Since forming in 2009, Canadian duo Zeds Dead has become a pioneer in the burgeoning genre of dubstep.
The band, named after a popular line from Quentin Tarantino’s film “Pulp Fiction ,” gained fame after releasing much of its music online at no cost to fans. The pair has since been signed to two different record labels and has released numerous EPs, and they’ll perform tonight at The Varsity Theatre. The two members, who go by the stage names DC and Hooks , took some time out of their busy tour to talk to The Daily Reveille via e-mail.
The Daily Reveille: Are you guys excited to play in Baton Rouge?
Zeds Dead: Very excited. It’s our first time. We have a night off beforehand, so we’ll be all rested up and ready to go.
TDR: What can fans expect from the show?
ZD: We tried to make this tour an audio journey with ourselves as well as the acts we brought along. [Opening artist] XI takes you on a tour through the most cutting-edge sounds in [electronic dance music], from the deepest minimalism to funked-out glitch and all the peaks and valleys in between. [Another opener] AraabMuzik puts on the most insane live performance with his mastery of the MPC drum machine, playing massive hip-hop beats as well as putting his own twist on today’s dubstep anthems. And of course, our set. We pulled out all the stops with our crazy 3-D visuals and Omar LinX dropping verses on the mic. It’s much more of a live show now than our DJ sets were before.
TDR: Dubstep songs seem to have this structure that everyone has to follow. How do you guys let your creative freedom out while also respecting some of the core elements of dubstep?
ZD: We don’t worry about any structure. We’re just trying to make good music – music that appeals to us, really. Whether or not people call it dubstep makes no difference. Variety is the spice of life.
TDR: Where do you guys see dubstep and Zeds Dead in fi ve to 10 years?
ZD: Dubstep will probably get bigger and bigger until it unfortunately loses its coolness. But that doesn’t really matter to us because we never tried to make only dubstep, and we’re not in this to be cool. We’re in this for the art. In five or 10 years we’ll probably be in an entirely different place musically, but who knows? Hopefully people will like the directions we take it in and we’ll still be able to do it for a living.
TDR: Your schedule is packed with tour dates. How do you guys keep up your energy and find the time to make new music while on the road?
ZD: It’s something we just need to do, so we find ways of making it happen. We just built a studio on our bus, but even before that we’d just make something in the hotel room or at the airport. With the shows, sometimes we are really tired even up to five minutes before the show, but something about going out there and seeing the crowd just gets you in the zone. Being on stage can sometimes even make you feel fully healthy when you’re completely sick. Other than that, coffee helps a lot.
 
____
Contact Joey Groner at [email protected]