walking upstream…
Zedd
sourcesMetal Insider — Zedd's eight years drumming in metalcore band Dioramic · Dancing Astronaut — Zedd on quitting his metal band after hearing Justice · Portland Monthly — Zedd on classical piano training since age four · Rolling Stone — Zedd on what he's learned from Skrillex · Wikipedia — "Shave It" released via Skrillex's OWSLA label, October 2011
Anton Zaslavski — Zedd — is a German-Russian producer whose classical training on piano since age four, and eight years drumming in his brother's metalcore band Dioramic, gave his breakout EDM records an unusually song-first architecture built on chord changes and hooks rather than just a drop. "Clarity" (2012) won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording and set the template for the melodic, festival-scaled electro house that carried him through "Stay," "The Middle," and a decade of A-list pop collaborations.
the sound in question
2012
Clarity (feat. Foxes)Zedd
walk the tributaries ↓
Justice2000s · electro house / French house / electroclash / nu-disco
Zedd has repeatedly named Justice's debut album Cross as the single record that made him quit his metalcore band for electronic production, saying, "if there was ever one album I would recommend combining production and musicality, it would be Justice's Cross" — he's also said Justice's music felt distinctly like songs, which is what drew him in.
listen: upstream & heresource: Magnetic Magazine — Zedd on Daft Punk's "One More Time," Justice's musicality, and Skrillex's influence ↗
2007
D.A.N.C.E.Justice
2012
Spectrum (feat. Matthew Koma)Zedd
listen forThe maximalist, distorted synth stabs and blown-out filtering on "Spectrum" carry over the guitar-pedal-through-a-synth aggression Justice pioneered on Cross, just aimed at a pop chorus instead of a club peak-time moment.
Daft Punk1990s–2000s · House / French house / Electronic / Disco
Zedd has said hearing Daft Punk's "One More Time" was the specific track that pulled him toward electronic music at all — a song built like pop, not a DJ tool, and he's credited legends like Daft Punk with drawing him into dance music in the first place, ahead of even his own EDM peers.
listen: upstream & heresource: Magnetic Magazine — Zedd on Daft Punk's "One More Time," Justice's musicality, and Skrillex's influence ↗
2000
One More TimeDaft Punk
2012
Clarity (feat. Foxes)Zedd
listen forListen for the way "Clarity" foregrounds one huge filtered synth build and a full pop chorus rather than a functional club drop — the same "it's songs" instinct Zedd says he first heard in Daft Punk's Discovery-era singles.
Skrillex2010s · Dubstep / Brostep / EDM
Skrillex discovered Zedd through an unsolicited MySpace message, loved what he heard, and released Zedd's early single "Shave It" on his own OWSLA label — the start of a mentorship and close friendship that shaped how Zedd approached live shows and production as he broke out.
listen: upstream & heresource: Magnetic Magazine — Zedd on Daft Punk's "One More Time," Justice's musicality, and Skrillex's influence ↗
2010
Scary Monsters and Nice SpritesSkrillex
2011
Shave ItZedd
listen forThe aggressive, wobbling bass sound design on "Shave It" — issued on Skrillex's label right as dubstep's bass aesthetic was crossing into American EDM — shows the harder-edged, pre-pop side of Zedd that Skrillex's camp helped shape.