Dj/Host Zeds Dead
Deadbeats Radio
Toronto-based electronic music duo Zeds Dead is one of the most successful EDM acts to originate from Canada, with an extensive worldwide touring schedule as well as several Billboard-charting releases and Juno nominations to their name. Initially known for producing dubstep and electro-house, their sound has expanded to incorporate drum’n’bass, trap, electropop, and other styles. In addition to releases on labels like Mad Decent, Dim Mak, and RAM Records, they run bass music imprint Deadbeats, through which they released their 2016 full-length debut, Northern Lights.
DC (Dylan Mamid) and Hooks (Zachary Rapp-Rovan) first formed the hip-hop-oriented Mass Productions in 2004 and released an independent album, Fresh Beetz, three years later. They switched to Zeds Dead — named after a line from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction — in 2009, embracing house and the direct, physical side of dubstep. Their debut song, the All Seeing I-sampling “Journey of a Lifetime,” arrived in 2009. It would be the first of many downloadable releases made available for free. The track was quickly followed by more free downloads, as well as a remix of Barletta’s “Panther.”
Throughout 2010 and 2011, they were increasingly active. They released material on a number of labels, including Kissy Sell Out’s San City High, Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak, and Diplo’s Mad Decent; remixed tracks by Blue Foundation and the Electric; and they also toured extensively throughout the U.S. Their first release of 2012 was Adrenaline, an EP issued on Inspected that balanced blitzing dubstep tracks with lower-key breakbeat workouts. The Living Dead (Ultra) arrived months later, before a trio of Mad Decent EPs followed each subsequent year: Victor (2012), Hot Sauce (2013), and Somewhere Else (2014). The latter featured appearances by Twin Shadow and Perry Farrell and entered the Billboard 200.