MUST LISTEN: Zeds Dead nod to the early days in old-school experimental dubstep package, ‘THE LOST TAPES VOL. 1 ‘

The boys have done it again… and this time, they’ve fast-tracked the crowd back to the early days of dubstep. It’s no secret that Zeds Dead have a soft spot for the OG dubstep. Just look to their Deadbeats Radio episodes that are either dubstep specials or “all-dubstep throwback mixes” to see where the Montreal duo’s burning passions are deep down. So it was only a matter of time before DC and Hooks would have their fawning fanbase flatlining (or at least stopped dead in their tracks) over an all-original, old-school dubstep throwback album. Zeds Dead took to socials last week to drop the bomb of an announcement — that THE LOST TAPES VOL. 1  would be releasing today, December 7 — and the most spine-tingling part of the news is that’s the first in a line of many volumes.

The LP comes packaged with previously unreleased dub cuts from 2008 to 2009. Bear in mind that these are the rare gems from the early, early times… before the Bassmentality days even… around the time of Zeds Dead’s formation. These were the days when DC and Hooks first found their niche audience on MySpace and would later self-release their first track, “Journey of a Lifetime,” for free. As the years passed, and their style went onto blend electro-, melodic-, and bass-house with their gritty, synth-heavy dubstep (as with Somewhere Else and Northern Lights) these tracks were relegated to the vault—only to be pulled out to be tested on a live crowd here and there. So, to say THE LOST TAPES is a statement-making piece is a bit of an understatement. The 10-track journey of experimental cuts, free form beats, and rumbling basslines showcases not just the duo’s love of the “good ole days,” but nods to their original roots in a way that makes us fall in love with their creativity all over again.

We’ve been in the studio a lot this year and got the chance to dig through the vaults a bit while working on new music. This Friday we’re sharing some of what we found. THE LOST TAPES is a collection of old school dubs and misplaced IDs that have never been released until now. Vol. 1 is 10 beats we made sometime during 2008-2009, with future volumes to cover other time periods.

– Zeds Dead

From the electro-stylings and Feed Me-esque synths on the album opener, “Voltage,” to the signature Zeds Dead low ends on “Gorilla” and those classic guttural growls in “Goon,” to the mellowed down “Trouble in Paradise,” the album will have everyone blasting back into the past. Back to a time when the Deadbeats bosses were only first coming into their style, trying on new sounds, and mining new genre-melding methods. Then there’s the playful experimentation with light-hearted arps on “Thinkin” and the standout lo-fi vocal samples on the aptly-titled closer, “Nostalgia.” All in all, most would likely agree that, although the package is some of their earliest efforts, this is Zeds Deads’ best work to date. But that’s what everyone says anytime Zeds Dead comes to the chopping block with any sort of cohesive original long-form.

Candid and carefree, and wildly fun and exploratory, THE LOST TAPES VOL. 1  is Zeds Dead at their earliest. These exclusive IDs harken back to days of trial and error, test-piloting, investigating, and probing. All there is left to say by the end of it is, when is the next volume coming out?

Zeds Dead – THE LOST TAPES VOL. 1 

Photo credit: OHDAGYO.

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