Kicking off 2019 with a statement of musical intent, Canadian heavyweights Zeds Dead and UK bass lords Delta Heavy join forces for their mammoth new collaboration, the rumbling, dirty but delicate ‘Lift You Up’, out worldwide on Ram Records and Deadbeats.
A relentless roller from start to finish, ‘Lift You Up’ is peak time dance floor anthem at its finest. Combining depth defying drops, fluttering vocal samples and flawless switches in energy levels wrapped up in layer upon layer of honed melodic percussion, the quartet allows the cut to keep one foot soaked in the world of DnB, the other steeped in Stateside-style dub and bass. Having been first debuted at Zeds Deads & Deadbeats sold-out annual 2-night stand at Red Rocks this past summer, the hotly anticipated release of this track has been a topic of discussion amongst fanbases for months now as both groups have relentlessly teased audiences with the track in their live sets.
Following the 2017 release of Delta Heavy’s remix of Zeds Dead’s “Lights Out”, the pairing between the two acts should come as no surprise to fans of either party. Both are widely revered for their ability to craft and create monstrous yet elegant productions; both actively look to transcend the limits of genres with their music, drawing on elements of hip-hop, rock, indie, even punk as heard on Delta Heavy’s previous single ‘Anarchy’. The two acts spoke about the single and the process of working together.
“We’ve been big fans of ZD for a number of years,” said Delta Heavy, “so when the guys hit us up about working on some music together we jumped at the opportunity. The record came together pretty quickly, the essence of it being this catchy little vocal sample and the uplifting synth riff. We’re really pleased with how it’s turned out and the reaction to it when we all play it live has been incredible, there’s a real buzz around it online. To us, it really sums up where we are at musically right now. ‘Lift You Up’ is a real melting pot of styles that – like us – straddles the Atlantic, fusing the traditionally energetic UK DnB sound with a bit of the more dubsteppy halftime stuff that’s big in the US right now.”
The single has already been a big hitter out on the road for Zeds Dead. “This is one of our favorite songs that we’ve put out in the last couple of years,” the pair said. “It’s been really fun to play it in our sets and sort of have it as a cool unreleased track but now it’s time to let the people have it. In electronic music, we always would like when an artist would have some unreleased music that you had to go to their shows to hear but you wanted it. Even though it’s only got a few lyrics to us, this is a song about the human spirit and it’s amazing ability to triumph over adversity.”
