Interview: Zaeden.

Zaeden, Zaeden, Zaeden! This name has almost flooded the news feed of every social networking site. Sahil Sharma a.k.a Zaeden, only 18, has no doubt immensely made a remarkable mark in the Dance Music scene in a very short span of time. Born and brought up in Delhi, Zaeden at a very young age is a powerhouse of music and definitely "A star in the making".

Zaeden is so much more than a "young Star" - behind that 'chocolate-boy-face' is a determined producer who refuses to leave any stone unturned on his way to a "legend" status! Busy on a multi city tour playing in the best night clubs of the country, he is clocking this interview while on his way back home from a massive gig in one of the most popular night club of Delhi. "Its just been so hectic, but I dont mind it one bit", he tells me. And then for the next one hour I heard the youngest Indian producer to be featured on "Hardwell on air" speaking about his passion in a way I've never heard before. His remix of "Magic- Coldplay" was played by Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike on Smash the House Radio live infront of a packed crowd of 10k people in Tel Aviv, Israel. What more? Voila! his track "Only Yesterday" with Jonny Rose is the official track for Style Mags' TomorrowWorld 2014 Film. And THAT.IS.SOMETHING.BIG!!!

Want to know more about Zaeden? There you go!

CosmoVibe: Hi zaeden! Welcome to CosmoVibe! Thank you for taking out time for us. So let's walk down the memory lane, tell us how did it began for you, who or what was your first inspiration? 

Zaeden: Thanks for having me guys..

Well, to be honest I've been into music since forever ..having a classical background in music helped me pick up instruments at a very young age..I learned guitar, piano and some indian instruments like tabla when I was 13 with music theory..when I was 15 I thought it would be cool to record some of my compositions and send it over to my friends so that's when I started to record stuff on ableton and learned mostly everything I know about music production by watching youtube tutorials..I've been producing on ableton for 4-5 years and never even thought of switching to some other DAW..I always try to learn something new whenever I am in the studio..

Talking about my first inspiration..Umm surely the robots- Daft Punk! 

 

CosmoVibe: Where did the name come from? What does it mean?

Zaeden: Damn I get that question a lot haha.. It came up when me and my manager (Sudhanshu Tewari)  felt that I needed an artist name to produce and deliver my music as my "real" name (sahil) is very common ..it's like every third person in india is named sahil haha so we both first thought how my sound is and how I want my sound to be..I always try to do something different in my productions ..Most of my upcoming projects have something that stands out.. So we tried finding a word that describes by sound or maybe something that describes how I want my music to sound.."Zaeden" means out of the box thinking in Latin and sounded cool and meaningful to us so yeah that's pretty much how it came up. According to me, people don't really care about the name..if the artists' work is good, they ultimately start liking the name..

CosmoVibe: How would you describe your music in 5 words?

Zaeden: It makes the booty bounce.. 5 words ehh? haha

CosmoVibe: Who is your favourite Dj/producer?

Zaeden: Tough question as there are so many but my favourite "producer" right now is Dillon Francis! Im a big fan of his productions and instagram videos haha  

And talking about my favourite "Dj", it has to be James Zabiela and it will always be James Zabiela..Daddy of Djs..

CosmoVibe: How did you feel when your remix of Magic by Coldplay was played by the world's no.1 DJ Hardwell on his weekly radio show ,"Hardwell on air" as demo of the week? 

Zaeden: I was really happy when that happened..Me and my management got a confirmation that it will be played on Hardwell On Air 164 two days before the show..We all were so excited and heard the live stream together..It's a good beginning for me as an artist..Also my next track will be premiered on Hardwell On Air too so I'm super pumped about that one ! 

CosmoVibe: Could you please tell us about your upcoming tracks and collaborations? What else can we expect from Zaeden in 2014?

Zaeden: Well 2014 is going to be insane..You can expect a lot of big stuff this year..My new vocal track with Jonny Rose will be out on a HUGE label..Can't really disclose the name right now, then my collab with Syzz , "Land of Lords" will also be coming out soon (before the vocal track)  ..after that i have a collab coming out with a big artist ..can't tell you the name again haha! but we are almost done with that track and it sounds big to us..Im also done with a single which has 3 different drops with trap and the typical Melbourne Bounce influence ..really excited to see the reaction on that one ! And finally i have another vocal track planned for december!!

CosmoVibe: You're so young right now and you're the 1st indian to be featured on Hardwell on air, would you like to say something about it?

Zaeden: Honestly age doesn't really matter these days..Guys like Martin Garrix, Thomas newson Julian Calor etc who are 17-18 years old as well are killing the scene right now..But yes it was a good feeling when i got to know that I am the first Indian to be featured on HOA ! 

CosmoVibe: What else do you do outside the dance music scene?

Zaeden: I am a Sound Engineering student..I am doing my Diploma right now from sae institute in Mumbai and will be shifting to Rotterdam, Netherlands next year for the degree.

CosmoVibe: What is your favourite track of all time?

Zaeden: Ahhh that's really tough to answer guys haha 

Maybe Deadmau5- Strobe or John Mayer-Neon (Acoustic version) or maybe Bob Marley- Sun is shining ..

CosmoVibe: So how is your scene in your eyes at the moment?

Zaeden: I am really confident about it to be frank..I've put in a lot of effort and hard work in my upcoming tracks so im sure they will do well ..I think my first vocal track sung by Jonny Rose will do well as its a bit commercial..I can imagine thousands of people singing it together haha But yeah there's a long long way to go ..Im 18 right now and I've dedicated my whole life to music so cant really say what future has in store for me but at the moment i think I'm doing okayish  keeping the international scene in mind :)

CosmoVibe: Anything you would like to say to your fans?

Zaeden: Woah I don't think I have much fans out there right now haha but to all the people who follow my music , I just wanna thank you guys for all the love and support ..I've got so much stuff coming out this year and I hope you all like it ..Your support means the world to me..Thanks a lot really ! 

CosmoVibe: Do you have an email id where upcoming producers could send you promos/demos?

Zaeden: Yeah it's zaedenmusic@gmail.com.Make sure you guys send me the 320kbps version with downloads enabled so that i could drop it i i like it 

CosmoVibe: Any message for CosmoVibe? 

Zaeden: Thanks for having me here guys..Appreciate your support! 

All the best with your work and stuff.

CosmoVibe: It was a pleasure interviewing you Zaeden! We wish you all the best for your near and far future!

 

Zaeden: Thanks guys cheers! 

So yeah, that was Zaeden speaking to CosmoVibe. Zaeden comes across as a person who doesnt mince words and with this Zen-like attitube he'd surely be the next big thing in the industry!

Interviewed by: Sushmita Baruah.
Pictures by; Nishant Matta.