Before the Internet set ablaze with rumours of Skrillex being the face behind the extremely mysterious yet insanely talented electronic artist, Zhu, the man came forth to put them out himself.
The anonymous American producer who took the electronic music world by a storm within a few months, recently gave his first ever studio interview to Matt & Alex, which appeared on Australia’s eminent radio show ‘Triple J’. Even though the interview was conducted in an undisclosed location at the Triple J studios, where no one got to see him (no, not even Matt and Alex), the star in making finally opened up about his much questioned identity, his Grammy nominated masterwork, ‘Faded’ and his upcoming album.
Talking about ‘Faded’, the track that upgraded him from an Internet sensation to a Grammy nominee of 2015, Zhu revealed that the vocals to the track were in fact provided by himself.
“I sang on that track but it’s something that happens to a lot of people… what I’m doing here is allowing an open canvas for anybody who listens to the song to look in the mirror and a lot of people who listen to ‘Faded’ have that exact same emotion at some point in their life,” he explained.
“All I am is just a mirror and I reflect whatever they see, so that particular song, I’m sure many men have been thinking about that late at night.”
He goes on to say, “What’s kind of cool about this project is that I’m able to write, produce, and sing and pick what voice works. My voice works for some things but it doesn’t work for everything, so if I need a different texture then I’m going to go and get it. And I think on the album there’s going to be more textures… to broaden it and to add more colours to the palette.”
The man also shed light on his upcoming album which is currently still “in the infant stages”. “The core of the [album] is still dark but I think it will definitely expand and get to more of the light and uplifting stuff.”
“It’s always a pleasant challenge when you can make something positive-sounding from a minor chord and that gives you that edge where it’s not bright but kind of deep packed with layers of emotions.”
When questioned about maintaining his anonymity even after achieving fame in abundance, Zhu explained how it served as a blessing to him.
“It’s been a blessing… [I can] really spend time making a great record and a great show without worrying about everything else.”
Upholding the secrecy is “the most fun part… you get to see a lot of things and what people are like when they don’t know who you are. If people know who I am, obviously, they’re going to put on their best face but it’s kind of cool to see who’s actually genuine about what they do. I’m actually doing some recording in New Orleans and I love jazz and I grew up playing [it], there’s some real gritty element of musicians who they just really love music.
You could be anyone. You could be a very famous artist, someone in the streets, but when you’re in their presence – you’re all the same. When you play with them, work with them, talk to them, share a meal – everybody’s equal, which to me is special.”
Now that we know a little more than nothing about the prodigy, it narrows the room for the brain teasing rumours sprouting about him. Want to hear his voice to double check he’s not Skrillex for yourself? Stream the whole interview below!
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