Collapse feat. Memorecks
The first track featured is a relatively light one with Jenna Pemkowski’s haunting vocals that float over the beat that Zeds Dead and Memorecks, another electronic producer from Toronto, meld in. (Really digging the piano infusion throughout the build up). It’s not enough these days to just satisfy an audience with a hard-hitting production, sometimes lyrics need to be added and these particular words are of a love that has been lost and finding the capacity to move forward.
Hadouken
Ah, this song…released as their first original after many remixes and a brief hiatus, this track had to be great since it would ultimately set the tone for how the EP would go over with audiences. DC and Hooks did not disappoint. Incorporating many of the elements that brought them success: heavy bass, high energy and just the right amount of vocals, “Hadouken” is built to build you up and then bring you crashing back down with a roller coaster of sound.
Lost You feat. Twin Shadow & D’Angelo Lacy
This is hands down my favorite song on the EP. “Groovy” would be an overused phrase for “Lost You,” but I can’t help it. Three tracks into the EP and the consistent throng of lyrics are making the songs really stand out in juxtaposition with ZD’s more aggressively-tuned beats. “Lost You,” however, takes a step back from that, and its nu-disco-infused vibes encapsulate ZD’s growth and evolution as artists. Â Lacy pulls us in and thankfully, won’t let us go, until you are belting out the words along with him. “We love to love….we love to touch….this world needs people to be in love” it’s true.
Bustamove
The halfway point for this EP’s track serves as its title: just shut up and bust a move. Obviously meant to fully be enjoyed live and seeing as Zeds Dead is dabbling with deep house on numerous occasions on this EP, they succeed. Once hailed as “dubstep demigods,” their ferocious knack for exploring different genres is refreshing and clearly makes the duo stand out from the status-quo. With so many veteran acts wandering around, and quite frankly, looking rather lost, DC and Hooks show they are capable of tackling and conquering styles that are foreign to them and still maintaining their initial sound that got our ears perked in the beginning.
Stoned Capone feat. Omar LinX & Big Gigantic
I’m not saying that putting Big Gigantic on an disc is an automatic win in my book…but it definitely helps your chances. A straight up rap record, Omar LinX, a frequent collaborator of ZD and fellow Canadian, is backed by the soothing saxophone of Big G. “Stoned Capone” is a great title because that film noir, gangster feel is truly eminent and let’s face it, you could definitely smoke a joint to this song and be a-ok.
Where Are You Now feat. Bright Lights and Dirtyphonics
Oh, how I love Dirtyphonics. The French group have been making waves in the bass scene and collaborating with ZD brings us one of the only tracks on this EP that give us a hard crushing drop. Heather Bright, aka Bright Lights, can be heard on songs by Zedd, Porter Robinson, Hardwell and 3Lau. Now, she lends her vocals to “Where Are You Now” with a drumkick that again, just continuously builds you up and leaves you satisfied in the end.
Dead Price feat. Sean Price
Zeds Dead is a full blown hybrid. I wouldn’t categorize them as trap, more so they flex their producing skills to cater to rappers. This is clearly eminent on “Dead Price”, featuring American rapper, Sean Price. There is hardly a “drop” at all in this song just good old rap. That is what makes this EP so fantastic, it cannot be labeled as an EDM record, it’s experimental and refreshing.
Blink feat. Perry Farrell
It’s a shame this EP has to come to an end, but the triumphant finale comes in the form of “Blink.” Having recruited the front man for Jane’s Addiction for the effort, Zeds Dead comes full circle and end with the genre that they are always going to dominate: dubstep. The journey these two are capable of bringing you on in just over 31 minutes is simply astounding. And to bring forth the cliche “don’t blink, because it’ll be over”, I’m sad that it is.
