Zedd Pushes Himself ‘to the Limit’ with new Album ‘Telos’

A decade in the making but only 37 minutes of listening, Zedd’s new album “Telos” is more art than music. 

Anton Zaslavski, known on stage as Zedd, has long proven his artistry by producing billion-stream hits such as “Stay” and “The Middle.” Working as a veteran of the EDM community, Zedd has defied expectations and moved into a genre-transcending sound in “Telos,” which in Greek means ‘the end.’

“The true form of artistry isn’t to make what people expect you to make,” Zedd said at a °1824 press conference. “The true form of artistry is to do what you as a human being — who is the art and the artist yourself, whatever that is — want to do.”

For Zedd, becoming a true artist means knowing when to put art before ego. The album’s textbook electronic first track “Out of Time” was originally destined for a counter melody. After he realized the melody didn’t work with featured artist Bea Miller’s vocals, Zedd cut his synth to save the song. 

“I feel like 10 years ago, I would have not made room for it and I would have probably changed a vocal to make room for the synth because I loved it so much,” Zedd said. “But with time and maturity, I realized that the vocal gave me the real emotion that I was looking for.”

“Out of Time” seems like a postcard from Zedd’s past self, featuring the artist’s signature unconventional chord progression, along with major and minor scale changes. The song flows seamlessly into the subsequent track, “Tangerine Rays,” also featuring Bea Miller. 

Considering what these two artists are capable of producing, “Tangerine Rays” is like a rollercoaster ride with no hill — where every turn feels predictable and it’s just a way to pass time. 

The third track, “Shanti,” features Zedd at his peak, blending a recitation of the Hindu Upanishads text with grand electric pop to create a movie-esque experience through music. While this song may not gain the same streams as some of Zedd’s generic pop grocery store hits, it reveals a matured form of artistry from one of EDM’s best. 

“With certain songs I just couldn’t make them work in a traditional EDM sense, which was the point when I decided I’m just going to make this a concept album,” Zedd said. “Which is sort of an autobiography of everything that is important to me, everything that inspired me.”

Not even Zedd’s friends could tell listeners what sound “Sona” is, according to Zedd. The combination of Irish whistles and mix of pipes, drums and guitars makes it feel like Hobbits were in charge of hosting a rave, in the best possible way. 

Blending a unique sound seamlessly was a task undertaken on “Lucky” by Zedd and singer Remi Wolf. “Lucky,” which debuted at Lollapalooza two months ago, has the potential to be the next song every radio station plays, to an almost annoying extent. 

Wolf’s repetition of “lucky,” in a gospel-esque voice, feels like little energy shocks to the heart — a feeling he relied heavily on featured artists to create, because it can be difficult to do with just a keyboard and laptop, according to Zedd. 

Track seven, “Dream Brother,” is an unexpected collaboration. When ideas began spinning for a concept album around 10 years ago, Zedd became the first and only artist to receive the rights from Jeff Buckley’s estate for “Dream Brother.” Zedd’s distorted, pumped-up synth takeover is a hauntingly beautiful tribute to Buckley, who died in 1997. 

When setting out to create an album with a soul, it was essential to end his masterpiece with a song that felt like a hidden vinyl track, Zedd said. He tricks listeners with an extended pause three-quarters in, separating the electronic rock from the passionate orchestral symphony. A ‘fake out’ at the end makes it feel like there’s a secret eleventh song, or maybe that’s just Zedd’s way of saying his journey isn’t over yet. 
Listen to “Telos” on all major music platforms.