HYPETRAK Lab: BURNS Breaks Down His Remix For Bishop Briggs' "River"

Fresh off his production work for Britney Spears’ recent single “Make Me,” talented beatsmith BURNS is on a path to the top. Melding together a variety of modern electronic and dancefloor trends into his own, unique hybrid of beats, bass and melodies, BURNS has created a sonic signature for himself that has caught the eye of some of music’s biggest movers and shakers. Now, following up work with pop superstars ranging from Rihanna to Elle Goulding, BURNS is set to head in a different direction his latest salvo.

Connecting with rising British-born, Los Angeles-based artist Bishop Briggs, BURNS has decided to serve up a frenzied-yet-still-very-musical rework of Briggs’ very popular single “River.” Working with Universal, Briggs herself has a bright future ahead, and this new spin on “River” will only aid in his climb to the charts and your playlists. To break down the backstory behind BURNS’ latest production and learn more about the burgeoning super-producer, we linked up with him to talk music, creative processes, Los Angeles and more.

You have a new remix out for Bishop Briggs’ new single “River.” What made you choose this song to remix? How did you approach it?

I was asked to do the remix and initially I almost said no because of other studio commitments but once I heard the song I changed my mind, it’s a great record and the original really inspired me. It was easy to have an idea of what to do with such a great song/ vocal to work off.

How do you usually chose records that you remix?

It’s never really a case of choosing a song to remix. You usually get asked to do them, I just pick things that I like when they come to me!

You also have a new single out called “WAVE.” What can you tell us about it?

It’s this kinda ghetto house record I did earlier in the year with my homie Elvis, he’s an awesome rapper/ writer. It’s a real fun record, I wanted to combine the mood of a hip-hop record with something I could play in a club to an EDM crowd too. It’s been getting great reactions so I’m happy.

The song features LA rapper Elvis Brown. How did you connect with him and why did you choose him to be featured on the record?

I’d met him a few times socially and then I heard a record he did with Wax Motif and I liked the sound of his voice, I listened to a bunch of his own shit and I just got in touch! He’s dope! Hopefully we’re gonna work on some more stuff in the future.

As a UK producer, why do you see so many American artists move to London, and so many UK artists move to LA?

I don’t really, I see a lot of people from the UK moving to LA but I haven’t seen much of it the other way around. I think LA is just such a melting pot for all types of music and scenes and if you’re a producer involved in pop music also then I think LA is really the place to be in 2016.

What do you have lined up for the rest of the year and 2017?

Loads of music, from all directions. The new Britney Spears single ‘Make Me’ just came out which I produced and I have more productions coming out for various artists as well as more singles of my own. It’s a lot!