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Years before David Guetta helped steer dance pop’s mainstream crossover, the trendsetting French DJ/producer cut his teeth in Europe’s underground club circuit. This album honors both sides of his story: There’s a spread of glossy pop collaborations featuring A-list voices from around the world (Sia, J Balvin, Stefflon Don, and Justin Bieber, among others), followed by gritty club cuts from his house music alias, Jack Back. In an interview with Jax Jones on Beats 1 about “Drive (feat. Delilah Montagu),” his collaboration with South African producer Black Coffee, Guetta described the tough, enlightening, and often magical process of bringing musicians from different scenes and cultures together to create. “We had friendly fights–but we did have fights,” he said, describing Black Coffee’s more minimal production style. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean it’s too big?’ There’s nothing that can be too big!’ He was Mr. Minus and I was Mr. Plus.”
As EDM's golden age fades, the French producer collaborates with a wide range of artists, including his own alter ago.
At the height of the early-2010s EDM boom, French producer David Guetta pumped out hit after hit before the formulaic pop-singer-plus-big-beat combination became ubiquitous and repetitive.