Major Lazer: Free the Universe

"As the head of Mad Decent, an independent record label that recently notched a Billboard No. 1 in the form of Baauer's 'Harlem Shake,' Diplo has found himself on the edge of the biggest music festival in the world: the internet. ... At the moment, however, it's Major Lazer that has his focus. The dancehall-inflected trio finally released its second album, 'Free the Universe,' after six months of delays last week, and the record seems dearest to Diplo's heart. Based heavily in Caribbean culture (Jillionaire is from Trinidad; Walshy Fire is Jamaican ...), Major Lazer offers a dance party that's a bit more specific than its fist-pumping counterparts. 'Dance music is so interchangeable,' Diplo bristled. 'There's not a lot of face to it. It's a bunch of Dutch DJs with the same haircut. ...' All three of Major Lazer's members agreed that their main competitor was Skrillex with Bassnectar and Macklemore also providing very different but important inspirations for the group -- a curious set of influences given their Caribbean roots. Still, Diplo insists Major Lazer is creating, not aping, Jamaican culture. 'The amount of people who come to see us and the radio play we get in Jamaica,' he said before trailing off" (Kia Makarechi, "Diplo on Major Lazer, Why EDM Is Horrible and How Mad Decent Created a Culture," Huffington Post, 4/24/13).

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