UK heavyweight producer Zomboy recently released his new bass house single, “Desperado,” his second release on his very own Rott N’ Roll Records.
Zomboy explains, “‘Desperado’ was such a fun track for me to make. It was my way of not going too heavy with themes or the complexities I would typically put into my works. It’s also the first time in a long time that I have ventured down to house tempo, so it’s been a nice change of pace for me!”
“Desperado” reveals Zomboy’s scope as an artist, plunging into the possibilities of the complexities of dubstep and house music. Zomboy approaches the track with a bold yet subtle touch as he embraces the groovier side of house, a style he isn’t essentially known for. A definite shift from the style of his previous single, “Flatlined,” featuring Micah Martin, “Desperado” flaunts Zomboy’s willingness to embrace change and challenge himself while not sacrificing the pristine quality of his output.
Bursting onto the scene in 2011 with the release of “Organ Donor,” Zomboy recently started his own label, Rott N’ Roll Records, placing himself on the verge of new horizons. With over 909,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 100 million streams, Zomboy has become a global tour de force.
Tattoo.com spoke with Zomboy to discover more about the person behind the music, his influences, his writing process, and his ink.
What inspired your new single, “Desperado?”
Inspiration comes, typically, at the most inconvenient time. ‘Desperado’s’ beginnings came when I was driving back from a meeting down Sunset Blvd, and I drove past the good ol’ Saddle Ranch. I thought there was something just so cool about the Wild West genre and began planning my next moves. The further I got down Sunset the more the rhythm and vibe were coming to me. The way I usually deal with these awkward situations is I whip out my phone and Voice Record the most nonsense sounds with my mouth that I can decode once I get back to the studio. By the time I got home (typically long commute through LA), I had mapped out the majority of it and got straight to work!
Walk us through your mindset as you approached making music.
I think I pretty much covered this in the previous section, but I’ll elaborate. For myself, and I’m sure, a million other producers, the mindset is really just going about life with a big old net waiting for a spark to fly by. On a good day, you might catch that spark and run with it. Often there will be days, weeks and in some cases, even months when you just can’t catch it, but rest assured, there will be more and it’s just a waiting game.
“Flatlined” heralded your new label, Rott N’ Roll Records, while “Desperado” is the second single on the label. What motivated you to start your own label?
If I am completely honest, my previous label ‘Never Say Die’ was where I began everything. The team really grew me into the producer/person I am today, and I am forever thankful for them. Sadly, at the beginning of this year, after a ten+ year run, they called it quits. Rather than go seek out a major label and get caught in the trap, I decided it was about time I started my own imprint and have 100% control/priority.
How did you get started in music?
That’s a loaded question, I’ll keep it brief. I was a weirdly late bloomer in music. I was brought up with very little musical influence, it just wasn’t an important thing in my household. When I got to about 15 (secondary school in the UK) I started to really enjoy music class and picked up the drums. From that point on I was obsessed. I played in multiple metal bands across multiple instruments and inevitably wound up recording/producing myself and my friends’ bands. It got to a point where engineering/producing became more exciting to me than playing the instruments so that’s where I decided to pursue the world behind the desk.
Where are you from?
I’m from a little town in England called Penzance, Cornwall (yes, the pirates of Penzance). If you google it you’ll see it’s a beautiful little paradise attached to the tail of England. To summarize the place… Tin Miners, Cornish Pasties (pronounced PA-sties, not PAY-sties) Surfers, and Fishermen.
Did your hometown impact your sound?
In many ways, it was the beginning of my sound as the Metal scene was pretty healthy at the time. My music has always drawn from the genre but it’s only in more recent times where I have straight up brought in my past (real guitars and drums etc.)
Which artists influenced you the most?
I think in general my most important influences have been bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Emmure, Enter Shikari, Parkway Drive, The Ghost Inside, For The Fallen Dreams, Suicide Silence, Underoath, The Prodigy, and Apex Twin just to name just a few! I still listen to them all religiously to this day.
In 2011, you exploded on the electronic music scene with your debut EP, Game Time. How has your sound evolved since then?
Again, being honest, my sound has evolved with my abilities. Going from recording/engineering bands to learning Synthesis and Sound Design took a good amount of time and I’m still learning to this day. I will always hold ‘Game Time’ close to my heart, but that was the absolute beginning of this venture and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, TV, or other media?
I think I get most inspired hearing great Movie Trailer or Movie Scores. I like to believe that shows pretty strongly in most of my work. I just love to write epic cinematic pieces for every song intro… I really chill a bit on that though ha-ha.
Do you have any ink? If so, how many, and which is your favorite?
I actually have quite a few pieces and each one is super special to me because my super talented brother is a tattooist with his own shop back in my hometown (Inkidge). Every time I go back to England, which is sadly less and less as the years go on, I get inked! But back to the question, I think my favorite is actually the snake you can see in my press picture (p.s I NEVER wear tank tops and did it purely for the purpose of tattoos). My brother actually free-handed the whole piece, now that’s trust.
What can your fans look forward to over the next six months? Live gigs? New music?
I’ve got a BUNCH of super exciting stuff coming up soon! Now that I have Rott n’ Roll Records up and running I plan to be a lot more active!
