With an ever growing fan base, and a fantastic sound,Zedd appears to be gaining more and more popularity – and with good reason. His latest single, “Spectrum ft. Matthew Koma”, was released in early June and it’s an elctro-house dance marvel. What sets Zedd apart from most other DJs in his genre is his raw musical talent. It may seem hard to tell by listening to many of his songs, but Zedd is a classically trained musician who is an extremely talented pianist and drummer.
“Spectrum” is a marvel to be sure because of so many elements: the driving bass line, the intricate synth and keyboard patterns, and the mixture of smooth and harsh elements. All are made clearer when you listento two versions of “Spectrum”; the album version, and the piano version performed by Zedd himself. In the piano version, seen here “Spectrum” is stripped down its beautiful core melody.
On the piano, you can hear the way the spiraling patterns of melody and the way smooth and harsh tones are blended by changes in pitch and changes in tempo. After listening to this piano version, you can hear the way a small classical piano piece comes to life when given a healthy injection of synthesizers and bass.
During softer moments of pure lyricism, melodic keyboard and synth sounds weave under Matthew Koma’s words so as not to overpower them. During heavy and harsh beats with quick melodic notes, a pounding bass gets your head nodding and your foot tapping. This isn’t just another electronic dance song from a douchebag with a Macbook Pro. This is real musical art. When Zedd is performing at Camp Bisco next week, “Spectrum” is sure to get everyone’s feet off the ground while thoroughly blowing their minds and I’ll be sure to have a front row spot.
Regular version of "Spectrum":