Wiki: Zeds Dead - upcScavenger

Zeds Dead is a Canadian electronic music duo from Toronto consisting of Dylan Mamid, also known as DC, and Zachary Rapp-Rovan, also known as Hooks. The duo rose to prominence releasing original music and remixes from 2009 to 2010 before becoming a staple on the international touring circuit thereafter. They explore a diverse variety of genres that combine aspects of dubstep, UK garage, house music, electro house, hip-hop, glitch, drum and bass, and more.

Career

Both born and raised in Toronto, Canada, the duo were introduced through mutual friends in 2004 when DC asked Hooks to paint a graffiti mural in his garage. They quickly discovered a mutual love for hip-hop and simultaneously were both starting to produce music. Initially collaborating under the moniker "Mass Productions", the duo came up with their current name from a line spoken by Bruce Willis's character Butch Coolidge to his girlfriend Fabienne (played by Maria de Medeiros) in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction.

Group name

The "Who's Zed?" line from Pulp Fiction opens most of their live shows, either via spoken word or visual movie clip:

"Butch, whose motorcycle is this?"
"It's a chopper, baby."
"Whose chopper is this?"
"It's Zed's."
"Who's Zed?"
"Zed's dead, baby. Zed’s dead."

Mass Productions (2006–2007)

In the summer of 2007, Mass Productions independently released their first and only official release, which was heavily influenced by 1990s hip hop. However, Mass Productions did not garner much attention outside of the local scene.

Formation of Zeds Dead (2009–2010)

DC and Hooks both began to take an interest in electronic music and began producing dance music under the name, Zeds Dead. The group initially found a niche audience on Myspace.

Zeds Dead self-released their first track together, "Journey of a Lifetime", for free. They played their first live set at The Social in Toronto on June 11, 2009.

Bassmentality (2009–2013)

In 2009, Zeds Dead founded a weekly party called Bassmentality in the basement of the Toronto bar, 751. The party was intended as a venue for new Disc jockey to play, unrestricted by concert promoters. In the summer of 2010, Bassmentality moved from the basement of 751 and into Toronto's Wrongbar.

Bassmentality featured weekly performances from its founders, Zeds Dead and The Killabits, as well as rotating slots of local and international acts. Over the four years that the event existed, it hosted early performances from several now-acclaimed artists such as Skrillex, Borgore, Nero, Camo & Krooked, Bare Noize, and Bar 9, among others.

In 2011, Zeds Dead released the track "Bassmentality" with The Killabits, named after the event.

Early touring (2009–2010)

Zeds Dead began their first official North American tour in December 2010, playing over 40 shows in Canada and the United States. They made their European debut in June 2010 in the UK, playing a string of dates around the electronic music festival Gottwood in Wales. The Graveyard Tour in 2011 was the first tour of its scale for Zeds Dead. From September to December, the duo played over 50 dates across North America.

International touring and releases (since 2011)

Victor EP

The Victor EP was released in March 2012 on Mad Decent's Jeffree's label. The album was a collaboration between Zeds Dead and Toronto-based artist Omar Linx. It featured Omar's rap vocals over seven Zeds Dead tracks. DatPiff called the album "a nostalgic 90s sample-based hip hop and futuristic bass with cinematic soundscapes."

The music video for the single "You and I" was shot throughout North America during the Living Dead Tour and received over 21 million plays on YouTube.

The Living Dead EP

The Living Dead EP was released in July 2012 on Ultra Music and was the second collaborative album with Omar LinX released that year. A music video was released for the title track on July 12. The video featured actor Peter Greene, who played the character Zed in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, the film that inspired the duo's name.

Hot Sauce EP

The Hot Sauce EP was released in January 2013 on Diplo's Mad Decent label. The EP was noted as a breakout album for the group. The first single, "Demons", had a music video made directed by Benjamin Millepied, the dancer who choreographed Darren Aronofsky's 2010 film, Black Swan. The video reinterprets Michael Jackson's "Thriller". The single was also featured in the video game Saints Row, and the film .

Zeds Dead received a cease and desist order from the hot sauce manufacturer Tabasco sauce regarding the album's original artwork. Tabasco believed the artwork to be overly similar to their branding. Zeds Dead was subsequently forced to remove all original art and promotional videos for the album.

Somewhere Else EP

Zeds Dead released the Somewhere Else EP in July 2014 on Mad Decent. The album contains collaborations and features with Twin Shadow, D'Angelo Lacy, Omar LinX, Big Gigantic, Heather Bright, Sean Price, Perry Farrell, and Dirtyphonics. Somewhere Else charted on several Billboard charts upon release, including the Billboard 200.

Prior to its release, the single "Lost You" featuring Twin Shadow & D'Angelo Lacy was intentionally leaked online by Zeds Dead through a Craigslist missed connections ad in which users were sent a short clip of the video upon responding. In May 2015, the video for "Lost You" received an MMVA nomination for best EDM/Dance video and won the award for Best Post-Production.

2 Night Stand Tour

In 2015, Billboard exclusively announced Zeds Dead's 2 Night Stand Tour, and plans for a new album in 2016. The tour aimed to take the duo off the festival circuit and place them in historically significant venues in major North American cities for two nights each.

A portion of the proceeds from the 2 Night Stand tour went to benefit the Florida clinic Recovery Unplugged.

On the Austin stop of the 2 Night Stand tour, Zeds Dead attached heart rate monitors to four fans during their set and analyzed the results. The test concluded that there was a clear rise in heart rate during the performance and a correlation of heart rate peaks during key points in the set.

Record label and debut album (2016)

Deadbeats

On March 1, 2016, Zeds Dead announced they had launched their own record label, Deadbeats, alongside the release of a new track "Back Home" featuring Freddie Gibbs.

Northern Lights

On October 14, 2016, Zeds Dead released their debut full-length album Northern Lights through their label Deadbeats, and subsequently embarked on a tour of the same name. The album has a wide variety of features including Rivers Cuomo and Pusha T on "Too Young", and Diplo and Elliphant on "Blame".

Record label and debut album (since 2021)

Altered States

In March 2021, Zeds Dead announced the debut of their new label, Altered States, along with a new logo. The first release was an original Zeds Dead mixtape called Catching Z's.

2009

"Journey of a Lifetime" Deadbeats
"Dark Side Dub" Self-released
"Misirlou" Big

2010

"Wake Up" (with Omar LinX) Self-released
"Here Comes the Boom" Self-released
"White Satin" Self-released
"Out for Blood" (featuring Omar LinX) Self-released (Victor)
"Rude Boy" San (Rude Boy) / (Victor)

2011

"1975" Self-released
"The Twilight Zone" Self-released
"Coffee Break" Self-released
"Bassmentality" (with The Killabits) Zeds
"Ruckus the Jam" Dim

2012

"The Living Dead" (with Omar LinX) Ultra (The Living Dead)

2013

"Cowboy" (with Omar LinX) Ultra (The Living Dead)
"Ratchet" Self-released
"By Your Side" Self-released
"Jericho" (featuring Memorecks) Self-released
"Shut Up and Sing" (featuring Greta Svabo Bech) Greta
"Turn Around" (with Major Lazer featuring Elephant Man) Self-released

2014

"Hadouken" Mad (Somewhere Else)
"Loud" (with Hunter Siegel) Self-released
"Lost You" (featuring Twin Shadow and D'Angelo Lacy) Ultra (Somewhere Else)

2015

"You Know" (with Oliver Heldens) Spinnin'
"Collapse 2.0" (featuring Memorecks) Mad (Somewhere Else - Remixes)
"Wit Me Dub" (with Megalodon) Zeds
"Flies" (with LOUDPVCK) Mad
"One Time" (featuring Murs) Zeds

2016

"Back Home" (featuring Freddie Gibbs) Deadbeats
"Frontlines" (with NGHTMRE featuring GG MAGREE) Deadbeats (Northern Lights)
"Blame" (with Diplo featuring Elliphant) Deadbeats (Northern Lights)
"Stardust" (featuring Twin Shadow) Deadbeats (Northern Lights)
"Too Young" (featuring Rivers Cuomo and Pusha T) Deadbeats (Northern Lights)

2017

"Where the Wild Things Are" (with Illenium) Deadbeats
"Blood Brother" (with Diskord and Reija Lee) Deadbeats
"Way with You" (with Omar LinX) Jackie
"Lights Go Down" (with Jauz) Bite

2018

"Samurai" (with Ganja White Night) Deadbeats
"Kill Em" (featuring 1000Volts) Deadbeats
"We Could Be Kings" (with DNMO featuring Tzar) Deadbeats
"Magnets" (with Snails featuring Akylla) Deadbeats

2019

"Lift You Up" (with Delta Heavy) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)
"Rescue" (with Dion Timmer featuring Delaney Jane) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)
"Stars Tonight" (with DROELOE) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)
"Shake" (with Jauz) Bite (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)
"Feel So" (with Funkin Matt featuring Fiora) Spinnin'
"Sound of the Underground" (with Urbandawn) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)
"Bumpy Teeth" (with Subtronics) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)

2020

"Dead of Night" (with Ganja White Night) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4)
"Into the Abyss" (with Rezz) Deadbeats (We Are Deadbeats Vol.4 - Deluxe)
"POWA" (with PEEKABOO) Deadbeats

2021

"late night drive" Altered (Catching Z's)
"Alive" (featuring MKLA) Deadbeats
"No Prayers" (with Omar LinX) Warner (Victor)

2022

"Gassed Up" (with Subtronics featuring Flowdan) Deadbeats (FRACTALS)
"Mr. Blue" (with Omar LinX) Warner (Victor)
"Think Of You" (with Blunts & Blondes) Deadbeats
"I Took A Ride" Deadbeats
"In My Head" (featuring MKLA) Deadbeats
"The Machines" (with Blanke) Deadbeats
"Ecstasy Of Soul" (with GRiZ) Deadbeats

2023

"One Three Nine" (featuring Scrufizzer) Night
"Aftertaste" (with HNTR featuring AIDN) Altered
"Criminal" (with Hamdi featuring Warrior Queen) Deadbeats
"Levitate" (with Funkin Matt featuring Soul Edge) Altered

2024

"Back Bus" (with REAPER) Deadbeats
"Waves" (with Flux Pavilion and DeathbyRomy) Deadbeats
"Mad Ting" (with Moody Good and Killa P) Deadbeats
"Tomb of the Scorpion" (with Chee) Deadbeats
"Channel Flipping" Deadbeats
"Sweet Memories" Deadbeats
"Heartbeat" (featuring Minke) Deadbeats
"One Of These Mornings" Deadbeats

Production credits

2014

Omar Linx - "Dosey Doe" (produced by Pro Logic and Zeds Dead) Jackie

Remixes

2009

Barletta – "Panther" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Radiohead – "Pyramid Song" (Zeds Dead Illuminati Remix)
Fenech-Soler – "LA Love" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2010

Massive Attack – "Paradise Circus" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Blue Foundation – "Eyes on Fire" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Sublime - "Doin Time" (Zeds Dead Summer Grime Remix)
The Rolling Stones – "Gimme Shelter" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Foo Fighters – "The Pretender" (Zeds Dead Ruckus Remix)
Dragonette – "Volcano" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Jeuce – "Kiss" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2011

Jason Falkner – "Only You" (Zeds Dead Remix)
DJ Vadim and The Electric – "Toot Toot" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Blue Foundation – "Heads on Fire" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Sabi – "Wild Heart" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2012

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – "Household Goods" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Sebastien Tellier – "Divine" (Danger Remix) (Zeds Dead ReRemix)
The Roots featuring Monsters of Folk – "Dear God 2.0" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Colin Munroe featuring Pusha T- "The Fight of My Life" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Bon Iver – "Woods" (Zeds Dead Remix)
The Prodigy – "Breathe" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2013

Marina and the Diamonds – "Lies" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Nina Simone – "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2014

Son Lux – "Flickers" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Broken Bells – "Holding On For Life" (Zeds Dead Remix)
DJ Fresh featuring Ella Eyre - "Gravity" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Jack Ü featuring Kiesza – "Take Ü There" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2015

Martin Solveig and GTA – "Intoxicated" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Tazer and Tink – "Wet Dollars" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2016

Omar Linx – "Red Light Green Light" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Zeds Dead – "Slow Down" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2018

3lau featuring Carly Paige – "Touch" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Gorgon City with Kamille and Ghosted – "Go Deep" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2019

Billie Eilish – "Bury a Friend" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Ellie Goulding and Diplo featuring Swae Lee – "Close to Me" (Zeds Dead Remix)
Oliver Tree – "Miracle Man" (Zeds Dead Remix)

2020

Biicla – "Deeper" (Zeds Dead and Funkin Matt Remix)
Atmosphere – "GodLovesUgly" (Zeds Dead and Subtronics Remix)
Nessa Barrett – "I Hope Ur Miserable Until Ur Dead" (Zeds Dead Remix)

Awards

Much Music Video Awards

|- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2015 || Lost You (featuring Twin Shadow and D'Angelo Lacy) || Best EDM/Dance Video || |- | Lost You (featuring Twin Shadow and D'Angelo Lacy) || Best Post-Production || |- | 2017 || "Too Young" (featuring Rivers Cuomo and Pusha T) || Fan Fave Video || |-

Juno Awards

|- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2015 || Lost You featuring Twin Shadow and D'Angelo Lacy || Video Of The Year || |- |Zeds Dead || Breakthrough Group Of The Year || |- | style="text-align:center;"|2017 || Northern Lights || Dance Recording of the Year ||

Canadian Independent Music Awards

|- | style="text-align:center;"|2017 || Zeds Dead || Electronic/Dance Artist/Group of the Year ||

External links