Zedd is taking his time

Nine years is a long time to wait for an album, especially in an industry that demands constant content. But Zedd (born Anton Zaslavski) has never been one to follow the expected path. The German producer who gave us chart-topping earworms like “Clarity” and carved out EDM’s place in mainstream pop has returned with something entirely different. His latest album, Telos, arrives as both a departure and a homecoming — more ‘classical pianist Zedd’ than ‘EDM producer Zedd’, as he puts it. The record cost him twenty pounds in weight and countless nights of sleep. “I would wake up in the middle of the night with thoughts on how I could improve it,” he tells me, describing an obsession that consumed him completely.

It’s the kind of creative tunnel vision that saw him scrap an entire album’s worth of material, save for one track: ‘Dream Brother’. That song, with its “emotional weight and cinematic depth,” became the heartbeat of what would eventually become Telos. The result? An album that actively rebels against our modern habit of treating music as “background noise for TikToks and work playlists.” Instead, Zedd has crafted something that demands to be experienced front-to-back, more orchestral journey than playlist fodder.

The Grammy nomination that followed feels like vindication for an artist who chose authenticity over algorithms. “It’s validation in a different way,” he says, “not just for making a hit, but for taking risks.” Between headlining festivals and conducting 50-piece orchestras at the Dolby Theatre, Zedd seems to have found his sweet spot: a place where commercial success and artistic ambition aren’t mutually exclusive.

Amber Rawlings: How’s life treating you?

Zedd: I’m doing very well, thank you for asking. Just trying to balance life and work like everyone else.m

AR: Let’s jump right into Telos. You’ve talked about losing twenty pounds and not being able to sleep while making it. Is that level of obsession new, or has it always been there?

Zedd: I’ve always been obsessive when it comes to my music, but this time it was on another level. With Telos, I pushed myself further than ever before — mentally, emotionally, and physically. I was so deep into the process that I sometimes forgot to eat and couldn’t shut my brain off to sleep. I would wake up in the middle of the night with thoughts on how I could improve . I wanted every detail to be perfect, and that kind of focus just consumed me. The obsession isn’t new, but the intensity of it definitely was.

AR: The album’s got this theatrical element that feels more ‘classical pianist Zedd’ than ‘EDM producer Zedd’. Was returning to those roots scary when you’ve built such a strong identity in electronic music?

Zedd: It wasn’t scary as much as it was exciting. At my core, I’ve always been a musician first — before I was producing EDM, I was playing classical piano, so that side of me has always been there. With Telos, I wanted to create something that felt truer to my musical DNA, without worrying about whether it fits into a specific genre. Of course, I know people associate me with my electronic sound, but I think music should evolve, and this was me going back to where it all started. It felt like a challenge, but a really fulfilling one.

AR: Between headlining massive festivals and doing that 50-piece orchestra show at the Dolby, what version of Zedd feels most authentic now?

Zedd: Honestly, both feel authentic in different ways. When I’m headlining festivals, there’s this insane energy — thousands of people, lights, visuals and I heavily focus on the production and show aspect. But the Dolby show with the orchestra was special because it let me showcase the musical side of me that people don’t always get to see. Right now, I feel like I’m in a place where I don’t have to choose between them. I can be the producer who makes high-energy electronic music and the musician who composes something more cinematic. That balance feels the most ‘me’ right now.

AR: There’s something interesting about scrapping an entire album except “Dream Brother”. What was it about that one track that felt true when nothing else did?

Zedd: I think “Dream Brother” has this emotional weight and cinematic depth that I knew was the heartbeat of Telos. When I started working on the album I didn’t exactly know where it was going to take me but roughly half way through the process, I realised that I really yearned for deep, emotional depth. It was the one track I never questioned. So instead of forcing the rest of the album to fit around songs that deep down I knew didn’t fit right, I let go of everything and rebuilt from that foundation. It was terrifying, but it was also the only way I could make something that felt real.

AR: I presume “Dream Brother” is a little ode to Jeff Buckley, too? You’ve said he really inspired this album.

Zedd: Yeah, Jeff Buckley is a massive inspiration and always has been. “Dream Brother” in particular. His music has this raw, unfiltered emotion that’s always stuck with me. There’s something about the way he poured himself into every note — it never felt overthought or forced, just real. That was a huge inspiration for Telos. It’s difficult to find the right words to express the level of inspiration but the best I can do is that it really made me want to be true to myself and let my musical intuition guide me without worrying about how people would feel about it.

AR: You’ve mentioned how music has become background noise for TikToks and work playlists. Is that something you actively fought against with Telos?

Zedd: Yeah, 100%. I think music has become so passive for a lot of people—it’s something playing in the background while they scroll or work, and that’s fine, but I wanted Telos to be something you experience, not just consume. I wanted to make an album that demands your attention, that pulls you in emotionally and sonically. That’s why it’s so dynamic, so cinematic—it’s not designed to just loop in the background. If you’re listening to Telos, I want you to really hear it, not just have it on.

AR: You scored Valorant and One Strange Rock, plus you’ve got this technical side to your production. Does that world-building aspect of scoring influence how you approach album making?

Zedd: Absolutely. When you’re scoring something like Valorant or One Strange Rock, you’re not just making music — you’re building a world. You have to create emotion, tension, atmosphere — all without lyrics or a typical song structure. That really changed the way I think about making albums. With Telos, I wanted it to feel like a full journey, not just a collection of songs. Every sound, the way the songs flow into each other — it all had to serve a bigger picture. Scoring definitely influenced how I approached Telos. It made me think beyond just individual tracks and focus on the full experience.

AR: Nine years between albums is a long time in this industry. In an industry obsessed with constant content, what gave you the confidence to wait?

Zedd: Honestly, it never felt like a choice — it was just how much time I needed to feel the inspiration and drive that I thought I need to feel to create an album of real substance. The industry moves fast, and there’s always pressure to keep releasing music, but I didn’t want to put something out just to stay relevant. I wanted to make something that felt meaningful, something I could stand behind completely. Telos took time because I had to grow into it, both as an artist and as a person. If I had forced it out earlier, it wouldn’t be the album it was meant to be. So for me, it wasn’t about confidence — it was about making sure it was right.

AR: Did having that Grammy nomination feel different this time around? There’s something interesting about being recognised for your most experimental work.

Zedd: Yeah, it definitely feels different. My past nominations were for songs that lived more in the mainstream space, so to be recognised for Telos, which is probably the most personal and experimental album I’ve ever made, means a lot. It’s validation in a different way — not just for making a hit, but for taking risks and pushing myself creatively. At the same time, I didn’t make this album with awards in mind. So whether it won or not doesn’t matter to me; just knowing that people connected with it on that level makes it all worth it.

AR: You’ve talked about albums that need to be listened to front-to-back. Do you think that experience still exists in 2024?

Zedd: I think it still exists, but it’s definitely rare. The way people consume music now is so playlist-driven — songs get shuffled, pulled out of context, or just played as background noise. But there are still artists making albums that are meant to be experienced as a full journey. That’s what I wanted for Telos. It’s not just a collection of songs — it’s a story, and you lose something if you don’t listen to it front-to-back. I know not everyone will sit down and listen that way, but for the ones who do, I think it’s a completely different experience.

AR: You mentioned feeling burnt out after Telos — that it might be the end. Has that feeling shifted now it’s out in the world?

Zedd: Yeah, I definitely felt burnt out after Telos. I put everything I had into this album and by the time it was done, I wasn’t sure if I had anything left to give. But now that it’s out, seeing how people are connecting with it has been really rewarding. I don’t know exactly what’s next, but I do know that making music isn’t something I can just turn off.

AR: I’m curious about your relationship with social media. As someone who came up pre-algorithm, how do you navigate that pressure to constantly feed the machine?

Zedd: It’s definitely a different world now. When I was coming up, social media was important, but it wasn’t this constant algorithm-driven pressure to always be posting, always staying visible. Now, it feels like if you’re not feeding the machine, you disappear. And honestly, that’s tough because I’ve never wanted to force content just for the sake of it. I want people to connect with my music, not just my social media presence. So I try to find a balance — I share what feels natural, but I don’t let it dictate my creativity. At the end of the day, the music has to come first.

AR: What do you do after making what you consider your most accomplished work? Where does the drive come from now?

Zedd: That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. When you put everything you have into a project like Telos, it’s hard to imagine what comes next. I pushed myself further than ever before, and for a while, I wasn’t sure if I’d have that same drive again. But I think the motivation shifts — it’s no longer about topping what I did before, but about finding a new challenge, a new way to grow. Right now, I’m giving myself space to figure out what excites me next. I don’t know what that is yet, but I know I won’t make something unless it truly inspires me.