I’ve been using Instagram a lot since moving to California. Barry and the team at Valley of the Eagles are doing a great job with it, too, and it is pretty much the only way I communicate with my bud Erik. The other day, out of nowhere, I got a message from Zoibaf. He said, Hi! Really like your website! Can I ask you an information?” I looked him up, realized he was a DJ, and we became quick friends. Zoibaf is an Italian DJ and his new single “Remedy” with TRUNG featuring AXYL is a banger. After a few days we connected for an interview and the rest is history. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Zoibaf.
Tell me a little bit more about you, your sound, and what sort of music you are producing.
I’m 26 and I come from Italy. My sound is almost always melodic and engaging. I focus mainly on progressive house and future bass. I like working with singers to make the songs more complete but I listen to almost all genres. I also really like rock and pop.
You are originally from Genoa. What is the music scene like in Northern Italy?
Yes, I come from Genoa, unfortunately not only in northern Italy but throughout the nation electronic music is not at the top of people’s favorite genres, there are genres like trap or Italian radio songs that are among the most popular.
Obviously, both me and the other artists working in the electronic music scene try to increase the popularity of this genre, but it is not easy.
Tell me more about your new single “Remedy” and what it was like working with TRUNG and AXYL.
I really like my new song together with TRUNG and AXYL. I started working on this song when I met TRUNG, it was the first track we worked on, I searched a long time for a singer with a suitable voice for that kind of sound until I found an old AXYL song. I contacted her proposing the collaboration and she gladly accepted. I found myself very well working with TRUNG and AXYL. I hope to work with them again in the future.
I really like the video for that song. Where did you come up with that idea and who produced the video?
For this song I decided to make a simple lyrical video instead of an official video, but obviously I wanted some original ideas and in this Akire Aizumito helped me very good designer and illustrator helped me a lot. I am very happy with the result and it seems that even the public likes it.
Can I find your music on Spotify?
You can find me on Spotify. Spotify is a very valid platform and can be very useful for artists, but I personally don’t use it much because not having a manager and having to perform many tasks on my own, I prefer to concentrate the public only on some portals like YouTube or Instagram.
When we first connected you asked if I worked with emerging artists. Of course I do! I am glad that we connected and thank you for reaching out. Who are some other emerging artists you are currently following?
In Italy there are many emerging artists, even if the word emergent can be interpreted in various ways, an emerging artist very good in the world of techno is Dan Morris. Personally, I found myself better to collaborate with emerging artists from other countries, such as example TRUNG, 3mon or John Peter.
Martin Garrix remained at the top of the DJ Mag Top 100 last year. Who do you like this year and as a producer, do you care much about the exposure DJ Mag creates with this list?
DJ Mag can certainly give an enormous visibility, in fact there are some cases of almost unknown artists who have done everything to be able to arrive among the first 100 artists.
Martin Garrix certainly deserved the first position last year, but this year I think there are many artists that are doing well like Marshmello whose visibility has grown exponentially, the return of Swedish House Mafia is definitely an event to keep in consideration and in my opinion also the release of the new Avicii album will not be underestimated.
You went to Tomorrowland last year. How was that and who did you see perform live?
Tomorrowland is certainly the festival that at this moment embodies the electronic music movement. Obviously there are also other wonderful festivals like EDC Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival, Sziget and many others. I followed all the mainstage artists.
You are only 26 years old. How long have you been producing?
I started producing in 2013 when electronic music was perhaps at its highest moment in terms of popularity. At that time there were many young people who took that road but then changed gender or renounced.
Initially I wasn’t very experienced and I started working on electro house tracks, when I started to improve my skills I was able to start the first progressive house projects that was and is my favorite genre. Lately I’ve also been working on a genre that I find very valid called future bass.
Where do you find inspiration for a new single? Do you sit down to produce a track or do ideas just come to you?
I don’t have a fixed method to start a new song. I happened to be on the street and to think of a melody or of course to be in the studio and to have the right idea at the right time. I like to work immediately on the drop so that I can then adapt the rest of the song based on that. Lastly I look for the singer and then if there are changes to make based on the voice I do them later.
You are now a Shazam Official Artist. What does that mean and did you approach them, or did they find you? I use that app all the time, by the way!
I’m so happy to be a Shazam Official Artist. It’s definitely a good result and makes me want to work more and more to always get better results. Last year I was also verified on Facebook and also on Spotify.
You worked with Jex Jordyn on your single “Break Through.” What was that like and where did you shoot that video? Looks incredible!
My work with Jex Jordyn produced one of my favorite songs that I’ve worked on. She is a very professional singer and we didn’t have to review the vocal. This is very important for me because it means that the singer knows exactly which vocal the artist needs.
The video was shot by Jay Schippers in Mallorca on a trip with his girlfriend and adapted perfectly to the song.
Can we expect any more new singles being released anytime soon? Maybe a tour this summer? What’s next for Zoibaf?
Of course! I am working on many projects and I hope to publish someone soon. I am collaborating with many artists but unfortunately collaborations often take time. Regarding a summer tour, not having a manager is not easy to find engagements, obviously it would be very nice to take my music to different places, for now I focus on production so as to spread it as much as possible and then who knows maybe even the tours will come.
Thank you for doing this. In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
Thank you for this interview. I thank you for supporting my project and I hope to hear from you again soon!
Connect with Zoibaf:
Website: https://www.zoibafmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zoibaf
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoibafmusic
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/zoibaf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoibafofficial
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/zoibafmusic
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