First debuting on deadmau5’ esteemed mau5trap label in 2017 with ’No Time,’ followed by his Pipe Dream EP. Australian producer EDDIE quickly became a regular on the imprint with the release of his EP Spiritual Contraband in 2017, Bad Habits in 2018 and Blueprints in 2020. Branching out in 2019, EDDIE landed on insomniac’s Bassrush Imprint with the ATLiens collaboration ‘Closer’ before his breakout moment, the high Profile collaboration with global superstar REZZ ’Stress,’ which has surpassed 1 million plays on Spotify. EDDIE is also featured on remixes for Zeds Dead, deadmau5 & Blanke.
Fast forward to 2024, EDDIE is now a rising star in the US Bass Music Scene. Despite a busy tour schedule supporting REZZ, Blanke, BTSM and Jauz, the Australian has also made headway in production. He’s released multiple tracks on REZZ’s Hypnovizion label and also was featured on REZZ’s new album with their heavy hitter collab: ‘Maleficent.’ It’s not just his creative approach to music that makes EDDIE interesting. He’s got a heart of gold and a wicked sense of humor as well. We were able to catch up with him after his set for REZZ’ Hypnovizion showcase at Miami Music Week, so read the interview below! Let’s find out who the fuck this EDDIE person is and the lore behind the man.
Hey man how are you doing! Thanks for sitting down with EDMTunes for this interview. That was a great set just now! And also welcome to Miami, is this your first time here?
EDDIE: Thank you thank you. It is my third time actually!
Amazing! Welcome back…
Now…The question on everyone’s minds: Who the fuck is EDDIE??
EDDIE: You want to know how that came about I’m guessing?
Yes! It’s such a funny tag line and when I first saw it at The Mirage and I just thought it was so funny and camp. It really pulled the audience in. I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s really great branding.
EDDIE: So I played Red Rocks for REZZ. I opened for her just six months earlier, and her visual coordinator, Cam, I don’t know if you’ve met him before — He’s amazing, Cam McNeil. And he said, “hey, we should do this visual,” because I always [joked with] him, “who the fuck is EDDIE?” ironically since Eddie is such a common name. It’s such a stupid name for an artist. So I’m thinking: “I have my skull, there’s a bit of lore there, but I need something else.” And I thought, “why not just ironically have “who the fuck is EDDIE” up there on the screens constantly. So we tested it out. Red Rocks went pretty well, and people started uploading YouTube clips saying, “who the fuck is this guy? Who are you?” I engaged and laughed about it and then it seemed to naturally come as a progression. So then fast forward to Brooklyn Mirage, I made an intro with it to see how that people would react. And man, you were there. That show was crazy! I thought everyone would leave [after REZZ finished her set], and I think I held, like, a lot of the crowd.
Oh yeah, you held it down. At least half of that place stayed. I remember I was thinking at the time: “oh, well, REZZ always loves to end it early and go home, so it will be an early night for me but then you came on and I didn’t want to leave!
EDDIE: Thank you, thank you. That’s how it came about. I remember telling my manager that night though, “hey, at the at the end of the set, I’m gonna say one, two, three. ‘Who the fuck is EDDIE?'” And he was like, “no don’t do it. With your accent, they won’t understand it. It’s late, etc.”
Oh wow really?
EDDIE: Yeah, really. And I was like, okay. It’s not a bad comment to make. It’s just him doing this job and being precautious because if I did it and no one responded, it would be bad and I would never do it again. But that night I felt it in the crowd. It was the first time in my life that I felt like: “WOAH” I had this feeling of, “I think I did something right here,” you know? You feel the energy. You’re in sync with the crowd. In my head, I told myself “I gotta do it for sure.”
So I did it…
And it was a crazy crowd reaction. It was so good. And my manager afterwards was like, dude, “what was that?” And I was like, “yeah that was insane.”
You just rolled with it! When you came back to New York. That was Webster Hall for Blanke’s tour last month. I was there for your intro.
EDDIE: No one was there and I still went with it. I was like, “fuck it. It is what it is.” And I still did it at the end. And it was still a great reaction.
You know what? Like you can have a really predict how people are going to react to something like that. But now that they’ve latched onto it, just hold on to it tight. You’ve created a brand.
EDDIE: Yeah. And I know it’s I know this answer has gone long for just the first question, but I just played Wamu Theater in Seattle a couple weeks ago for Black Tiger Sex Machine and I was second on the lineup and I was like, “alright, there will probably be like a few hundred people there for my set” Like I was second on tonight and it’s not the biggest crowd.
But you’ve got Ultra going on concurrently tonight.
EDDIE: Yeah, yeah, people aren’t out of the festival yet. But in Seattle I look down for one moment and then wham, it was like 20 minutes in and there was 8000 people, and I was like, “oh my God.” So I did the same thing I did at Mirage. I felt the energy. But that was the first time they started chanting it without me asking them to do it. And I was like, “ohhhhh, it’s catching on!” So yeah, it’s been sick. It’s a big part of the brand.
Have you put it in a song yet? Or tried just ripping the acapella in the middle of a set like James Hype?
EDDIE: It’s in the intro, and is an actual song that’ll be on a future EP. Haven’t decided anything final yet.
Nice! Looking forward to more music from you. Have you been able to get a lot of studio time? I know you’re touring a lot. You’re opening for Jauz, you’re opening for Blanke, you’re opening for REZZ.
EDDIE: BTSM, Lollapalooza, It’s a lot of stuff happening now. So I’m and more in the work. I’m just mind blown. Yeah, it’s been a quick turn since I went to bass music.
What did you start off making?
EDDIE: I was originally known for electro house and progressive house, and I originally signed with mau5trap. I did about 50 or 52 songs with them. So I was releasing with them for a long time, with deadmau5. And then that’s how REZZ found me and was like, “yo, let’s work on stuff.” That’s how I found the darker stuff and realized I really like it.
Oh nice! I’m trying to figure out what sounds I like making currently. I produced house music for the most part. And I love making bass house, and I love tech house, but I’ve always had a love for bass music. I will always be a bass head because that is what got me into EDM. But I know the concept of sound design in bass music is so particular and unique. How was that switch for you from electro house?
EDDIE: I’m very proud of things I make. I’m very happy with, with my music, which I find is rare in today’s scene. A lot of people are really harsh in themselves, which I can be. But I’m still proud of it. And I remember thinking, “Ok. I did this REZZ collab, I also just did this ATLiens collab. I don’t know why they keep asking me to collab on these bass tracks. I make progressive and electro house! It makes no sense.” But our collabs were just so different to everything else they were doing that I think the fact that I had a different perspective coming in from a different world helped me a lot with experimenting and now I’ve definitely found the direction that I want for the future. And it’s been sick.
You’ve found your way. I’ve noticed because I’ve seen you three times now in almost rapid succession! And (not that you weren’t great the first few times I saw you) but the growth that I can see since that first time even, is astonishing. It’s really like you’re coming into your own.
EDDIE: 100%. I mean I would hate it if it was getting worse. So I’m glad that it’s better.
I mean, artists can sometime hit a rut but don’t worry you haven’t hit it!
EDDIE: Thank you, thank you.
So you live in LA now but you are Australian. What made you want to move to the US?
EDDIE: When Covid finished, I got my visa right away and came. I started touring with my electro house stuff and that’s was really it. 2022? I think 2021? I forgot. When did Covid finish 2020?
2021 was when the vaccines were rolling out.
Yeah. Day one I got the vaccine and then came straight to the US and that was it.
Honestly, that was a weird time in music. But also a lot of people popped up and got big, you know? John Summit started coming up. I decided I wanted to make music too, along with thousands of other producers. It was almost like a EDM renaissance. Let’s talk about COVID then. What was your experience like in Australia? Did you spend alot of that time working on music? What kept you inspired?
EDDIE: We locked down really hard. So I couldn’t leave my city for like, two years. You could only go outside for one hour a day. My suburb had a drone that would fly around tracking people. Don’t get me wrong, I love Australia. I would love it if I could live there and do what I do, you know? But this music’s not really popping there. So instead, I came here and it was a lot more free. And I know here everyone was judging that, but I felt the love. It was better for me because I was locked up for so long and I was just trying to survive. It’s really hard in the music industry if you’re not being present, not being at events, not seeing people, not playing shows. And I had to make sure that I didn’t drop off. And I managed to do it, which is awesome. But yeah, it was a tough time for me. I did not find a nice creative pit. I forced stuff out. Thankfully it was still good stuff though.
Sometimes that’s gotta happen. You have to just grind a bit. Did you have anything else job wise to keep busy? I know a lot of producers start off with day jobs, and then they suddenly get big and then they go full time touring.
EDDIE: I was 17 when I started producing properly, so I was mostly studying — sports science and sports psychology. I was also doing audio engineering and I was working at cafes. So I was doing a bunch of stuff. I kind of just went along with the music thing on the side, but it took over so much that I got fired. I would slack off and then get fired. I would be like, “fair enough.” But my parents were very strict with school and said: “you have to keep studying at least.” But then when I started not going to uni, I would [cut class and] just go to a friend’s house with my laptop to work on music, so I ended up getting terminated from the university. Yeah, I was terrible!
I hid it from my parents for a year before they found out. I thought they would get so angry, but they were just disappointed, which is worse. I come from like an Eastern European family so…
Look I get it. Asian parents are like that too!
EDDIE: I’ve heard that! My parents were extremely supportive though, but they needed to see something come out of this, which is fair. I don’t blame them. But fast forward to today, they are really proud. Told me “keep doing it!” It’s been amazing. But yes, short answer is: I worked cafes. That’s what I did. Oh and warehouses! I put jeans in boxes — I would stack them in warehouses.
And now you’re playing warehouses!
EDDIE: Oh that’s good. I should tweet that later.
Put in the drafts!
EDDIE: I’ve got so many good ones!
So I’m in a similar position. I got laid off and was unemployed for like, eight months, so I was just cranking out music for a little bit and gigging hard. But now I start a 9-5 job again and event if I don’t quit soon, they’re definitely going to fire me because I ditched the job to come here for Music Week, and I’m Like, well, I’ve got different priorities.
EDDIE: There you go. Honestly, I did that and it’s kind of working out for me, so…Â
Yes you’re doing a great job.
EDDIE: Thank you, I appreciate it.
So, I am curious, how was the discovery process for you? How did you pick up a manager? Did they come to you?
EDDIE: That was an interesting one. Long journey. I’m pretty sure everyone has a similar one. I think a lot of artists today don’t pay enough attention to add visual branding with their music. And I already stuffed up with the name I had, a normal name, like EDDIE. I was young at the time and had a, “whatever, I don’t care” kind of attitude for it. And then I saw that I needed a rebrand, but couldn’t change the name so I decided on adding a logo / emblem. I got that skull built in the early days and it’s evolved a lot. Then I started making electro house, and I really wanted to get on mau5trap. I uploaded two free downloads in one month and then they emailed me saying “we’d love to have you on deadmau5′ label.” So I really manifested it…
I let it brew for two days because I wasn’t sure if it was real — but it was real! He was one of my icons growing up, so it was really sick and full circle. And from there onwards Twitter helped big time. Everyone would hit you up on Twitter for collabs. I had to keep an online presence because I’m in Australia. I feel like connecting with people was like a natural strength of mine. It’s such a part of the music industry now.
Yeah, it really is. But you also have to have the right balance of social media and actual talent because there’s some people that are running before they can walk on social media and they put out all the all of these reels and vlogs and stuff, but haven’t played in front of a crowd ever.
EDDIE: For sure. Every scene, every industry has that someone who excels in marketing but not at the actual product. Yeah, that’s a that’s a big one forever.
Exactly. I feel like in the music industry though people are so encouraged to overexpose on social media because there’s very little opportunity for fans to actually connect with artists otherwise outside of shows. Sometimes it’s too much though and devoid of any soul.
EDDIE: So that’s why I only post stuff that I feel comfortable making and doing. Though my management might not love that. Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know, it’s normal for them to want you to push more out. But for the most part my team has been very supportive with the brand, the project, and we’ve gotten to a pretty cool spot yet. So much growth to come. So that’s what I am excited about.Â
Have you played any festivals yet?
EDDIE: I played an artcar at EDC. Similar thing [to Seattle] where I was a bit nervous that no one would be there. I get on there. The person before me had like ten people. It is what it is. John Summit is playing at the same time. I didn’t expect anyone to leave any of the big stages. So, I plug the USB in, look down and pretend I’m picking a song for a long time because I’m nervous. I then take one look up and there was like 2000 people. What happened? I realized people have it scheduled in their apps and they know exactly when to come. It felt really good. And I was back to back with a good friend of mine too. So it was crazy. We packed out the car completely. It was a great experience. That was my first one. I also played Das Energi, Escapade in Canada…yeah I’ve been to a few.
Do you have any on your bucket list?
EDDIE: Oh Tomorrowland. I have always wanted to go, but then I started making music, so I told myself that I’ll only go if I play there.
You’ll make it there at the rate you’re going!
EDDIE: I know bass is creeping into the European scene now, slowly. Rampage is another fest I like. My family’s from Europe, so I love Europe. And I know it’s hard to tour there with as a bass act but I want that as a goal. I want to do the UK. I want to do Belgium, the Netherlands. And then in America it’d be literally all the insomniac festivals. They’re all so good.
They need you at Electric Forest!Â
EDDIE: Oh! Is that insomniac? Or?
They own part of it.
EDDIE: I see, cool. It makes sense. It’s an awesome festival. I would love to do Lost Lands. that’s on my bucket list for sure. It’s a really an amazing festival. I have heard nothing but good things about it. I
There’s no doubt in my mind that you will definitely play it one year.
EDDIE: I feel like I should aim for next year. I’m putting it out there.
I’ll put you in the Google survey when they put it out.
EDDIE: We had some fans make a petition and I got over a couple hundred signs. I was pretty impressed!
Excision will notice that for sure. He listens to the community.
EDDIE: I always hear the best things about him. He’s always about the community.
And now Lost Lands is so big so there’s a room for sure on that lineup.
EDDIE: I feel like I’d be able to go heavy enough, but like it’s very different to most of the popular bass sounds. What would you say if I had to ask you: The set I just played how different is that compared to your usual ones you would hear.Â
Turning the table on us for this interview! I love it.
So, coming from a house DJ, I like the fact that you break up a lot of the head banging vibes with more groovy mid-tempo stuff. For me it makes more sense and carries the energy a bit more organically. No shade to any of the mainstream bass acts because I love their music and their sets, but so much of bass music these days is hard cutting, double drops, chopped riddim, etc; and while it can sound cool, for me, since I am classically trained, I love a good arrangement, with flow, and well thought out composition. Your set felt comforting to me, bringing a level of structure to it that I think a lot of music fans will love. It’s dynamic.
EDDIE: Ok yes, I agree, I think I went to a festival once and. I heard a few riddim sets and it was is great, it was heavy, it was filthy. But then 6 hours went by and I was like, “oh, like it’s a little repetitive now for me.” You could say that about every genre, though, to be fair. So so obviously no shade at all to anyone. I’ve even made riddim tracks. I have them in my, in my USB. I don’t play them, but I have them in there because it’s fun to make. I like mixing it up though. Just like REZZ. Her shit is weird. I want to be weird. She’s an inspiration. She’s the only person who does what she does. And artists like Deathpact.Â
Uh oh, we’re entering dangerous territory here! You have met the Deathpact members?
EDDIE: Yeah I know them all!
Are you allowed to even say anything or anymore about them on tape??
EDDIE: No, I can’t but. I know all 7 billion of them. I can name all 7 billion. They’re everywhere. Are you Deathpact?
I don’t know AM I? Have we ever been seen in the same room??? I actually love that it’s still a mystery. Like, nobody’s willing to let the secret out.
EDDIE: It’s hard to explain. There’s literally billions. They’re everywhere. But if I were to ever collaborate with them, it would very funny because then I could say “Who the fuck is Deathpact?”
That’s really good. You should actually pitch that.Â
EDDIE: Yeah, I have spoken to them for like, a long time. I respect their art a lot. We’ve always talked about working on something, so we’ll see.
Well this has been great. Loved to see the man behind the curtain. Happy Miami Music Week and thank you for speaking with us.Â
EDDIE: Thank you so much for having me!
