Photo courtesy of DJ Dubz
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I've started listening to a lot of other pop artists in her same category. Ariana loves Whitney, she loves Madonna. Ariana's soul is so old, she has so much music knowledge.What your relationship like with her now?
I don't have the same relationship with her as someone that's been around for years, but I love her, and she loves me too. Can I get on the phone and call her? Yes I can. If I have a track that I want her to check out, of course I can show her. She invited me over for Halloween. She keeps in touch. It's very cordial.You've only been with Ariana for a year, were you a fan of her before?
I was always a fan of her because I love real artists. She sings, she writes, she's a performer. I wasn't like a super fan of hers, but I respected her. I love the camp that's around her. I've known [her dancers] Brian and Scott my entire life. I used to take their [dance] classes and they used to take mine.
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Cashmere Cat opened the North American leg of The Honeymoon Tour. Did he inspire you in any way?Read More on THUMP: This Is What It's Like to Spend 6 Years DJing for Justin Bieber
I like Cashmere Cat because his [collaboration with Ariana] inspired me to do the remix. Do I like my "Adore" better than his "Adore?" Of course, it's mine. Do a lot of people like [my version of the song] better than they like his? Of course.What would you try and do differently if you were to tour with her again?
I think the challenge for me would be for her to use every [remix] I give her and no one else's—which is kind of selfish. That is what I'm gearing up to try and do now; I'm really working on my production.Having started your career playing pre-recorded sets, do you ever worry that it could cause you to lose credibility?
I'm pretty sure a lot of people get backlash, but I'm a creative director. I didn't feel guilty about it. I understand the importance of a performance. You do run the risk of the machines malfunctioning, something can always go wrong. When you're doing a stadium show, certain things cannot be done by a live band. But at the end of the day, everything I'm doing is live.If you weren't DJing for Ariana Grande, who would you want to DJ for?
Myself. Unless Michael Jackson comes back from the dead.