EDM Identity
  • News
  • Music
    • Exclusive Mixes
    • Playlists
  • Events
  • Culture
  • Interviews
  • Shop
No Result
View All Result
EDM Identity
No Result
View All Result
October 23, 2019

Get to Know Toronto-Based Midtempo Artist ZABO

Michael Malaychuk
ZABO

ZABO is off to a running start in the bass music scene, earning a strong following due to his original productions and headlining shows across the world.


With a midtempo sound that fans of LICK and HVDES are sure to enjoy, ZABO is an artist that all bass music fans should be watching closely. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, ZABO has quietly amassed an impressive online following full of fans from all over the world.

He’s already played multiple shows in China and continues to grow in popularity overseas. After making his live debut in China earlier this year, ZABO will soon be playing his first North American show in Texas. With a solid catalog of original productions dating back to 2017, he has clearly found his sound and is quickly gaining traction in the bass music scene.

Ahead of the release of his single “Apocalypse,” we sat down with ZABO to talk about his music and how he’s been able to successfully break into the music scene in two different continents. ZABO just recently took the plunge into full-time music production, and the future is clearly bright for this Toronto-based artist. Read our interview below, and listen to his exclusive mix featuring tracks from Drezo, Slooze, Blanke, and more!

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 190 || ZABO on SoundCloud:


Hi ZABO, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Let’s start off by exploring the midtempo sound you’re known for. Who are some of your biggest influences and how do you feel they’ve impacted your career?

Hey guys, thanks for having me! A lot of my biggest influences are some of my good friends in the industry. Someone, in particular, would be LICK. We’ve been friends for a while, and watching him grow has been super inspiring. He’s also really pushing boundaries with his music, which motivates me to keep experimenting!

Originally you focused on heavy electro and big room before you moved from Niagara Falls to Toronto, Canada and got more into the bass music community. What about the bass scene had such an impact on you there?

I think what made me fall in love with the bass scene is that people in the scene are really attached to the music and the artists in the scene. Whereas, in the big room/mainstream EDM scene, I felt that the people were more interested in partying than enjoying the music for the music itself.

Your single “Low” came out in August on Uprise Music. What kind of vibe were you going for in this track, and how does it compare to your past releases?

I was going for an ambient vibe in the breaks, with a gritty, high-energy drop. I’ve had this similar vibe in a lot of my past releases. I also added some deep vocals, which you can also hear in a lot of my past releases. Something I did differently than I normally do for this track was to change the rhythm of the drop basses. I usually have simple rhythms that are easy for the audience to naturally follow along to. In this track, I tried to do something a little more complicated with the rhythm by switching back and forth from 1/16th notes to 1/8th notes.

In September, you also dropped your track “Somber” exclusively in China which was well-received. What led to this decision to release the tune exclusively there and what was it like to have such a massive response?

My manager and I worked closely with my management team in China to really identify which tracks would resonate best with the local audiences there. Western music is still being adopted in China so I really wanted to personalize my release to the fans there. “Somber” was a track we felt wouldn’t really do well in North America but would be a great fit over there. I’m blown away by how popular it’s gotten. I couldn’t be happier about that!

Aside from originals, you recently remixed “Fire” by Prismo and “Mixed Signals” by REZZ and Blanke. How do you put your own spin on tracks when remixing them, and what are some songs you’d like to remix in the future?

When I’m remixing a song, the first thing I do is think about how to keep the integrity of the original, while changing enough of it to make it a ZABO track. Something I always do in order to put my own spin on it is to make subtle changes to the drum patterns to differ them from the original. For example, in my “Mixed Signals” remix, every 4 bars during the first drop I added 2 fast kicks followed by the regular 4 on the floor drum pattern in order to give the song a little more energy, and make it different from the original.

Some songs I’d like to remix in the future are Wolfgang Gartner – “Illmerica” & one of Porter Robinson’s older songs, like “Spitfire” or “Unison”.

Congratulations on making your live debut earlier this year in China. What was that experience like and how did you make that happen?

Thanks so much! It was honestly a dream come true. I’ve been making music for 7 years, and a constant goal of mine has been to be able to play shows for people who enjoy my music.

My manager and I started working with several Chinese social media, artist management, and booking teams before settling with our current team Pillz, who have a fully staffed creative, social, sync, and booking team that coordinate closely with my manager in the U.S. to build out shows and activations over there.

You’ll also be returning to China for a string of shows at the end of October and early November before playing your first gigs in the US in Austin and Houston. When you’re touring with shows nearly every day, how do you find time to stay healthy?

Well I’m super new to the tour life, so I don’t have a whole lot of experience there yet. But I’d say something I make sure to do is get a little exercise every day, and try to get a good amount of sleep. Those two things help a lot; both physically and mentally. I think being mentally healthy is just as important as being physically healthy, and they both go hand-in-hand with each other.

ZABO

Can you share a piece of advice that you feel would help up and coming producers who are still on the hunt to discover their own sound?

Definitely. One thing I highly recommend to up-and-coming producers is to recreate tracks by artists they look up to. This really helps you fine tune your production skills technically, and understand all the components that go into creating a track. Once you’ve gotten good enough that you have all the technical stuff down, you can start focusing on experimenting with creating your own styles of sounds. I recommend hopping in your favourite synth (mine is Serum), and just go crazy with playing around with the different parameters and effects.

Lastly, with the final months of 2019 here and the new year on the horizon, what goals do you hope to achieve in 2020 and beyond? 

My team and I are gonna be focusing a lot on growing my fan base in North America, with the main goal of being able to consistently play shows throughout the US & Canada. I’d really love to get on a few festival lineups for summer 2020 and collab with some other artists in the bass scene that I look up to!


Follow ZABO on Social Media:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud

ShareTweetShareShare

Michael Malaychuk

Michael Malaychuk

A lifelong Chicagoland native, Michael has been attending shows since discovering electronic music in late 2011.

Recently From Michael

Music

Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano Teach DJ Strategy at The School of House

Interview

Ummet Ozcan Chats About Genesis Pro and Latest Single “Seesaw”

Interview

Mike Williams Chats About His Unique Style and Working with Tiesto

  • NEW ALBUM ALERT: 💿
@sglewis delivers his most substantial body of work to date, AudioLust & HigherLove, featuring collaborations with @tovelo , @tydollasign , and more! 💣

English producer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist SG Lewis has elevated his disco-infused dance floor sound to the highest level of his career with his latest 15-track album AudioLust & HigherLove. Featuring an A-list roster of collaborations, his one-of-a-kind futuristic disco delivers a home run of modern dance excellence in a way few producers can achieve. 🧠

🔗 In bio for full details!
✍🏼: @djlo_g 
📸: @pepppy 

—
#sglewis #newmusic #newmusicalert #newalbum #albumrelease #disco #futuristicdisco #dancemusic #newrelease #tovelo #tydollasign #newmusic2023
  • NEW MUSIC: 🔊⁠
@paavoab releases his remix of Kyan’s “Lonely River” with @anamemusic under the @p.o.s.music alias, along with news of his debut album, Deeper Tales. ⚡️⁠
⁠
Paavo Olavi Siljamäki, also known as P.O.S, has quite the legacy with 20-plus years under his belt as one-third of @aboveandbeyond, among other accolades he’s gained throughout his career. ⁠
⁠
🔗 In bio for full details⁠!⁠
✍🏾: @stardustandmadness
  • LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT: 🗣️⁠
@Tomorrowland releases the full line-up for the 17th edition of the iconic Belgian festival, which will revolve around this year’s theme ‘Adscendo’. ⚡️⁠
⁠
Set to welcome more than 600 of the world’s best electronic music artists across 14 mesmerizing stages during two weekends of magic in De Schorre, Tomorrowland Belgium 2023 will take place from July 21-23 and July 28-30. 🗓️⁠
⁠
Swipe to see the lineup, head to Tomorrowland
  • LINEUP TEASER: 👀⁠
@Chris_Liebing, @OfficialGreenVelvet, @Klangkuenstler, @Underworld, @TSHAMusic, @DomDolla b2b @JohnSummit, and more are set to play @movementdetroit 2023! 💥⁠
⁠
Movement Detroit is one of the premier electronic music events in North America, with its unique experience that consistently boasts some of the best artists in the house and techno scene on its lineup. Past editions of the festival have seen thousands flock to the birthplace of techno to catch legends in the community and rising stars who are carving out their own niche alike, and now as Paxahau gears up for the return of Movement Detroit on May 27-29, they’ve revealed the initial lineup for fans to salivate over. 🤤⁠
⁠
🎫 Three-day and single-day GA and VIP tickets for Movement Detroit are on sale now. Let us know if you
  • Got this one on repeat today 🔁

🎵: @surfmesa - “City of Love” feat. Selah Sol

—
#surfmesa #surfmesamusic #newmusic #cityoflove #edmidentity #producer #edmmusic #selahsol #coletrotta #downhillskateboarding
  • LINEUP DROP: ⁠
The lineup for @okeechobeefest
  • ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: 🔦
Following the release of “Feelin’ Down,” @Mahalo stopped by to chat about The Mahalo Show, owning his own studio, and more! His signature sound, dubbed “liquid house,” has won its way into the hearts (and playlists) of dance music lovers everywhere, earning him status as one of the hottest up-and-coming producers in the scene. 🔥

👉🏽 To read our exclusive interview with Mahalo click the link in our bio and be sure to check out his EDMID Guest Mix 358 that he made for us! 🎶

EDMID Writer: @hollyyofearth
📸: @newcitygas
  • FESTIVAL NEWS 🗞️:⁠
The debut headliner lineup for @RESISTANCE Miami’s residency at @M2_miami has been revealed with @CarlCoxofficial, @realAdamBeyer, @CharlotteDeWittemusic, and more.🎵⁠
⁠
Miami has been a hot spot for house and techno lovers. The new nightclub will be in the Miami’s Art Deco District. The hype for the debut season of the RESISTANCE #Miami residency grew as they revealed details surrounding the venue, which is a 35,000-square-foot behemoth that features two floors and enhanced production elements.🏖️⁠
⁠
Head over to RESISTANCE Miami’s official website to join the waitlist for access to tickets. Link in bio to read more about this!🔗 Let us know if you will check out this club!⁠
⁠
EDMID Writer: @czarcruise⁠
📸: @resistance
  • FEATURED INTERVIEW:⁠
Fresh off the release of “Take Me Into Space,” @DadaLife and @DEXTERKINGMUSIC chat about what it was like working with each other and more! 🎵⁠
⁠
Strap on your moon boots because for the first time ever, Dada Life has infiltrated the award-winning Canadian independent record label @Monstercat with “Take Me To Into Space.” Not only was this the first time that the duo released music outside of their own imprint since its launch, but this was a project that came to life with a bit of help in the form of DEXTER KING.💫⁠
⁠
🔗⁠ Click the link in bio to read more about these great artists! ⁠
⁠
📸: @lorenzotnc⁠
✍️:@fluffies4life⁠
  • About
  • Contact
  • Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

CONTACT INFO

San Diego, California

contact@edmidentity.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Music
  • Events
  • Culture
  • Festival Tips
  • Interviews
  • Shop

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist