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Music

Bombing Rooftops With Zeds Dead

A little graffiti sesh with Hooks, plus we chat up the Canadian bass soldiers about their forthcoming Altered States tour.

It appears that Hooks and DC from Zeds Dead have some talents that lie outside the realm of just dropping the bass in yo face. The Canadian duo—who have made huge waves in the world of womp with releases for Mad Decent, Dim Mak, and Inspected—just sent us over a video to accompany a new untitled track. We get to see their guy Hooks painting a trippy mural on some rooftop while a barrage of Zeds' signature growling bass and airy vocals echo throughout the summer skies. The focal point of the video appears to be an all-seeing-eye, so either Zeds wants us to keep an eye on them (as they release their new arsenal of face-melters) or they're watching us… Am I the only one getting an illuminati vibe right now?  Check out this video and a Q&A with the bass dons of the North as they get prepare to embark on their Altered States tour this fall.

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Thump: How did you guys meet?
DC: We met a looooooong time ago but started making music about 9 or 10 years ago. We had a lot of the same tastes in music and were both really pasionate about it. Once we realized we were making practically the same stuff, we joined forces and formed like Voltron.

Whats the craziest thing you've ever witnessed from stage?
Hooks: Looking out onto 60,000 people dancing to our tunes at EDC was pretty surreal!
DC: I'm constantly seeing people face plant into the ground when they go to crowd surf and no one catches them. It's hard not to laugh but I always try to see if they're okay.

You're about to embark on a big fall tour with a a few cool support acts. What cities and venues are you most amped to hit?
Hooks: We're amped about the whole thing! A few notable ones are: New York, because we're playing with RJD2 who we're big fans of and has been a huge influence; in Denver, we'll be playing our biggest headline show there to date, so really stoked about that, always love playing there. Also really looking forward to HARD Day of the Dead. Last year we played and it was epic!

How did you come up with the name for your tour: Altered States?
Hooks: The idea is that music has the power to change your perceptions, affect your mood, and alter your state of consciousness, so we're going around North America altering people's states.

What are your best travel tips?
Hooks: Avoid checking luggage if possible. A travel pillow goes a long way. Bring a book to read because they will tell you to turn off your electronics during takeoff and landing and things can get pretty boring during that time. Thinking about it now, I've realized that for the amount I fly I have very few tips for anyone. Basically, flying kind of sucks but I can't complain.

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What kind of stuff do you guys do on your time off? What keeps you sane?
Hooks: Most of my time off is spent in the studio but other than that just hanging out with friends. I try to paint whenever I can but have been really busy and not getting around to it as much these days.
DC:  I have a pretty awesome apartment for the first time in my life so I spend most of my downtime there, making music and watching Netflix. My girl's a mean cook too so that helps keep me indoors and sane. It's kind of a tease though because we're often only back for like, two or three days at a time.

Who do you owe a lot of your success to. Who couldn't you have done it with out?
Hooks: Well, DC, obviously. I have no idea what I'd be doing if we didn't start collaborating years ago. Also, my parents for buying me the computer I started making beats on and just supporting my interests through the years.
DC: Ditto. I think we're constantly inspiring each other to write new music and be better producers. I'd also have to shout out my family for their massive support.

Since we just posted a video of you doing a graffit piece, tell us a bit more. What years were you really active in graffiti? Who are some of your favorite writers of all time?
Hooks: I was really active from about 2005 to 2008, then I started to slow down a lot when we started touring. I was really influenced early on by a lot of writers from Toronto like Causr, Kane, Sight, Skam, Bacon, Kwest, Sent2, Koner, Fathom… to name a few. Also the book Subway Art had a big impact on my style. It's hard to pick a favorite of all time, but right now some of my favorites are Askew, Roids, Rime, Horfee, Revok, Atlas, and Sofles, in no particular order.

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Did you ever have any graffiti-related drama?
Hooks: I've been in a lot of sketchy situations through graff. Been caught a few times. Painting at strange hours of the night in weird areas, you see a lot of the seedy underbelly of a city.

As producers, who are three of your biggest influences?
Hooks: DJ Shadow, Noisia, RZA
DC: Those are definitely big ones for me too. Also J Dilla, Skream, Justice, and Daft Punk.

What are the three records you have to play in your set right now?
DC: Duck Sauce - "It's You (DJ Snake Remix)," Laxx "In the Place," and TNGHT "Higher Ground"
Hooks: "Bette Davis Eyes," "I Shot the Sheriff (Roni Size Remix)," and our remix of Nina Simone "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

What were some names you thought of before you settled on Zeds Dead?
Hooks: Our first group was called Mass Productions, which we went under until 2009. I can't remember what other ideas we had but none of them were good.

What's been your favorite festival that you've played at so far? 
Hooks: My favorites thus far have been Coachella, Shambhala, and SXSW. As far as crowd receptions. I find that these big festivals are great for us because not everybody knows who we are and we have to sort of win over the crowd which is very rewarding.
DC: Gotta shout out SXSW and Shambhala, so much fun. Also Hard, Lollapalooza (we did it in South America this year, which was super rad), and Red Rocks, which is the the most stunning venue I've had the pleasure of playing.