Zedd – a young German producer with a
penchant for bass and bomb-drop heavy breaks - brings more firepower as he
unleashes 'Slam the Door'. Going straight into the overall Beatport charts his
latest track has already taken a firm hold of its audience. He’s been picked up
by Skrillex and his OWSLA label – and no matter what can be said about this –
it helped boost his profile, with the Grammy Award nominated producer giving
the impressionable young impresario a boost that some producers can only dream
of.
Zedd is one of a new line of high
frenetic artists coming through with a blend of electro, searing dubstep and
dance-floor bounce. With 'Slam The Door' – a track which dropped straight into
Beatport at #4 and quickly rose to the summit at #1, the young German producer
delivers a typically powerful dance floor track that speaks volumes about his
rapid ascent through the ranks – and a perfect follow up to his equally
hyper-charged Shave It single. Brought into life by the galloping snares and sfx,
it drops gritty bass, tongue in cheek vocals, formulating a tune that’s built
to create some chaotic rifts in the local basement haunt.
How did you first come into dance
music production? What were you up to previous?
I was pretty much into rock and metal /hardcore
music since I was playing drums in a band and we made that kind of music. Our
goal has always been to make something unique and something other bands would
not do; this is in a way what is my goal now with my electronic productions.
What got me into producing Electro was pretty much
Justice with †. I heard
that CD when I was in the studio and loved it instantly! It made me wanna try
it out myself.
You’ve joined OWSLA, the label ran
by Skrillex – how do you feel about this new champion of music? Why do you
think people are going bananas over him?I love
Skrillex and people go bananas over him
because he is that good and deserves it. His sounds (in my opinion) are just
much better than most of the other acts doing similar music and his
compositions are musical which seperates him from people who get a computer and
learn to push buttons! On top of that he's an incredible human with a big
heart, a supporter and just real - people feel that!
How does he work as a mentor for
you? Does he have a very hands on approach to production and does he advise and
help where he can?He helped me with defining myself in the beginning of
my career. He doens't help me with productions or anything, but whenever we're
together we always listen to music, show each other our latest productions and
stuff we produced and I definitely always have an open eye to how he approached
certain sounds in his productions.
How difficult was it for you to
break into music overall? Did you spend a long time trying to break in?Yes. A very long time. I started when I was little;
it literally took me about 15 years. Since I've started electronic music though
it just pretty much blew up so this definitely didn't take a long time; but
i've been in the music industry for a really long time so sometimes I feel like
a grandpa.
'Slam the Door' is your second
single, a piece of glitchy house mixed with jacking, dub-influenced basslines –
what’s different about this single to last reelease Shave It?Well, I'd say the music is different; the producer is
the same haha. I can't really compare those two songs since I think they are
completely different from each other. Shave it is probably a little easier to
get in to though.
Can you explain the video to us in
some more detail?The video is the most beautiful, serious, political,
religious piece of art, except not!
You’ve risen through the Beatport
charts with this track and peaked at Number One – how does it feel to have
exploded so quickly?It's an amazing feeling and I really appreciate
people supporting me and buying the songs. I really can't show enough
appreciation!!
We hear you were also onboard the
Holy Ship festival cruise...how did this pan out? And what other festivals will
you be appearing at?Holy Ship was insane!!! It was one of the best
experiences of my life! I can't even discribe how much fun we all had; just
hanging out with all my friends on a cruise for 3 days, fans being really
friendly and cool. It was incredible. This year, so far, I can say I'm playing
Coachella, Ultra, SXSW and a few more which I haven‘t announced yet.
Obviously your home country of
Germany is famous for its 4-4 aesthetics and techno leaning sounds. How is the
playing field for dubstep, electro and other forms of alternative electronica
looking at the moment?It's reeeeeeally really tough! Minimal and techno is
still kinda superior, especially in Berlin. I definitely see a change coming in
the next couple of years. No offence against minimal or techno; but at some
point you will probably want a melody in a song.
Finally, as your sweeping through
the ranks at the moment, you must have a slew of releases coming up through
2012? Coming out on OWSLA?I've
signed 2 singles and 1 remix with OWSLA but I'm not signed in any means; I can
release whereever I want to. I just preferred OWSLA because it's the best label
out there. I don't wanna say what else I'm working on besides what everone
knows, but I'll have some big announcements to make and a lot of new music for
everyone!