Watch Kiesza & Djemba Djemba debut new track 'Give It To The Moment' live in The Lab LA
The Smirnoff Sound Collective collaboration celebrates diversity and music bringing people together
The Lab Los Angeles is Mixmag and Smirnoff Sound Collective's weekly post-work unwind where we stream only the finest American and international DJs
This week was extra special as we welcomed Canadian singer Kiesza, the artist behind last year's chart-topping smash 'Hideaway', and Los Angeles producer Djemba Djemba to exclusively perform their brand new track, 'Give It To The Moment'.
While Smirnoff's #whatwebring movement highlights diversity and aims to show how accepting the world can be, the idea behind the track is to do just that, celebrating inclusivity and showing the power music has to bring people together.
You can watch the official #whatwebring music video, a Smirnoff Sound Collective collaboration, here and watch the exclusive live stream at The Lab LA and read the interview below.
Mixmag: Can we start by talking about the song 'Give It To The Moment'? What inspired you to do this song and what was it like working together?
Kiesza: We're both big believers that, in order to stand out in a world, and especially in a music industry where there's just so much saturation, as everyone can put their music online, it's really important that you create your own original sound. When this campaign came up with Smirnoff it had this whole concept that aligned exactly with what we believe. It's about everybody bringing their own uniqueness to the table, and that's what's going to make everything better, that's what's going to make them stand out, that's what's going to make them really fit in at the end of the day.
MM: How do you feel about having your song remixed by artists from all over the world connecting to different people from different countries?
Kiesza: It's so cool. It's cool to hear how different producers from all over the place can take a song and actually make it their own, and take it to a place that we never would have even imagined to bring it. Your art can be completely exclusive or your art can be this transformative experience, so it's amazing to see what they can do when you open yourself up and put it out to the world and allow people to put their own spin on it.
Djemba Djemba: When you collaborate with a vocalist it opens up the remix possibilities, it actually made it a lot easier. Usually if I send out a remix to somebody or get a remix back it's a little hard to know where to start if there's no vocal, but since Kiesza's vocal was with the original chorus it made sending it out and getting ideas back really easy. That was kind of the coolest part about partnering with Smirnoff Sound Collective as they obviously have more resources than me just asking for remixes from my friends, so it broadened the scope of people that we could approach. I'm super happy that we got Nozinja to do a remix, he's a cultural movement in his own right in South Africa. Also getting Kosmo Kat and other up-and-comers from around the world approaching the song in their own way, it's really cool to hear that. Doing it on my own I don't think we could have got the publicity or even the resources to pull this off.
Kiesza: I actually was not able to connect with fans or build a fanbase until I made music that is completely genuine, and when I stopped trying to fit in to everything that was out there. That's what you do at first, you try to figure out what's going on and how you can fit in. But when you just sort of say "screw it, I'm going to do my own thing and I don't care who's judging me or who's listening", and you just go straight for passion and you put that out there, that's the moment that everything connected.
MM: Finally, you'll be performing tonight for the Mixmag ab Los Angeles. How do you guys feel about performing tonight?
Kiesza: I'm excited. I'm always excited about adding new songs and being able to perform them. The first performance is always a little nerve-wracking because you wonder about all this new choreography and performance stuff you're doing, and if you're going to forget it on the spot.
Djemba Djemba: I got your back.