Lodato talks about his origins, support from David Guetta and latest single ‘Sober’

Having once conquered the charts with thumping hits such as ‘Older‘ and ‘Doomsday‘, American DJ, producer and remix specialist Lodato is back on the charts with a fresh offering. His latest track titled ‘Sober’, sees him collaborate with famed Dutch singer and songwriter PollyAnna for a release on Will Holland & Tritonal’s coveted Enhanced Music imprint. Laced with a chirpy beat-work from the word go, ‘Sober’ features the enchanting voice of PollyAnna keenly entwined with the crafty production skills of Lodato, who impresses endlessly with the playful use of vocal snippets and pitch play.

Poised to add to Enhanced Music’s stellar catalog, the track finds itself at a perfect platform – a home for all things progressive, melodic and house. The last we saw of him in our pages was for an exclusive premiere for his track ‘Breathe Again‘ where, collaborating with fellow Queens based artists, he unleashed an energetic single for fans and listeners alike. Back now and enjoying the fruits of his latest production, we took the opportunity to sit down with Lodato and talk about his origins, previous hits and remixes, collaborating with PollyAnna on ‘Sober’ and what the future holds for him and his fans.

To the fans who aren’t familiar with your music, how long have you been a producer/DJ for? Tell us about the origin of your music. What inspired you to pursue your career as an artist?

I grew up DJ-ing but I think when I started producing, it was because I couldn’t find the versions of songs I wanted to play in the club… so I got fed up and started to make my own stuff.

We saw that you played at the iHeart Pool Party ‘prime time’ during this years Miami Music Week. Could you tell us about that experience?

I actually got the call from iHeart a few days before. They had said that Alesso couldn’t make the party and if I wanted to be in the line up and play between Afrojack and Cash Cash. I was like sure! (laughs). l thought it was someone playing a joke on me at first. It was a crazy line up, a crazy party, and I was honored to be playing along side all these guys.

Congratulations on your new track ‘Sober’ with PollyAnna. How did the collaboration come about? What’s the story behind it?

I was browsing YouTube and came across the Ultra Music Festival after-movie and heard the vocalist that I would come to find out is singer/songwriter Pollyanna. I went right to Instagram and slid into her DM! We just wanted to make something that didn’t sound like everything else that was out. We wanted to make an uplifting song that you can’t help but dance to, while not shying away from expressing darker feelings.

Take us back to your globally acclaimed hit ‘Doomsday’ with Vassy. Hitting the ‘Top 5’ on the U.S Dance Radio chart, receiving support from the likes of Timmy Trumpet, Mike Williams among others, did you expect it to be that big? Tell us a bit about the process behind this collaboration.

As soon as I heard VASSY lay the vocals down on the record, I knew it was going to be a good one. We met at the Digital Music Pool Christmas party and hit it off. We started working on Doomsday shortly after and the rest is history.

You’ve had the privilege to officially remix some of the biggest radio hits, such as Clean Bandit’s ‘Symphony’ and ‘Rockabye’ as well as Galantis’ recent release ‘Bones’. What are the steps in the studio after receiving such offer’s to remix? How do you decide which direction you would like to take for each remix? What is the whole process like?

When I get records like these to remix that are already amazing, I try to imagine the original Artist listening to it with all the major label execs and me in the room..kind of like a Game Of Thrones trial. If I start to sweat wondering if they are going to like it.. that means its not good enough and I have to go back in. I make sure that I keep the integrity of the song and put my spin on it.

Speaking of your music, it has received a huge amount of support from the likes of David Guetta, Tiësto, Steve Aoki and Timmy Trumpet to name a few. How does it feel to gain support from artists like that? In addition, what is the best piece of advice you’d give to aspiring producers?

It always feels good to get support from guys that I have looked up to for many years. When they start playing your original records its surreal! I first started to get the attention of these guys with my bootlegged remixes and mashups. I just started sending them out randomly and they seemed to spread like wild fire. Then when you end up on stage with them, rocking out to your version of their record, that’s the ultimate high.

The best piece of advice I can give is to start out making bootlegs and get them out to anywhere you can.

What does the rest of 2019 hold in store? Any hints or clues that we could get about future productions? any upcoming collaborations in the pipeline?

I have spent the last two years really finding my sound and paying attention to the production end of things, I want to close out the year with the rest of my releases. I know management has set up a tour for the new year, so I’m looking forward to my first real tour. There’s also some cool stuff I’m working on that I’m going to keep secret for now so that I can surprise you later!

You can purchase Lodato & PollyAnna’s ‘Sober’ on iTunes here and on Beatport here.