[INTERVIEW] KAYZO Celebrates New Album NEW BREED, His Documentary, + Welcome Records

When it comes to pushing boundaries in the music industry, no one breaks down walls like Kayzo. Known as emerging raw talent with an unprecedented level of hard work, and unique sense of creativity to pioneer a sound that integrates rock and dance music. After winning Insomniac's Discovery Project in 2012, Kayzo erupted onto the scene. His remix of Papa Roach's, "Last Resort" shattered barriers between heavy metal and electronic. 

Kayzo has performed at the world's biggest festivals, such as Coachella, Bonnaroo, Tomorrowland, and even headlined Ultra in Japan. Following his debut album, OVERLOAD, and the launch of his renowned label Welcome Records in 2018, Kayzo electrified venues across Southeast Asia and Europe. As his success continued to spiral out of control, the DJ's 2019 sophomore album, Unleashed, led to a live tour across the US with Sum 41 drummer, Frank Zummo.

Just when his fanbase thought they had seen it all, Kayzo's newest album, New Breed, showcases rocktronic by seamlessly blending the two genres. The 20-track compilation feature a mix of top producers and vocalists, along with talented up-and-comers. Kayzo has proven again and again that he will continue to dominate the music industry while paving new paths that alter the limits of sound.

Read iEDM's exclusive interview with Kayzo below.

iEDM: What childhood influences and artists contributed to your passion for music and pursuing a career as a producer/DJ? 

Kayzo: Before I got into dance music, I grew up listening to rock, pop-punk, alternative, metal, and some of the heavier genres similar to those. I really liked Sum 41, Underoath, and later got into Bring Me The Horizon. I’m from Houston originally, so I listened to a lot of Southern trap hip-hop as well. Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall are a few of my favorite OG Houston hip-hop artists. When I got introduced to dance music, I was a huge fan of early Flux Pavillion, Doctor P, and Skrillex. 

iEDM: What were some of your favorite tracks while growing up?

Kayzo: From the rock standpoint, one of my top albums had to be Sum 41’s All Filler No Killer album, especially “Fat Lip” and “In Too Deep”. I was obsessed with the music videos for those tracks and just music videos in general throughout my childhood. Once I got into dance music, during the early dubstep and bass music days, I spent hours on end playing the UKF compilations, albums, and mixes.

iEDM: What is your favorite hockey memory from being a goalie as a kid? Which songs did you listen to in the locker room to get pumped up before a game?

Kayzo: I don’t think I have one specific memory from playing hockey that stands out to me. My favorite memories probably come from outside of the games themselves. When I was 14, I moved away from home for hockey, staying with different families all over the country. Then, I was in Canada for a year and a half playing at a very high level. I really enjoyed the camaraderie of being on a team and all of the people I got to meet along the way.

For pre-game pump up, anything on those UKF or dubstep mixes never failed to hype me up. I would listen to it basically until the game started. We played a lot of hip-hop too, like Young Jeezy or trap artists from Atlanta.

iEDM: One of the most inspiring things about your persona as an artist is that you are never afraid to be yourself. What advice would you give to artists, or anyone, struggling to find their identity and worrying too much about what others might think?

Kayzo: I get asked that question pretty frequently by people aspiring to be a part of the music industry. With social media nowadays, there is so much noise and an opinion any which way you can find one, specifically about music. I have always been a big proponent of turning all that off and not caring what anyone thought about my music. If what you create makes you happy, that’s really all that matters. 

This is why I make music that utilizes and fits into so many different genres, whether those genres are popular at the time or not. I would never cater my music for a certain genre or towards a certain group of people simply because that’s where the money or popularity is. At the end of the day, those fans will come and go. They are not your foundational fans that are going to be there for you and truly support what you’re about.

Also, I read an article a couple years ago that mentioned treating yourself, your business, your music, or anything for that matter as an app. Any app that you have on your phone right now is constantly being updated. We will never know everything or be completely perfect; there is always something else to learn and skills to improve on. To anyone who is up and coming in the music or art industry: don’t ever look at your journey with an end goal. In art, you can create milestones and plant flags for you to achieve but the opportunities that will come along are endless. This is why I am infinitely in beta mode, forever improving and forever changing.

Another way I like to look at myself as an artist is as a tree. Kayzo might be the trunk but the connected branches are different avenues of me. Meanwhile new branches continually sprout out of the main branches. It is a metaphor for the fact that I am always growing. If you look back at an idea you came up with years ago, you never would have imagined all of the things that one idea developed into. There is zero chance of knowing what will happen with an idea and what doors it will open later on. One day, I hope to be someone who has opened doors for people who have gone to do the same for the people after them.

iEDM: Since your emergence as an artist, you have toured all over the world. What has been your favorite travel experience and why?

Kayzo: There have been a ton of places that I have traveled to for music that I never expected to go to. Anytime I go to Japan I have an amazing time. It is one of my favorite countries and I try to spend extra time there whenever I go for a show. My team and I love to make the most out of our travel experiences. Last month, I was at Lake Como in Italy for a festival and we took a boat out – it was beautiful. A few years ago, I played in South America and we went to Machu Picchu – that was mind blowing. To be able to see some of these things and visit these places while attributing those experiences to music is awesome. 

More importantly, I love to eat good food. If I know I am going to Europe or Asia in a month, I will do my due diligence and research restaurants I want to eat at and spots I want to get coffee at. They don’t have to be super expensive or super fancy, but I really make an effort to Anthony Bourdain that sh*t. I like hitting the local food hubs and chatting it up with the people that live in the area.

When I meet new people who are locals while traveling, it is extremely inspiring to me. I am able to take their stories and bring that back home with me to the studio. By merging my touring experiences with this inspiration to create music, everything comes full circle.

iEDM: What is your pre-set ritual? What do you like to do after your sets?

Kayzo: I used to be very ritualistic when it came to sports. For example, in hockey I had to tie my left skate before my right. Early on, it carried into my DJing performances, like getting overly prepped and ready for sets. Now, I don’t have a ritual that’s set in stone, most likely due to the sheer amount of sets and performances I’ve had. I never need anything to get me pumped up but it is somewhat of a tradition to take a shot with my team. Sometimes, before I play at big festivals or have a big performance, I get this weird cough 10 minutes prior to taking the stage. I am not nervous or feel like I am going to throw up, and it goes away the second I walk out in front of the crowd. It happens a lot and I’m like “what the hell is that?”

The atmosphere around me is surprisingly casual before a set. I like to make it social and have people who are at the event or friends I invited come hang in the green room. After a set, what I do depends on my schedule. If I’m on a tour where I’m playing at festivals and shows back to back to back, then I’ll typically get some food, go back to the hotel, and go to bed. If I have a late flight or open schedule the next day, I will catch friends’ sets and party a bit with my team.

iEDM: What is the funniest thing that has ever happened during a festival or show performance?

Kayzo: In 2016, I went on my first bus tour as support for Adventure Club. Two weeks before the tour, I was at a show to see my buddy Yultron perform. He had me on stage to play one of our tracks and I climbed up on one of the giant monitors to dive into the crowd. I was a little tipsy plus the stage was wet from people throwing water bottles. When I went to jump I hesitated and rolled my ankle. The aftermath was a fractured ankle and tearing all the ligaments on the inside of my foot. This led to me being in a cast and using a scooter for my entire tour with Adventure Club. I would scooter up to the stage, lock it in place, DJ on one foot, and hop around during my sets. Now I am much more careful when I jump off of things.

iEDM: What is your most recent tattoo and what does it symbolize?

Kayzo: My most recent tattoo is on my leg and is a skull cowboy (skull head with a cowboy hat on). There’s nothing too sentimental about it; it is just a cool design and fun tattoo to have. Most of my tattoos I got because it was in the moment and I really enjoy the art or artists behind it. Tattoos are an expensive habit, so lately I’ve been trying to plan more on which design to get and where to put it.

iEDM: What drove you to establish Welcome Records? What is the main purpose behind the label and what goals do you want it to reach in the future?

Kayzo: The main reason was for me to have an independent platform to release my own music. I had done major label releases previously. They were great and I learned a lot from working with them, but I always felt like my music didn’t fit into one specific label or sound. It was often hard for me to release larger projects and EPs on a certain label because the overall project wasn’t the best fit with the label’s style. I needed a place where I could be the boss of my own music and release it how I wanted to, with the creative intentions I had in mind.

I knew that I would eventually open the label up to other like-minded artists who cross boundaries and experiment with their music. Once the label gained traction, notoriety, and had a message behind it, my friends wanted to release music in that same manner. The label has come so far from its origins. We have released tracks that are solely rock and additional non-EDM genres. This has opened up an avenue for a wide variety of artists to put out music on the label, which is what the platform is primarily about. The name "Welcome Records" itself invites all styles of music, no matter what following you have or how long you’ve been in the game. The label’s purpose is to push the standard of sound and provide opportunities for artists to showcase their creativity.

iEDM: Your NEW BREED documentary opens with the Craig Lounsbrough quote, “Sacrifice is a passion that unleashes everything away from us so that it can be drawn into everyone around us". What is your interpretation of this quote and how have you applied it to your life and career as an artist?

Kayzo: I’ve always looked at myself as the hardest worker in the room, willing to sacrifice anything for what I’m passionate towards. When I got into music, I had no formal training and barely knew anything about the industry. However, I was certain that I was going to be able to do it because of my work ethic that I had gained from sports. I wanted it so badly that I was going to do whatever it took to make the creative side of me come out. Fueled by my determination, I spent 16-18 hours a day working on my craft. Through my sacrifices, I was able to push myself out of my comfort zone and be more vulnerable as an artist. I have fulfilled that quote and will continue to fulfill that quote.

iEDM: Your new album has the perfect balance of rock and heavy bass (along with other electronic components). How did you create and assess each track so that these were in harmony and one did not overshadow the other?

Kayzo: This project was designed to be more of a blurred line between rock and electronic than my two previous albums. That meant collaborating with artists from smaller niches of rock music that are out of my comfort zone. I did not pay attention to whether rock and electronic was balanced equally. It was an organic process where “this song feels like this moment” or “this song tells this story”. I wanted to work with a bunch of new artists on this album, from producers like Blosso and Banshee to vocalists like ADAM ON EARTH. These people who aren’t as known in my space helped showcase what’s to come, AKA the new breed, for rock and electronic.

iEDM: What is your favorite song on the album on your NEW BREED album and why?

Kayzo: The tracks I personally like to listen to on repeat are “BOTTLE OF RAIN” with POORSTACY, “LOST MY WAY”, and “MEET YOU IN THE SOUND” featuring PhaseOne and Aaron Pauley.

iEDM: Are there any tracks from NEW BREED that started out as one concept and then completely transformed into something else? Which one stands out as the most different from its original idea and why?

Kayzo: “THE SICKNESS” is definitely the first track when thinking of changing its structure. Initially, the instrumental was made with another vocalist in mind. It had a totally different melody and breakdowns than the end result. I sat on the track and later on decided to get back to it when my manager introduced me to GHØSTKID. After going through his Spotify, I loved his sound and realized he had the tone I was looking for with “THE SICKNESS”. His vocal ideas were so strong and had such a good melody that I flipped the entire song to center around them.

iEDM: Your music video for “MOONLIGHT” is dark and mesmerizing. What emotions do you feel when listening to the track and what is your favorite element of the music video?

Kayzo: To me, if you listen to the lyrics and the concept behind it, the track tells the story of a friend or relationship that you know isn’t good for you, yet you keep going back. The coffin in the music video represents that the person makes you feel trapped and dead inside. SiiickBrain breaking out of the coffin symbolizes freeing herself from that relationship.

iEDM: What motivates you to keep testing your creativity and breaking the boundaries in the music industry on the days when it is difficult to stay focused? 

Kayzo: First and foremost, I got into music simply because I wanted to write music. My goals were not to DJ big festivals and be a rockstar, even though those were things that obviously would have been great to do. I have an immense passion for music and it is truly therapeutic for me so on the tough days I take a step back and look at how lucky I am to be able to do this for a living. Whether I have writer's block, jet-lagged from a show, or just not feeling it, my gratitude and love for music is far more superior. Some of the days that are most difficult are the days that I end up breaking through and finding my best ideas.

iEDM: Besides understanding the technical elements of producing, what helps you bring your music-related ideas to life?

Kayzo: Like I mentioned earlier, most of my inspiration comes from the stories I hear while traveling or after my sets. People have told me that my music has saved their lives, helped them get through their lowest points, and reach their highest points. I remember when I listened to my favorite artists growing up and they did that for me. Being that role model for my fans constantly motivates me and makes everything worth it.

iEDM: Which artist have you not worked with yet that you would love to collaborate with in the future and why?

Kayzo: On the rock side, I would love to work with bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Knocked Loose, and Wage War. In terms of dance music, there’s some really cool up and coming talent that would be awesome to work with. I really like ISOxo’s sound and he’s been killing it with his trap music. SVDDEN DEATH and I could make a dark record together, which would be a lot of fun. I have been a day-one fan of Sub Focus and got the chance to chat with him at Tomorrowland. Knife Party and I started a track that we need to finish and hopefully work on some more with them. The list goes on and on. There are so many artists I grew up listening to that I want to collab with.

I am in the process of building a studio in my house with a full vocal booth and recording room. Once it’s done, I will have a space to invite artists over without having to rent a room or having a time limit on a project. 

iEDM: Are there any surprises for any of your upcoming performances that you can hint at for your fans to get excited about? 

Kayzo: Escape Halloween is one of my favorite festivals. Now that it has been announced, I have things I want to try for that performance, whether it is a special guest or something specific. Outside of that, I have a couple of pretty incredible shows coming up this month. One is with ATLiens and Emo Nite on August 26th at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. For those who don’t know, Emo Nite is a weekly event they do all over the country where you can play pop-punk, rock, and your favorite songs. The two founders DJ themselves as Emo Nite and turn any venue into a rock house party. Then the next day I am performing at Mission Ballroom in Denver with Netsky, SweetTooth, HOL!, and Emo Nite. It is surreal to have Netsky there because he has been a huge inspiration to me. 

Another surprise is that there is a tour I am working on with my team. Expect something announced for 2023 that is sure to be a very big run. The tour will be surrounded by New Breed and a remix album that I am putting together. I am super excited for all of this and cannot wait to put on a show for everybody!

Photos Courtesy of KAYZO

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