Interview: 3lau

January 9, 2012 By Zona 925 Comments

What music is better to party to than a popular beat mixed with lyrics that everyone can sing along to? Justin Blau, better known as 3LAU, is a 21 year old DJ/producer born and raised in none other than Las Vegas, Nevada. As a finance major at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, 3LAU finds the time to produce and mix some of the best mash ups and bootlegs that take every party to the next level. His ability to blend popular lyrics into beloved techno hits makes for the best party anthems that have everyone jumping out of their seats. His music career is very young, and we are looking forward to his successes in 2012. The kid is a massive up and comer in the EDM scene and he’s getter bigger by the day. Justin was kind enough to speak with us and provide some knowledge as to what motivates him the most.

First of all, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for a quick interview with Techibeats.com.

No problem! I never turn down a chance to talk haha.

So, you have become quite the king of party mash ups. At what age did you begin your DJ career?

Crazy enough, a little less than a year ago. I was first inspired to start DJ’ing from a visit to Sweden with my best friends Johan and Steven. It was a life changing experience, my first exposure to dance music, and extremely inspiring. I decided to start dj’ing, just to be a club dj, with no intention of actually making something of it. Soon after I made a mashup, some friends liked it, sent it around to blogs for me, and before I knew it, it was all over the internet.

Which artists do you believe influence your music the most?

I can’t say I have a mashup influence, mainly because I never really listened to mashups before I made them, but Porter Robinson is by far my biggest idol. He’s 19, and destroying it, making revolutionary dance music.

What part of music production do you find the most difficult?

Just with anything else, the idea is easy, but the execution is the hardest part. Mixing/mastering, honing the specific sounds is certainly more difficult than coming up with a catchy melody/progression in my book.

Do you have any upcoming tours or big shows that you are excited for?

Ya! I’ll be gone pretty much every weekend this spring, hitting cities across the US, and then ending the non-stop jobs in Mexico with Avicii, Aoki, Calvin, and Dada at electro beach, a college spring break music festival. It’s gonna be an unreal next few months.

What is the biggest challenge facing new producer/DJ’s?

I actually think there aren’t many. A lot of people say it’s tough to get music “out there” but I really beg to differ; most of the best music rises somehow through all the crud that’s out there. The biggest challenge I think is just finding the time. Everyone’s busy with hundreds of activities, especially with school, but if you want to do this, you really need to completely dedicate yourself to it, I don’t remember the last time I went to a movie, watched a tv show, played a video game…music has to be an addiction.

Where do you see electronic music going in the next couple of years?

I think 2011 was the biggest year for edm, obviously for a number of reasons (aside from the skrillex/avicii grammys), but I think there are two main inputs to the explosion…the first is that the barriers to entry are so low to making music, and not very costly to the point where anyone with talent can pick up the software and make professionally sounding beats. The second is more of a cultural shift in the world, where music is becoming more and more a defining characteristic of personality. Especially dance music, it’s how people are most social about music. Social media is obviously accelerating the hype too!

Where do you see yourself 5-10 years from now?

Hopefully with the same status of some of my favorite producers right now! Porter/Avicii; I won’t stop till I get there, that’s for sure!

Do you have any advice for aspiring DJs and producers?

Kind of the same thing I said earlier, it’s all about putting in the time, and not making up excuses, and if you have the talent, you’ll probably make it. Of course there is a degree of luck to everything, but I’ve always believed that you make your own luck to a certain extent.

Thank you very much for your time; we really look forward to seeing what the future has in store for your career!

Of course, thanks for the opportunity!

Be sure to check out 3lau’s Facebook page and if your in the San Francisco/ Bay Area he will be performing at 715 Harrison street at EPR on Wednesday night.