A few months back, R&B star R. Kelly randomly joined Phoenix onstage at Coachella for a guitar-driven rendition of his single “Ignition.” If this seems like an odd pairing, it most definitely is. Phoenix guitarist Christian Mazzalai told Pitchfork that the band had never even met R. Kelly before the performance, much less rehearsed with him. “Before going onstage we always put on R. Kelly’s music, which is very far from our music, but we love his art. So we created a mash-up between our music and his music. We sent it to him and he said yes. The funny part is he arrived late so we didn’t see him before. We met him onstage.” The artists enjoyed the impromptu performance so much that they may even be heading into the studio together. When asked if the band had any plans to record with him in the future, Mazzalai replied, “Yeah, maybe. Maybe [Lifts sunglasses and winks]. Maybe. Maybe soon you will know. Maybe.” Should be interesting …
