Toronto-based electronic music duo
Zeds Dead is one of the most successful EDM acts to originate from Canada, with an extensive worldwide touring schedule as well as several Billboard-charting releases and Juno nominations to their name. Initially known for producing dubstep and electro-house, their sound has expanded to incorporate drum'n'bass, trap, electropop, and other styles. In addition to releases on labels like Mad Decent, Dim Mak, and RAM Records, they run bass music imprint Deadbeats, through which they released their 2016 full-length debut,
Northern Lights.
DC (Dylan Mamid) and Hooks (Zachary Rapp-Rovan) first formed the hip-hop-oriented Mass Productions in 2004 and released an independent album, Fresh Beetz, three years later. They switched to
Zeds Dead -- named after a line from
Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction -- in 2009, embracing house and the direct, physical side of dubstep. Their debut song, the
All Seeing I-sampling "Journey of a Lifetime," arrived in 2009. It would be the first of many downloadable releases made available for free. The track was quickly followed by more free downloads, as well as a remix of
Barletta's "Panther."
Throughout 2010 and 2011, they were increasingly active. They released material on a number of labels, including
Kissy Sell Out's San City High,
Steve Aoki's Dim Mak, and
Diplo's Mad Decent; remixed tracks by
Blue Foundation and
the Electric; and they also toured extensively throughout the U.S. Their first release of 2012 was
Adrenaline, an EP issued on Inspected that balanced blitzing dubstep tracks with lower-key breakbeat workouts.
The Living Dead (Ultra) arrived months later, before a trio of Mad Decent EPs followed each subsequent year: Victor (2012), Hot Sauce (2013), and
Somewhere Else (2014). The latter featured appearances by
Twin Shadow and
Perry Farrell and entered the Billboard 200.
The duo's debut LP arrived in late 2016. Released on their own Deadbeats label,
Northern Lights included collaborations with
Diplo,
Pusha T,
Weezer's
Rivers Cuomo,
Jadakiss,
Styles P, and more. The following year saw the duo issue the Frontlines remix EP and a collection of
Northern Lights remixes. They also won a Canadian Independent Music Award for Electronic/Dance Artist of the Year. They closed 2017 with a
Jauz collaboration, "Lights Go Down." In 2018,
Zeds Dead collaborated with
1000Volts (rapper
Redman and producer
Jayceeoh) on the single "Kill Em," and additionally released tracks with
Ganja White Night,
Snails, and
DNMO. 2019's "Lift You Up," with
Delta Heavy, appeared on longstanding drum'n'bass label RAM Records. Several additional singles led up to the release of 2020's label showcase
We Are Deadbeats, Vol. 4, which included additional collaborations with
Droeloe,
Slushii,
Omar LinX, and more. The album's deluxe edition included remixes as well as further collaborations with artists like
Rezz and
Yultron. ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung