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3lau

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3lau
3lau performing at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March 2019
Background information
Birth nameJustin David Blau
Born (1991-01-09) January 9, 1991 (age 33)
Syosset, New York, U.S.
OriginLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • DJ
  • producer
Instruments
  • Synthesizer
  • mixer
  • piano
  • guitar
  • vocals
Years active2011–present
Labels
Website3lau.com/music

Justin David Blau (born January 9, 1991),[2] better known by his stage name 3lau (stylized in all caps, pronounced "Blau"),[3] is an American DJ and electronic dance music producer. Raised in New York and Las Vegas, 3lau left Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied finance.[4] He has produced original tracks including "How You Love Me", "Is It Love", "Fire", "On My Mind", and "Hot Water", as well as remixes for Rihanna, Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes, and Ariana Grande and collaborations with gamer Ninja and HYO of Girls' Generation.[5] 3lau has also appeared at festivals such as Electric Zoo, EDC Vegas, Lollapalooza, and Life Is Beautiful, and tours extensively internationally.[6]

Early life

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Justin David Blau was born in Syosset, New York, on January 9, 1991[2] Blau grew up in an artistic family and was soon playing piano and guitar and singing. At 13, he moved with his family to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he spent the rest of his youth.[7] He attended The Meadows School for high school and Washington University in St. Louis for college.[7]

Background

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Much of 3lau's music incorporates electro house, dubstep, deep house, and progressive house.[8] He is known for his melodic take on dance music and live sets that incorporate sampling. The emotional purpose of his style of songwriting, Blau says, is to inspire others to overcome their sense of feeling lost. "Every song is somehow about being lost in some way, whether that's in love, in life, in mental health, whatever it may be. Sometimes the lyrics shed light on the brighter parts, but in many ways, I write as a means to try to combat that feeling of being lost and I hope the music can do that for someone else."[9]

Music career

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2011–12: First releases

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In 2011, at the age of 20, he vacationed in Sweden, where he discovered electronic dance music. After returning to college he started producing mashups, "mainly because [he] didn't think anyone was doing a good job."[10] He soon began mixing under the professional name 3lau, and by June of that year, was uploading mashups to YouTube.[11]

3lau gained recognition in the electronic music world in 2011 with his two bootlegs, "Girls Who Save the World" and "All Night Long". He also won a remix competition for his remix of Tiesto's "Work Hard, Play Hard".

Before 2012, 3lau spent his days studying at Washington University in St. Louis and DJing at night. He has had remixes charts in the top 10 on both Beatport and Hype Machine.[8]

2012–15: Singles, touring

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In 2012, he focused on DJing and launched his 3lau Your Mind tour. That same year, he released his second bootleg album, Dance Floor Filth.[8] In 2012, the Las Vegas Review-Journal described him as "one of America's fastest-rising DJ-producers."[7] In 2012 he released Dance Floor Filth 2, an album featuring his production.[12]

In late 2013, he went on a short tour with Carnage called the Night Riot tour.[13][14] Wrote Jonah Ollman of Sound of Boston about 3lau's live performances in late 2013, "A nice balance of mashups, electro-house, poppy vocal samples, and a 90's throwback here and there keep the young 20-something crowd going and constantly entertained."[13]

In the summer of 2015, 3lau did his first European tour visiting Barcelona, Germany and Ibiza. Later that fall, he went on his first Asian tour which included Bangkok, Jakarta, Tokyo and more.[15]

2016–17: Blume Records

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In 2016 3lau launched Blume Records, an independent label with a ground-breaking model that harnesses the power of streaming to raise money for charitable causes. 3lau stated, "Hopefully we can inspire other people to act and there will be this domino effect."[16]

2018–19: Ultraviolet, OMF

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On February 16, 2018, 3lau released his debut album Ultraviolet on label "BLUME" featuring singles "Touch," "On My Own", "Walk Away" and "Star Crossed". The album features collaborations with Carly Paige, Nevve, Emma Hewitt, Max Schneider, Said the Sky, and Neonheart. The album hit No. 1 on iTunes' Electronic Chart, as did lead single "Touch."[17][18] On June 21, 2018, 3lau announced the launch of OMF (Our Music Festival), the first blockchain-powered music festival. The festival was held on October 20, 2018, in San Francisco and was headlined by Zedd.[19]

In March 2021, 3lau marked the three-year anniversary of his Ultraviolet album through an unusual internet auction with "NFTs" (non-fungible tokens) certifying certain digital rights and the one-of-a-kind ownership, for a total of approximately US$11 million in the three-day sale.[20]

Charity work

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In 2016, 3lau launched the record label Blume, the first not-for-profit dance music label.[21] Profits from all songs released on Blume are dedicated to charity. 3lau has raised over $200,000 for non-profit Pencils of Promise, which used the funds donated to build a seven-classroom school in Guatemala, as well as to fund clean water, education, and teacher development programs.[22] In 2013, 3LAU announced he had built his first school with the non-profit and in 2018 another school was completed in Guatemala.[23]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Details Peak chart positions
iTunes
Electronic
[24] 		Billboard
Dance/Electronic
[25]
Ultraviolet[26]
  • Released: February 16, 2018
  • Label: Blume Music
  • Format: Streaming
 1 7

Singles

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Table shows list of single titles, release dates and record labels
Title Artist Release date Release label
Escape 3lau and Paris and Simo featuring Bright Lights June 24, 2013 Revealed Recordings
How You Love Me 3lau featuring Bright Lights March 18, 2014 Island Records
Vikings Botnek and 3lau April 8, 2014 Dim Mak Records
Somehow Dash Berlin and 3lau featuring Bright Lights August 29, 2014 Mainstage Music
We Came to Bang 3lau featuring Luciana November 28, 2014 Musical Freedom
The Night 3lau and Nom De Strip featuring Estelle January 12, 2015 Revealed Recordings
Alive Again 3lau featuring Emma Hewitt July 6, 2015 Armada Music
Runaway Bright Lights featuring 3lau October 16, 2015 Dim Mak Records
Is It Love 3lau featuring Yeah Boy March 29, 2016 Blume Music
Fire 3lau and Said The Sky featuring Neonheart October 25, 2016
You Want More 3lau featuring MAX November 25, 2016
On My Mind 3lau featuring Yeah Boy March 31, 2017
Hot Water Audien and 3lau featuring Victoria Zaro June 16, 2017 Astralwerks
Star Crossed 3lau September 8, 2017 Blume Music
Walk Away 3lau featuring Luna Aura December 1, 2017
On My Own 3lau featuring Nevve February 1, 2018
Touch 3lau featuring Carly Paige February 16, 2018
Dirty Neon 3lau and Zaxx featuring Olivera[27] May 25, 2018
Punk Right Now HYO and 3lau[28] November 13, 2018 SM Entertainment
Game Time 3lau featuring Ninja[29] November 30, 2018 Astralwerks
Would You Understand 3lau featuring Carly Paige[30] January 4, 2019 Blume Music
Better With You 3lau and Justin Caruso featuring Iselin[31] March 1, 2019 Armada Music
Down for Life 3lau and Bright Lights[32] June 21, 2019 Blume Music
Falling 3lau and Dmno[33] August 23, 2019
Miss Me More 3lau[34] September 12, 2019
Tokyo 3lau featuring Xira[35] December 6, 2019 Anjunabeats
At Night 3lau and Shaun Frank featuring Grabbitz[36] January 14, 2020 Blume Music
Apocalyptic 3lau[37] August 28, 2020 Stmpd Rcrds
Everything 3lau and Funkin Matt featuring Frawley[38] January 22, 2021 Blume Music
Worst Case[39] 3LAU featuring Cxloe October 8, 2021
Too Late for Love 3lau November 25, 2022
Easy 3lau featuring XIRA October 20, 2023 Anjunabeats

Remixes

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bein, Kat (September 8, 2017). "3LAU Rides the Synthwaves on 'Star Crossed' Ballad: Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "3LAU Stats". BBC. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  3. ^ "Event Review: 3LAU Boston". Electro Jams. October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  4. ^ Mac, Ryan. "Meet 3LAU, The DJ That Turned Down Wall Street". Forbes. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Alexander, Julia (November 30, 2018). "Fortnite star Ninja's first EDM album includes an amazing new Tycho track". The Verge. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Nguyen, Lisa-sun (March 29, 2018). "Electric Zoo 2018 Unleashes First Phase of 10th-Anniversary Lineup". EDM Identity. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Elfman, Doug (November 30, 2012). "DJ Justin Blau says living in Las Vegas a life-changing experience". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c "MTV Newsroom profile". October 21, 2013. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  9. ^ "3LAU – Artists". www.insomniac.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "Las Vegas Weekly profile". October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  11. ^ Kellman, Andy. "3LAU". AllMusic. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  12. ^ Gabill, Zach (July 17, 2012). "3LAU – Dance Floor Filth 2 (Album Review)". Sound is Style. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  13. ^ a b Ollman, Jonah (December 2, 2013). "3LAU & Carnage Night Riot Tour". Sound of Boston. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  14. ^ "Review: 3LAU & Carnage on Tour". Electronic Dance Entertainment. November 29, 2013. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  15. ^ "Tour". Tour. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  16. ^ "3LAU – Artists". www.insomniac.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  17. ^ "C'est Prune:3LAU". Prune Magazine. March 2018. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  18. ^ Powell, Karlie (December 30, 2017). "3LAU Reveals Tracklist and Features for Debut Album 'Ultraviolet' Coming Soon". Your EDM. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  19. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (June 21, 2018). "3LAU Is Helping Launch The First Blockchain-Powered Music Festival". Forbes. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  20. ^ "Largest NFT Sale Ever Came From A Business School Dropout Turned Star DJ". Forbes. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  21. ^ "3LAU Launches Charity Label BLUME, Aims to Raise $100k in 2016:Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  22. ^ "3LAU x PoP – 3LAU x PoP's fundraising page for Pencils of Promise". Classy.org. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  23. ^ "First School Built with 3LAU's Pencils of Promise Fundraiser". EDM Sauce. January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  24. ^ "C'est Prune: 3LAU". Prune Magazine. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  25. ^ "3LAU Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  26. ^ Bein, Kat (February 16, 2018). "3LAU's 'Ultraviolent' LP Burns Bright And Upbeat, Helps Fight Cancer: Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  27. ^ Rishty, David (May 25, 2018). "3LAU Finds Summer Sound on 'Dirty Neon' With Zaxx: Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  28. ^ Herman, Tamar (November 14, 2018). "HYO Of Girls' Generation Teams Up With 3lau For 'Punk Right Now': Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  29. ^ "Game Time (feat. Ninja) – Single by 3LAU on Apple Music". iTunes Store. November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  30. ^ "Would You Understand (feat. Carly Paige) – Single by 3LAU on Apple Music". iTunes Store. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  31. ^ Sweeney, Farrell (March 1, 2019). "3LAU and Justin Caruso deliver dance-pop release, 'Better With You', featuring Iselin". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  32. ^ Sweeney, Farrell (June 24, 2019). "3LAU and Bright Lights reconnect for 'Down For Life'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  33. ^ "Falling – Single by 3LAU & DNMO on Apple Music". iTunes Store. August 23, 2019. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  34. ^ "Miss Me More – Single by 3LAU on Apple Music". iTunes Store. September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  35. ^ Sunkel, Cameron (December 7, 2019). "3LAU joins Anjunabeats with new single 'Tokyo' ft. Xira". Edm.com - the Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  36. ^ Sweeney, Farrell (February 18, 2020). "3LAU, Shaun Frank, and Grabbitz deliver listeners' next addiction with 'At Night'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  37. ^ Sweeney, Farrell (August 28, 2020). "3LAU delivers 2020 in a song through first STMPD Records release, 'Apocalyptic'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  38. ^ Powell, Karlie (January 12, 2021). "3LAU Helps Battle Student Debt with $10,000 Scholarship via Bold.org". Your EDM. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  39. ^ Weisband, Sami (October 12, 2021). "3LAU releases world's first fan-owned song, 'Worst Case' with Cxloe". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  40. ^ Powell, Karlie (May 11, 2018). "3LAU Gets Heavy With Electro Remix for One of His Best Tracks". Your EDM. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  41. ^ "Lost Lately (Very Nice Remixes) – Single by San Holo on Apple Music". iTunes Store. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
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