Rihanna & Katy Perry Prefer 3LAU To Officially Remix Songs For Them — Here’s Why

If you’ve ever been to a club or dance party, then chances are you’ve heard a 3LAU track. Now that he’s got Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and Rihanna knocking on his door to work with them, the DJ is busier than ever! Here’s how the rest of his year is looking.

We caught up with 3LAU ahead of his show at CREATE Nightclub in Los Angeles on July 1 (and in between playing just about every EDM festival that matters.) You’ll also want to listen to his new set of “On My Mind” remixes as you read…if you don’t want to get left behind by the cool kids, that is! This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What’s exciting about playing a back-to-back set like you did at Electric Daisy Carnival this year?

I played EDC two years ago on my own and that was a great experience but playing this year was something special. I got to play my b2b set with one of my best friends in the world, Audien. It was at 3 AM in my hometown and we had just released our new collaboration “Hot Water” earlier that day. You don’t get better than that. We’re looking to do more sets together in the future!

How do you choose what songs to remix?

For the official remixes, a lot of times they reach out to me. For the Rihanna “Desperado” and the Katy Perry “Bon Appetit” tracks, their teams reached out for an official remix. It comes down to timing, mostly. But I am also always working on different mashups for my sets.

What can we expect from your upcoming album?

It’s hopefully coming out around January! I should also have some new music out by the end of the summer in time for my set at Lollapalooza and throughout the year.

Any collaborations?

I’ve worked with a lot of new artists, as well as some up-and-comers that I can’t name at the moment. I’m really excited to get it out there, though. I think it is going to be a little different than what some may expect.

What’s the funniest pronunciation of your name that you’ve heard?

[Laughs] I’ve heard all kinds of crazy things. I think the funniest to me is when I hear people call me “three-Blau.” It makes me laugh because they were so close!

If someone hasn’t heard you before, what song should they listen to first?

Definitely “Is it Love.” It is a good introduction to me and my take on dance music and what I am about. The success of the song helped raise over $200k through my record label BLUME, and the proceeds from it were donated to Pencils of Promise. I am actually getting the opportunity to go to Guatemala later this year to see the schools that were built based on the donation. I am really looking forward to going down there and sharing that with the fans that helped make it possible.

Stream On My Mind (The Remixes) and catch 3LAU on tour: