What does the world sound like? Aa, the debut album of “Harlem Shake” prodigy Harry “Baauer” Rodrigues, attempts to offer an answer. Over its 13 tracks, Rodrigues sketches a sonic map of the globe using field recordings, genre-agnostic bass-heavy beats, and vocalists from the four corners of the Earth, including grime prodigy Novelist from London, Brooklyn masked rapper Leikeli47, hip-hop royals Pusha T and Future, and K-pop wunderkind G-Dragon. M.I.A. also makes an appearance, which seems fitting since her work has often been preoccupied with making the global feel local. “She was a huge influence when I was younger,” Rodrigues says when we meet at The FADER's Manhattan office. “I think she’s so sick.”

Rodrigues was born in Philadelphia of Portuguese and Jewish heritage, and he grew up between Germany, London, and Connecticut before moving to New York for college. He’s a child of the 2000s, tuned into the world through the internet, absorbing sounds and ideas before regurgitating them through digital software. Rodrigues didn't take music all that seriously until, in the early 2010s, the homemade instrumentals and remixes he posted online began to attract attention. As digital creations engendered human reactions, a hobby morphed into a profession.

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In May 2012, Rodrigues released “Harlem Shake” as a two-track digital single through Mad Decent sub-label Jeffree’s, seeding an online video meme that would take over the world and, in Feburary 2013, land him on top of the revamped Billboard Hot 100, which factored in YouTube streaming data for the first time. Still, it was his burgeoning relationship with Scottish collective LuckyMe that would prove most creatively fruitful. In the autumn of 2012, he debuted on the label with the Dum Dum EP, followed two years later by ß, which also drew on far-flung global sounds and featured contributions from AlunaGeorge and Rae Sremmurd.

In late January, Baauer, now 26, appeared alongside Leikeli47 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a live performance of their collaboration, “Day Ones,” that doubled as his new album’s official announcement. After the normal presentation of the musical guest by Colbert, the camera panned past the makeshift stage over to the guest couch, where Rodrigues sat at his laptop, headphones over his cap. As the song’s menacing horns rolled in, the camera shifted once more as Leikeli47 emerged into a red fog, just moments after LuckyMe’s trademark eye logo flashed on the backing screen.

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Aa, named after the second and third letters in Rodrigues’ stage name, documents the past three years of the young producer’s life and his relationship with the world. It’s an ambitious debut, reflecting Rodrigues’ global inspirations, his proclivity for catchy club anthems, and the ambitions of his label, which consistently maintains a subtle presence that amplifies the artist rather than distract from them. With Rodrigues’ post-“Harlem Shake” star power and its carefully chosen lineup of guests, Aa, out March 18, is one of LuckyMe’s highest profile releases to date.



