Electronic
Zeds Dead
ZEDS DEAD
Zeds Dead are knackered. The Canadian electronic music duo of Dylan Mamid and Zachary Rapp-Rovan have just arrived in London, after a very late headline slot in Paris the night before. Words Adam Protz
When I ask what time their slot at London’s legendary Ministry Of Sound is tonight/this morning, Mamid says: “3am.” Rapp-Rovan’s expression looks a little weary at the prospect. Of course, when they hit the stage, the adrenaline will kick in, feeding off the thousands of dance enthusiasts in the room. But, understandably, it’s these inbetween moments on the road and in hotels where these nocturnal tours take their toll. “There’s nothing going on in my brain right now,” Rapp-Rovan says when I ask what’s new with them. “So this interview is going to be amazing!” “We literally just got off the Eurostar,” Mamid says. “They don’t seem
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as fancy as they once were,” Rapp-Rovan says. “Not like those trains from the 1900s!” As their manager enters the room he jokes: “maybe our manager can field some of the questions.” Zeds Dead were one of the many names to emerge during the unstoppable explosion of EDM around 2010, but are one of a select few acts to still be going strong since, whereas many of those careers are actually dead. Interestingly, the duo seem to effortlessly combine virtually every single subgenre that was floating around in the mainstream in EDM’s heyday: dubstep, drum and bass, deep house, trap — I could go on, but the point is you cannot pin Zeds Dead down with one, or
even a dozen genres. This mini-tour that ends at Ministry Of Sound also saw Zeds Dead in Paris and Barcelona. “They’re three awesome cities,” Mamid says. “Usually when we come to Europe we do smaller towns or festivals that are out of the way, so this has been nice.” Rapp-Rovan adds: “The dreaded Frankfurt airport connection at 7am! No sleep, on a bus going from one terminal to the other — am I painting a good picture? “But in a way, I’m most excited about tonight,” Rapp-Rovan continues. “It’s the biggest lineup that we’ve put together.” Tonight is set to be a huge showcase of the duo’s own label, Deadbeats. “We’ve got