A Conversation with DJ Logic – HuffPost 8.5.11

Mike Ragogna: Hey, Logic Guy. Whatcha doing?

DJ Logic: Hello, I’m just sitting here at home, listening to some music and packing. I’m getting ready to head on out to Europe to do a tour.

MR: Where in Europe is the tour taking you?

DJL: It’s taking me to Paris, Spain, Sweden, London–all over. I’ll be promoting the new record, but I’m actually heading out on tour with a different project. The record is actually out in Europe right now and it’ll be out in the States as well next month or so.

MR: Let’s talk about your new album, A Prayer For The Planet. It’s your collaboration with Jason Miles, right?

DJL: Yes, a collaboration with Jason Miles, my partner, and also Falguni Shah.

MR: The collective name for your group is Global Noize–I always want to call it Beautiful Noise, sorry. It’s a Neil Diamond memory asserting itself, I guess.

DJL: It is beautiful, it’s a beautiful name. Yes, it’s called Global Noize and that’s also the title of the album.

MR: Seems like the planet is in need of a prayer or two, huh?

DJL: Yes, it is. The planet is in need of a prayer, as we all are in need of some type of love and healing and reassuring, you know?

MR: I know. It feel like everything is coming to a head, like we need to deal with so many these issues all at once.

DJL: Yes, totally–totally. It’s global, you know? This record is the perfect record for the perfect time. There have been a lot of different records that have come out at certain times in the past, in history–you know, Miles Davis with Bitches Brew and the civil rights thing going on, as well as issues with the economy and things like that. Then you’ve got things going on here globally, you’ve got the world going through a different crisis…the ups and downs of the stock market, the different global warming issues happening with the ocean as well as on land. And everyone is seeing what’s going on around us. We all need to embrace our planet.

MR: And you’re spreading the word around through your music. Is this the type of thing where you almost wish you could sit a person down with your album and by the time they’re done listening, you’d have made them more conscious about these issues?

DJL: Yeah, this album is almost like a soundtrack too–like a soundtrack with a vignette. I also look at it like Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World” or “Black Or White.” Each song has a different meaning and approach to different issues–“Charismalove,” “21st Century Preacher Man,” “Viva La Femme,” “Walking On Air,” “Riot In Outer Space”–they all have different meanings and you can hear it in each track. When you close your eyes and listen to it on your iPod, you’re experiencing those different travels of different things.

MR: Do you feel like public awareness is starting to focus on those issues? Like, is the consciousness of the world realizing we do have to take care of things finally?

DJL: Well, yeah. I mean, it’s not moving at a fast pace, but you’re starting to see people recycling and you have the green solar thing happening with conserving energy. We need more people to follow in those footsteps. Just looking at the issues with the environment, every year certain things, natural things, happen and they happen for a reason. It’s what we’re putting out there and how we’re treating the planet, you know? And the issues with the ocean, all of the garbage and all of that stuff just floating around in our sea life and our coral life. Going to the beach ain’t gonna be fun as it used to be. Going diving and stuff like that isn’t going to be as fun as it used to be. Being able to see fish…we’re not gonna see fish. These are things that we need to open our eyes and ears to look at. We need to take the initiative and put more effort into helping this planet out.

MR: When did you personally start becoming aware of the need to do some enlightening?

DJL: You know, just by traveling around the world. Me and Jason Miles, we traveled abroad to Morocco and Europe and Brazil. Our travels and seeing how people react to the music as well as seeing what was going on naturally in other countries and our country and stuff like that, from those travels, the idea came up for Global Noize as well as the title track,”A Prayer For The Planet.” Looking at the earthquakes–the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan–and there’s New Orleans–seeing all those different things happening, like uprisings and things like that–we felt that it was the right time for a special song to be presented. It was something that just happened at the right time.

MR: How would you describe the music, since it’s such an amalgam of different styles?

DJL: To me, at first I would say it’s music and it has elements of jazz, hip-hop, and electronic. It’s a fusion–a tasteful fusion done well–with great guest artists on different tracks. On “A Prayer For The Planet,” we have Falu singing on the lead track; on “21st Century Preacher Man,” we have a vocalist by the name of Karl Denson, who is also a great saxophone player; on “Tokyo Sunrise,” we have myself and Jason Miles–it’s a very instrumental groove track; then we also have Lee Oskar on “Viva La Femme” with Malika Zarra on vocals. Bringing Lee Oskar on, that was special to have him as a guest. Jeff Coffin, who plays with Dave Matthews–he is an awesome saxophonist, awesome player. Romero Lubambo is a great guitarist who plays on “Nature and Peace”–that’s kind of a Brazilian vibe. Like I said, it’s got vignettes just flowing, different vibes with different ethnic things going on. You think of Brazil, you think about the rainforest. You think about “Tokyo Sunrise,” you think about the tsunami. With “21st Century Preacher Man,” you’re thinking about the future. So, every track has a meaning, you know?

MR: Of course, you’ve gathered this cast of characters from all the projects you’ve worked on over the years?

DJL: Yeah, me and Jason Miles–we’ve worked with each musician individually on the album. The friendship was also there, they dedicated their time to be a part of this because they believed in it. So, once we told them about the project, they were all into. We were just happy to have everybody be a part of it–they all came together.

MR: Personally, this is my favorite project that you’re associated with since The John Popper Project Featuring DJ Logic.

DJL: John actually was on the first Global Noize record. He’s a great friend, a great brother. That was a special record to put together as well. Me and John talked about doing the record, and it was all improv at the beginning. Then it just turned into something special…who would’ve thought? We had turntables, harmonica, drums and bass.

MR: The vibe of that record was wild.

DJL: Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, we believed in it and we knew it was something special. I look forward to doing another one with John.

MR: Speaking of “John,” you also worked with another of my favorite artists, John Mayer.

DJL: John Mayer’s a wonderful artist and a good friend. It’s always a pleasure working with him. He’s just a great guitarist…unbelievable.

MR: He always keeps an equal balance between his own talents as the guest artist while respecting the talents of his collaborator.

DJL: That’s right. It’s a balance–he stays in his zone, which is great. That’s what’s so unique about him, his playing and his voice.

MR: And his respect for whomever he’s performing with.

DJL: Right, totally. You’re right.

MR: A perfect example would be what he did with B.B. King. He’s really had an interesting career.

DJL: Yeah, all those guys–B.B. and Buddy Guy–yeah.

MR: Since we’re talking about these artists, are there a couple of folks that you just love playing with over and over again?

DJL: (laughs) Yeah, there’s a lot. My list is kind of long…there are a lot of people I love playing with over and over. I’m always still learning something new every time I’m playing with these wonderful musicians that I play with, and having them want me to play with them too. From John Mayer to John Popper to Blues Traveler to Widespread Panic to the guys from Dave Matthews to Robert Randolph to Medeski, Martin, and Wood to Vernon Reid and Living Colour and The Roots guys and Carly Simon–the list goes on and on.

MR: Carly Simon? She’s one of my favorite interviewees–really lovely, articulate and interesting.

DJL: That was for her latest record that came out.

MR: Never Been Gone.

DJL: I actually did a little tour, a promotional tour with her. Carly’s always been an innovator and a wonderful vocalist and she’s always wanting to try stuff that’s new and different. I met her through her son, Ben Taylor, and she just asked me to come out and do a little tour with her, you know, with turntables, vocals, percussion, and guitar. It was also with John Forte, which was great.

MR: I love those revisits of her hits, you guys did a great job.

DJL: Yeah, that’s it–we revisited all of her earlier stuff. “You’re So Vain” and “You Belong To Me”–those are some of the tracks I was working my magic on with her a lot. (laughs) It was great to be up there backing her up. I loved that. She’s a wonderful artist.

MR: She is, and she’s always pushing boundaries–I remember in the old days, there were never two albums of hers that sounded alike.

DJL: That’s right, she’s always kind of reinvented herself with every record and changed it up. It’s amazing–her approach to music and everything is awesome.

MR: And I’ve interviewed Ben, I know he is so proud of her.

DJL: Yeah, yeah. It was wonderful.

MR: As we’re having this little lovefest about all these artists, it seems to be that a lot of the world’s problems could be solved if people remembered this simple feeling, the natural, easy rapport that people can have between each other–and apply that to the bigger picture.

DJL: Yeah, that’s right. Just looking at what’s going on, it’s good to take that as a thought, and it’s one step at a time. I know we can’t change things quickly but if we start now, these things will make a difference.

MR: What is your advice for new artists?

DJL: Believe in what you’re doing and keep the faith. Love what you do–that’s most important. Just keep making the music, man. Keep making the music.

MR: Beautiful. All the best of luck with Global Noize as opposed to Beautiful Noise. (laughs) But seriously, it is beautiful.

DJL: (laughs) It is beautiful–a beautiful name with a beautiful meaning and a beautiful topic.

MR: It is. Any other wisdom for us?

DJL: Let’s just all come together and love each other. And let’s do it all globally–with a noise and with a voice.

MR: Thank you very much for the visit.

DJL: Thank you. I appreciate you having me and all the best. Enjoy A Prayer For The Planet.

Transcribed by Claire Wellin