Zedd
9.23.24 | by Karla Pacheco
From the stage to the screen, it’s Zedd’s world and we’re just living in it.
It’s been a while since we’ve been able to binge-listen to something new from our favorite producer, Zedd. 9 years, in fact! Of course, there have been singles, tours, and other projects in the interim (hello, VALORANT… we’ll talk about that later), but you can’t help but miss going on the trips that Zedd musically marks out. The good new, however, is that he’s returned to grace the Earth with his hit-making, Grammy-winning talent in the form of a new album.
Enter Telos, an auditory piece of art that truly cannot be described in any other way. With features from John Mayer to Muse, at no point in time, do you know where the story the music has to tell is going to take you. Are you at a rave? Are you at the symphony? Are you watching an action movie? You’ll have no idea, but you’ll love it all the same. Still, it has a certain eyes-closed, head-bopping touch that is unmistakably familiar so you know you’re in good hands.
“You want to push the envelope and create something different, something new, and something exciting.”
—Zedd
On the topic of never knowing where you are when you’re listening to Zedd, you also never know where you’re going to encounter Zedd. I was surprised when the announcement dropped that he’d be collaborating with VALORANT for Riot Games. For the uninitiated, VALORANT is an FPS video game, popularly known for its creative in-game cosmetics and impressive musical features. Zedd popped up in few different ways, including a remix, a loop track that plays when you inspect a weapon skin from a certain collection, and even a corner of the map that was decorated to look like a recording studio. Personally, as an avid VALORANT player, I was curious to know Zedd’s thoughts on such projects. Thanks to °1824, I got the chance to ask him directly! As luck would have it, I was actually in San Diego for TwitchCon. In celebration, I was going to be cosplaying as VALORANT’s coolest agent: Reyna. This obviously means I was sporting her full arm tattoo. I took the opportunity to use it as a segue for the conversation, and asked Zedd about his involvement with VALORANT.
“How did the process of designing for VALORANT differ from doing your own stuff?”
“I love this question and I apologize in advance if it gets really nerdy, but I feel the need to answer it properly.”
“I have the Reyna tattoo, I think we can handle nerdy. ”
“Oh, no way, that’s so cool! Okay, so… the main difference was that I was sort of the vehicle that was supposed to drive to the end goal and I wasn’t allowed to choose the destination as much. The goal was to create a unique goal that maintains all competitive integrity.”
“I think audio is an unbelievably important aspect of a video game that sometimes gets overlooked too much. I think it really guides our emotions as we play a game.”
The Zedd x VALORANT collab (aka the Spectrum Collection) covered 5 different weapons, and took almost a full year to complete. It was a standout feat, with a unique track for each weapon and three different finishers. This collection quickly became one of the most popular. Although the aim was to ensure the collection had no tactical advantage, players could have sworn the visual style and matching audio loops came with aimbot!
Since Zedd himself is a gamer (ranked Immortal, apparently), it makes sense that he’d be excited about a project like this! I also asked, now that Zedd has crossed over into video game music, where he dreams of going next. His answer was one that I was not expecting, but one that I will be looking forward to until it happens.
The dream? Getting to be the lead audio designer for a long-form game, and score on a deeper level than just a collaboration. The more you listen to Zedd speak on this project, the more you realize that this answer is really unsurprising. He has a passion for taking on a challenge, going the extra mile to make something incredible, and for the creative process behind the world of video game music.
Regarding his work with VALORANT, Zedd noted his awe for the team and appreciation for the long hours and attention to detail that went into a project that was made up of only a few sounds. Now, it sounds like he’s ready to take the next step into game development and immerse us into a full, interactive soundscape. In thinking of similar projects, he mentioned Final Fantasy, stating that his goal in a large-scale project like that would be to design the “acoustic DNA of a video game” in a way that would allow people to create the musical bond that comes with a distinct soundtrack.
In the meantime, all we can do is listen to Telos, and imagine what that game will be like.