Zedd

Article by Fabiola Mejia

Hosted by: 1824 - UMG’s creative solutions team

Grammy award-winning artist and producer Anton Zaslavski, better known by his professional name Zedd, was enthusiastic to discuss his music and creative process with the release of his third album, Telos, which was released on August 30, 2024. Born in Russia and raised in Germany, Zedd comes from a musical family and began experimenting with instruments at an early age. Although English is not his first language, Zedd has achieved incredible success with songs such as ‘Clarity’ and ‘The Middle,’ and has had the privilege to collaborate with many big names in the music industry. Almost a decade since the release of his second album, True Colors, his recent body of work has much in store for fans everywhere. Zedd has generously shared details about the journey of bringing together an emotionally charged and cinematic collection of songs, and his evolution over the years as an artist.

During the pandemic, Zedd thought it was the perfect opportunity to work on a project. When asked about the timeline of Telos he explained, “I was kinda convinced that I would be ready by 2020, and the truth is that I felt very uninspired during the pandemic. While the timeline was so perfect, the inspiration wasn’t there.” While he had his mind set on a new album, he felt a lot of songs he created at the time were not fitting for what he wanted this album to be. He wanted this album to be special and for “people who love art, people who like sitting down and listening to music as a form of entertainment, and not having it playing in the background while they do something else.” Zedd certainly did not want to create Telos for the streams.

Zedd notes a key difference between his current album and the first two albums is the creative process. With Telos, he already had a core idea or concept to spring from whereas his earlier albums came about more naturally. He recalls creating the album Clarity without being aware of it as he helped to write an album for Lady Gaga. Another contrast between his albums was the level of maturity, and his ability to really zoom out and look at the bigger picture. 10 years ago he felt insecure about working on the vocal parts of his songs due to English not being his first language. Present day, Zedd was much more involved in the writing process and adding vocals for Telos. 

The album title also carries a huge significance for Zedd as it is a Greek word for completion and fulfillment. He describes Telos as a personal accomplishment that he takes great pride in. Zedd overcame a lot of self-doubt when it came to creating an album of this magnitude, but feels the music on Telos is all truly connected with the orchestra element and the cinematic feel overall. He also came to the conclusion this album was not going to be for everybody. It would likely take many years to be fully appreciated, much like the albums he enjoyed when he was growing up. 

When asked about his experience collaborating with diverse artists, Zedd did not hesitate to say that it has been a huge honor to work with so many talented people. Countless artists have inspired him throughout his life, such as Muse, John Mayer, and Jeff Buckley, who are all featured on his newest album. “I love collaborating when it’s done right. It’s just not as easy as it sounds.” he says. Working with John Mayer on the song ‘Automatic Yes’ taught him collaboration is essential, especially when Mayer was able to give it the sound it was missing. Working with vocalists, such as Bea Miller, also added human emotion the album needed allowing him to dive deeper into other genres.

Zedd is largely known in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) community. His favorite part of the community is how it emanates love and acceptance, which he feels the world could use more of. He admits to being musically inspired by other genres such as classical music, funk, jazz, and even rock. He likes to go back to his roots by immersing himself into rock influences. Zedd’s willingness to blend genres is evident in Telos with the use of an orchestra combined with electronic sounds, and even the use of an Irish whistle pipe in the song ‘Sona.’  

Despite the album taking a mental and physical toll on Zedd at times, the wait definitely seemed worth it. Fans are surely impressed, and transported into this new world he created. Telos takes the listener on a journey from beginning to end, and Zedd’s hope is the listener will want to replay it as soon as they reach the last track. With the amount of emotional outpouring he put into this album, Zedd states he would never want to redo it, but also wouldn’t change a thing. In completing his latest musical project and gearing up for his tour, Zedd has proven he is an innovative artist with a heart and mind of gold.