In this episode, John links up with Thomas Wesley Pentz, aka Wes aka Diplo, to talk about his work under various guises with Major Lazer, Sia and as Thomas Wesley.With on-going exploration of far reaching and cross-cultural mashups at the centre of his approach, Wes reflects on how working with so many specialists from across the globe has helped him forge a diverse sound and career.Breaking apart three songs, Wes shares his thoughts on the considerations and care that have to be taken when sampling a ‘classic’ South African song, the gatekeeping in Country music and why new sounds are emerging around the genre, and the weird and wild things that Sia often gravitates towards in a song.Listen to find out the specific rules of Amapiano, some of the elements that are essential to any pop song, and why it’s important to fail a lot.Tracks discussed: Mamgobhozi (Major Lazer), Wasted (Thomas Wesley), Elastic Heart (Sia)LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES  linktr.ee/tapenotes Listen to ‘Piano Republik’ here.Because MusicListen to ‘Wasted’ here.Mad Decent, Columbia, SonyListen to ‘Elastic Heart’ here.RCA Records, SonyIntro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel CollectiveGEAR MENTIONSFab Filter PluginsSerum SynthSynplantCelemony MelodyneSerato SamplerNative Instruments MassiveAlgoriddim Neural MixOutput ArcadeShure MicsTeenage Engineering OP1Operator SynthRoland TB-303Akai MPC3000WhurlitzerAbleton Mellotron PresetAbleton SamplerAbletonMagix Sound Forge Cool Edit ProLogic ProSpliceOUR GEARhttps://linktr.ee/tapenotes_ourgearHELP SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you'd like to help support the show you can donate as little or as much as you'd like here, (we really appreciate your contributions :) DonateOr you can join us on Patreon, where among many things you can access full length videos of most new episodes, ad-free episodes and detailed gear list breakdowns.KEEP UP TO DATEFor behind the scenes photos and the latest updates, make sure to follow us on: Instagram: @tapenotes Twitter: @tapenotes Facebook: @tapenotespodcast  YouTube: Tape Notes PodcastDiscord: Tape NotesPatreon: Tape Notes To let us know the artists you’d like to hear, Tweet us, slide into our DMs, send us an email or even a letter. We’d love to hear! Visit our website to join our mailing list: www.tapenotes.co.ukHELP SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you'd like to help support the show you can donate as little or as much as you'd like here, (we really appreciate your contributions :) DonateTAPE NOTES TEAMWill Brown - Executive Producer, Engineer & EditorTim Adam-Smith - Executive ProducerWill Lyons - EditorGuy Nicholls - Production Assistant