Major Lazer on Killing Dancefloors & Zombies

A collaboration as epic as super-producers Diplo and Switch needs an equally epic hook, so meet Major Lazer, the ambassador created by the two beat scientists to represent their twisted ode to Jamaican dancehall. Lazer is an avatar of sorts -- a Jamaican commando with laser guns for arms who rides a rocket-powered skateboard, and battles vampires and zombies in his free time. He’s the ideal personification of the schizophrenic sound these two have perfected on the upcoming album Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, out June 16. We had the chance to talk to the reclusive commando about his new career as a musician and his partnership with Diplo and Switch. Don’t ask us how we got in touch him. We just wrote down some questions, sent them off, and this is what came back. Good luck.

First of all, I have to ask you because it’s bothering me, why do you keep misspelling laser?
bwai mi seh! one ‘merican ah try chat to me bout misspell ting? choaaa man, nex question.

Where are you living right now, and what’s your house like?
rite ya now mi live ah trinidad, pon a mountain close to di beach. me nuh really have neighbours an dem ting deh, but teef nuh badda mi tru seh dem ear bout mi lazer dem.

Are you worried that your album is going to ruin your cover as a Trinidadian dancehall nightclub owner?
bwai mi neva really study dem tings deh when mi first decide to do a record. di people dem a trinidad, dem easy yunno? dem nuh really hype off ah dem ting deh, ah mi friends and family still. but mi know seh nuff foreigner and tourist ah guh come search mi out now, tru seh dem ear bout mi likkle sitn dung ah trini.

Where did you first meet Diplo and Switch, and how did you know they were the right people to make music with?
well mi meet switch first. im an MIA did come dung ah trini fe record di Kala ting, an we did link up inna di bush. me neva really lissen dem kinna bang bang bang ting deh, but from mi ear di chunes dem ah mek mi realise seh dis bredda ya gwaan ah lead. from dem time we jus keep di vibes going, and nex ting yu know....

What was life like in Jamaica while you were recording the album?
well first mek mi seh dis YAAD MI BORN AN GROW suh jamaica mi home land mi love it same way. nuff likkle f*ckery ah gwaan but jamaica nice every time - bigg upp man from kingston to negirl, dis year mi muss reach ah portland jerk festival fe sure.

The first thing I heard from you was a pretty scary song called Zumbi, with Andy Milonakis, and there’s a video for it too. Why isn’t that included on the album?
haha well mek mi tell yu. mi neva really know da yute deh but im ah walkin reggae music encyclopedia - mi rate im. di chune nuh deh pon di album

“Hold the Line” is the first single off the album, but there was a while where you couldn’t decide what to call the song, so Switch, Santi, and Diplo gave suggestions, and I know Santi’s choice won out. Why didn’t you have a say in it? I imagine you would have gotten your way.
mi originate di ting, mi create di ting. mi deal wit conception and invention. so mi nuh really care ah bloodclaat wah dem waan call it, from di chune HARD, see mi?

Do you like it when other people remix your songs? Do you think it’s possible to improve one of your songs by remixing them?
yu cyaan really improve pon my ting dem, yu see mi? but yu can mek it different, so dat di people dem can apprecilove it more, see mi. baby cham do ah ting pon hol di line and tru it neva gwaan wickeder dan di original, it gwaan wicked still.

Are you willing to ruin any of the surprises in store for the Major Lazer tour?
two words: jerk chicken.

We’ve already heard elephants, horses, dinosaurs, and air horns on the little snippets on the album. What’s the wildest sound you used on the entire album?
mi love escovitch fish, suh yu done know mi ah fry some snapper pon one ah di record dem. me naw guh seh which one ah dem, ah fe di fans dem fe run guh lissen di record and fine out!

Are you more of a monster killer, or a dancefloor killer?
80s mi ah kill off monsta. two tousands mi ah done dance instead.

What do you enjoy more, killing people with lazers or with bangers?
me nuh too inna de lazer ting no more yunno, ah peace and love me ah deal wit more time. but if ah fool come tes it, mi ah go defen it.

Who is your greatest nemesis?
bredrin. ah zombie army mi ah lick off, and den me self ah come back from di dead. me nuh AVE dem ting deh.