Zeds Dead
Encyclopedia
Background
Zeds Dead is an ElectronicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
duo from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
composed of DC and Hooks. DC and Hooks have been producing together since 2004, formerly as Mass Productions. Taking influence from the digging in the crates sampling school of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, Mass Productions released one independent album in the summer of 2007 entitled Fresh Beetz. It is their first and only release to date. In the summer of 2009 DC and Hooks launched their second collaboration, Zeds Dead.
Zeds Dead played their first live set at The Social in Toronto on June 11, 2009. In September 2010, they founded a weekly party at the Toronto venue, 751 called Bassmentality, alongside "The Killabits". Bassmentality moved to Wrongbar in November 2010 and now hosts a different international guest every week. Past guests have included Nero, Skrillex, Bar9, Dieselboy
Dieselboy
Dieselboy is the stage name of Damian Higgins, an American drum and bass DJ, producer, remixer, founder of the Human Imprint music label, and co-founder of its sublabel SubHuman : Human Imprint which launched in September 2010...
, 12th Planet
12th Planet (musician)
John Dadzie, better known by his musical alias 12th Planet, is a Los Angeles based dubstep producer and DJ.-Biography:12th Planet, born John Dadzie, grew up in Los Angeles and was first introduced to the electronic music scene in high school when he regularly attended raves and jungle parties...
, 16 Bit, Borgore
Borgore
Asaf Borger , known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli dubstep producer and disc jockey . He is the founder of Buygore Records and former drummer of Israeli death metal band Shabira. Known as Gorestep, his music incorporates triplet drum patterns with heavy metal influences. Some songs have...
, Mary Anne Hobbs
Mary Anne Hobbs
Mary Anne Hobbs is an English DJ and music journalist from Garstang, Lancashire. She launched a new Primetime show on Xfm on 9 July 2011-Early career:...
, Plastician, Netsky, and the top local talents. Despite their heavy touring schedule Zeds Dead is still very involved with Bassmentality, as it continues to grow and support international and upcoming talents alike.
Release History
Kissy Sell OutKissy Sell Out
Kissy Sell Out an English DJ, producer and graphic designer. Kissy Sell Out quickly gained notability in 2006 for his eccentric electro productions and energetic DJ style. In 2009 Mixmag described him as "one of the most exciting, charismatic and entertaining DJs of the decade"...
has called Zed's Dead "the future of genres...flipping genius", and in November 2010, his label "San City High" released the band's first official single, Rudeboy. A vocal featuring Omar LinX, a Toronto-based rapper who has worked on several of Zeds Dead's releases and is rumoured to be working on an EP with the duo, was put out in March 2011. Zeds Dead's many productions have garnered millions of views on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, topped the charts on Beatport
Beatport
Beatport is an online music store specializing in electronic dance music and culture. Beatport is a privately held company owned and operated by Beatport LLC and based in Denver, Colorado.-History:...
, and earned them the support of the worlds top DJs.
Zeds Dead gained international popularity long before their first official release by offering free downloads of their many unique productions. they continue to do so today. Their first song made public was "Journey of a Lifetime", which was self-released and offered to fans as a free download in June 2009. since Journey, they have given away countless other productions, including the wildly popular White Satin
White Satin
White Satin is a 1960 studio album by the George Shearing quintet and orchestra, arranged by Billy May.- Track listing :# "Your Name is Love" # "Dream" # "Laura" # "There's a Small Hotel"...
, and most recently, Coffee Break
Coffee Break
Coffee Break is an online book on the NCBI Bookshelf created and maintained by staff at NCBI, a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The book consists of small chapters which are each written about a different topic in the world of Biomedicine. There are currently 32 chapters, and it was...
, to thank their fans for helping them reach 100,000 fans on facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
Kissy Sellout and Skream
Skream
Skream is a dubstep producer based in Croydon. One of dubstep's first and most prominent producers, he has played an important role in the genre's development. His debut album Skream! was released in 2006, and was followed up by Outside the Box in 2010...
were two of the first to take notice of the duo, featuring their remix of Blue Foundation
Blue Foundation
-History:Blue Foundation started out in 2000 based on Tobias Wilner, aka Bichi's cooperation with various artists and musicians; his work with Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg and Bo Rande has been especially characteristic for the Blue Foundation sound. The music can be described as a mix of melodic...
's "Eyes on Fire" on their radio shows, on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and Rinse FM
Rinse FM
Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central,east and south London areas.". The station plays grime, dubstep, UK garage, funky, drum and bass and other genres....
, respectively. Soon after releasing their remix of Eyes on Fire, Zed's Dead linked up with Dragonette
Dragonette
Dragonette is a Canadian electropop group active since 2005. Dragonette consists of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz and drummer Joel Stouffer....
for an official remix of their 2010 release, "Volcano". Zeds Dead's original self-released “1975” was featured in GQ Magazine’s
GQ (magazine)
GQ is a monthly men's magazine focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books...
2010 Video Shoot with Russian Supermodel Irina Shayk.
2011 saw Zeds Dead release Bassmentality ft. The Killabits, a track made as a tribute to the friends and fans who made their Toronto party, Bassmentality, an internationally renowned weekly. On October 4, 2010, Zeds Dead released Rumble in the Jungle on the popular electronic label Mad Decent
Mad Decent
__FORCETOC__Mad Decent is the name of the Philadelphia via Los Angeles based record label spearheaded by Thomas Wesley Pentz, who's better known as Diplo, the Grammy-nominated producer of M.I.A’s “Paper Planes”, and one half of the collaborative music project Major Lazer...
. The b-side of the 2-track EP entitled "Undah Ya Skirt" features vocals from the Jamaican Dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
superstar and Grammy Award Winning artist, Mavado
Mavado
Mavado may refer to:*Mavado *Mavado, a character in the Mortal Kombat series...
. The a-side which takes the EP's title is a tribal breakbeat, it reached #1 on the beatport
Beatport
Beatport is an online music store specializing in electronic dance music and culture. Beatport is a privately held company owned and operated by Beatport LLC and based in Denver, Colorado.-History:...
breaks charts.
Tour History
- Zeds Dead began touring in September 2010 in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. They have since returned twice, once to tour with Kissy Sell OutKissy Sell OutKissy Sell Out an English DJ, producer and graphic designer. Kissy Sell Out quickly gained notability in 2006 for his eccentric electro productions and energetic DJ style. In 2009 Mixmag described him as "one of the most exciting, charismatic and entertaining DJs of the decade"...
, once independently in summer 2011. - On December 1, 2010 they began their first official North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Tour, playing over 40 dates throughout CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - In July 2011 they began "The Rumble in the Jungle Tour" playing summer festivals in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the UK. - Zeds DeadZeds Dead-Background:Zeds Dead is an Electronic duo from Toronto, Ontario composed of DC and Hooks. DC and Hooks have been producing together since 2004, formerly as Mass Productions. Taking influence from the digging in the crates sampling school of hip hop, Mass Productions released one independent album...
launched "The Graveyard Tour" September, 2011, boasting over 70 dates throughout CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - Their first AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
tour is scheduled to begin sometime in January, 2012. Dates are TBA
Miscellaneous
The name "Zeds Dead" comes from the duo's actual names, Zack and Dylan (Z & D), but it is also a reference to a line from the 1994 Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
film Pulp Fiction
Pulp fiction
Pulp fiction may refer to:* pulp magazines, short stories presented in a magazine format, printed on cheaply made wood-pulp paper* Pulp Fiction, a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino...
.
Albums/EPs
- Rudeboy (2010) San City High Records (EP)
- Rudeboy ft. Omar LinX (2011) San City High Records (EP)
- Bassmentality (2011) Basshead Records (EP)
- Rumble in the Jungle (2011) Mad DecentMad Decent__FORCETOC__Mad Decent is the name of the Philadelphia via Los Angeles based record label spearheaded by Thomas Wesley Pentz, who's better known as Diplo, the Grammy-nominated producer of M.I.A’s “Paper Planes”, and one half of the collaborative music project Major Lazer...
(EP)
Other Releases
- Zeds Dead - Journey of a Lifetime
- Barletta - Panther (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Zeds Dead - Summer Grime
- Fenech Soler - LA Love (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Zeds Dead - Dark Side Dub
- Radiohead - Pyramid Song (Zeds Dead Illuminati Remix)
- Noob & Brodinski - Peanuts Club (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Blue Foundation - Eyes on Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Zeds Dead - Wakeup ft. Omar Linx
- Foo Fighters - The Pretender (Zeds Dead Ruckus Remix)
- Massive Attack - Paradise Circus (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Zeds Dead - Here Comes The Boom
- The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Zeds Dead - Out For Blood ft. Omar LinX
- Zeds Dead - 1975
- Zeds Dead - White Satin
- Zeds Dead - The Twilight Zone
- Jason Falkner - Only You (Zeds Dead Remix)
- Zeds Dead - Coffee Break
- Zeds Dead - Rudeboy Feat. Omar LinX
External links
- Zeds Dead Website
- Zeds Dead on SoundCloudSoundCloudSoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...