Hammarica Daily DJ Interview: ZAXX

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ZAXX & Tiff Lacey recently joined for a release on the new label Southern State Music that gained a lot of attention in the dance music world. We caught up with Zaxx to see where he comes from.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I always had a passion for music and enjoyed the atmospheric and driving sounds of trance. I wanted to bring more of that sound to people so I started dj’ing at the age of 19 and won a few dj competitions. From there I played at clubs and events in South Africa. After a few years I decided to start producing my own tracks and am now at the point where I want to start releasing them so that people can gain an understanding of what I am about.

You have released a great new track with Tiff Lacey called Feel Me which is getting a lot of attention. How did the two of you first come together?

I was always a fan of Tiff’s voice, so when I started work on the track it was with her in mind. My management had worked with Tiff In the past, and they then connected us once the initial instrumental demo was finished.

You are from South Africa. We heard the dance scene there is thriving. What’s your take on it?

The scene, as with everywhere in the world, has its ups and downs. Trance has a massive following, but the fans only come out for the larger events. It’s pretty hard to fill the club on an “average” weekend, though there are the die-hard fans that make it worth-while.

Clubs simply aren’t as packed as they used to be, be it for economic or especially in South Africa, safety reasons (with such a high crime rate).

Which country where you haven’t been before would you love to go to perform and why?

I think most DJ’s have the same answer – Spain, and more specifically, Ibiza. That’s the holy land for us-isn’t it?

Where do you see dance music going in the coming 10 years?

There could be so many answers here… at the moment dance music, or as the USA have coined “EDM” is so massive now with all its commercial and corporate appeal, that it’s thriving more so than it ever has, but it’s left the more underground artists and followers so far behind, that music which was initially done as a passion and an artform is quickly disappearing Into the hype that is the cheesy, lackluster and mainstream.

Personally , I hope to see EDM go back underground, when music was still pure, the DJ still mattered, the clubs were packed. Dare I say it… 1999 … The Year of Trance.

Feel Me is released on the new label Southern State Music. Tell us a bit more about that.

When the track was done, I had the option to send it out to a few labels, but at the same time I really wanted to have my own label, so I could control the out-put. I teamed up with a few friends who have experience with label management, and we decided that, if done right, was a great avenue to launch not only myself, but a platform for new and exciting artists to have their music available across the digital download stores.

Is there anything else you would like to mention?

I’ve recently launched my new podcast called “Introspective”, a monthly 60 minute showcase of my favorite tracks of the moment, some classics, and other exciting bits. It’s available via iTunes, and other sources, all of which are listed on my social media pages. Also, We’re currently taking on new producers for our label, so anyone with a demo looking to get their music out to the world can contact us at info@southern-state.com

Connect:

ZAXX

www.facebook.com/therealzaxx
www.twitter.com/zaxxmusic
www.soundcloud.com/therealzaxx
www.youtube.com/zaxxTV

Tiff Lacey

www.facebook.com/tifflacey
www.twitter.com/tifflacey
www.myspace.com/tifflacey
www.youtube.com/proietti88