It may seem like an unlikely collaboration at first, but when you hear Martin Garrix and The Edge share their stories, it makes perfect sense that they came together.
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Garrix and The Edge joined Audacy’s Ryan Arnold to discuss their collaboration “We Are The People,” which also featured U2 frontman Bono.
“It’s a wild story,” Garrix said on how exactly he got The Edge and Bono on the song. “I had the demo laying around and it reminded me of the emotion that certain U2 songs have, but it was like 40% of what the U2 level was. I reached out to the management of Bono and The Edge on email.”
Garrix said It was a Friday morning when he reached out to their team, “and on Friday night, I had Bono on the phone who was humming to the chord progression and the guitars I sent him.”
He continued: “I then flew to The Edge and he delivered the most crucial part of the song, which was the melody hook that I was stuck on. I was stuck on the big melody and I didn’t know where to take it, and then The Edge took it.”
U2 have certainly received countless offers over the years to collaborate, but what was it about Garrix’s tune that made them agree to do so? “The thing about Martin’s material and what he’s turned on by is the same as me and Bono - great hooks, great melodies, great chords, great sounds,” The Edge said. “He takes from the club culture and we’re more a guitar band, but the things that get us excited are the exact things that get Martin excited.”
The Edge said that when he and Bono first heard the song, they both “got it.” “I could see how I could find my way into it and Bono could do the same,” he said.
The end result of “We Are The People” was even better than the duo could have imagined. Hoping to connect with people, The Edge said that the song was written before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic making it “even more appropriate now.”
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