Diplo is absolutely everywhere in 2020. From the DNC to Fortnite, from his house imprint Higher Ground to his country alias Thomas Wesley, Diplo has his fingerprints in what seems like every pie music has to offer this year. Just when it seemed he’s broken into every corner of the culture, he’s found a brand new avenue to explore—ambient music.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Diplo announced his first ever ambient album, MMXX, Roman numerals for 2020. In the post, he writes that MMXX is the only music he made this year, and he further describes the inspiration behind his new album:
“…It’s about being here this year. For me it’s all I had inside me. I didn’t want to have zoom sessions, I didn’t want to write pop songs. I was just stuck in my house with keyboards and a guitar I barely ever used. I would walk outside Los Angeles and see empty streets and see nervous people and this is what I heard .. but to me this year isn’t dark it’s not about the negative .. it’s about hope. We are all going to remember we did it together and remember what we take from it .. we can look back in a few years and say it was tough but I’m tougher…”
MMXX will be released next week, but five songs are immediately available here through a partnership with Calm. The album’s featured artists include Rhye, Mikky Ekko, Good Times Ahead, and Lunice.
View this post on Instagram
First all the flights got canceled then schools, restaurants and shops closed.. slowly people or their family members got sick and lost their jobs and eventually we regained some normalcy but it was through the American way… A wake up to the racial problems that don't wait for a pandemic to slow down and in return protests and riots carried on as a last resort in search of some kind of change. Some kind of realization that made us feel normal.. I think it was a reaction to all the anxiety that we had to deal with this year.. 2020 was fucked. We're only 3/4s thru.. who knows when the aliens are going to arrive. This album is the only music I made this year .. it's called 2020. "MMXX" it's about being here this year. For me it's all I had inside me. I didn't want to have zoom sessions, I didn't want to write pop songs. I was just stuck in my house with keyboards and a guitar I barely ever used . I would walk outside Los Angeles and see empty streets and see nervous people and this is what I heard .. but to me this year isn't dark it's not about the negative .. it's about hope . We are all going to remember we did it together and remember what we take from it .. we can look back in a few years and say it was tough but I'm tougher… Everyone might need something different, you don't have to do it alone .. mental health is something that we don't speak about enough. I'm giving to @_beamorg & @thelovelandfoundation because they can give you a little help where you need it most. I'll be donating proceeds of what we're making from this album .. also working with calm app because they can help find a way for people to listen to these tracks… Making ambient music might be a lot different than what you would expect from me but actually if you know me you probably know it's not. I hope you can tune out for 40 minutes next week when the full album is out but for now.. check out some of the tracks on @calm
