I just wanted to keep it simple, minimal and a lot of bass so I spent an hour max making the beat and I wanted to do one a week if I remember correctly. There was absolutely no plan whatsoever when I started UZ.
The mask has evolved with time but you never seem to be without it. Are you a private person who prefers to be anonymous or is it more about maintaining the brand? I never thought of this project like a brand, I really am just about the music and I started UZ secretly, using weird font, and making fun beats, nothing was premeditated, it just happened like that. I got contacted by a US booking agency within a few months, they put me on with a management team and that was the start of my second career.
When we sat down to talk about the shows we decided I was going to play with a mask. We evolved the mask a little bit last year because we felt like it needed an upgrade after 7 years. I always liked minimal music, and this is how I approach it. What I am looking for in music is not an overproduced track, or a sound design performance or any of that… My favorite songs always have a catchy melody and I feel like electronic music sometimes is just a bunch of noises put together just for producers to impress other producers and I am definitely going away from this and taking a minimalistic approach to my music.
All the big labels were going into a pop direction trying to get playlist placements so you know, I felt like we needed a new label with a strong cohesive visual identity trying to do something different.
It was really difficult to find places to hide. It was fun for years, but it slowly started to be more of a hassle for me. Maybe we have Future to thank for this reveal. It was the rapper's tune that first got him mimicking the reveal. Finally, I decided it was the perfect timing for the unveiling. What changes in a post-mask UZ world? I will do less shows, make more music, but more importantly, I will concentrate on developing my label Quality Good Records.
We've done greats thing in a year, and we have a lot to do and a lot of great music to release. First up? I feel way better. I think it was really cloudy in my mind before, and now I feel like myself really. I used to write music totally drunk, and wake up the next day without remembering what I was doing. People can tell a lot of work is being put into your graphics, photoshoots and stage visuals. How do you think the visual aspect influences the way a listener experiences a piece of music?
Is it as important as the music itself or merely an extra aesthetic choice? UZ: It depends. For me, the visual experience was really important since my face and identity were hidden. Some artists just try to catch the attention with their personality, as an entertainer or influencer almost.
The mask, the black and gold stuff, the kind of dark and mysterious identity was great in the first four to five years; the music was the most important, and after that came the visual experience. Then in I decided to reveal myself—just because I felt like I needed to connect more with people as a person—and I wanted them to know my history too.
I want people to look at me as a guy who has good taste in music and good taste in fashion. We went in a totally different direction with the visuals on Trinity as well.
We worked with a great graphic designer from LA called Cat Owens who did the whole album, the videos and symbol, et cetera, as well as Alex Crane , who did an amazing shoot. Looking at trap music in the electronic scene over the past 10 years, how do you think it has changed and evolved? UZ: Originally, trap music was southern music. Connect with us. Hi, what are you looking for? Artist of the Week. Artist of the Week EDMsauce. KristopherNovak Oct 14, Best Sellers.
0コメント