2020 has been a year of surprises and that’s putting it mildly. And one of those surprises comes in the form of Diplo — the award-winning EDM producer and DJ — debuting songs from his new album on Calm, the meditation app.
Diplo’s new songs aren’t the classic nightclub bangers that we’ve come to associate with him, though. His latest musical offering is an ambient album entitled MMXX — 2020 in roman numerals — and he’s chosen to exclusively premiere five tracks via Calm.
In-keeping with the title of the album, the tracks are also titled in roman numerals. One track features Rhye, and another features Mikky Ekko.
So, what do the songs sound like? Well, as if a Benedictine monk had discovered electronica.
According to Calm, the tracks are “designed to instill a relaxed mindset.” They certainly won’t see you taking leave of your comfy armchair to throw some shapes on the living room dance floor.
Diplo said in a statement that he’s been experimenting with making ambient music for several years. “In some ways, it’s a return to my roots — my first album Florida was all super chill instrumentals,” he said.
“For the last few years I’ve been collaborating with a bunch of friends playing ambient sets around LA, and when the pandemic hit we decided to lay some of it down,” Diplo added. “It’s been a huge stress reliever and meditative experience for me, and I hope it can be the same for you. Checking in with ourselves and taking care of our mental health is so important, now more than ever.”
The full ambient album will drop on Sept. 4. Five of the tracks are now live on the app here. Sadly, you’ll need a Calm subscription, which costs £28.99 per year.
Diplo isn’t the first major recording artist to add their name to Calm’s music catalogue, designed to bring peace and calm. Last month, Ellie Goulding dropped four exclusive remixed tracks from her new album Bright Blue. Kygo also added a 60-minute instrumental track in June this year.
So now we know, what would Diplo do? Chill.