Gonzales , -LRB- born Jason Charles Beck ; 1972 -RRB- , is a Grammy-nominated Canadian musician who resided in Paris , France for several years , now in Cologne , Germany . Though best known for his first MC and electro albums , he is also a pianist , producer , and songwriter . He regularly collaborates with the Canadian musicians Peaches , Mocky and Feist -LRB- who , among other things , joined him on tour through Europe and Australia for the album ` Presidential Suite ' -RRB- . Additionally , he has collaborated with Jamie Lidell on the albums Multiply and Compass , Buck 65 on the album Secret House Against the World , Daft Punk on the album Random Access Memories and performed with Drake at the 2011 Juno Awards . Gonzales was born on March 20 , 1972 and began teaching himself piano at age three , when his older brother Chris began taking lessons . He was later classically trained as a pianist at McGill University , where he began both his composing career , co-authoring several musicals with his brother , and his performing career , as a jazz virtuoso . In the 1990s , he embarked on a pop career as the leader of the alternative rock band Son . Son was signed to a three-album deal with Warner Music Canada in 1995 , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records . The first release , the Prince/Elvis Costello-flavored LP Thriller , was moderately successful , spawning one single that received heavy radio airplay -LRB- '' Pick up the Phone '' -RRB- and leading to several opening gigs for the Barenaked Ladies . While the album 's production values were limited -LRB- Warner Bros. simply released the band 's hastily recorded demo -RRB- , it showcased Beck 's gift for melody , and his talent as a self-taught producer . The latter was even more in evidence with Son 's second release , Wolfstein , recorded at a fully equipped studio in LA with the assistance of Chris Beck , then on his way to becoming an Emmy-award winning soundtrack composer . Nominally a concept album about a man who starts turning into a wolf after hitting one with his car , it featured a darker , more complex sensibility than its predecessor , and marked Gonzales 's arrival as a musical innovator in his own right . As far as Warner Bros. was concerned , however , the album represented too radical a change in direction , and suffered from a dearth of singles acceptable to the Canadian pop charts -- perhaps the most upbeat , catchy tune on the album had the radio-unfriendly title '' , Making a Jew Cry '' . The label gave little promotional support to the release , and parted ways with the band soon after . -LRB- While remaining largely silent on the experience in interviews , Gonzales did recount part of his Warner Bros. experience in `` Candy '' , the opening track to his 2000 album , The Entertainist . -RRB- Recognising that pop success had as much to do with a good press angle as musical talent , Gonzales decamped to Berlin in 1999 , where he decided his Jewish ethnicity could give him a marketing edge . However , he spoke no German . Of moving away from Canada , what Gonzales said in an interview was : `` My experiences in Canada had been disappointing , because I had n't really stepped up on the extra-musical elements of music making '' . With this change in image came another major change in Gonzales 's musical style . His three albums on the German Kitty-yo label were largely built around rap , though his skills as a keyboardist shone through on a series of interspersed instrumental tracks . European critics and audiences were more receptive to the eclectic and experimental nature of Gonzales 's output . His first Kitty-yo single '' , Let 's Groove Again '' , became an immediate dancefloor hit upon its 1999 release . -LRB- It was later used in a BBC promotional trailer for their new TV programme The Restaurant aired in 2007 . -RRB- Gonzales became a fixture in both nightclubs and on the summer pop festival circuit . In 2004 , the performer released an album entirely made up of instrumental material , Solo Piano . Highly acclaimed by public and critics alike , it drew immediate comparisons to the work of Erik Satie and so attracted a new global audience to his work . Solo Piano has been released in several countries , and remains Gonzales 's best-selling album to date . In the meantime , Gonzales continued to develop as a producer and songwriter for other artists , collaborating on singles and albums with Peaches , renowned chanteuse Jane Birkin and budding indie star Leslie Feist . The output of the latter collaboration -- Feist 's 2003 album , Let It Die , became a bestseller , won critical acclaim and industry awards , and became the basis for her breakthrough as a mainstream pop artist . Gonzales returned as a key contributor on Feist 's 2007 album , The Reminder , which was nominated for a Grammy and won a Juno Award . In early 2008 , he announced he was going back to the studio as a singer in his own right , and had re-signed with a major label , Mercury Records . On April 7 Soft Power was released . While maintaining a typically eclectic mix of styles , Soft Power was in some ways a stylistic return for Gonzales -- his most purely pop recording since Thriller , though with a sound inspired more by the 1970s hits of such artists as the Bee Gees and Billy Joel . Of his choice to sing on this album , Gonzales said in an interview , `` I was afraid of doing an album with a bunch of guests , as so many people could 've expected . I did n't want to open up my Rolodex and get everyone to sing for me . I thought , ` No , I want to put myself in more of a danger zone ''' . Gonzales said in an interview that he works in the Bee Gees style of music : `` There 's a Bee Gees cover on Feist 's album Let it Die `` Inside and Out '' which I 'm sort of responsible , for better or worse , for putting on that album '' . Apart from his solo career , he is also a member of the Berlin-based hip-hop band Puppetmastaz . On May 18 , 2009 , at the Ciné 13 Théâtre , Paris , he broke a world record for the longest solo-artist performance with a total time of 27 hours , 3 minutes and 44 seconds , breaking a record set by Prasanna Gudi . On September 25 , 2009 , he challenged singer/songwriter/fellow pianist Andrew W.K. to a piano battle at Joe 's Pub in New York City . After twenty minutes of back and forth , Chilly finally threw a gold necklace at Andrew , distracting him long enough to claim victory . A rematch has been talked about but not yet organized . He may be best known for his song `` Never Stop '' on his 2010 album which the opening piano tune was featured on the original Apple Inc. 's iPad commercials . Apple even went as far to make an electric guitar version . On April 13 , 2013 , it was announced through a teaser video played at the Coachella Music Festival that Gonzales will be featured on Daft Punk 's fourth studio album , Random Access Memories .