Since the moment Jack Ü was introduced to the world, Skrillex and Diplo have positioned themselves front and center as the gap between pop music and dance music narrows to a close. Scoring the soundtrack to Justin Bieber’s comeback and working with everyone from AlungaGeorge to Florence Welch has helped Jack Ü garner a degree of ubiquity that only a few other electronic artists have ever achieved. But behind the scenes, the pair had plans to make their side project go from big, to larger-than-life with one key addition to the group: Dillon F*cking Francis. Though in adding Dillon to the mix, Jack Ü will no longer suffice in describing the three-man outfit. Now together, the trio’s project will be known as Snack Ü.

We caught up with Dillon ahead of the official announcement to find out how this all came about and ultimately, as Jack Ü has already taken over the world, where do you go when you’re already at the top?

Francis, playing his DJ Hanzel alter-ego over the phone is nearly impossible to hear as he almost purrs into the speakerphone. He recalls a late night in the studio with Skrillex, “So we were working on the ‘Red Lips Rebirth’ a few months ago and Sonny brought up the idea of me hitting some Jack Ü shows this year. We thought the idea was cool, but by the time we really got to talking, we had to get Diplo over to the studio to discuss the idea of making this a trio. We literally woke him up in the middle of the night and dragged him down to the studio where the planning really started happening.”

When asked about how the name change was decided, Dillon explained that Snack Ü was agreed upon after a few different ideas came to mind. “The whole HARD thing with Spoon Ü really took off, so we were looking for something that would have that sort of roll-off-the-tongue appeal. First we wanted to do Jill Ü. Like Jack and Jill Ü, get it?”

We get it.

Then Dillon goes on to describe another round of brainstorming before the three-man troupe landed on their new shared moniker. Francis explains, “We came up with Cash Ü and our first new track together was going to be called ‘Deez Nuts,’ but we didn’t want to exclude people with nut allergies, and people who prefer other snacks. We aren’t trying to isolate the Dorito’s crowd or the Swedish Fish fans, so thats when we developed a more all-encompassing Snack Ü. We are about things like peace and love. Unity, respect. Snacks. You know?”

When broken down like that, it actually makes a lot of sense.

Dillon, switching between alter-egos for nearly 2 hours on the phone, goes into talking about how Snack Ü already has a licensing deal with Hershey’s Kisses, though originally Diplo had his heart set on the M&M’s deal which fell through a few weeks prior. Dillon goes on, “We want to make the type of loud, obnoxious party music that is aggressive enough for festivals, but eloquent and tasteful enough for a tea party. That’s what’s hot right now.”

Snack Ü is primed to debut their first single sometime this month with Diplo cryptically taking to Twitter earlier this week to tease fans with the big news. As Jack Ü is resolved and reformed as Snack Ü, it looks as though there’s a new Big 3 powerhouse out there, and a new dance music force to be reckoned with.

April Fools from your friends at Dancing Astronaut.

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Watch This: Jodie Sweetin gets an assist from Dillon Francis and Skrillex on ‘Dancing With The Stars’

 

Tags: April fools, diplo, exclusive, Jack U, skrillex, Snakc Ü

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