For Russian-German producer Anton Zaslavski — better known under his stage name Zedd — 2013 has proved to be something of a pinnacle year. And considering what the past few years have brought in his direction, that's saying something. At 24, he's fast becoming one of the most in-demand producers in the world, cannily straddling the worlds of teen-pop and EDM, remixing Justin Bieber and the Black Eyed Peas one minute, and Swedish House Mafia and Skrillex the next. Indeed, it was Skrillex who first spotted him online and quickly scooped him up into his OWSLA label family. And now here we are, poised for even bigger things to come.
Adding to an already impressive ascent from his bedroom into the world of international recognition and major label interest, his remix of Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' and 'Marry the Night' clearly made an impression on the meat-wearing pop sensation back in 2011. At the end of 2012, he joined her as the opening act on the Asian leg of her vastly successful Born This Way Ball world tour, exposing him to an entirely new audience, and getting him signed to Interscope along the way in what must have been a rather pleasing added bonus.
Now he's among the luminaries (along with the even younger talent, 19-year-old Frenchman Madeon) producing Gaga's next album project, 'ARTPOP', likely to be one of the most anticipated pop albums of the year when it drops later this month.
He's produced an impressive five tracks in all, including the single 'G.U.Y. (Girl Under You)'. “I've done a lot of stuff that's really outside of what I usually do,” he told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “There was one song that started from her just giving me, like, 10 words to describe an emotion, and then I had to make this into music.
It's been a very experimental way of approaching music.” Well, that kind of thing is probably par for the course when working with the most esoteric pop star the charts has encountered in many years. Where he goes from here is frankly anyone's guess. But upwards is the most likely direction.
