Florian Picasso Continues to Enhance His Own Artistic Legacy

Florian Picasso is a Vietnamese-French DJ who constantly heightens his talented career in the international electronic music industry each year. Born in the Vietnamese city of Saigon (officially known as Ho Chi Minh City), Florian Picasso was adopted by Marina Picasso, the granddaughter of legendary Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. His great-grandfather’s artistic legacy later influenced him as he developed his own shining career as a top dance music producer, especially continuing to rank in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list. Florian Picasso has worked alongside the likes of Martin Garrix, Laidback Luke and Nicky Romero in the past. Florian Picasso, who currently alternates his time between Cannes and Geneva, has additionally performed at world-famous music festivals such as Ultra Music Festival and Tomorrowland.

In March of this year, he signed a deal with Universal Music. His first single on the record label was “Like You Do” featuring GASHI and Ally Brooke. He released two more singles this year, “Restart Your Heart” with Martin Garrix’s alias ‘GRX’ and “Armageddon” with Timmy Trumpet. On August 11, he will perform a livestream set in front of his great-grandfather’s mansion in Cannes, La Villa Californie. Here is One EDM’s exclusive interview with Florian Picasso, who is set to become one of the world’s most popular dance music producers.

Kenny Ngo: Your first track on Universal Music was “Like You Do”. It featured the vocal talents of GASHI and Ally Brooke. How was it like working with them on the trap-influenced jam?

Florian Picasso: It was my first single after a while and with a new approach. I spent a lot of time in the studio lately working with songwriters and musicians to develop new sounds and step up from what I was doing before. I always like to come up with something different with no boundaries. Being able to do this with super talented artists such as Gashi and Ally Brooke was amazing.

The most recent single you released was “Armageddon” with Timmy Trumpet. How was your collaboration with him on the upbeat banger?

Great! We’ve been friends for a while and have been talking about doing something together for a long time so I’m really happy we finally did. We didn’t go to the studio together for this record so it took a bit longer to send each other back and forth versions and finally come up with this banger. We both love it but it’s just a bit sad we can’t play it out live at the moment. 

On August 11th, you will perform an exclusive livestream set at La Villa Californie overlooking the Bay of Cannes. What should the fans and interested streamers look forward to in terms of the music during the livestream set?

It’s really going to be something special! I will be performing from the balcony of my great grand-father Pablo Picasso’s villa. We have an amazing production and we’ve been working on every details of this show for months from the music to the visuals and lightings. I can’t wait to show it to everyone! I’m going to premier a lot of new music and I have a very special announcement for that night.

Should the fans and streamers also take note of the production process of the livestream set as well? Especially since the set will take place at a house filled with a beautiful heritage and rich history.

Yes definitely! The Villa belonged to my great-grandfather and he did many of his masterpieces there. I have now installed a music studio here so it’s a very special place of inspiration for me. We worked for over four months on this show with my team. We brought equipment from several countries to bring this to life. It is going to be amazing and I consider it as a tribute to this unique place and to Pablo Picasso!

Your mother Marina later inherited La Villa Californie. What were your favorite memories spending time inside the house?

I spent a lot of time there when I was younger and now it’s really the place where I feel the most inspired to work on my music. The atmosphere is really unique and peaceful. I remember when I first started mixing on vinyls with some friends in the garden during the summer, we were like 13 or 14-years-old.

On June 21st, you performed a livestream set titled “From Vietnam with Love” which pays tribute to your Vietnamese roots. How it did feel performing with the background of the Mekong River and the city of Saigon behind you?

I was adopted from an orphanage in Vietnam at a very young age by my mother. Since then, each time I went back to play there was something really special for me. The Vietnamese people always welcomed me like no other place on earth. I consider them as my brothers and sisters and want to represent the country in the electronic music scene. I was meant to go back and play there this year. Unfortunately, we couldn’t because of the current situation so I decided to find another way and we made that live set happen. It worked so well, we reached over 4.5 million views and got so many great reactions!

Aside from the Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival), which attractions in Cannes do you recommend people to visit if everything in the world gets better again?

Summer season is always really nice in Cannes. The nightlife used to be really amazing with headliners playing every night. I played my first shows alongside big acts such as Swedish House Mafia in Cannes actually.