Alex Pall of the electronic dance music duo The Chainsmokers has been shown to gravitate toward that which is unique and presents a challenge to the status quo in both his personal life and career. His Hollywood home, designed by Peti Lau, was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal and is a perfect demonstration of his love for the unique. The home features a vibrant aesthetic complete with dramatic pops of color, a marquee that doubles as a welcome sign, indoor neon signs and a collection of home decor items from around the world.
Pall’s love for the unique isn’t limited to his home life, however, as can be seen by a conversation he had with Mathias Rosenzweig of interviewmagazine.com. During the interview, he talked about The Chainsmokers’ journey through growing out of sounding too much like other artists in their genre. He describes how the group “played that game a little bit” before coming into their individuality as artists and starting to put out songs that incorporate different genres of music.
He also points out that unlike a lot of other artists in the genre, The Chainsmokers write and sing lyrics written about their own lives. While the group does occasionally employ the services of songwriters, Pall says that he and his partner Andrew Taggart remain the driving forces behind the group’s lyrics at all times. Pall also describes the ways in which The Chainsmokers strive to set themselves aside from other artists by building a “cohesive body of work” rather than a series of disjointed songs and albums like other electronic music artists.
Pall goes on to credit social media for allowing him to develop a more thorough understanding of his fan base. Platforms like Instagram have allowed the group to connect with listeners in ways that were not always possible. He says that seeing how many different types of people connect with their music inspires the group to keep expanding their audience and pushing their own limits in terms of creative expression in order to remain relevant and unique.