How Does FIFA Curate Stadium Music For The World Cup? | Billboard On The Record

4 hours ago

Ever wondered how the soundtrack to the world’s biggest sporting events gets made? On this week’s episode of Billboard On The Record, sports DJ and music curator Grayson Repp shares how he found himself at the intersection of sports and music — and what it takes to build the perfect setlist for events like FIFA, the Olympics, the NBA and the NFL. From playing local clubs to stadiums packed with tens of thousands of fans, Repp breaks down how every match, crowd and city requires its own approach, especially when top global leaders are watching. He also explains his World Cup playlist prep and how he turned his love of sports and music into a career as one of the world’s biggest sports DJs.

Transcript

00:00:00The World Cup, they kind of just like launched me into this position of being one of the world's

00:00:03biggest sports DJs. Now I DJed for the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar. I just played it like I was

00:00:08at a

00:00:08nightclub. After the tournament, FIFA was like, hey, we really enjoyed that. Would you like to

00:00:13be this guy that curates the music for us in stadiums? It sounds like that was your first

00:00:17major sporting event. Yes. A lot of the same colleagues that I have for FIFA are actually

00:00:22the same people that I've worked with all around the world doing the Olympics, NFL, NBA. Walk me

00:00:27through preparing for a World Cup game. I started working on the music playlists about

00:00:32six months in advance. Since it's very regional and can be sensitive, you really do have to

00:00:38do your research. Do you ever get stage fright knowing that there are some of the most powerful

00:00:42world leaders watching you DJ at the World Cup? I would think I was more nervous to do

00:00:46this podcast. The World Cup is back, this time spanning all of North America, including

00:00:57games in Canada, the US, and Mexico. And for decades now, music has played a pivotal role

00:01:02in defining this event. Since 1990, FIFA has selected top global stars to pin anthems tied

00:01:09to the World Cup, from Shakira's iconic Waka Waka, this time for Africa, to this year's track,

00:01:15Lighter, by Jelly Roll and Corinne Leone. But the musical tie-ins don't end there. Today's guest,

00:01:21Grayson Repp, has performed as the official World Cup DJ and music director in Qatar in 2022,

00:01:26and has managed to forge a career around his love of both sports and music. Also DJing at events for

00:01:33the Olympics, the NBA, and the NFL. Today, we'll talk to Grayson about what it takes to soundtrack

00:01:39one of the biggest events in the world, and why FIFA has invested so much effort into bringing music

00:01:45into the sport. All right, Grayson Repp, welcome to On The Record. Thanks for being here.

00:01:50Thanks for having me. Very excited. Okay, so where are you in the world right now?

00:01:54I am currently in Berlin, Germany. Ooh, okay. That's where you live now, right?

00:01:59From Eastern Europe. That's where I live. Yeah, correct.

00:02:01Okay, okay. Well, I'm so excited to have you here today, even if it is across the world,

00:02:06because we're here to talk about all things World Cup, and also what it takes to be a DJ and

00:02:12a music

00:02:12curator for the World Cup, but also you've done like all these other amazing events to the Olympics,

00:02:18NBA games, NFL games. I guess I just kind of want to start by understanding how you got into this

00:02:26intersection of sports and music, because I honestly don't think I even knew that this was

00:02:31like a job that someone could do. So tell me about it. Honestly, same here. It's been a very

00:02:37interesting journey. Thus is life or such is life. I started off as an athlete when I was a kid.

00:02:43My

00:02:43dad was a professional hockey player, and then a coach. So my whole life revolved around athletics,

00:02:47ice hockey, swimming in the summer. So my entire life was kind of organized to be a professional

00:02:54athlete. And I swam professionally, I ended up going to Arizona State University, where I decided that I

00:03:00didn't think swimming was for me anymore. And at the same time, I had some teammates that were from

00:03:05Scandinavia, you know, Norway, Sweden. They were like, hey, you should check out these,

00:03:08you should check out these artists, like Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, you know, these electronic

00:03:13artists. And this was, you know, 2009. So other than the underground, this kind of music wasn't

00:03:17really big in North America yet. And I fell in love with it directly. And I like to go all

00:03:23in on

00:03:23things. So I retired from swimming, packed up, I moved home, I spent the rest of my student loan on

00:03:29DJ equipment. And this was in 2011. And I just mixed back and forth in my parents' basement for

00:03:34a couple years, teaching myself how to do that. And then I ended up dropping out of university and

00:03:39then moving back to Vancouver, where I was actually born. So that's kind of like the quick story in a

00:03:46nutshell. Like I said, there wasn't really any musicians in my family. So there was no musical

00:03:50background. Like I wasn't sitting down at the piano doing lessons. I was, you know, I was at the

00:03:54hockey arena. So it was a little bit of a different childhood. And I was always connected to music in

00:03:59the sense where I picked all the mixtapes for like the dressing room. So I was the guy that would

00:04:05make the mixtapes and like get all the boys pumped up. And I was always really, really into

00:04:08that. And I didn't know why, but I was just kind of like the guy that did that. So it

00:04:12was kind of a

00:04:13natural segue, I guess, into DJing and into music. And then, you know, I DJed for, I've DJed for 16

00:04:20years

00:04:21now, starting in 2010. And then actually in 2021, I ended up getting a phone call from a friend's dad

00:04:28that I went to high school with. And he said, Hey, we're looking for floor managers for the FIFA

00:04:32Arab cup in Qatar in 2021. And I was like newly married and had just moved to Europe and I

00:04:37had

00:04:37no money and I had nothing going on in my world. And then the music scene was still dead for

00:04:42the

00:04:42most part. And I was like, I will do anything. So yes, floor manager sounds good, even though I have

00:04:47no idea how to do that. And it turned out that they were planning on incorporating DJs for the

00:04:51first time. So I was like, well, I'd way rather do that because this is actually what I do.

00:04:55And I ended up being on a plane to Qatar to Doha two weeks later. And I, you know,

00:05:01I was playing in these completely empty stadiums at like two o'clock in the afternoon. And we're

00:05:06talking like, you know, this is like Syria versus Mauritania. So group stage, there was nobody there.

00:05:11And my background was playing at a nightclub. So I just played it like I was at a nightclub and

00:05:15played

00:05:15all these bangers. And then after the tournament, FIFA was like, Hey, we really enjoyed that. Would

00:05:20you like to be this guy that curates the music for us in stadium? So venue entertainment, I'm like,

00:05:24I would absolutely love to. So it was kind of like this full journey of going from athlete to musician

00:05:30and then being able to marry my passions back together after the fact, which is really,

00:05:34really interesting. And I'm one of the only people that's ever been able to do it. So I'm so grateful.

00:05:38And it's, uh, it's been a crazy journey to say the least.

00:05:40Yeah. So it sounds like that was your first major sporting event and it just kind of happened by

00:05:45accident. Is that after the world cup in Qatar? Was that when you started getting calls about

00:05:51other sporting events like NFL games, NBA games, et cetera?

00:05:55Yes. So essentially what it's interesting because a lot of the same colleagues that I have for

00:06:00FIFA and for FIFA and football soccer events are actually the same people that I've worked with

00:06:05all around the world doing the Olympics, uh, NFL, NBA. So like all that connection is what ended up

00:06:11getting back to it. So I think relationships were absolutely key. It's all, it all seems to be the

00:06:14same people that do all these events from all over the world. So it's a lot of fun when we

00:06:17get to meet

00:06:17up, but 2022 was definitely the jump off point. Like beginning of that, I don't think anybody knew

00:06:23who I was. And then after that, I ended up like jumping a hundred thousand followers on Tik TOK,

00:06:27Instagram, kind of the same deal. So it was, uh, it was very, very fast and very cool and exciting.

00:06:33And, uh, yeah, after that, it kind of just like launched me into this position of being one of

00:06:37the world's biggest sports DJs. There's only a handful of us. So it was a really interesting

00:06:41journey. Wow. Okay. So walk me through preparing for a world cup game, because you're talking like

00:06:48about how sometimes it's 2 PM and it's two countries where there's not many people showing up. Um,

00:06:54how do you approach each game and the preparation involved to make it a really special and also

00:07:00culturally significant event for those countries? Yeah. So it takes a long, long time. And I'm a big

00:07:07believer in like crazy preparation. And I think this, I can bring this back to my athletic days

00:07:12and like, you know, my dad was a professional goaltender. So I did a lot of visualizing and, um,

00:07:17that's how I used to prepare for big races was I would do the six months of training and get

00:07:23into

00:07:23the pool and go swim the race. And I treat like my DJ sets like that as well. So before

00:07:28the world cup,

00:07:28especially I started working on the music playlists about six months in advance, and I was doing it

00:07:33like 10, 12 hours a day because I just really wanted to be overprepared. It's one of those things where

00:07:37you never know what's going to happen. And since it's very regional and can be sensitive, you really do

00:07:43have to do your research. You can't just really go out there with like a universal playlist and be like,

00:07:46okay, I'll just play whatever and we'll see how this goes. So I like to talk to the team delegates.

00:07:51And even if I can get ahold of some players, like speak to them and be like, Hey, like,

00:07:55what are you feeling right now? What pumps you up before the game? What are the fans listening to?

00:07:59So I'll talk to, I'll even be like walking into a stadium or see some fans like outside the hotel.

00:08:03And I'll be like, Hey, like what's, uh, what's like the vibe right now? What are you guys listening

00:08:06to? So I spent a lot of time doing that. I've, um, definitely leveraged using AI in the last

00:08:11couple of years, because I've always wanted to know if I can't have these conversations in depth,

00:08:15and I want to know like, what are the top 50 songs that have been played on Spotify in the

00:08:19last

00:08:2010 years? Right. So I can get that data now so I can plug that stuff in. And then it's,

00:08:25uh,

00:08:25also just testing that stuff in the stadium as well. So let's say I have a world cup where I

00:08:29might get the same team. I think in 2022, I DJed for Argentina matches. I was able to like make

00:08:36it a

00:08:36little bit better every single match. Right. And then, um, a little bit about the program. So

00:08:41traditionally I'll start playing three hours before the game starts. So like three hours,

00:08:45the doors open, essentially the first hours is playing for the staff in the stadium. So you're

00:08:49just keeping it very low key, you know, very, very chill, very mellow. And then you start to get

00:08:53into a little bit more of like the pop hits in the middle hour. And then the last hour is

00:08:57just like

00:08:57a power hour, right? Until you go into pre-match protocol, which is about 10 minutes before the

00:09:01match starts. So, um, yeah, it's, uh, it takes a lot of work, but it is incredibly rewarding. And I

00:09:08think something I've learned along the way is, um, and this is just a, as being a, as a DJ

00:09:13for a

00:09:14profession is it's very, you can't make everybody happy, you know? So I do my best to make as many

00:09:19people as happy as possible. I come from an open format background in DJing anyways, which is so

00:09:24great for this specific profession, because I can't go in there and just play three hours of

00:09:28house music. Like I have to play and cover all the bases and, um, you know, like one country might

00:09:33have a, might be an African nation and they listen to Afro pop or, um, stuff like that. And then

00:09:40I might

00:09:40be playing, they might be playing, it's like a Canada, like something like that. So it's completely

00:09:44different kinds of music. So you have to be able to mix it elegantly as well without just being a

00:09:48train wreck for three hours. And so I really pride myself on the preparation because it's like, you

00:09:53really have to prepare and really have it figured out. And then obviously there are a few, a few tracks

00:09:58that are like universal, like freed from desire by Gala or like edge of 17 by Wookie and, um,

00:10:04Stevie Nicks, you know? So there are some ones that you can play at every match, but you just need

00:10:08to be

00:10:08mindful of who's in the stadium, what the fans are like. And at the same time, sometimes the fans just

00:10:14want to sing on their own with no music. So you just kind of have to guide them and let

00:10:17them do

00:10:17the thing. It's interesting to see the cultural differences. And I also wonder for you, um, in

00:10:23doing all of your research on all these different countries, have you found a country where you just

00:10:28particularly fell in love with the music that they were interested in? Absolutely. Mexico. That is my

00:10:34team. And I've been so lucky. I think I've DJed, I've DJed 10 plus Mexico matches and I have like

00:10:39a

00:10:39special thing with their fans. I don't know what it is, but like, I think, um, Los Angeles during the

00:10:452023 gold cup final at SoFi, I played, uh, El Rey, which is like their big song and the people

00:10:50just

00:10:51went absolutely nuts. And I think I had, I had like 10,000 followers after that game and all of

00:10:57them

00:10:58are like, you're, you're invited to the carne asada. Like you're one of us for life. So every time I

00:11:02get to,

00:11:02get to do a Mexico match, I'm like absolutely thrilled and over the moon. And I've actually

00:11:06been invited to, um, a couple of years ago, I got invited to this, uh, this event called tennis

00:11:11fest. And it was at the plaza, I can't remember what the stadium was called, but it was in Mexico

00:11:15city and it was like their bowl ring. So I got to play there for a tennis match. And it

00:11:20was like

00:11:20incredible because I was like one of the first DJs to ever play there. Rewind like last year,

00:11:25Swedish House Mafia played there. So I'm like, Oh, it's funny. Cause I actually got to play there

00:11:28first. Um, but anyways, moral of the story is Mexico for sure. I absolutely love them. I have

00:11:33so many Mexican friends. My, when I lived in Los Angeles, my roommate, uh, Joseph Diaz,

00:11:37he's Mexican guy. And I just absolutely, you know, I adore the culture. I adore the food.

00:11:41I adore the people and their football team. And I have like a special relationship. So

00:11:46definitely Mexico, Mexico all the way. I love that. And where are you stationed when these games are

00:11:52going on? Uh, do you have much of visibility into what the crowd is reacting to and what they're not

00:11:57reacting to? Are you kind of blind up there in some box? It depends. So during the world cup in

00:12:022022, I was actually on the pitch. So I was getting the same energy that the players were

00:12:07getting, which was absolutely incredible. Cause I was literally like, let's say like Lionel Messi,

00:12:11when he lifted the world cup trophy, I was 10 meters away from him. So I could feel all the

00:12:16energy

00:12:16of 80, 88,000 people bearing down on you. So it was almost like I was headlining, but it wasn't

00:12:21about me. It was about the football soccer players, but I got to experience the same energy they did.

00:12:25And it was, um, that was incredible. And then last year in 2025, I got to DJ the

00:12:30FIFA club world cup final at MetLife stadium in New York. And, uh, they put me like in front

00:12:35of one of the jumbotrons. So it was as if I was playing at Tomorrowland or EBC and I had

00:12:39this

00:12:40massive thing behind me and I was on camera and they had like all these things going on with me.

00:12:43So they've, they've really treated me well. And, uh, I absolutely get to feel all the energy

00:12:48every single time. And I'm like, uh, you know, that's, that's just, that's my thing.

00:12:51Like that's what I, what I enjoy so much about DJing is getting the energy back from the people

00:12:55and curating that for them. So it's, uh, yeah, thus far, I've been, uh, really lucky to be

00:13:01essentially pitch side or somewhere in the stadium. That's a great spot.

00:13:04Yeah. Yeah. And so you got started with the world cup back in 2021, 2022 with, uh, the Qatar

00:13:10world cup. And I know that there are a lot more cultural sensitivities there. It's a very conservative

00:13:16country, very different from playing in a Western country. Um, were there any songs that you felt

00:13:22like you needed to be careful about playing over there in 2021 and in 2025? Yes, because I did the

00:13:29Arab cup. So it was a little bit more sensitive because these were Arab countries playing against

00:13:33each other that might've had some sort of hostility at the time. And you had to be really mindful that

00:13:37there were like, um, the leaders of these countries also in the building. And so I had to really do

00:13:42my

00:13:43research about the songs and asking, um, my Arabic friends about the lyrics, because it was like

00:13:47a lot of the songs that come from that region. And this is, this is a generalization, but

00:13:51a lot of the music, not all is very politically driven. So you just need to be really mindful

00:13:57about those things during the world cup in 2022. I think the system that we built wasn't as robust

00:14:03yet. They were kind of like grace and just do whatever, and you need to approve it with, uh, human

00:14:07rights and anti-discrimination, which was really interesting for me because I just kind of like all the music

00:14:12that I've curated over the last 15 years and DJed, whatever, like I kind of put it into like one

00:14:16list of like 5,000 songs, which is a lot. Like, I think, um, you know, they were like, oh,

00:14:21maybe

00:14:21we'll get a few hundred songs to check, but I'm like, no, I have 5,000. Cause I want to

00:14:24be prepared

00:14:25for anything. Um, and then that group went through all the tracks and they're like, okay, we can't play

00:14:31this because the German team might have a chant against the Dutch team that we don't want to put on

00:14:36broadcast or it might be too sensitive or something like that. So in 2022, they gave me a lot of

00:14:42autonomy, which was amazing. I would say the Arab cup was a little bit more sensitive and I had to

00:14:47be a little bit more mindful, but other than that, like they're, yeah, like I said, they kind of just

00:14:51gave me the torch and just said, go for it. And I think, um, from the feedback I got, it

00:14:55worked out.

00:14:56I think everybody was quite happy. Um, like I said, I really wanted to make sure that like all of

00:15:01the

00:15:01countries and all the continents involved, like had their fair share. And I think, uh, you would have to be

00:15:05an open format DJ to like make that plausible, to make it make the mix elegant. Right. So yeah,

00:15:11I was really, really lucky in 2022. And then cool part about last year with 2025, uh, the event being

00:15:16in the U S is I got to curate the music for each city, which was a lot of fun.

00:15:20So I got to do like

00:15:21Nashville, Miami, New York. So it's, it was a lot more regional, which was more fun. Cause obviously,

00:15:26like, you know, Nashville, it's like, I had like Luke Combs in there and I did Miami and it was

00:15:30like,

00:15:30okay, I got Pitbull and then New York. It was like, I had Frank Sinatra edit that I made with

00:15:34Jay-Z and

00:15:35Alicia Keys. And so it was a, it was a lot of fun to do that. And I think that's

00:15:38the most rewarding

00:15:39part about this job is, um, I've been able to learn about all the special songs from each country and

00:15:45what people really listened to and what their culture is all about. So if I hadn't have done

00:15:48this job, I would probably be completely ignorant to all this stuff. Yeah. I mean, it's very different

00:15:53than playing in a Berlin club where everyone is kind of the same subculture and yeah. Yeah.

00:16:00Man. That's so interesting to me. Uh, you, you also mentioned, um, how you have been like put in

00:16:07front of a jumbotron before, and you can feel like you're almost like an EDC or something like that when

00:16:12you're performing. Um, I've been thinking a lot about how high tech, some of these newer stadiums are,

00:16:18um, around the world. It doesn't matter where. Um, but there are also still some older stadiums have

00:16:23barely any tech to them still in commission. I'm wondering if the venue impacts what you play.

00:16:29Like if there is a bunch more, uh, visualization that you can play into, are you going to play

00:16:36different music or do you kind of take the same approach no matter what? I generally take the

00:16:40same approach because I know that if I can, it's one of those things where I wouldn't necessarily

00:16:45like need a big screen. I would just need a reasonable sound system to do the thing I need to

00:16:49do.

00:16:49Like I played, uh, in 2023, I also played in Oman and that stadium was very old and there was

00:16:55no

00:16:55big jumbotron and the speakers, half of them were working, half of them weren't. And I was still able

00:17:00to get the job done because I think like the music is the universal language. So if people can at

00:17:04least

00:17:04hear it, that's fine. In 2022, actually right before the final, they rebuilt the entire sound system

00:17:11the week before the final, even though they'd already had one using for the entire tournament,

00:17:16just to like make the sound louder and like, you know, make it boom in there a little bit,

00:17:20a little bit more. I think I'm one of those DJs. That's like, it's not about the gear. It's more

00:17:24about like the, the job that I can do. I know that when I was at the Olympics, I was

00:17:28actually in a room,

00:17:29like a control room sitting next to like the show color and like the audio guy next to me. So

00:17:33I didn't

00:17:33have a stage and I didn't have any of these things available to me, except for one of the,

00:17:37one of the events, the half pipe. And, um, it was still just as fun because I could see the

00:17:41fans.

00:17:42They couldn't see me, but I could, if I played the right music, then they were still dancing.

00:17:46And that's what it was all about. The half pipe. I feel like that's the

00:17:48most fun place you could be placed at the Olympics. I don't know. I feel like snowboarder

00:17:55fans probably know how to party. So tell me about that experience. How did you, how did you match the

00:18:02snowboarder vibe? Uh, and the extreme sports, let me tell you, um, it was so much fun. And I'll,

00:18:10I'll start by saying this just because, uh, I'm, I'm Canadian. I'm from the mountains.

00:18:14I grew up skiing the winter Olympic DJing at the winter Olympics was kind of the last thing on my

00:18:19sports list that I'm like, I'd have to cross this off. And once I do this, I'm, I'm, I'm really

00:18:24happy.

00:18:24Um, because it's arguably bigger than the world cup for Canadians, you know, the winter Olympics. So

00:18:29going into those events, I'm so grateful because they put me at Lavino snow park in the Alps and the

00:18:34events that gave me were the big air, the half pipe, the slope style. So it was all like the

00:18:39fun,

00:18:40cool events where, you know, these men and women are flying 30 meters in the air off the half pipe

00:18:45into the, which is essentially pure ice. Um, and it was so much fun because, you know, skiing,

00:18:50they're all about like the appraise ski. So they were all partying earlier, making their way over

00:18:54to the mountain. It's loud. So it was, it was really cool because they already brought the energy.

00:18:57So it's like, I didn't have to start from zero with them. They were like ready to party. Um,

00:19:01and the half pipe was a lot of fun, you know, Scotty James, Eileen goo, like some of the athletes

00:19:06were just so incredible to watch live and, um, musically during the actual event, because OBS,

00:19:12which is the Olympic broadcast system, you can't have music with lyrics. So I was playing a lot of,

00:19:16uh, instrumentals. So I just like pulled essentially all of the music that I was planning to play stuff

00:19:21that I've used in the past, either nightclubs or the world cup events like that really high energy

00:19:27stuff and just, uh, pulled out the lyrics and just use those instrumentals. Um,

00:19:30the cool thing about the Olympics being in Italy is Europe definitely has a little bit more

00:19:36electronic in their blood. They like to move. They like to dance. Um, you don't need to go fully

00:19:41pop. Like they're they'll, they'll know the underground stuff. So it was really cool for

00:19:44me because I got to play electronic pretty much the entire time during the events. And what was a lot

00:19:49of

00:19:49fun as well as, um, they were dancing the whole time because it was absolutely freezing cold. So my goal

00:19:55was to keep them moving because when you're standing there during, you know, uh, at least the prelims,

00:19:59it's a three hour bit. So they're standing in the cold in the Alps above the tree line. And I'm

00:20:05like,

00:20:05okay, my job is to keep these people moving because if they stop moving, then there's a problem. So

00:20:10yeah, it was, uh, it was an absolute blast. And it was, um, it was one of those, it was

00:20:13probably

00:20:14the event that I enjoyed the most and it was really meaningful to myself and my family. So

00:20:18I'm so grateful I got to do it and, uh, I'm hoping I get to do, to do another winter

00:20:22Olympics

00:20:22one day. Yeah. I mean, do you think there's any possibility you could end up in LA for the summer

00:20:27Olympics? I would love to. Yeah. I think I, well, well, the, the thing for me is like,

00:20:33I used to be a professional swimmer. So doing the swimming events would just be, that would be next

00:20:37level. I actually got to do a swimming event this past summer, the FISU world university games in

00:20:41Berlin. And that's actually the first time I DJed a swimming event. And I was like, this is so funny

00:20:46because I've done every other sport except for the sport that I actually grew up doing. And I remember

00:20:49playing and then a bunch of people hit me up on LinkedIn and they're like, oh, like you're actually a

00:20:53swimmer. So you like know the times when people want to like move. And when the athlete, you know,

00:20:57they, I kind of knew like the stuff going on in the background. So it was a lot of fun

00:21:00and I would

00:21:01absolutely love to come to LA. Like I said, I, I previously lived in Los Angeles before moving to

00:21:05Berlin. So, you know, uh, if they'll have me, I'll be there. Yeah. I will. I hope it works out.

00:21:10I also

00:21:11hope it works out for me to get a ticket to something. Uh, but these lotteries have been tough.

00:21:16So it's wild. It's like trying to get into like a ticket master waiting line, but potentially even worse.

00:21:22So we'll see if I, I don't know. I'll be in, I'll be in the city. So, um, I'll see

00:21:29what I'll see what

00:21:30I'll see what I can do. If I get hired, I'll try to do my best to make it work.

00:21:33I need, I need my

00:21:34press pass. I need to figure it out. Um, okay. So I'm also curious if you've had any, um, technical

00:21:42difficulties, has there ever been a moment where the audio just totally cuts out and you're scrambling

00:21:48at one of these events? Absolutely. So thankfully nothing in a stadium, thank goodness. Um, but one

00:21:57event I did with FIFA in 2024, it was at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and FIFA built this

00:22:04activation on the beach in Cannes and it was incredible. We were there for a week and they

00:22:08had like pretty much anybody that was anybody in football, soccer was there. So we're talking like,

00:22:12uh, Gilberto Silva, Ronaldo. So our nine, the legendary Ronaldo from Brazil and the group that

00:22:18actually hired me to do the job for venue entertainment, they were Brazilian. So they

00:22:23were very like, you know, and it was all Brazilian players. So they're like, okay. Like I talked to

00:22:27them before I said, Hey, listen, like, I really need your help with some of this Brazilian playlisting

00:22:30stuff because Brazilian music is so interesting because there's about 50 versions of every single

00:22:35song. And it makes my life look very difficult. So I'm like, which one of this version,

00:22:40this version, I can't tell there's a livers and I don't know which one. So they were very helpful.

00:22:44And the big like keynote events of the whole, uh, spiel was Ronaldo speaking. Cause he doesn't do a

00:22:50lot of speaking events. He's arguably the most, um, famous player from Brazil, which is the most

00:22:57famous football country. Um, and, uh, he was coming to speak and they said, okay, we're going to play his

00:23:03song that was written about him when he walks on when they introduce him. So I'm like, great. This is

00:23:09amazing. So the sun is setting a couple hours go by. He's supposed to be there. Doesn't show up

00:23:15like two hours. This is like when Afro house came onto the scene and it's very South of France. So

00:23:20I'm like, okay, I'll do like the Afro house. The sun is setting. It was a vibe. Everyone's kind of

00:23:23moving. We're having a good time. Finally, finally, finally he shows up. I get the cue. All right,

00:23:29we're going to introduce him, press play on his song. I go to play his song and across the CDJ

00:23:35reads,

00:23:35it's like, I don't know the exact number, but it's like eight zero eight unsupported format file.

00:23:41And it just doesn't play. So then I was like, everyone was kind of looking at each other.

00:23:46And thankfully again, due to preparation, FIFA has a song that's, uh, it's like their mode,

00:23:52their motto is like FIFA unites the world. And they actually have a theme song that was written

00:23:56by Hans Zimmer. And I had that on the other, it's just like, like, because of divine timing,

00:24:01it happened to be on the other CDJ. I actually didn't even plan this. I think it just skipped

00:24:05to that one. And so I did have something to play that was FIFA related. Thank goodness. So nobody

00:24:09knew except for me and like the few Brazilians that we'd planned this out with. And they're like,

00:24:14oh my God, it goes up, does the interview. It's amazing. He had two songs. So I played the other

00:24:20one when he walked off and then I was able while he was speaking to download the version and fix

00:24:24it and

00:24:25put it into Ableton and fix the file. So this was totally my fault. I should have tested the file

00:24:29before. I think this was like the fifth day of the event and I DJed for 12 hours a day.

00:24:32So I was

00:24:33kind of also at my limit, but this is like a thankless job. And when you work with FIFA,

00:24:37it has to be perfect, like always perfect. And, um, yeah, so I played his song afterwards. I ended

00:24:43up playing the one afterwards, like that, the, that song that I'd missed after that. And then he

00:24:47like waved to me after, and then he was like, I'm so happy you guys played my music. Thank you

00:24:51so much.

00:24:52So crisis averted, it worked, could have been really, really bad. Like I'm telling you,

00:24:57like everybody from senior management at FIFA executive committee was there and I was like,

00:25:03oh my goodness, like this could have been the worst. So that, that, that's like my biggest

00:25:07horror story. I mean, I've had several other horror stories in actual nightclubs, but those are for

00:25:12other reasons. Um, yeah, but in sports, I mean, here's the thing about working in sport is I don't

00:25:18know if a lot of people know this, but when you work on a venue entertainment team, like I have

00:25:24somebody that's speaking to me, that's the show caller in like the control room, it's like a, uh,

00:25:29it's like a five person team. So then you have, um, a commentator, a presenter, an MC and a floor

00:25:34manager, and we're all communicating together at the same time. So somebody can tell me, Hey,

00:25:38team is about teammates about the walk on the pitch. So play their song.

00:25:41So thankfully it's like, I had people to rely on. So if things go wrong, then we have a general

00:25:47direction to go in, which is amazing. And, um, yeah, like I said, the preparation, like, I think,

00:25:53thank goodness I had that other song back up. If I didn't, then I don't know. I don't want to

00:25:57think

00:25:57about it. Scary stuff, scary stuff, especially with like the biggest player ever, just waiting

00:26:04for you to figure it out. Casual, you know, of all moments, all moments. I'm like, this is when I

00:26:10had

00:26:10to happen. I I'll never forget the, the, the woman Louisa sitting next to me, her, the look in her

00:26:14eyes was like, it was the death stand and she was resilient. So it was obviously a big moment for

00:26:18her. And I'm like, I totally messed this up, didn't I? But got it afterwards. So that's okay.

00:26:22You made it. You made it. Well, okay. So I'm curious if you can kind of break down for us,

00:26:27for those who don't really know, it feels like FIFA is very interested in integrating music into

00:26:32their events. What are some of the ways that FIFA integrates music? Obviously you have like your

00:26:37world cup anthems, like Waka Waka being probably the most famous one by Shakira. Um, but yeah,

00:26:43can you break down like all the different ways that they try to integrate music?

00:26:46My expertise and who I've worked with is the venue entertainment side. So anything that you're

00:26:51going to hear in the stadium is probably been curated by me in the last five years. Um, FIFA

00:26:57sound was, um, formed in 2021. And you could say that's like the in-house label or the section

00:27:03of FIFA that handles music specifically. So they do all the commercial releases. Um, so all the

00:27:08official songs will be under their imprint. Um, including the remix package that I did for

00:27:14Vancouver, which was like the FIFA theme for Vancouver. It was like a remix of the theme song

00:27:18for 2026. Can you explain that a little bit really quick? Absolutely. Yeah. Like, so all the host cities

00:27:25have remixes, right? Correct. Okay. Yeah. So there's 16. So a couple of years ago, they asked me,

00:27:32they said, Hey, we're thinking of doing this album for the theme song because there was a theme song

00:27:35that was already made for 2026. And they said, we want a producer from each city to remix it,

00:27:39to make the sound of their city essentially. And they asked me to do Vancouver. So yeah,

00:27:44I was luckily able to do that. And I absolutely enjoyed it. I got to work, work with the, uh,

00:27:49indigenous musicians out of Vancouver and we got in the studio and came up with a song

00:27:53and, uh, yeah, there's 15 other amazing versions as well. So those songs will be used,

00:27:58I think for the commercial spots. So when you hear like when the players walk on the pitch

00:28:03in Vancouver, it'll be my song that's playing Seattle for the Seattle producer, LA, so on and

00:28:09so forth. So they organize that. And then they also organize the, uh, official tracks that are

00:28:14being released now that's teamed up with Sal XO and, uh, Def Jam Recordings. So that's who's,

00:28:19um, producing that, which is amazing for me because Sal and that group is all Canadian.

00:28:24So I, you know, absolutely love that and think that's so cool. And I guess going back to Shakira,

00:28:29she's like a juggernaut. Like that song, um, has four and a half billion streams. I think it's

00:28:34the eighth most played music video of all time on YouTube. No way. And this is actually going to be,

00:28:38and she has, I believe it's, it's incredible. So funny enough, uh, her song, Waka Waka,

00:28:46uh, it's time for Africa, 2020, 10. Uh, she wrote that like walking on her farm in Uruguay,

00:28:52like right before the world cup. And then ended up being like the sensational head. And she's like the,

00:28:56you know, she's undoubtedly like the, um, the queen of Latin pop music. So to have her back,

00:29:03she's actually coming out with a new song and it's one of the official songs for FIFA.

00:29:06So I'm really happy that they brought her back because it's, uh, you know, it's going to be a

00:29:11banger when it's her. I love it. I love it. Yeah. And so I'm curious being the person who's on

00:29:16the

00:29:16ground on the day of how much do you try to integrate these recordings that FIFA has commissioned,

00:29:23um, into the actual live events. So it depends. Um, usually they're going to save most of their

00:29:30tracks for protocol moments. So they will be played over a commercial, which wouldn't necessarily be

00:29:35handled by me. Um, in 2022, it was done by me and it was a little bit finicky because I

00:29:41had to

00:29:41start the song when the commercial started. So we had to be onto the second, but that was for

00:29:46reasons way above my pay grade, but I know for 2025, like for example, when they had, um, uh,

00:29:53the theme song for that, they would just have it placed in a commercial. So that would come onto

00:29:58the big screen and they'd be like, Oh, here's the official song. Da da da play it on the screen.

00:30:02So then I would have like a three minute break. Um, other than that. And so for example,

00:30:08in 2022, like I would play songs like Waka Waka because they were past releases. Um, they also asked

00:30:14me to like make a special version, like, um, a walkout for the players of, uh, uh, sorry,

00:30:21light the sky and dreamers, which were the official songs for 2022. So again, that was used in like a

00:30:25actual pre-match protocol moment rather than me just playing it whenever I felt like in my set.

00:30:30So it's, it's different every single time. Got it. And okay. You mentioned commercial breaks.

00:30:34That's something I'm really fascinated by within sports now because so much is televised and there's

00:30:41also like more, uh, advertisements and commercials integrated into stadiums themselves for people to

00:30:46see in the crowd while they're watching the game or in between like, you know, um, some of these

00:30:53moments. I'm, I'm wondering for you, if you can go a little bit deeper on that and explain how you

00:31:00navigate commercial breaks and other things that are required by the stadium in terms of advertising.

00:31:07It's a good question. And I don't know if I'm the most equipped for that one, because like I said,

00:31:11my job as venue entertainment, uh, music curator is solely for the fans. So anything that's commercial,

00:31:17that's going to be a FIFA sound thing. And, uh, that would be integrated into like the,

00:31:22the, uh, cue sheet. Right. So that would be the show caller that'd be like, Hey,

00:31:27talking to the audio person and talking to the video director being like, Hey, we're about to come

00:31:31to commercial. This is when we're going to throw that on. Um, the extent that I've done

00:31:36and been involved is sometimes they're like, Hey, we need like a song for a spot. Like,

00:31:39can you give us like a, can you give us like five different remixes of we will rock you

00:31:42and we'll pick one and we'll go from there. So that's honestly like the full extent that I have

00:31:47to do with actual commercial stuff. Like usually that's just not my, uh, yeah, my thing is like,

00:31:52Grayson, just make the party happen. And, uh, we'll fill in, we'll, we'll tell you when to stop

00:31:56and when we need to go to commercial and then we'll tell you when to go back on. So that's

00:31:59been

00:31:59my role. Fair enough. Okay. So I'm curious also if you've experienced any viral moments

00:32:05in any of the games that you've soundtracked, have, has your music made it into any viral

00:32:10clips of any of the matches, any of the games that you've been part of?

00:32:14Yeah. So I, I would say my biggest and most cherished DJ moment. Um, and this wasn't really

00:32:20planned for was after the 2022 match. Uh, it was three, three, and it went to overtime and then

00:32:26to penalty kicks, which is a dream final in soccer or any sport, like going to overtime

00:32:31in a final is just the whole world is watching. There was a billion and a half people watching

00:32:36that match. And, um, I remember the show caller saying to me, Hey man, we need a song here

00:32:41right before penalty kicks. Like, what do you got? And, uh, I went with intro by the XX because

00:32:47I was like, this is probably the last choice. Cause most people are like, yeah, I do like eye

00:32:51of the tiger or something like that. And for my DJ background, I'm kind of like, no, that's

00:32:55been done before. So I really took a risk and it seemed like when I turned that song

00:33:00on the whole stadium, just like, and it was kind of silent and it was just this magical

00:33:06moment because it's an instrumental, right? So it's just, there's something about that

00:33:10record. And I think it goes back to, I really enjoyed the movie project X. I think that was

00:33:15one of the reasons why I also became a DJ and that scene in the last scene is that song

00:33:20playing. And I think like, it's very big in the indie world, but I thought it was a little

00:33:24bit underrated. Like I would listen to it sometimes, but it's not a song you usually

00:33:26play at like a club. And I'm like, I think this is the perfect song. And then it like

00:33:31went like 10 million on like TikTok and people were like, this was the perfect song for this

00:33:37moment. And I was like, Whoa, I just thought that was like a cool song to play. And I think

00:33:41that's, I think that's a testament to like 11 years of actually DJing, but like curating

00:33:47music and trying to, like I said, I used to make the mixtapes. Like I've been doing that

00:33:50since I was eight years old. So I think like that was one of those pinnacle moments

00:33:53of just mastery that that's how that happens. Um, one other or two other examples during

00:33:58that world cup. Um, I played, uh, calm down by Rima, which was essentially the unofficial

00:34:06theme song of that tournament, because like that was just really popular record. Um, he's

00:34:11from, he's from Africa. So it was, uh, Afro beat and that sound was really coming into its

00:34:16own globally at that time. And I did that one. I think that one went 12 million. Um, I played

00:34:21sweet Caroline. That's like a huge football song for England and the USA. And I actually

00:34:26played it at halftime when it was England versus USA. And, uh, that's, that was the first

00:34:32video that went viral. So it was crazy. And then last summer I had another cool moment.

00:34:36I played free from desire when Chelsea won the FIFA club world cup and the video that I was

00:34:41able to get, cause I turned on my phone and I, as I was playing it and as I played

00:34:46it, I

00:34:46kind of panned the phone down to the pitch and you could see when the players heard it

00:34:50and they started running towards their fans. And that one did like 4 million, 5 million

00:34:55too. So those were incredible moments. And actually one more just because again, my, my

00:35:00love, my love for Mexico. Um, I played El Rey after the final of that event and, uh, my

00:35:06wife, Sophia filmed it. And that was like the moment where they were like, yeah, you're one

00:35:11of us, man. So yeah, there's like, there's opportunity. There's really cool opportunities

00:35:15for cool moments like that. And I think, uh, that's why I love the venue entertainment

00:35:18program. And I love being a part of, um, this new industry because it's like, you know, music

00:35:24and sports is a match made in heaven if it's done right. And to be a part of it, I

00:35:27just,

00:35:28uh, it's just, it's still shocks me that I'm still a part of it. So it's really cool.

00:35:32Yeah. Well, I mean, you mentioned when, you know, a match will go into overtime, I imagine

00:35:37you, because you're so over-prepared, do you just have a ton of songs that are prepared for

00:35:42those kinds of pivotal moments in the game, even if it goes over time? I think it, uh, it annoys

00:35:47the rest of the team and it annoys the human rights and anti-resource or the human rights

00:35:52anti-discrimination group, because then they're like, oh man, like, we got to go through another

00:35:5760 songs, Grayson, like, please just send us because it's, you know, they don't know, like

00:36:01I can give you another example of this, which is kind of funny. And last year in 2025 came in

00:36:05for

00:36:05the semifinals and the finals of the Arab cup. And usually I just have everything organized

00:36:10by key and I have hundreds of songs in these playlists. And I try to, when I'm doing the

00:36:16preparation, like I usually won't play a song that I don't know. That's just kind of been

00:36:19a rule of thumb for me since I started DJing. Like I, like if I hadn't played it live already,

00:36:24I'll make sure that I've listened to the track. I know where the cue points are well ahead of

00:36:29what I'm doing so that if we get into a bad situation or whatever's happening, usually they fall

00:36:34back on me. So let's say that a microphone goes out when the presenter is presenting or this video

00:36:38screen has a malfunction. They always go, okay, Grayson, we're coming back to you because we can

00:36:43just fall back on music. And we know that you can just like pump it for as long as I

00:36:46have to,

00:36:47like sometimes, you know, in the Olympics, for example, there was a huge snowstorm that rolled

00:36:51in before the preliminaries for the women's big air. And I had to play like three extra hours for these

00:36:57people, you know, cause they've obviously spent all this money on their ticket and they're not

00:37:00going to leave. So it's like, I just had to keep going. So I just kept going, kept going,

00:37:05kept going, kept going. So that's where like the preparation comes in. And that's why I'm just,

00:37:09again, over-prepared to a fault because it's, uh, if you're not, then you're going to have to keep

00:37:14playing the same songs over and over again. And I don't think anybody loves a DJ that does that.

00:37:20Yeah. Well, okay. So you've mentioned a couple of times that, um, you have gotten your songs,

00:37:25you know, kind of scanned or checked by this like human rights council to make sure that

00:37:30it's not offensive to anyone. Um, so what, what are grounds for something being offensive? Is it

00:37:36expletives or political content, all of the above? Tell me a little bit about like how that actually,

00:37:42that process actually works when you're getting that check done.

00:37:45Absolutely. So it's, it's all of the above and it can be, so from my understanding, I will put a

00:37:50song

00:37:50into a document, they will go read the lyrics and then they'll do like a big background check on the

00:37:56artist and make sure that, uh, you know, nothing, um, horrible, or they've said nothing horrible,

00:38:01which is sometimes difficult with the biggest stars that we have on the planet, but it's really

00:38:05good that we have that there because you never know who's going to be in the, and since this is

00:38:08such a global sport, these things have to be checked. Like there's a couple examples. Um,

00:38:14seven nation army was one that they relied on for pre-match ceremony for a long time,

00:38:19like a decade. And then in 2022, they, we actually used it for the first half of the tournament.

00:38:24And then anti-rights was like, uh, or anti-discrimination was like, yeah, we don't think

00:38:29we can use this anymore because one of the teams has come up with a racist chant towards another team,

00:38:34like just at this tournament. So it's like, it can happen on the fly and organically too. So then

00:38:39we're like, okay, we need to cut that. Um, but yeah, it's an all above check. And I think that's,

00:38:43uh, that's so important when you're doing events like this, cause you never know. And then,

00:38:46you know, I'm not perfect either. So sometimes I'll miss stuff. Like sometimes there might be,

00:38:50uh, not a clean version. Like I know the rules are a little bit different in North America as

00:38:54compared to North or sorry, of Europe and Germany. I know you can listen to the radio and they'll have

00:39:00all the swear words on there. They do not care. Like, it's not a thing here. They really don't

00:39:04care. So when I did the NBA event, I was talking to my colleagues that were based out of a

00:39:08UK. And I

00:39:09just said, Hey, listen, I'm going to clean it just to make sure. But I'm like, they're, if they're,

00:39:12cause they were like, Hey, can you lean more urban hip hop rap? I'm like, yeah, 100%. And I just

00:39:17said, listen, like, I know all these songs, they say clean version. There's a lot of them to play

00:39:24over eight hours. So if there is something that slips out, let me know. And we'll make sure that

00:39:27we get rid of it for tomorrow. Um, but yeah, it's just, it's really good to have these things in

00:39:32places. Cause you never know who's listening and, uh, you just need to be mindful of people.

00:39:36Yeah. Do you ever get stage fright knowing that there are some of the most powerful world leaders

00:39:41watching you DJ at the world cup? You know what? I'm, I would think I was more nervous to do

00:39:47this

00:39:47podcast. Um, wait, Grayson, I'm not scary. I hope I'm not scary. Not you. No, no, no. It's just

00:39:53the thing, you know, again, over prepared. Um, yes, I would say the, the first time in Arab cup 2021,

00:40:02uh, this is also kind of a funny story and just goes to show like how we've just, we've made

00:40:06the

00:40:06program better and better over time in 2021, the resources were really slim. And it was the first

00:40:12time that we'd use DJs and they had an a one, like an audio one person in the booth that

00:40:18did

00:40:18pre-match protocol, which is playing the national anthems, which is the biggest deal out of any

00:40:23pre-match protocol. If you mess up an anthem, that is it. Like that's, it couldn't be, especially when

00:40:28it's on TV. Right. And I guess the person that was doing it on the specific stadium was essentially

00:40:34like dragging a song into iTunes and that's how they were playing the anthems. And they're kind of

00:40:38like, uh, cause we do a lot of rehearsals, right? So there's like three days of rehearsals before a

00:40:43big match where we practice all of this stuff over and over and over and over again. And, uh, you

00:40:48just

00:40:49couldn't get it right. So they're like, Grayson, can you do the anthem? And I'm like, yes, I'll do it.

00:40:55You know, I'll do it. And, um, I had to play the third place match and it was, uh, Qatar.

00:41:01So the

00:41:01host and the Amir was about 10 meters to my right. And, you know, it's, uh, there's just something

00:41:09about, uh, the leaders of these countries that operate a little bit differently. So it was really

00:41:13interesting experience for us. And I played the anthem and I got through it. I actually pressed play

00:41:19and I stepped two meters back and put my hands like behind me. Cause I'm like, I don't want

00:41:25anything to mess up this anthem. We played it through. I looked over, he gave me a little smile

00:41:30and I was like, okay, cool. And then after that in 2021, I would say all of the nervousness had

00:41:35gone away. I think, uh, like people ask me this question a lot. I mean, I went from DJing the

00:41:40world cup final in front of 88,000 people live and a billion and a half people on TV to

00:41:44playing in a

00:41:44nightclub in front of 25 people in 48 hours. And at this stage, I'm like, it's all the same for

00:41:49me.

00:41:50Like I enjoy it. And it's, uh, it's so much fun. And getting the energy of the stadium is just

00:41:54so

00:41:54much fun. And I see it as a challenge every time I go to do it, because obviously I want

00:41:57to do my best,

00:41:58but that's how I treat every DJ setting. If I'm playing in like a rooftop lounge in Berlin,

00:42:02I want to do the same thing. So over time, the nerves have gone down a little bit and, um,

00:42:07yeah, it just makes it more exciting. Yeah. Well, okay. So also I want to go back to this remix

00:42:12that

00:42:13you did for your hometown of Vancouver. Um, so you did integrate, this is the first time it's

00:42:18ever happened from my understanding, but you did involve local indigenous groups to make the song

00:42:23with you. So can you walk us through how that song came to be and how you got in contact

00:42:28with these

00:42:29tribes to invite them over to work with you? Absolutely. So when they approached me to do

00:42:35the record, they had me fill out a document and just said, Hey, what is your, in your opinion,

00:42:40like, what does Vancouver sound like and feel like, you know, you're from there. Can you tell

00:42:44us a little bit about the culture and the instrumentation you would use and the vibe?

00:42:48So I filled out this whole document. And then I was thinking, I'm like, we have to include the

00:42:52indigenous people because I mean, they were here first, they've been here forever. And we have so

00:42:56many, like, I have a few amazing friends that are part of these communities. And my mom is actually

00:43:01like the lead social worker at one of these communities in the interior of British Columbia.

00:43:06So I actually messaged her first and I said, can you get me contact to like the Tsleil-Waututh,

00:43:10Squamish and like to the nations to talk to them? And she put me in contact with them.

00:43:15And then I kind of at the same time relayed this to the city of Vancouver because they were

00:43:19trying to make the plans for this. And we just all had a big meeting. And I said, Hey, listen,

00:43:24I would really love for you guys to be involved in the song. It wouldn't be right if I didn't,

00:43:27if you weren't involved, how can we set this up? Obviously I was in Berlin at the time. So

00:43:32FIFA sound ended up flying me over there. We rented out Brian Adams studio, which was

00:43:36incredible. I had no idea it was his studio. And there was like Grammys on the wall. And I'm like,

00:43:39Oh my God. And these musicians came in and they, some of them had the full dress on their ceremonial

00:43:46outfits. And they did the, they did chanting and they did drums and they used all of their

00:43:53instruments. And it was kind of funny because I already had a general idea of the song that I

00:43:56wanted to produce. And I already had like the beat and everything. And I remember looking at

00:44:00one of the FIFA sound guys after, and I'm like, I'm going to have to redo this whole thing

00:44:04because originally they weren't going to include their vocal. And I just said, Hey, I really want

00:44:09to hear the chance because this is, you know, this is something so culturally relevant. And when they

00:44:15did it, like the entire building just had chills and I'm like, I have to include this. So I had

00:44:19to go

00:44:19and change the key of the song because obviously since it was a remix of the FIFA official song,

00:44:23it had to be in the same key and have to have some elements of that original and we were

00:44:28able to

00:44:28make it work. And yeah, I'm so grateful I got to do that. And I believe I'll be getting to

00:44:32perform

00:44:33it with them at FanFest in about a month's time in Vancouver. And it's just, it's honestly a dream

00:44:39come true. Like I said, I don't think anybody has ever done this before and now it really feels like

00:44:44it's Vancouver. So that's really exciting. And the feedback I've gotten has been great. And I'm just

00:44:50really excited to play it live. Yeah, that's super exciting. And I imagine it was hard to

00:44:56find the marriage of like, you know, such a new genre, like electronic music and like this age

00:45:03old tradition, but it turned out incredible. So congratulations on that. Thank you so much.

00:45:09Thank you. Yeah. Well, as we wrap up, I'm wondering what your plans are for this World Cup. You said

00:45:16you're going to be performing at FanFest in Vancouver. Are there any other things that you're

00:45:21doing leading up to the World Cup events kicking off? Just preparation, you know, the usual work.

00:45:27I'm really focused on my artist project right now. So it's kind of interesting because I always say

00:45:32that doing this sports stuff is like just what pays the bills for my actual artist project,

00:45:37even though they do go hand in hand. So I mean, I have a bunch of music that's being released

00:45:40and I'm

00:45:40like, I have a team that I'm working with and everybody is incredible. And I'm so grateful for that.

00:45:45But in terms of sports, I don't have any sporting stuff before the World Cup, but I will be doing

00:45:49three dates at the FanFest, two headline slots, and then I'll be performing with Cascade and Deadmau5

00:45:55and SG Lewis, which are like all heroes of mine. So I'm so stoked for that. And then, you know,

00:46:01since I'm from Vancouver as well, a bunch of the nightclubs that I grew up in, they're like,

00:46:05hey, we got to have you back. Come play some gigs here. I know, like, you know, one of the

00:46:10people

00:46:11that are that's in charge of the city. One of her best friends is my really good friend's mom.

00:46:17So she's like, we have an activation. We would love you there. I've even had some friends be

00:46:20like, hey, can you come play my backyard party? And I'm like, I'll come like, I'll be there,

00:46:25you know, because I'm down for anything. That's kind of my thing is like, you know,

00:46:28you can be like, hey, Grayson, like, go play, you know, in Berlin. I love this because they're

00:46:30like, oh, just go set up shop in the park and like do a DJ set. And I'm down. It

00:46:34doesn't have to

00:46:34be a World Cup final. Like I'm just game to do anything. So I'll probably have my schedule full

00:46:38with like 20 events or so. And I'm really, really excited. Unfortunately, they're not going to be

00:46:43using stadiums or stadium DJs this year. In the stadium, they'll be using playlists instead. So

00:46:48I'm just going to be in the area and hope that I get a phone call that I get to

00:46:52DJ in a stadium

00:46:53again, because that's my bread and butter. But, you know, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna get my hopes

00:46:57up, but we'll see. Yeah, well, I hope that they change that because it sounds like the energy of

00:47:02getting to do it live is a very important part of the World Cup games. But I do understand that

00:47:08this World Cup is going to be really different because it's hosted across Canada, the US and

00:47:13Mexico. So even if they do kind of the stadium DJ thing, it would probably have to look pretty

00:47:18different this time. So I guess it would. We'll see. Logistically, logistically, it's difficult

00:47:24to have 16 DJs. And then, you know, because the thing is that you need to have trust in 16

00:47:29people

00:47:29to do this. Right. And I think it's a little bit late in the game now. So, you know, if

00:47:33there's a

00:47:33last minute call to get off the bench and come do it, I'm all game. But I mean, if it

00:47:36doesn't happen,

00:47:37I'm just so grateful that I get to be involved anyways. And I'm just so happy that my hometown

00:47:41put me on their back and they welcome me back with open arms. And I'm just excited to rock it.

00:47:46Like

00:47:46we've been looking forward to this since the announcement that we were getting a World Cup

00:47:49in Vancouver. So, you know, go Canada. I hope that we go far. Go Mexico, of course. That's my team.

00:47:57And yeah, I'm just I'm just excited that I get to be a part of it again.

00:48:01Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Okay. So as we do at the end of every episode of On The Record,

00:48:06we're going to play a couple games if you're game for that.

00:48:09Let's do it. Okay.

00:48:10So I'm very excited about this next one. So we're doing Spin The Record, which is

00:48:14our newer game that we do. But I have put on this board a bunch of different situations.

00:48:21And then I want you to kind of tell me how as a DJ, you would approach the situation. So

00:48:26some of

00:48:26them are countries. So imagine they're part of a World Cup match and you are tasked with coming up

00:48:33the playlist. And then a couple of them are just other sports that you've also DJed for. So I'm

00:48:39going to spin it for you since you're across the world from me. But yeah, that's good. Thank you.

00:48:43Okay, let's see.

00:48:47Okay, Brazil. Brazil's playing in the World Cup. What? How do you describe a Brazilian crowd at the

00:48:54World Cup? And how are you going to DJ for them?

00:48:57Okay, they're the craziest crowd and they care the most. There's nothing like a South American

00:49:05country, nothing like a Brazil and Argentina, nothing even comes close in my opinion after

00:49:09playing for both teams. So again, I would start with huge preparation. I would call my good friend

00:49:16Duda Pavao, who's an amazing commentator and MC. I believe she'll be at this World Cup. She's

00:49:22Brazilian. And she's always helped me out in the past. I would give her a call and say, hey,

00:49:26give me like the 20 top songs for the nation, because there's obviously a lot of different

00:49:30songs that will be related to their club music. But this will be full on Brazilian funk,

00:49:37party music. You know, what's funny is I actually heard a story from Gilberto Silva,

00:49:41one of their players who is World Cup winner. He said, I think in about 2020, or sorry, 2002,

00:49:482002, that the Brazilian team refused to enter the pitch until their music was played the right way.

00:49:53For something, something was going wrong. I don't know exactly which World Cup. But I remember

00:49:57vividly him telling the story. And he said, Yeah, we're not going out until you guys play our music.

00:50:02Wow, no pressure funk or it's no pressure at all. Yeah. So I would have to really do my homework.

00:50:07And the big thing is that there's so many intricacies with their music. Like I said,

00:50:13it would have to be like there's several versions. So I would really have to do my research if

00:50:17there's going to be like a live version of the song they would like. There's so many different

00:50:21subcultures in that country as well with music. So you could go from electronic to more of their

00:50:27funk to a little bit of like Portuguese, Brazilian style hip hop. Yeah, but I can tell you one thing,

00:50:34it will be a lot of fun. Every time they show up, it's a home game. Like when Brazil shows

00:50:39up,

00:50:39it doesn't matter what country they're playing in. It is a home game for Brazil. There will be a crowd

00:50:43full of yellow gold jerseys. And it's just the best of times because they're just such a great

00:50:48people and they just want to have a good time. Yeah. Well, I love hearing that. I mean, obviously

00:50:53kind of the running joke on the internet is, you know, Brazilian fans will always comment on an

00:50:58artist post, come to Brazil, come to Brazil. So it's good to hear that they really bring it,

00:51:05even if it's not even about music. Music is just one of the things at the stadium that day. So

00:51:10I love that. Okay. I'm going to spin it again. Let's see where we end up. Let's do it. All

00:51:15right.

00:51:18Okay. Let's say you're playing an NBA game. You're playing a game that has the LA Lakers

00:51:24in it. So what would you play for the LA Lakers? Okay. Well, a hundred percent would have to do

00:51:30West Coast hip hop. There's no denying that. The interesting thing about Los Angeles is like

00:51:37everybody has been there and there's a lot of amazing musicians in different genres. So you

00:51:41could go from like a Dr. Dre record into a Skrlux record because he's from Helen Park.

00:51:47So it's like, you could do both. So if you could elegantly go back and forth and do all the

00:51:51genres,

00:51:51I think you should. Like when I had a residency in Santa Monica, like I would just play everything

00:51:56open format because people were like, we want to hear this. We want to hear R&B throwbacks.

00:52:00We want to hear Vanessa Carlton into Ed Sheeran. Like, honestly, like they're, they're all about

00:52:05all of the music. So I would obviously have to do like the original town favorites, like

00:52:09the West Coast hip hop stuff, but then, um, yeah, high energy all the way right before the

00:52:15tip off. And I actually, um, I can't remember the DJ's name for the Lakers, but he's amazing.

00:52:19I've seen him play a few times and I think he does a similar bit. So I would definitely be,

00:52:23uh, yeah, open format. Cause like I said, you can't make everybody happy, but you do want to

00:52:28include as many genres as possible. Yeah. Okay. That's great. I I'm loving this. I'm going to

00:52:33do a couple more if that's okay. Let's do it. Yeah. All right. What is it? Okay. Germany,

00:52:41Germany's playing in the world cup. What are you playing for the Germans? Interesting. Okay. So I

00:52:47actually have a funny story about working with the German national team in 2022. Um, Germany is one of

00:52:53those countries that when I, when I moved here, my assumption was, is like, okay, we're playing cool

00:52:58techno and that's all we're doing. It turns out they love universally loved music, like across the

00:53:06board. So the team requests from 2022 was can't hold us by Macklemore. I was kind of like, what on

00:53:15earth are you? Cause like, I remember when I was in university, I remember that was like when thrift shop

00:53:20came out and being from Vancouver, they're from Seattle. I was like, oh yeah, like we did the

00:53:23party and it was fun. And then it kind of moved on, moved on to the next thing. And I

00:53:26hadn't played

00:53:27that song ever, like since 2010 or 2011 when it came out. And I was like, okay, that's interesting.

00:53:32I played it. They lost their minds. A few months, uh, afterwards, Lollapalooza Berlin was on

00:53:40and the headliner was Macklemore. And I'm like, it's 2022, but like flowers to that guy

00:53:47to being absolutely a mega star in Germany still. And like, I played a lot over Europe. Like I played

00:53:53in France and Switzerland, the Swiss absolutely love it. Like when you hear can't hold us in the

00:53:58club, people lose their mind. Like, it's very, very bizarre. Like I said, I was like, okay, I'm gonna

00:54:03have to switch up my thing. It's going to be a lot more, a lot cooler. And a lot of

00:54:06the places I play,

00:54:07they want to hear like, they're like, can you play like Kesha and Flo Rida, Black Eyed Peas?

00:54:13And I'm like, 100% yes, because that's kind of the generation I grew up in. But at the same

00:54:18time,

00:54:18I'm like, I wouldn't dare play this in Los Angeles ever again. Yeah. And, um, yeah. So Germany, I'm

00:54:25like, okay, let's do it. And then they have a lot of, um, of a lot of their German chants

00:54:29as well.

00:54:30They also love a little bit of a tech, like hard techno, hardcore, fast, 150 BPM stuff,

00:54:36which is amazing. I love playing that. And it just gets everybody in the building moving. And

00:54:40like, they're amazing. Um, they have amazing songs and amazing chants. So I would lead with that. I'd

00:54:44do some German, German records. German Deutsch rap is massive here. Like there's these guys that do,

00:54:50um, that tour Switzerland and Germany and Austria, the German speaking countries,

00:54:53and literally sell out football stadiums. And they just, they're German rappers. And I'm like,

00:54:58I don't even really understand the music, but for them to have this big of impact here,

00:55:01I didn't even know the scene existed. So this is the cool part of working in sports and living

00:55:06abroad is, um, you get to figure out all these things that you never thought that didn't think

00:55:11were real before. Like I had no idea, man. That's fascinating. I would have definitely expected.

00:55:17Yeah. What exactly what you did about Germany, but I guess it just kind of goes to show that like

00:55:23the

00:55:23Berlin scene is not the whole country. It's just a very culturally relevant center of it. But

00:55:30I mean, it's kind of like saying like what you'd play for someone in New York is what you should

00:55:34play for them. If they like live in Kansas in the United States, it's just like not everyone's on

00:55:39that way. Exactly. And I would even argue in Berlin, it's like Berlin, West Berlin, East Berlin,

00:55:45East Berlin is like where the techno and the cool clubs and all those are like the cool clubs are

00:55:50in the West. It's like, they just want to have a good time and listen to music that they know

00:55:54and

00:55:54they love and they want to sing along. And I'm like, I'm all for that. And it's totally changed my

00:55:58life

00:55:58as a DJ. Like when I come home and I play in North America now, I'm like, sometimes I'm going

00:56:02to mix

00:56:02in like I got a feeling because you know what? It's universally loved. And if people say they

00:56:06don't like it, I think they're just trying to be too cool. And I think that inside and then on

00:56:10the

00:56:10inside, they actually do like that record. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. People love familiarity.

00:56:15Okay, I'm going to spin it again. Let's see what we end up with.

00:56:22Okay, Nigeria. Nigeria. Okay, we're going Afro beat all the way. Like I in 2022, I DJ to match it

00:56:33wasn't Nigeria. I can't remember the nation. But I would argue that the African fans have the most

00:56:39rhythm of all the fan bases. They dance in unison. And they are arguably the loudest as well,

00:56:47because they bring all of their cultural relevant or their instruments with them.

00:56:50And they are just there to have an absolutely good time. So anything African Caribbean,

00:56:56the that Afro beat tempo, which is the same as Latin pop, which essentially,

00:57:01you know, Ricky Martin and Shakira started in North America. That's what they do there. And

00:57:07they're just there to have a good time and shake it. So I'm going all Afro beat the whole time.

00:57:12And

00:57:12like, again, even in Berlin, if you go to a hip hop club, they're just playing Afro beat and Latin

00:57:17pop the whole time. And I'm like, I didn't even know this existed until I moved here. So it's

00:57:21been, you know, it's so cool. I love it. Okay, we'll do one more. Okay. Okay. Sounds good. All

00:57:26right.

00:57:30Okay. Canada. What are you playing for Canada?

00:57:35Canada. Yes, finally. Okay, well, I don't know if you can see this guy above me.

00:57:41Drizzy Drake, of course, Iceman, May 15. Shout out to him. That's like, I think the

00:57:46music that you listen to from 16 to 24 is really calcified in your brain is like the

00:57:52best music. So I feel like I grew up with him. So I always try to throw in like a

00:57:55headlines,

00:57:56the weekend, of course, crew love, stuff like that, anything House of Balloons, I absolutely

00:58:00love. But there's a lot of amazing classic rock from Canada to one song that really sticks

00:58:07out to me is called Raise a Little Hell by Trooper. And this was from an album that came

00:58:12out in 1978. It was called Thick as Thieves. And like I said, my dad was a hockey coach

00:58:17when I was a little kid. So I used to go to the arena. And I get to hear all

00:58:21these like

00:58:22ACDC, Trooper, Def Leppard songs. And this one really stuck out to me as probably like the

00:58:28big anthem. And the fact that they end up being Canadian is just incredible. And I've actually

00:58:31played it after a few Canadian matches where they've won just because it's such a high energy

00:58:34track. And then, you know, we have some of the best artists we have, again, The Weeknd,

00:58:38Justin Bieber, you name it, we got them. So there's no shortage of hits to play after a

00:58:44Canadian win.

00:58:45I love that. And also, I mean, given there's some tension between Canada and the US right

00:58:50now, do you think Canadians are leaning more and more into listening to Canadian music?

00:58:55I like to think so. I want to say yes. I mean, just because I live abroad now, I'm not

00:59:00entirely

00:59:00well, actually, no, that's not true. My friends and I, we are just such big fans of Drake. We love

00:59:06him. And we've all just been sending each other memes for the last like three months

00:59:11about this new album coming out. Drake memes, just or just like old videos of him. Because

00:59:15it's like I said, like, when you're at that pivotal age of 16 to 22, 24, there's so many

00:59:20big life moments that happen, so many paradigm shifts. And I feel like for me personally, he

00:59:25was there as that guy, because he's almost also a similar age to me. And I'm like, I just

00:59:30grew up and I understood what he was talking about. Because he's like, oh, like the street in

00:59:32Toronto. I'm like, oh, I've been there. Or like he talks about going to like Pierre Champagne,

00:59:36Lounge in Vancouver. I literally used to have a residency there. So it's like, yeah, I

00:59:41love it. I like that. Like, you know, I mean, if we can, if we had to, like, we could,

00:59:45how

00:59:45much time do you got? Like, we could talk about Kendrick Lamar versus Drake for hours and hours

00:59:48and hours and hours and hours. I'm always going to be Team Canada in that sense. But yeah, I

00:59:54think, I mean, we're so we're so close to that. Like, I think there's a lot of crossover.

00:59:57And I'm just really proud to be Canadian and have like some of the biggest artists on

01:00:01earth. You know, again, Bieber, who just crushed Coachella, The Weeknd, Drake, Alanis

01:00:06Morissette is playing like, oh, my God, like, it's just, it's a good time to be a Canadian

01:00:11musician. And it's just cool to be where we're from. And I don't know, like I said, I'm kind

01:00:16of out of the mix, because I live over here now. But music's the universal language of

01:00:20love. And I think that's what actually could bring us together, rather than fighting and

01:00:24like getting mad at each other on Twitter. Let's just all listen to music and have some good

01:00:28time and have a good time. Totally, totally. Just don't play Marvin's room. That'll bring

01:00:32down the energy a little bit too much. I think. Okay. One last thing before you sign off. Yeah,

01:00:38Drake, I don't think he's ever performed that live. He's coming to Berlin. Obviously, I buy

01:00:43tickets the day they come out. He plays like four nights in a row. I told my wife, Sophia,

01:00:46I'm like, listen, like, we're going to this no matter what, like we will, I will, if it doesn't

01:00:50matter what cost, I'm going. I've seen him like 10 times already. And he comes on stage. And this

01:00:56guy, the first song of the night is Marvin's room. No way. And I lost my mind because I'm like,

01:01:03I don't think he's ever done this live. And to come and open your tour in Europe with this record

01:01:08is just like, man. And it's just such a classic. Like, it's just like, I have so many inside jokes

01:01:13with friends I grew up with. Like, are you drunk right now? Because that's like one of like the

01:01:16vocal snippets in the song that we always text each other that stuff. So I'm like, I was thrilled.

01:01:21So I don't mind Marvin's room. I mean, maybe it's due for a remix. I don't know. But I think

01:01:25like,

01:01:26that's the cool thing about him is he's got so he's got such a big range. And you can, you

01:01:31know,

01:01:31you can cry to some music, you can drive to it, you can get cranked up with your friends and

01:01:34have

01:01:34a great time with it. Yeah, so this turned into an episode about Drake thought it would go this way

01:01:40eventually. Yeah, yeah. Well, okay. Okay. So to end things off, we always do this game called What

01:01:46Would You Que? And so basically, I'm just gonna have you do a rapid fire picking one song per

01:01:50prompt here. So what would you queue to take you back to your childhood? I feel like it might be

01:01:56Drake, but it would be raised a little it would be raised a little hell by trooper. Like I spoke

01:02:01about earlier, because it was, you know, I was I was five years old in this hockey arena. And I

01:02:05listened to it every weekend. And it's now it's come around full circle in my life again, where I get

01:02:09to play live. So that's the one for that for sure. Love it. What would you queue to represent your

01:02:14favorite era of music? That would be Drake, for sure. I think that era from 2011 till 2018, just

01:02:22because I was at that unique age, coming of age music, headlines, Drake, crew love with the weekend,

01:02:30anything from the House of Balloons record. But yeah, I would definitely be Drake. And I would argue

01:02:35nothing was the same. Like I have the artwork back here, or take care or even his first album,

01:02:40you know, I think the first I think when over came out from So Far Gone, I listened to it

01:02:45because

01:02:45you used to be able to see on iTunes when you could let you could see how many times you

01:02:48play the one

01:02:49song, but it's 76 times in a row. My best friend Kyle and I played it 76 times in a

01:02:56row when it came

01:02:56out. I'm manifesting for you a DJ slot at the top of a Drake tour at some point. So I'm

01:03:03like,

01:03:03yeah, I got to call Zach Bia and be like, yo, dude, like, I'm like, that's that's my stuff.

01:03:07There's always a song for any mood, you know, from him. So yeah, yeah, I love it. I love it.

01:03:12Okay, what would you cue to represent the best concert you've ever been to?

01:03:17Probably I Fall Apart by Post Malone. I would say he as a performer, he is in my top three,

01:03:26100%. His angelic voice is like nothing like I've ever heard before. And I try to tell all of my

01:03:31friends that aren't avid listeners of him just to go see him live because he sounds better live.

01:03:37He's incredible on all of his albums, of course. But that song live, the emotion that he puts into

01:03:42all of the songs in his set list, that one specifically, like brings me to tears every

01:03:48single time. And I've never met anybody that's walked away from a Post Malone concert that hasn't

01:03:52been an immediate fan. And I think because of that song, like, you know, and I even know from a

01:03:56DJ

01:03:56perspective, there was a couple tours I went on that I had like a edit of I Fall Apart. And

01:04:02everybody's saying every word at the top of their lungs at all times. So

01:04:05I love it. I love it. Well, that's a perfect place to end this. Grayson Rep,

01:04:09thank you so much for coming to On The Record. Thank you, Kristen. It was absolutely lovely.

01:04:14All right. Thank you so much to Grayson Rep for joining me to talk about his career working with

01:04:18FIFA, the Olympics, and so many more sporting events. And thank you for listening to this week's

01:04:23episode of On The Record. If you liked today's show, give us a follow on Instagram or on our brand

01:04:28new

01:04:28TikTok page, at Billboard On The Record, where you can find new clips of the show every single week.

01:04:33We'd also appreciate it if you rated our show on your favorite podcast platform, because all these

01:04:37things help On The Record grow bigger and better than ever. Again, I'm your host, Kristen Robinson,

01:04:43and tune in next week for another peek behind the curtain of the music business. I'll see you then.

01:04:59See you then.

How Does FIFA Curate Stadium Music For The World Cup? | Billboard On The Record

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