Oh, Canada. Over the years you’ve given us thousands of great musicians. In the late 50’s you gave us Paul Anka. In the late 60’s you gave us the legendary progressive rock band, Rush. in the 70’s, Neil Young became popular in the rock and roll scene. In the 80’s the world was graced with the presence of Quebec native, Celine Dion and rock and roll star Bryan Adams.
The 90’s gave us Alanis Morrisette and Shania Twain. The 2000’s gave us Deadmau5, Richie Hawtin, Excision, Drake, Datsik, A-Trak, Avril Lavigne and so many more. That brings us to the almost finished decade, the 2010’s. Snails, Destructo, Grandtheft, Sleepy Tom, Zed’s Dead, Nom De Strip, Autoerotique, Jackal, and many many more.
Out of all of those artists from Canada, we’d like to shine a light on a Toronto “Rezz”ident, Isabelle Rezazadeh, who is more commonly known as REZZ.
She has been given a lot of attention by A-List electronic music producers, Deadmau5 and Skrillex, also releasing music on Skrillex’s Nest HQ, and more recently, mau5trap. In celebration of her album Mass Manipulation, which was just released, I will be ranking her top 5 songs and remixes.
1. Without A Trace – Kill The Noise (REZZ Remix)
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This track highlights how flexible her sound can be, while still keeping her dark, immersive undertones. An example in this track is how she manipulates the vocals perfectly with the synth, which sounds like a real bassist strumming a bassline. I sometimes get tired of the piano being over-used in electronic music or being used in the wrong context, but in this song, it blends quite well, which is impressive to me.
2. Edge (From The Silence Is Deafening EP)
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The first time I heard of REZZ, I was scrolling through the lineup for USC’s Paradiso Festival in 2016 while my group was traveling to the very same festival. I was curious to see what kind of music she produced. I was instantly hooked when I started listening to her tracks. The one track that stuck out to me the most was “Edge”. The bassline with the distorted “yoy”-like high ends blended perfectly with the overall tone of the song. I don’t remember too much about what was played during people’s sets when I watch them, but when REZZ played out Edge, it struck a chord in a weird, dark, twisted way.
3. Relax (From the Mass Manipulation EP)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1PT-i2n9mY&w=560&h=315]
I thought that the track was creepy already with the hypnotist speaking for the first 45 seconds. The video gives you an “Outlast”- esque feeling as REZZ wanders the hallways of what looks to be an abandoned hospital or asylum. I had to keep the lights on when I first watched this video. This is the first video from her Mass Manipulation EP tracks, and my fingers are crossed that she’ll release another video.
4. Fourth Impact – REZZ x K?D
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I shall reiterate what I said with this track when K?D was featured in May of this year on RespectMyRegion.com. “REZZ and k?d are a match made in hell. They’re known for their unusual textures and in some cases their dark tones that overlay most tracks they produce, so they’re perfect together. If you listen closely you can hear both REZZ’s and k?d’s signature sounds throughout this track.” My statement still stands. They’re perfect for each other and I hope they come up with more material in the future together.
5. Silent Hill
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REZZ released a track that was inspired by a popular horror video game franchise, Silent Hill. I will be completely honest, I’m picky with songs that are associated with video games. There’s a 50% chance that it’ll flop and sound too tacky. REZZ is on the other side of that statistic with her track. It’d fit perfectly into a Silent Hill game, or any horror game for that matter. I give it a 10/10 for creativity.
You can follow up on REZZ on her social media:
Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
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