”Out of Time” with Bea Miller is like Harry Potter meets the outer space. The song sets the tone for Telos — ever-expanding and radiating, creating an entire universe all on its own. There’s so much life in Telos, and it’s being presented in such an authentic, effortless way. It’s full of love and pure acceptance. This record is easily Zedd’s best record to date. It’s intellectually stimulating and emotionally rewarding. There are truly vulnerable moments that make you feel emotionally naked, and there are these moments that breathe life into your soul. Telos is a rare, magical album that only comes once in a blue moon.
The album has more soul than most music out there. “Tangerine Rays” is the proof. Zedd is able to channel this insanely amount of energy and force of life into the album. It feels like its own solar system with its own source of sun. It’s rejuvenating and intoxicating. It’s exotic and mysterious, but at the same time, so familiar and universal. That’s what makes Telos special. There’s very little music in the pop genre are like this record. It’s almost jazz in a way, given how spontaneous things are. Musically, this album is alive. It’s its own being.
”Shanti” takes listeners to such an emotive and translucent space. It’s a song that hits hard. It’s very vulnerable and night-infused. Kaleidoscopic soundscape that bounces between different cultures. It at one point takes place in India, and at one point, feels like New York night life. Then there’s a little West Coast in it before spiraling down the ancient quest. It connects everything and everyone together. It’s very Disney in a way, but more authentic.
”No Gravity” with Bava is chill wave meets pop and sensibility. It’s a song that kind of exists everywhere at any time all at once. It has the night’s vulnerability and sonic palette, but it’s more conscious and energized than ever. The title, “No Gravity,” stays true to its name. “Sona” is simply madness. If the previous songs have blown your mind, this song is going to take you to very strange places. The progression in “Sona” functions on the next level. It’s very La La Land. A little romantic and surreal, but also very real — it reflects the way how the creative side of our brain behaves sometimes. It’s unpredictable, linking two unrelated things together in a heartbeat. To musically present that process is something very special.
Written by Katrina Yang
Press Q&A with Zedd
Q: What is the timeline of this album? When did you start it and when did you finish it?
Zedd: The pandemic was the moment when I thought, “this was the perfect opportunity for me to spend enough time to work on a project and make an album.” I was convinced that I would be ready by 2020, and the truth is that I felt very uninspired during the pandemics while the timeline was so perfect. The inspiration wasn’t there, and I made a bunch of amazing songs that are just sitting in my hard drive and probably are going to become somebody else’s songs at some point down the line. I wanted it to be really special, creatively. To make a really special record, you have to be in a special state of mind. I realized at some point that I wanted to make an album for myself. It’s not going to be for stream, not for the algorithm, not for the most of people who put me in the billion stream club. It’s gonna be for people who love art, who like sitting down and listening to music as a form of entertainment, not having it play in the background while they do something else. I’ve been making these songs throughout the years that felt too complex or musical or theatrical for the music I’ve been releasing throughout the years. All the songs all of a sudden felt like they had a home. It dated all the way back in 2015.
Q: That’s a long timeline.
Zedd: Sometimes I make songs that I feel like they just need context. Music, everything in music is about context. Sometimes I feel like I was to release a song like “Sona,” that’s partially 7/4 that has tempo changes, people will be misunderstanding and think that I’m moving into a different direction. Sometimes, you need a larger canvas to tell a complete story.
Q: It’s almost been ten years after your last album. How has your music process changed since then?
Zedd: The first difference is that ten years ago, I felt really insecure about working on the vocal part of my song, particularly the lyrics. My English wasn’t as good as today. I liked leaving that part of vocal to someone else. I still feel this way that I want the singer to feel this is part of them. I don’t want them to feel it’s all me and the vocal should have their own room to breathe. I think on Telos, I was very particular about the vocals. I was way more involved lyrically and melodically just throughout the whole concept of writing the vocals with the singers for most songs. Other than that, my level of knowledge of producing music is much better than it used to be. Things tend to take longer because I want them to be better. I try out more. My sound is just more mature and less show-offy, just knowing when less is more and know when it’s to explore.
Q: The album title means completion and accomplishment. What does finishing this album means to you personally and musically?
Zedd: The level of quality of this album is something I‘ve doubted myself for many years I could’ve accomplished. It felt like an album where things were truly connected and not just kind of glued together, but actually musically connected. Genre-bending. Kind of like a lot of the records I grew up listening to. I wasn’t sure I could really do it. And if I could, I didn’t know if I had the time to do it. A career is a flight. The take-off takes so much fuel, and once you’re up there, you get a little bit of flight time. Making an album like this takes more energy and flight time than when you’re up there. Just strictly commercially speaking, I didn’t know I would be able to take as much time as I personally would need to process the music I make, but the moment I decided this wasn’t going to be commercial album, I took that time. That’s the golden completion. Telos is in that regard is a personal accomplishment. I have a goal that I’ve reached that I didn’t think I could reach.
Q: Telos is a very cinematic-sounding album. What type of tv shows do you see it in?
Zedd: I feel like certain songs have certain cinematic connections. “1685” with Muse always feels like a space movie to me. “Shanti” has a more India based visual space in my head. I think a lot of them have different cinematic tones to it, but they all have this over-arching cinematic experience to me. Hopefully something grand and spacey.
Q: What was it like collaborating with the collaborators on this album?
Zedd: It was a huge honor because a lot of the collaborators on this album are artists who have inspired me to be who I am today as a musician. John Mayer has been a huge inspiration, and I’ve listened to John’s music for years. Jeff Buckley was an artist that I grew up listening to and realizing music can be really good but you gotta put work into getting that good. A lot of the artists are huge inspirations.
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