WNXP checks the pulse of Nashville’s electronic music scene with CID, the Grammy-winning DJ and producer, as he gears up for the Music City stop of his Get Intimate Tour on March 22. CID shares insights on why this tour prioritizes real-time experiences over screens, encouraging fans to thrive in the moment. He reflects on the burgeoning electronic movement in Nashville and reveals his excitement for debuting fresh tracks crafted during his recent studio sessions. From his personal soundtrack that shaped his musical journey to the underground sounds emerging from Brazil, CID’s passion for music is palpable. We talked about his creative process, favorite remixes, and what makes a Nashville crowd unique.
Aaron Monty: Tell us about the Get Intimate Tour and why no cell phones are allowed?
CID: Yeah, so the Get Intimate Tour, it’s really about trying to bring things back to people having fun, feeling like part of a community, and I, the whole phone’s dilemma has obviously been on social media and people have had their opinions about it, but yeah, I think for me it’s just, you know, living in the moment, enjoying the music, enjoying the people you’re with.
AM: You’ve played Nashville before. What do you like about the crowds in Nashville and do you have anything special planned for your show at Night We Met?
CID: Yeah, I’m super excited to be back in Nashville. Nashville, it’s a culture that’s so deeply rooted in music and it’s really cool to see the electronic scene there grow over the last few years. And yeah, I think as far as my show, I’ve been locked in the studio the last couple weeks and I’ve got a ton of new music that I’m super excited to play out and yeah, it’s going to be a fun time.
AM: Which new artists are you excited about right now?
CID: As far as new music and new artists, I’m super inspired about this new movement that’s coming out of Brazil. There’s so many incredible producers out there. Beltran is kind of spearheading this new sound. And then there’s just tons of these smaller artists that are making music.
Like this guy, Inntraw, he was the one who had the collab with Cloonee for “Stephanie.” There’s another guy named Zaark that I’ve been playing a lot of his music. It’s just super cool. And it’s kind of crossing between the underground guys playing it and some more commercial guys playing it. So it’s really, really cool to see, this fresh, new sound coming out.
AM: If you had to create a personal “soundtrack” of tracks that have deeply influenced or shaped your life—whether it’s music you grew up with, music that inspired you to produce, or tracks that have become a part of your identity—which songs would be on it?
CID: Creating a personal soundtrack of tracks that deeply shaped my life. That’s a tough one. I grew up with two older brothers. They both had such different musical tastes. I was exposed to all kinds of music, but I think as far as electronic music, I would probably have to say Daft Punk “One More Time.” I remember I bought that CD was one of my first CDs and just being fascinated and everything Daft Punk and diving deeper into what they were about was mind blowing.
And I think later in life, once I was already producing, it was for sure Axwell and what ultimately became Swedish House Mafia. But I think at the time there was very few producers who could make sonically music that great. So I always admired all those pre Swedish House Mafia Axwell songs. And that was the ultimate goal is to make music that sounded as good as Axwell.
AM: What do you love about public radio?
CID: I think public radio is great for a bunch of reasons. As a listener, it’s great to discover new music instead of, listening to your playlist of your favorite songs on Spotify, you’re able to tune into someone curating music that you may not have heard before. And then on the flip side, as a radio DJ, you are able to reach an audience that maybe hasn’t found you on any of these other platforms.
AM: You’ve remixed songs from Lizzo, Chic, and Kaskade just to name a few. What has been your favorite song to remix? And who are you working on remixes for now that will be released soon?
CID: I think I’ve always had a knack of remixing pop songs into kind of more dance floor friendly versions. Um, you know, I’ve been doing it for so long. I think the first official remix I did was actually Katy Perry “Last Friday Night,” but I think my favorite, I guess, what kind of changed the course of my life was co-producing the Cedric Gervais remix of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness.”
You know, we made it and it just kind of instantly, we just knew it was something special. But never did I expect it to become what it ended up becoming yeah, and as far as new remixes I’ve been more focused on my original stuff but just for kind of having dj tools and things to play my sets I’ve been like looking back at like kind of older songs and reimagining them not necessarily to do as cleared samples, but to Have like fresh takes on some things for my set. I just did one of Eddie Grant “Electric Avenue”. That’s where my head’s been at.