adjectives would you put on what you're doing?
13:33I guess, I don't really know, but it's like, it just formed itself very, uh, authentically.
13:41Mm-hmm.
13:42So, as I said before, like I was doing Mars West for six, seven years, maybe, maybe eight
13:50years.
13:51And, um, like I was just trying to be something and I wasn't really looking inside.
13:59Like my arrows were like outside, like looking like, what can I take and what can I make
14:03mine?
14:03But it's more like, what can I take for myself and put out there that people don't know yet,
14:10but they'll probably like put it because it's like personal, you know?
14:14Yeah.
14:15Like everything I do is really personal because all my Instagram posts, that's me figuring
14:19it out and like.
14:20Right.
14:20Well, and you can tell that it's coming from a human.
14:23It's not, it's, it's, it's cohesive, but it's not overly slick where you feel like there's
14:30someone playing the strings that isn't you.
14:32Exactly.
14:32Yeah.
14:33It's not too slick.
14:34Yeah.
14:34Yeah.
14:35Cool.
14:35And so you said I'm slick.
14:38A little bit.
14:38It's very slick.
14:39All right.
14:39Yes.
14:40Forward facing.
14:40Absolutely.
14:42And so in January, you posted that you're making an album this year.
14:47Yes.
14:48How is it coming along?
14:50Great.
14:51But it's also really stressful.
14:54Tell us more.
14:55Um, so I decided to put that aligned just so people can all be accountable for, you
15:02know, making an album this year and all the other stuff that I said.
15:06So I didn't really tell anyone that like I was posting that, but even before that, I
15:12just always dreamed of like doing an album because it just feels like something so special
15:15to do when you're an artist.
15:18Um, and then when like my agent and my manager sort of got word of that, they were like,
15:23let's do it.
15:24Awesome.
15:25And then I was already sort of in it without even deciding to be in it.
15:28Sure.
15:29And then, I mean, I committed to it.
15:31And now there's like tours being booked around the album that's not finished yet, you know,
15:37and stuff.
15:38Yeah.
15:38So I was like, it's a lot of pressure, but, and then like the promoters are asking like,
15:42but is the album really going to be finished by this date?
15:45And I'm like, I have five songs, you know, like halfway there.
15:50Yeah.
15:51Okay.
15:51But, um, so it's, it's, it's fun.
15:54It's a process, but it's one of those things that I've never done before.
15:57And that's why it's also exciting and fun and scary, but like challenging.
16:01Yeah.
16:01Um, but I feel like it's going to be fresh.
16:05So how is it sounding?
16:07Um, it's sounding like me.
16:13Okay.
16:14I guess.
16:14Yeah.
16:15Okay.
16:15And it's truest form.
16:16Well, the last time we spoke, you said you wanted to make something timeless.
16:21Obviously dance music comes and goes really quickly.
16:24Exactly.
16:25And so is there something that you're paying extra attention to, to make songs that will
16:30stick around?
16:31Yes.
16:31Um, I guess I'm not trying to follow what's like popping right now.
16:37And I'm just trying to take it back to the core where it's like, this is a song that you
16:43can play on a piano and you can sing it and it still holds up.
16:46Nice.
16:47You know?
16:48Yeah.
16:48So it's not going to be dependent on, Ooh, I mixed those drums really well.
16:52And, um, that has the fattest bass ever.
16:56Like, you know me, it will have the fattest bass ever, but still it's like,
17:01it has to be timeless.
17:03It's foundationally a song.
17:05Yeah, exactly.
17:05Yeah.
17:06Cool.
17:06So you're making time for this.
17:08Um, obviously I'm in playing shows and I know you played a lot of shows last year.
17:14We talked about how you kind of said yes to everything.
17:17Um, and it's not everything, but like, not, but you said yes to a lot of things.
17:22You were in a lot of lineups last year.
17:24Um, what did that do for you this year in terms of being, you know, more judicious
17:29and what you're playing and like, what kind of shows are you focusing on this year?
17:33Um, I guess both the shows that I think are really fun and also like shows that are one
17:44step up from what I've done last year.
17:47Cause everything like comes with a strategy, you know, for an agent.
17:50And, uh, they will book shows thinking like two years ahead.
17:54Like where do we want to be in two years?
17:56And what do we have to sell out in order to be, uh, at that goal that we have, you
18:01know,
18:01like for example, what we did red rocks, we were already planning that two years ago.
18:05Like what venue do we have to do in Denver in order to be able to go into a bigger
18:10venue.
18:10And then from the bigger venue proof that you can sell tickets to do red rocks.
18:14Yeah.
18:15Yeah.
18:16Um, and I mean, what is a bigger event?
18:18Can you give us a hint of like, are we talking about stadiums?
18:20Are we talking about arena?
18:21I mean, I'm having a hard time with the whole stadium discussion because I feel like it's
18:26so focused on one person DJing.
18:29And I always think like a DJ is not that entertaining to watch.
18:34Just let's be honest.
18:35Yeah.
18:36Yeah.
18:36Like going like I'm standing on a stage.
18:39I'm like at one position and I'm mixing.
18:41Like I can, I can take two steps to my left, two steps to my right.
18:44Yeah.
18:45I'm not going to do a back flip off the booth.
18:48I will say like three words on the mic and that's it for me.
18:51You know?
18:51So like my craft is really, you know, mixing for a very long time.
18:56But I have the most fun doing that when I have people around me.
19:00Well, that's the thing about your music.
19:02I think is like it's, it's party music.
19:04Like it's, it's fun music to be in like a really great social situation.
19:09So like, I imagine you're looking for venues where you can have that party atmosphere.
19:12I mean, we've been, I've been in LA and I've been looking at stadiums and there's some
19:16stadiums that will lend itself to having people around me.
19:20And I'm more approaching it in a way that's like, how can I turn this stadium into the
19:25biggest rave ever?
19:27Yeah.
19:27Like I don't want to do a concert.
19:29So, so you want it to be a full on.
19:32Yes.
19:32Yeah.
19:33Cool.
19:34And like, they say that it's possible.
19:36And we updated the contracts that whenever they'll make me play a show when it's just
19:41me on stage, I'm just not doing it.
19:43Cause I don't feel like Armin Van Buren or Martin Garrix.
19:46Sure.
19:47Who are amazing.
19:48Of course.
19:48But like, it's a whole, it's just a different kind of vibe, you know?
19:51So I guess that maybe makes it, it's helpful for you to know what to say yes to and what
19:56to say no to when you, that's the goal.
19:58And it's also just having people away from you at a barricade and it's like, well, you
20:05guys do feet and inches, but like 10 meters, like away from me, that's like very low vibrational
20:12or something.
20:12Cause it's like, at that point I'm just looking at the crowd as one big object or wave of
20:18people instead of me being able to tell like, oh, that guy's having fun.
20:23Right.
20:23Right in front of me.
20:24Sure.
20:25You need the energy of the people around as much as they need you.
20:27Yeah.
20:28Yeah.
20:28That makes sense.
20:28I think at least it's, it's different for everyone, but like, for me, it's like DJing
20:34is always a discussion and it's either between me and someone else that I'm DJing with or
20:38it's between me and the crowds.
20:41And it's like, I'll just, I'll just play some stuff and see what works.
20:45And if like the people like it, I'll play some more stuff.
20:48So I think will work.
20:49Yeah.
20:49Then I'll throw in one thing that might be tricky.
20:52Sure.
20:53But like, at least we're talking.
20:55Yeah.
20:55That's a nice way to say it.
20:57If you're talking.
20:58Um, we mentioned Coachella as those were massive shows for you last year.
21:02You said they were the biggest thing that happened for you, 20 or 25.
21:06What does a set like that do for you in terms of career?
21:10Like, what did that make possible?
21:14Um, I feel like that was just a big thing for me in, uh, what was it?
21:1920, 25.
21:20Yeah.
21:21Almost a year ago.
21:21Um, I guess I always thought that it was still like Tomorrowland that was going to put DJs on the
21:30map, but I didn't know like Coachella was going to be that big.
21:33And to be honest, I was like looking through, I was on the stage when they were like setting up
21:41the production and everything.
21:43And there was this little crack and like this wooden thing on the sides that sort of looks to your
21:49right, like opposite from the hill at Sahara 10th.
21:52And I was just, I was just checking if anyone would show up to be honest.
21:56And I just, I saw like a flood of people like coming in.
22:00So it all just sort of, I don't know.
22:02I didn't really think about it at the time.
22:04Like this was going to be a huge thing.
22:06I mean, we, we prepared of course, and we made visuals and we made a stage and we sort of
22:10put the show together because it was like going to be less than one hour.
22:13It was like 55 minutes.
22:15And, but I didn't know about Coachella, like people on the couch watching from home.
22:22Yes.
22:23And so there is apparently millions of people watching Coachella from the couch, which made it like an even bigger
22:34moment.
22:34So it's not just like 50,000 people in front of you.
22:37It's like the whole world was watching.
22:39Yeah.
22:40Oh, so that sort of hit me when I started posting stuff from the sets and like, imagine me the
22:47next day after like doing that dance on the stage and everything.
22:53It's like, I thought it was funny, but I didn't know it was going to like pop off like that,
22:58you know?
22:58So like, we just, we just like made that video, posted it.
23:01And everyone was like at the Airbnb, just like seeing what would happen on social media.
23:05And we were just like, what is going on right now?
23:08Yeah.
23:08Yeah.
23:09It, it must be.
23:11I don't know.
23:11How does it feel to have a viral moment like that?
23:13It's cool.
23:13Cause you got like a second weekend that you can like do even crazier.
23:17Right.
23:17Right.
23:18That's the beauty of Coachella.
23:19Yeah.
23:19So then I started grinding the, the four.
23:24He's like, I have to one up myself.
23:26And you did.
23:28Yeah.
23:29I know that you work with some people that you've known since you, India, Julius, your manager, since you guys
23:34were 15, right?
23:34Yeah.
23:35Yeah.
23:35What does that do for you in terms of like trust when you are with kind of your Dane ones?
23:40Uh, it's perfect.
23:43It's very comfortable.
23:44And, um, it's like one assets or like one, one part of the work that I don't have to stress
23:54out about.
23:54Like I know I'm not getting fucked over by anyone.
23:57Sure.
23:57Yeah.
23:58Sure.
23:58Which like usually managers can have a sort of tricky intention to them.
24:06Like when I released drugs from Amsterdam, I was already with Julius for years and still other managers would hit
24:11me up and be like, Hey, can we talk?
24:13And I was just like, no, but, um, imagine if I would have like all these guys that just saw
24:20me as a money making machine or something or a cash cow.
24:23Yeah.
24:24Like if you don't know, you'll just get, you'll, you'll get eaten alive.
24:30Yeah.
24:31And then at one point you're going to get to a point, which is like the most dangerous point about
24:34being a touring artist.
24:37Um, where like now I have guys doing my production and, and video and, and photography and lights and there's
24:45managers and there's PR companies and there's everything.
24:48Like there's more and more people that get added like every month to the team.
24:53They all got families to feed.
24:55Yes.
24:55You know, and like, if I'm not on the road, like where's the money coming from?
24:59Yes.
25:00But at least I know I have a manager that like puts my health in the first place.
25:04That was what really stuck with me from our last conversation is you just seem to be doing really well
25:09in all of this.
25:09You know, you said the train isn't moving faster than I am.
25:12And I was just so happy to hear that for you.
25:14Yeah.
25:14I guess.
25:16No, no, but no, but you're right.
25:17But like, I'm, I'm on the, the, like the, I'm driving the train.
25:22Yeah.
25:22Sort of.
25:23Yeah.
25:23Like I'm not on the train.
25:25I'm just like, I'm in this, I'm like the conductor.
25:28And that is the perfect spot to end.
25:31We're out of time.
25:32So we're done.
25:33We're done.
25:33Yeah.
25:34Anything else you want to say?
25:35Okay.
25:36Thank you so much.
25:38Yes.
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