Gordo's New Album, Diamante, Sparkles With Collabs

Whether you discovered him years ago when he was fusing trap and dubstep under the alias of Carnage or were introduced to him after his transformation to Gordo, the 33-year-old producer released his third album and first as Gordo, Diamante, last Friday.

Naturally, the album's name comes from the producer's birth name, a fitting choice for a record featuring colossal features from Feid, Maluma, Larry June, Drake, and the late Young Dolph.

While in town to host a listening party at Skatebird Skate Park in Little Haiti and a sunrise DJ set at E11even, Gordo carved out some time earlier in the afternoon to meet up with New Times. He's also more chill than you'd expect for a busy globetrotting DJ, speaking about his album's creation with a calm demeanor.

"It started as a Carnage album, and then, over the years, switched over to a couple different versions, and then ended up as a Gordo album," Gordo surmises. "I just took a long time because it was like actual music that takes a long time to make. To make music that emotional, there are people that can do all this stuff really fast — only a month, two months. But people forget that on top of me being a producer, I'm also DJing and doing these marathon sets and doing all these things."

After years of anticipation and singles like "Hombres y Mujeres" being the only new music from the producer, fans now have 16 tracks to chew on, with every collaborator on Diamante, including Nicki Nicole and Sech, being actual friend Gordo regularly talks to.

"Every single artist on the album, I took them from their world and brought them into my world and did something that I hope their fans would like and my fans would like," he adds. "It's been such an amazing experience to be able to get all these people on the album that I've always wished I could put on my album."

Gordo also touches on how it was to record with Maluma while Gordo was in Medellín to work with Fuerza Regida.

"When I was over there, I was just straight-focused on doing their stuff," he says of the session. "At that time, there was no rush for me to get the album done, so it wasn't like I needed to work on both at the same time. I can't really multitask that well sometimes, anyway."

When he did work on his album, Gordo became more meticulous, making sure that every track fit the project's vibe. He teases Diamante by posting the tracklist on his Instagram, revealing all the features except the last song, the Drake collab "Healing," which Gordo worked on hours before the album was due from his label.
"We turned it in at the buzzer. I'm still on my computer working on it, and then boom — I sent it," he says. "It's crazy how the world works, like how you can just have something on your computer, and then two seconds later, the whole world has it."

Drake and Gordo go back, with Gordo being one of the main producers on his house-tinged album, Honestly, Nevermind, helping with tracks like "Massive" and "Sticky." Although initially met with a lukewarm reception, it has become a summertime favorite by those who like to spend their summers in Ibiza.

"We're best friends," Gordo says. "We talk every day or just send each other photos. I think it's funny. We have the same brain, like we think the same way, and it's pretty trippy."

Gordo's work on Honestly, Nevermind was the primary reason Fuerza Regida reached out to the producer to work on the group's latest album, Pero No Te Enamores, which blends EDM with regional Mexican music.

"There's been so many times where something really good gets shunned upon and then gets appreciated years later. It just comes down to fans being more open and not being so negative," he says of the initial response to Honestly, Nevermind. "Ten, 15 years ago, an artist could drop something different and not see thousands of comments immediately, like, 'Oh no, fuck you. I'm over this. Don't do this. Go back to your old stuff.' Back then, you would just find out if it was working or not if the album didn't sell. But now, you do something, and you just see the feedback immediately."

Regardless of the reception, Gordo is always willing to help artists dip their toes into the dance music scene.

Someone he tried to work with for a long time was Memphis rapper Young Dolph. Sadly, Dolph was killed on November 17, 2021, before the pair could meet and collaborate.

Luckily, Gordo is anything if not resourceful. "I found one of his vocals on a YouTube compilation, which made it easy to clear after I sampled it," he explains of Diamente's Young Dolph feature on the track "Kill for This Shit."

With all the promotion for the upcoming album, Gordo mentions that he hasn't eaten in hours. So, what's his favorite restaurant in Miami?"

"Eh, that's too political," he says.