Hell-o all and here we are once again wrapping up another Metalectro Special intrerview and the Zardonic week. And what a week it has been as Zardonic made sure to give us some pretty nice music selection throughout the week with his favorite track picks but we had to get hold him and see what makes this bass monstermind and the man behind the mask tick and in most cases epxlode too, with a huge bass-blast radius! So, we talked to Zardonic about his past, present and future and got him to spill the beans, giving some pretty nice info and news! So, read on and check out his 5 favorite tracks below!
01. Hi, nice to have you on Metalectro would you please mind introducing the man behind the Zardonic mask?
Hey! First of all, thank you for this opportunity. I fell in love with Metalectro the minute I heard what you guys were promoting, and proudly included it in my multigenre sets now. So you could say I kinda owe you guys part of my career now!
My name is Federico Agreda Alvarez. I like RPGs, extreme metal and science fiction. Nearly a journalist by degree until I got so many gigs I just quit school.
02. How long have you been producing as Zardonic and how did it all start for you?
Since 2004. It started when I was dating a girlfriend back then I spent a long time with, one of the few ex girlfriends I can still call a friend. She had great taste in every style of music and I was deep down listening to strictly extreme metal. I remember loving oldschool techno and rave music from the 90s when I was a kid even though I had no idea of the whole rave scene and I would just bang to it at home on my own like it was my one-man-party haha. Anyways, she showed me all of the great stuff: Aphex Twin, Underworld, Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, you know, boundary-pushing artists. Then I found Drum & Bass. And ever since I haven’t stopped churning stuff out of the sequencer!
03. You grabbed our attention with your “Metal Up Your Bass” Free LP, on which you remixed some metal classics from the likes of Death, Sepultura, Satyricon, Meshuggah and many more. What was the feedback and reactions you got for this release?
Zardonic “Metal Up Your Bass” Free LP [Preview]
Something as unorthodox as that always gets mixed reactions. Fortunately, most of them were positive. I think the only super negged remix I ever did was a bootleg remix I did for Bathory’s “Equimanthorn”. It seriously pissed people off hahaha, so I didn’t include it.
04. You also had an original track “Restless Slumber” on the “Metal Up Your Bass” LP on which you showcased some serious Death Metal skills. How did the Zardonic fans react to that track and did you receive any feedback for it from the metal community and fans?
That was a favorite. I think I need to do more stuff like that in the future, I’m not sure how growls will fit in the Zardonic concept though. Might want guest vocalists to do it. As much as I love singing, it just makes no sense with the image unless I was singing live. And I don’t want to do that. I like to be a DJ and unless Zardonic becomes a band I see no point in doing karaoke on stage.
* Zardonic & Metalectro will be launching a remix contest on “Restless Slumber” and a “Restless Remixes” official EP release will follow soon on Jet Set Trash.
05. What are your influences/music background? Have you ever played in a rock/metal band?
I had some when I was a kid but my best work was always solo. You could say my influences are very varied. From Dimmu Borgir to Michael Jackson. From Cannibal Corpse to Aphex Twin, you name it. If it sounds good, it’s probably in my book, regardless of the genre.
06. Your favorite rock/metal band of all time?
07. You have been mostly producing Drum & Bass and some Glitch Hop tracks, should we be expecting Zardonic going Electro (or Metalectro if you prefer) at all?
ABSOLUTELY. I’ve already done an Electro House remix for The Unguided, soon to come out 🙂
08. Do you prefer working only with computers/sequencers or do you get your hands dirty playing and recording instruments? Do you use samples and what’s your opinion on sampling and copyright?
I think sampling is ok but I got sick of it. I need to create my own thing. I have a MIDI controller which I’ve been using recently and it’s awesome because it shows a part of me that I never showed on the sequencer. Spent many years using strictly sequencers with no controllers or instruments at all. That is about to change.
09. Recently we saw Kylie Minogue entering the Beatport Top 100 Electro House Releases chart and a number of pop artists and celebrities starting DJ careers. What do you think about today’s mainstream music and the so called by some “EDM circus”? Do you agree with those who believe it to be a bubble that is going to burst as quickly as it grew?
This is something funny because I believe it comes from a mindset that depends on the scene and not on the music we do. I used to think the same way: someone does a shit commercial tune, it tops the charts, and now “oh, this is too mainstream”, who the fuck cares? Fuck the scene man. We need to make music and if people like it, cool. If not, cool. There’s a bit of everything for everyone. I don’t like Kylie Minogue but I guess a lot of people do. What I don’t agree with is that desperation everyone has to create a “hit”. I respect artists like Björk more because she is an entirely different universe on her own, despite having hits or not. I’m happy when my tunes top the charts but I don’t do tunes to top the charts. I do tunes because I like to do them. And ironically speaking, this mindset has proven better at topping the charts despite minimal exposure in the mainstream media. It doesn’t get recommended on stores, it doesn’t get features on big sites. It simply sells because people like it. That’s the most satisfying thing I can mention in my career, the support of the people and true fans. Even if they download the music illegally I don’t care, so long they enjoy the music and share it.
10. How hard is it for an electronic music artist to earn his/her living from music nowadays?
Nothing is hard for those who are good at it.
11. You just recently released the “Far Beyond Bass – The VulgarRemixes” LP which featured remixes of the LP tracks by a number of artists. Are you happy with how these remixes turned out?
I was shocked actually! It exceeded most of my expectations, even Hectic Mau who is a newcomer and did a Dubstep remix. And it’s no secret that I’m an open Dubstep hater hahaha. He surprised me, that Mechagodzilla Remix was soooo sick! Hectic Mau is one to watch for sure. Off the top of my head, Black Sun Empire’s and State Of Mind’s remixes were also among my favorites. Delta 9 also did a sick job with Deathmachine. Angel too. Bah, everyone in the album is just sick 😀
Zardonic & Krusha – Mechagodzilla (Hectic Mau Remix)
12. You’ve been collaborating with many artists on your tracks, do you have any more collaborations planned that we should know about?
Actually I think I’ll be focusing more on solo stuff in the future. I will for sure include some collabs and have some stuff planned, remixes I was happy to do, but for now I’d rather not talk about it. Prefer to wait until it’s out. But if people are mindblown by now, this is just the beginning.
13. What are your plans for the remaining of 2013? Any releases, remixes, tour dates to announce? Giving our readers something to look forward too!
We have a nearly booked out tour in Europe for October, November and December. Should be announcing dates very soon. As for new tracks, a lot of things I’d rather not talk about yet as I said but, I think I can mention I did a remix for Black Sun Empire‘s classic “Bitemark”. And I loved it because it’s my all-time favorite BSE track. There’s also some forthcoming remixes for The Unguided and a collaboration track with them for a Japanese compilation. Things are getting pretty busy!
14. Do you have any favorite place/city you like playing live and can’t wait to return to or is the “no place like home” saying true in your case? Any interesting or funny onstage/backstage stories to share with us?
Every country and city has its goods and bads. I’ve had great fun in places like Tokyo, Lisbon, Madrid, Tenerife, Bucharest, Moscow, but also in places like Maracaibo, Mérida, Puerto La Cruz and more Venezuelan cities. Venezuela is perhaps the country I’ve played the most at. You’d say “sure, it’s your home country”, but the interesting part is that there is a party in every single city or town. If you make it happen, people come. Simple as, always crazy packed. Bogotá is also a city I’m very fond of. Colombia has an amazing scene. Central America is great too. I guess I see great things everywhere I go hehehe.
As for funny backstage stories, good times are the standard, sadly it’s the bad experiences that mark you. I remember getting my first mask stolen in Lisbon (the cloth mask you see in the Bring Back The Glory video on YouTube), remember sharing with some gangsters in a backstage in Venezuela, remember seeing a kid nearly die from an overdose of fuck knows what. I’ve seen the best and the worst of it. In all honesty, I keep myself at a certain margin these days. I just get in, grab my money, play and get out. My fun times are usually with friends. Thankfully I have many friends all around the world so I can just call them and grab a beer before the shows, or the days after. That’s the best I’ve had from traveling all around the world: the people.
15. If you could pick any artist to collaborate and share the studio with for a day who would that be and why?
Trent Reznor. I don’t think I really need to say why hahah. I bet the amount of things I’d learn from that guy would be ridiculous.
16. If your studio was on fire what would be the first thing to save?
All material things are ephemeral and they can be created again. I think it would be somewhere between my mask and my external hard drive. Probably would go for the external first and the costume second. And if I have time, the computer. But if I couldn’t save any, at least my mind and ideas aren’t burnt.
17. How do you like spending your time when not in the studio producing music and what’s a regular day in the life of Zardonic like?
Haha, that question is weird. You asked “what’s a regular day in the life of Zardonic like” and “time when not in the studio”. A regular Zardonic day is always in the studio, period. Be it making tunes, sending emails, checking my social networks, talking to the manager… and maybe playing some Mass Effect. And the few days I’m not locked in, I always go out to a place nearby called the Bunker. It’s a rock n roll place, pretty fucking big, and most of my friends go there. It’s 3 blocks from my house, Cuba Libre is cheap and it’s made with the best rum in the world: venezuelan rum, of course. And no, that’s not some nationalist statement. That is a proven fact. Venezuelan rum is hardly topped by any other in terms of quality, and also medals. Although my manager says his Guatemalan rum is best haha, we’re always arguing about it, but at the end of the day we just drink both and say fuck it 😀
18. Since this has been a pretty popular topic the last few months, what’s your honest opinion about the new Daft Punk album?
I haven’t heard much of it but that “Get Lucky” single just won’t get out of my head. We’ve come too far to give up who we are!
19. What do you think about the Metalectro blog and the music featured on it?
It’s perhaps the best electro website I’ve ever seen, hands down. It encompasses everything I’m looking for in electro. Saved me a lot of time!
20. Anything else you’d like to mention and we forgot to ask?
Yeah. We need more music, more culture and less drugs.
Zardonic Choices (5 Favorite Tracks)
As for those of you who might be wondering what music does Zardonic like to bang his head (or not) with when not producing his own bass monsters, we asked him to pick 5 of his all time favorite tracks that he would like us to feature here for you to listen. So, here are his 5 choices, check them out and read below to find out why Zardonic picked these particular tracks!
01. Anaal Nathrakh – Todos Somos Humanos
First reason this track was brought to my attention was the fact it was Anaal Nathrakh. Second, the title is in spanish. The chorus goes "Todos somos humanos, y todos seremos polvo". Means "We are all human and we'll all become dust". That's something I like to remember. We're not here forever, and we should be very careful about our actions. Our limited time here is key to a greater plan. We must grasp that plan and allow ourselves to become part of it.
02. Hypomaniacs – Breach
This is perhaps my favourite electro track of all time. It´s how Metalectro should be made. Strong and noisy as fuck. Doesn´t leave my sets. And it´s an official Metalectro brand
03. Fallujah – The Dead Sea
I think the most mindblowing thing about this song is the musical aspect. It's perhaps one of my favorite metal songs of all time. It's a perfect midpoint between virtuosism, complexity, and still keeps that primitive raw feel that must prevail in all metal. It's majestic, epic in many ways. As for the lyrical aspect, I was surprised when I found this verse in the lyrics: "I was breathing yet I fought for air / That tomb you pulled me down / You were falling to a dark abyss / I should have let you drown". It matches situations in my life that kept repeating for a long time. This reminds me that everyone should work their own salvation and whoever play the messiah end up crucified. We have to be responsible and give to those who are also responsible with you and have something to give. Whoever lacks responsibility with themselves, have nothing to offer to the world. They're just passing life as zombies, self-destructing, asleep, addicted to their own pain. It's time to let them do what they want: to drown in their own ocean of shit.
04. Triangular Ascension – The Future Code
This is the music that I sleep to. Enigmatic, transforming, dark. And I did it. Triangular Ascension is the name of my dark ambient side-project. So thought this one needed to be shared
05. BSOD – Lollercoaster (Deadmau5 Outright Hilarious Mix)
Now you might be asking yourselves why after I've went on a nerd rage rant about the nature of humans, the universe and our own salvation, I'm posting this. The answer is very simple: I can't afford to be angry and mind-challenging all times, and my mind needs to rest. I believe everyone's mind needs so too. This track has an amazing power to lift my mood and make me happy. I have it as my ringtone, and everytime someone's calling, it's a lollercoaster. Joel Zimmerman is a genius, and it's amongst one of the artists that I admire the most.