ZEDD TELLS ABOUT TELOS
After ten years in the industry, Zedd is still giving us something to talk about. Finally, in his 5th studio album Telos, Zedd is showing his true colors. The Russian-born DJ has taken on another EDM-style album, reinventing many cult classic songs.
After making a name for himself by being featured on many pop hits ( Break Free - Ariana Grande and Starving - Hailee Steinfield) and releasing many of 2010’s charting albums, most notably Clarity (2012), he is taking a different approach with Telos. Grouping it into the realm of “concept albums”, and using it to tell a story only he could write through music.
He keeps his musical story flowing with a non-stop orchestra playing throughout the album, connecting each one of the songs. The classically trained musician broke down his songs from a very technical standpoint in order to complete parts of his story;Zedd slowed down the BPM (beats per minute) in order to create suspense, or hightened the synthesizers to create the peak of the action.
He showcases the idea of a strong story line in the song Descensus (which also happens to be his favorite on the album) he says creates a feeling of “walking up the stairs, then falling through glass.”
Zedd’s career is not short of famous collaborations in the slightest, and although he said he doesn’t really enjoy collaborating, he wouldn't be where he is now without it. In Automatic Yes, Zedd claims that while this song was one of his favorites he couldn’t figure out how to finish it — and almost trashed it. If it weren’t for John Mayor being in the studio with him, the song would not have made the album.
In the realm of collaborations Zedd took on a beloved song, Jeff Buckley’s Dream Brother. Wanting to keep the full Buckley feeling, he revisited some of his old rock and jazz influences from when he used to play in a hard rock band. Zedd says that Buckley has always been an inspiration to him and taught him that “music is only worth it when you find out that it’s hard to make.”
Listeners should especially look forward to his tour in North and South America, as he says it is the most technically advanced production he has done yet. The artist has run himself dry with the constant effort he has put into this spectacle, even playing acoustic drums during his stage set. The almost sold out tour started September 20th in Boston.
Zedd believes he has put every piece of himself into Telos and wouldn’t change a single part of it even if he could. Because of this, listeners shouldn’t expect new music any time soon, but for now we get to immerse ourselves in the story of Telos.