French-born, Miami-based producer Cedric Gervais kicked off his North American Tour this Labor Day Weekend at the Budweiser Made in America music festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2014, his remix of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” won him a Grammy as well as EDM Song of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Most recently, he released the singles “Love Again” featuring Ali Tamposi and “Este Amor” featuring Juanes, and his upcoming remix single “Say My Name” with ODESZA featuring Zyra will be released on September 14. We had the chance to catch up with Gervais in the festival’s press area before his set, where we discussed the festival’s atmosphere as well as his latest tracks:

Made in America (MIA) is a mixed-genre festival; what's the difference for you when you're playing at a festival like MIA versus one like EDC?

I actually like it better because there is so much variety, and it's not one electronic artist after another; there are so many things. My stage is cool because there are so many artists including DJ Mustard, Duke Dumont and me, and then at another stage you can go see an artist like The Weeknd. I like these kinds of festivals; I've done a couple of them and will do more this year, and I find them much better. At the time I'm playing, if there's a fan of the EDM genre, they're going to want to come to the stage I’m at; it's cool.

What's your favorite festival that you've played at so far?

I would say Coachella; that was an incredible experience. It was two amazing weekends, and I played during the sunset – there was a magical aura.

How did playing at MIA come about?

It was through my agency; I was invited and I know it's a big deal. Like when you play Coachella you know it's a big deal, and this is another festival that you think, "Wow."

You recently released the track "Este Amor" featuring Juanes; how did that collaboration materialize?

I was always a fan of his music, and I was going to Colombia a lot. I always wanted to do something different and something with a Spanish artist, a respected artist like Juanes, not something with Ricky Martin where when it comes out people are like, "What are you doing?" No disrespect to Ricky of course, but the music is very commercial. Juanes has very cool, rock-and-roll music. We actually just performed it at Madison Square Garden, which was incredible; we're just going slow right now and there's no release date yet. It's organic; it's already on the radio all over South America. Also the process that we did; we wrote it together, it was very organic. We didn't sit down and say, "Ok, we need to make a hit" or whatever; it was purely two musicians getting together for fun, so we'll see where we take it. Right now the buzz is huge, and we’re going to perform together in Miami at the American Airlines Arena on December 4, which is already sold out. I also have a single with ODESZA right now called “Say My Name,” which will be released September 14.

Anything you can tell us about a rumored third album?

I’m supposed to do an album for Universal, but I’m just making singles right now. I’m not the kind of guy that’s going to do an album and say, “Oh, let’s put all my singles in it and make an album.” When they want me to make an album, I’m going to make a full album. Obviously I’ll put the tracks “Summertime Sadness,” the ODESZA record, and the Juanes one on it if I want to, but I’m going to make sure to make original material.

You’ve also mentioned in a past interview that you’re taking a break from making remixes for now.

Yeah, like with the ODESZA record, if I want to do something, it has to be a project together. Basically I can take the vocals and take everything into my own world and I do it. I treat it as original production, and I’ve already churned out a lot of remixes of so many people. The number one problem is that people don’t care as much about remixes. You do a remix, get paid a lot of money, and some DJs will take the money and then walk away, but for me, if I do something, I want the record to get out there. For some of the major labels, they will just want to put out remixes and then they don’t care; there’s no plan or promotion behind it. So for me I want tracks either treated as singles or just put out original material.

Having already collaborated with many vocalists, is there anyone else you would be interested in collaborating with?

I would love to do something with The Weeknd; that would be sick.

Anything special you planned for your Made in America set?

Yeah, I’ll be playing the ODESZA track live for the first time here. I tested it on the road this summer in Europe, but this is the final version that I’ll be playing. I did a special intro and special edits – I always do some special edits at festivals that I’ll play. I have a lot of new stuff.

How do you balance touring and putting out new music?

When I’m at home, I just have to make sure to keep working out and living a normal life and not partying because it’s too much work. I’ll party when I’m done working.

EDM has been on the rise in the U.S. in recent years – what are you thoughts?

I feel that it’s great for everybody, but I think it’s oversaturated now – there are a lot of artists that do pretty much the same thing. However when I started in America no one was listening to house music. I would go to Vegas and 10 people would see me and have no idea why they were there. There was hip-hop and rock everywhere, and now EDM has taken over, but people have been lazy in production and making music. I hope that producers push the boundaries and make new music. Now the public is here, so you don’t have to stick to the format and you can do different stuff.

In terms of the crowd, what’s the craziest show you’ve played?

There are so many! Ibiza this summer was insane with David Guetta, and then I played with Steve Aoki…I love to do festivals, but I love to do club shows as well.

Playing at clubs versus festivals – do you prefer one over the other?

I don’t necessarily prefer one over the other; for example today I’m playing for an hour at the festival here and then I’ll be going straight to Club Space [in Miami] to do a very long set, so it depends. I like both.