The Hot 6ix: Zeds Dead and Toronto

Now Zeds Dead want to play an even bigger role in the city where they started out years ago. This year they launched their record label, DeadBeats, with the very first DeadBeats music festival, an event they hope to put on annually. This year’s DeadBeats show was held on the waterfront, with acts including Lil Dicky and Toronto favourites like Pusher and Memorecks.

“This seems like a logical next step for us that we’ve wanted to take for a while. It gives more of a voice for the electronic realm of things in Toronto,” says Dylan. “There’s a lot of eyes on the hip hop world right now and that’s awesome; everything that comes out of Toronto that makes an impact just brings more energy to the city. I think it’s time for the electronic world to have another lane as well, which hopefully we can help provide.”

The group’s second big announcement this year was that their debut album ‘Northern Lights’ will be released through the label as well. At first listen, the stylistic breadth of the album can be overwhelming. One moment a track lulls you into a hypnotic relaxation with gorgeous vocals and the group’s undeniable pop sensibilities; the next moment you’re staggering back to life from rapid-fire breakbeats. It also showcases talent from all over the musical spectrum: Weezer’s lead singer Rivers Cuomo makes an appearance, as do two-thirds of veteran east-coast rap group The Lox – Styles P and Jadakiss – and even Toronto artist Dragonette, who smashed the pop charts with crossover hit ‘Hello’ with Martin Solveig.

Describing the different facets of the album, Dylan says, “We do all the production, so within that hopefully there’s always an indication of just Zeds Dead. Even though we go all over the place stylistically and genre-wise, I think that there’s
a common thread there.” In contrast, Zach takes a more poetic approach to his vision of ‘Northern Lights’: “I think of our album more of like a ride; it’s a concept album based on the feelings of the Northern Lights, but it’s not one sound throughout, it’s like a dream and it takes different twists and turns.”

As a new Smirnoff Sound Collective documentary demonstrates, those styles also correspond to Toronto itself and its mixture of people and cultures. Just as the effects of dancehall and reggae are leaving a similarly powerful impression on hip hop, Toronto’s Caribbean roots are clear in electronic music, too. “Toronto had that drum ’n’ bass history and the whole dancehall and reggae scene and the hip hop scene,” says Dylan. “All that stuff amalgamates in one way or another to create something new.”

Toronto’s electronic music community has ebbed and flowed since the early 90s. The striations of different movements, whether trance, drum ’n’ bass or techno still continue to shape the current musical landscape. Along with that, the physical landscape of the city itself – its venues, record shops and DIY spots – has continued to change as well. Many of the spaces that launched Zeds Dead years ago have come and gone.

One of the largest of those, The Guvernment Nightclub, locked its doors for good in 2015. A sprawling mega-club, its closing was seen as the end of an era for dance music in Toronto. Zeds Dead in particular had a special relationship with the venue, hosting their annual holiday show at the Kool Haus (the largest venue in the Guvernment complex) for two years before having to move it elsewhere due to the closing.

Despite the changing face of the city’s nightlife, Zeds Dead say that there’s no better time and place for them to begin the next part of their journey than the only place they want to call home. “Toronto has a really cool balance between quality of life and beauty to the city, one where you don’t feel like you’re ever too far from the action,” says Dylan. “It’s a melting pot in the best way.”