Dance music’s resident dickhead might come off as a degenerate but his upbringing and work ethic run contrary to his class clown lifestyle. In an interview with Spin he reveals, “I had to watch two hours of Sesame Street and study Hooked on Phonics every day. I didn’t even know any curse words until I was 15.” Francis ultimately graduated from Big Bird to dabbling in various art forms — including photography and dick doodling — until he finally found his niche in music.

While this is a glossed over version of his story, the sequence of events that brought him to his current position go something like this… After shadowing a fellow producer, he convinced his strict parents to let him spend more time exploring his chosen craft. But with a looming expiration date on their approval, Francis hunkered down in his basement and taught himself the ins and outs of production — a lot of studying and dedication for a class clown and college dropout.

 

Once he finally emerged from his lengthy hibernation, Dillon began building his own unique brand and sound before finally reaching out to Stretch Armstrong, who would eventually connect him with Diplo. The rest — as they say — is history. Francis’ story may seem like a collage of dreams for many budding producers, but his success isn’t the work of luck and good timing alone. His persistence, talent, and passion are the foundation of his accomplishments. From struggling intern at The Hundreds to performing in front of hundreds of middle fingers in the air, this carefree class clown has come a long way.

While Dillon Francis was traveling the country for his Wet & Reckless tour, Hurricane Sandy was getting wet and reckless with the East Coast, uprooting trees, destroying homes, and leaving many without power. In a show of good will, Francis opted to donate the proceeds from his New York stop to the relief efforts — proving that he might seem apathetic about many subjects, but charity is not amongst them.

The line that snaked just around the corner of his sold out show was full of eager fans ready to let loose with their newly bleached blonde beloved. Once inside the bacchanal-inspired venue, a cloud of humidity lingered in the air and room to move was scarce — but the energy was explosive. Fans in various states of not giving a fuck or shit waited eagerly for dance music’s favorite degenerate to take the stage. At around 1 in the morning, Dillon finally hopped behind a booth emblazoned brightly — in true Dillon Francis fashion — with the word “FUCK.” Francis’ dub-heavy set was a slight departure from his moombah roots but it still kept his loyal fans’ attention. Here are the five tracks you need to know:

1. Dillon Francis & Diplo featuring Maluca – Que Que

Almost immediately following Armstrong’s introduction, Dillon and Diplo collaborated to create this moombahton bomb. The Latin influences make it nearly impossible not to dance along to.

2. Calvin Harris – Mansion

“Mansion” is one of the shortest offerings from 18 Months but it’s one of my favorite cuts from the album. The instrumental drips and drops are addicting and intricate.

3. Tujamo & Plastik Funk – WHO

This track has been banging through speakers all over the world and for good reason. “WHO” was one of the few tracks that stuck out in his set. Had Avicii or Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano been behind the decks it wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable, but was very surprising to hear from Francis.

4. Kito, Reija Lee – Broken Hearts (Dillon Francis)

The vocals in “Broken Hearts” smooth out the rest of the track and accelerate the moombah drop. This Dillon Francis track should be in every fan’s iTunes library.

5. GTA – Booty Bounce

If you’re at all familiar with Baltimore club music, you’ve heard “Booty Bounce” in its original form but now it’s time to hear GTA’s updated version. The vocals are still as incessantly annoying as before but the beat and kick drums are almost enough to distract me from this drawback.

Tags: Dillon Francis, Webster Hall

Categories: Music