Aside from tearing up the festival circuit, Illenium has found himself fortunate enough to get booked for a residency at a couple different nightclubs in Vegas. This weekend, he’ll be taking the decks at Hakkasan, so we had to hit him up and see what’s going on.
With the announcement of his sophomore album, as well as a single coming out on Monday and a new track out with Zeds Dead, there was plenty to talk about.
Buy tickets for his Hakkasan show here. 
First things first, you’re dropping a new song on Monday! Tell us a little about “Crawl Outta Love” with Annika Wells.
I’m stoked to finally release Crawl. I’ve been playing that song at my shows for awhile now and it gets such a positive reaction. Annika’s vocals bring so much emotion to the track and I love seeing people connect with it. One of my favorites off the new album.
You also just recently released a new collaboration with Zeds Dead, “Where The Wild Things Are.” One of the big questions on people’s minds is… who is that vocalist?
Her name is Ryder! Great vocalist out of Los Angeles. @thisisryder on soundcloud!
Also with that track, what was the production process like? Did you both find time to sit down and work on it in a studio together, or was it a lot of back and forth while you were both traveling?
We started off in the studio together but had to finish up the track over email. I had already been working on the vocals from Ryder for awhile but wasn’t sure what to do for a drop so that’s when I approached Zeds Dead.
Back in June, we asked what your favorite part of performing at OMNIA was. Same question about Hakkasan.
Both of those clubs are a blast to play at. Hakkasan has a crazy vibe and energy that is fun to dial into as a DJ.
DJs rarely take requests, but what song, if someone requested it, would be so out there that you would genuinely consider playing it (assuming you had it with you)?
4’33” by John Cage. I’d play it while I’m leaving the stage.
Now that you’ve announced the tracklist for your next album, are we going to start hearing more and more of the tracks in a live setting?
I’m probably going to play a few out but I’m making a whole new set for my tour in the fall that will have all the songs from the album in it. I’m trying to wait to play a lot of them out for the album tour 🙂
Do you produce your tracks with the intention of playing them live? Or are some of them never going to be played that way, e.g., with drum pads and keys.
It’s a consideration but I don’t let it limit me. I’d rather create the sound I want and figure out how to perform it live after.
Photo by The Holy Mountain for Insomniac
