DJ Zaeden is a big believer in the power of music. “It can control people emotionally in a big way,” he says, and narrates how during one of his gigs, a young man proposed to a girl and they got together. The song was ‘Never Let You Go,’ the single from last year, which is also one of his most popular tracks.
No matter where Zaeden is, he always gets requests to play this particular track. “In fact, I have a special edit of that song that is my intro, so people go crazy when I play it. I play it at least thrice in a single night,” he grins.
Earlier this year, the 21-year-old DJ, along with Saavn (the music app), created the official remix of Maroon 5’s ‘Don’t Wanna Know’. He is also one of the first electronic music producers from India to have played at Tomorrowland (Belgium) last year. “This year, I’ll perform at Looptopia in Taiwan, a few shows in Germany and Spain in July, and a lot more shows in India. I generally play at Magnetic Fields, Sunburn, Supersonic and EVC in India,” he says.
In the city to perform at an event at the Chennai campus of Vellore Institute of Technology, he says he’s been here before, performing at a few clubs. “I love the vibe of the city and I think Chennai has a growing music culture. Hyderabad started off on a small scale and is today an EDM destination like Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru or New Delhi; the same logic applies to Chennai.”
Delhi-based Zaeden’s real name is Sahil Sharma. “My real name is so common that I just had to come up with a stage name. Zaeden in Latin means out-of-the-box thinking. That’s what I try to do with my music. The name has an element of mystery, just like my music.”
Intrigued by the process of making and mixing music, he started playing at the age of 14. It started off with mixing tapes of his favourite dance music releases that he would give out to friends in school. “It all started as a passion project really, and I released my first single ‘Land of Lords’ four years ago. I also used to play the guitar and my parents have been very supportive of my decisions so far. This has helped me achieve what I have at such an early age.” Interestingly, Zaeden’s father is also his biggest fan and critic.
The baby-faced music creator is currently working on new tracks for the festivals. “I’m also working on a few mainstream singles for Bollywood. I have had a few sessions in the studio with Ankit Tiwari, Raghav and a few others. However, my dream project would be to work with AR Rahman, and, maybe, score for a Shekhar Kapur film,” he says. In the future, he also hopes to work with Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
