WATCH: Steve Winwood says EDM will spawn ‘great new writers and composers’

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood surprised some rock purists when he praised EDM during his interview with David Fricke on Classic Vinyl (Ch. 26).

“I think some of the great new writers and composers will come through that DJ/producer direction,” he said.

Winwood did acknowledge that EDM can be hard for his cohort to embrace.

“I think youngsters make sure there’s so many subgenres that my generation can’t understand it,” he said. “There are some very interesting things. Some of it is a-musical, very industrial, and it’s very hard to listen to. But if there’s someone who can filter it, there’s some great music in there.”

Winwood kept it classic rock too, of course, and shared excerpts from his newly released Winwood Greatest Hits Live and talked about his celebrated career with Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic as well as his successful solo work.

Elsewhere in the interview, Winwood talked about his relationship with punk rock, his history playing with blues players and more.

Hear the full interview on Classic Vinyl (Ch. 26) when it premieres Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 12 pm ET/PT. Hear encore airings Oct. 11 at 10 pm ET; Thursday, Oct. 12 at 6 am ET; Friday, Oct. 13 at 2 pm ET; Saturday, Oct. 14 at 10 am ET; Sunday, Oct. 15 at 3 am ET; and Sunday, Oct. 15 at 7 pm ET.