Metronome #057: REZZ

Insomniac’s Metronome series features mixes from some of today’s fastest-rising electronic stars, as well as championed legends. It takes listeners deep across a wide range of genres, movements, cultures, producers, artists and sounds that make up the diverse world of electronic music.

The level of hype surrounding REZZ right now isn’t seen too often. But trust us: It’s well deserved. At the tender age of 20, the budding producer has climbed the ranks faster than anyone could have ever predicted, including REZZ herself.

Hailing from Niagara Falls, Canada—essentially secluded from any active electronic music scene of note—REZZ, née Isabelle Rezazadeh, made the jump from dance music fangirl to bona fide techno queen via a handful of original productions and only two years of self-taught production experience. (She credits a live-streamed production session from her hero deadmau5 as her inspiration to download Ableton and fully commit herself to the producer life; hundreds of hours of YouTube tutorials and endless nights in the studio would continue to feed her insatiable appetite to create and succeed.)

REZZ began to build a dedicated online following via a string of regular SoundCloud downloads. Soon enough, the accolades and accomplishments came flooding in. As a wave of blog buzz started to pile up, so too did comparisons to techno vampire Gesaffelstein, earning REZZ the comical nickname Girlsaffelstein. Then came official releases and cosigns from the big leagues. deadmau5 quickly caught wind of his Canadian little sister and rolled out her debut label release, “Serenity,” as featured on the We Are Friends, Vol. 4 compilation via his mau5trap label. Skrillex immediately followed with the release of REZZ’s Insurrection EP through his Nest HQ imprint. She would eventually make the jump from doing the rounds on the club circuit to taking over festival stages across the world on the strength of her live performance chops, a skill she’s currently honing with beefed-up visual support.

Still, put aside the big-name seals of approval and never mind the tastemaker label releases. Quality music reigns supreme when it comes to REZZ. She’s carved out a flavor of dark and dreary techno no cookie cutter could ever contain. Her approach to moody and unrelenting nighttime beats has become her calling card, has defined the REZZ aesthetic, and has made her voice ring distinctly loud and clear. Her latest release, an EP titled The Silence Is Deafening, perfectly encapsulates her attraction to the eerie, rougher sides of the dancefloor, pulling influences from the widest ends of the electronic spectrum: the bass wobbles of Bassnectar and Pretty Lights; the intellectual drone of Aphex Twin; and the industrial machine music of Nine Inch Nails.

For her Metronome mix, REZZ relies heavily on her downbeat originals and equally burning remixes, which is to say: Expect lots of twists and turns on this haunted house ride.

Track List:: Rezz “Rush”
Rezz “Delusion”
Rezz “Edge”
Rezz “Plague”
deadmau5 “Complicated/Avaritia” (REZZ edit)
deadmau5 “Slip” (REZZ Remix)
Gesaffelstein “Hellifornia” (Rezz Remix)
Rezz - ID
Blue Foundation “Eyes on Fire” (Zeds Dead Remix)
Jon Hopkins “Vessel”
Rezz ft. Delaney Jane “Lost”