Zeds Dead

Named for one of Quentin Tarantino’s iconic lines from Pulp Fiction, Deadbeats blend hip-hop attitude and swagger with electronic music‘s frenetic energy. Through their genre-blurring Deadbeats label they have fostered emerging artists as well as bass stars to success.

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Dubstep

Dubstep evolved out of UK garage as a more sinister, dark, and complex soundscape. Its menacing basslines evoke other worlds or provide us with a funhouse mirror of ourselves while its complex mix of gunshots, clicks, and snares creates the same uneasy energy as an intruder breaking in your home.

Zeds Dead have proven with their 2016 full-length album Northern Lights that they can execute an array of styles in their production, featuring collaborations from Twin Shadow, Diplo, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and others.

Dylan “DC” Mamid and Zachary “Hooks” Rapp-Rovan of Canadian duo Mass Productions epitomize EDM‘s playful hybridity. By mixing hip hop, drum ‘n bass and jungle music into their genre-defying soundscape, the duo created an excitingly varied sonic stew of unexpected compounds that makes up their unique soundscape.

Drum & Bass

The duo has made its name through heavy bass drops and melodic grooves that stand out from other producers. Although occasionally producing dubstep (“Fire Hive”), more often they take elements of this genre and integrate it into club tempos or other styles.

Zeds Dead have created something unique with “Aftertaste”, featuring dark vocals and synthesizers for an unsettling atmosphere. This track serves as an appetizer to what can be expected in their forthcoming album Northern Lights; an ambitious creative project.

The album features collaborations with artists from pop music, such as Pusha T, Twin Shadow, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, NGHTMRE and Jadakiss – though its sound remains undeniably Zeds Dead’s. This record marks their apex as dance music superstars and visionary creators.

Hip-Hop

Zeds Dead were frequent fixtures on Toronto’s club scene from 2005-2009, where they founded Bassmentality as an ongoing event that nurtured new artists and sounds emerging from dubstep and bass’s global underground scene.

DC and Zach formed Zeds Dead after borrowing an iconic line from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (“Zed’s dead, baby”) as inspiration and started playing worldwide stages under their new moniker. Today they can often be found headlining major festivals from Coachella to Lollapalooza and Ultra Music Festival to Tomorrowland Belgium.

Zeds Dead have long been pushing the limits of dance music, and in 2016 launched their own label Deadbeats to further challenge genre boundaries. Since then, this genre-bending imprint has become one of dance music‘s fastest growing independent labels, helping discover future stars such as DNMO, PEEKABOO, 1788-L and ZEKE BEATS. Their debut full-length artist album Northern Lights marks their artistic culmination thus far and features crossover collaborations with artists like Twin Shadow, Diplo and Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo among many others.

Electronica

Electronica is an umbrella term that encompasses various styles of electronic music. The genre is defined by the combination of hardware and software to produce music, opening up new possibilities. Artists such as Bonobo, Four Tet, and Tycho have helped shape its modern identity.

Zeds Dead is an undeniable force at The Factory or Mad Decent Block Party, whether blasting their beats through crowds of partygoers at either venue or relaxing on the dancefloor with chill tunes at both. Their sound combines vintage dubstep with bass-heavy trap.

Zeds Dead has earned respect from top artists like Kaytranada, Lido, Baauer and ZHU as one of the premier EDM producers today. UKF recently had the chance to sit down with these revered producers and learn more about their journey, label Altered States as well as latest mixtape Catching Z’s which showcases another side to them both.