Rebirth: UZ Discusses New Album, Tour and Quality Goods Records in Latest Interview + Exclusive Contest

When I think about the people who have influenced the trap scene the most, UZ always comes to mind. For the past five years, the trap visionary and aficionado has consistently delivered cutting edge originals and remixes laced with atmospheric builds, dripping with devastatingly hard hitting percussions and sizzling bass-lines.

There’s an undeniable intensity to his sound that has ultimately lead to his continued success in the underground scene. As the release of his second album “Rebirth” and the beginning of The Rebirth Tour approaches, the trap lord is preparing to head back to his origins and distance himself from today’s definition of EDM.

It’s a statement tour. The Rebirth of UZ. I’m really trying to get back to my original sound, my roots, the “real trap shit” sound. I don’t want to be associated with what EDM has now become to be and I really want to make it a statement.”

In celebration of his album and tour announcement, we’re teaming up with UZ for a massive giveaway where three lucky winners will receive two tickets to their choice of show on The Rebirth Tour along with an exclusive UNMASKED meet & greet with UZ himself. Enter to win below and enjoy our latest interview with UZ as we discuss the new tour, album, his role as label head for Quality Goods Records and more.

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Contest ends on March 10th, winners will be contacted via email by March 13th.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us again today. Last year you unmasked and revealed yourself as two time World Champion DJ Troubl, UKG producer Plezier, dropped your Layers LP, followed that with an entire remix album, continued to expand Quality Goods Records and are now preparing for a North American tour that begins in April. What are you looking forward to the most with The Rebirth Tour?

Hi Peach, thank you for having me & great to chat with you. Yeah it’s been a crazy year for me and the team but I couldn’t be more happier. The Rebirth Tour is a very special one for me. It’s a statement tour. The Rebirth of UZ. A new step in my career and sound: second album, new visuals, surprise guests…I am very excited to share this with the fans: they have no idea what I have in store for them.

For the North American tour, you’ll be bringing Stööki Sound, sumthin sumthin and sfam. What kind of set can fans expect? Will you be previewing some of your unreleased goodies from your upcoming Rebirth LP?

I’m really trying to get back to my original sound, my roots, the “real trap shit” sound. I don’t want to be associated with what EDM has now become to be and I really want to make it a statement. I’ve have been influencing a lot of producers but I feel like the originators needs to come back on the forefront. Stooki Sound and I will bring the good old vibes mixed with the new sounds while sumthin sumthin & sfam are going to bring a more minimal and futuristic approach.

I’m looking forward to play all the new music I’ve been working on for the last couple months.

Over the past year, your label Quality Goods Records has grown massively, carving a distinctive trap niche in today’s music scene for young artists to shine in. Is it difficult to balance your role as label head while going on tour?

I’m really proud of what we are doing with the label and how fast it is growing right now. We’re really trying to represent that new generation of upcoming talented producers, and we’re not just saying it, we’re actually doing it! We like to take risks, it is a lot of fun but definitely takes a lot of my time. We have a small team so we can keep control over everything. We’re planning on getting a few interns to help out this year so I can tour without worrying too much about the day to day stuff. I’m lucky to work with passionate people that are willing to put in the work and I’m grateful for this.

With such a busy schedule, where do you find the time to make music? Did you find it challenging to find the time to work on your Rebirth LP?

I stopped touring about 2 months ago so I could concentrate on making new music, I just moved from DTLA to a lot quieter area. I had no studio for the last 5 years basically so all you heard from me was produced in the middle of my living room on small speakers or just in my headphones. Which isn’t terrible as a lot of producers are writing music in those conditions and don’t have access to professional studios. I was able to build a great soundproof studio in my own house which is now way better for me. Once it was finally finished installing mid January I just spent 24/7 producing music for the new project which is a 9 track LP called “The rebirth” and It will be released with a few surprises as well.

The amount of submissions that Quality Goods Records gets must be overwhelming. What types of tracks are you looking for? What aspects of a submission grab your attention and convince you to release the track on your label?

I spent yesterday listening to approximately 500 tracks so yeah, you could say we receive a lot right now. Unfortunately nowadays a lot of producers want to sound like the popular EDM guys and they end up all sounding the same and that is actually the opposite of what we are looking for at QGR. We’re not looking for the easy bangers or the hype train, that’s too easy! We have different projects: compilations are really a mix of good, underground or even unknown producers that I want the world to hear.

If you have 10 followers on your SC, if your mixdown isn’t perfect, It’s fine with me, If the track is good it’s going on the compilation. Then we have EPs, we find artists that we like to take on a journey with us, they need to have a specific, original and futuristic sound, and we like to help them work on a couples EPs with us. We ‘re really looking for original and good music, that doesn’t sound like everything we’ve heard before, no EDM ish stuff, we heard it all 1000times already. Also the artist needs to be a good human, If you’re music is the best but you’re an asshole, we’re not going to work together.

Last week, QGRecs dropped their highly anticipated compilation featuring innovative tracks from rising trap artists Ascidzz, Conway & Play Lefty, Duran, EAZYBAKED, Room583 and more. What were some of your favorite tracks from the compilation? Will any of the artists featured be on any upcoming collabs with you or apart of any QGRecs releases in the future?

My favorite has to be the sfam & Jon Casey collab, the mix of both style is just perfect to me. The minimal sound design of sfam with the more complex style from Jon is mind-blowing. Nothing you’ve heard anywhere for sure, I’m definitely putting this one in my next set. Acsidzz also has a very unique style, the Untitld one is dope too, I mean I really love them all, otherwise they wouldn’t be on the compilation to be honest.

Speaking of collabs we don’t really plan anything but I started something with sfam a couple weeks ago that I didn’t had the chance to finish yet. Once you release with us you’re basically part of the family so anything can happen between any of the artists 😉

Along with your tour announcement, you’ve released an unofficial remix for 21 Savage’s “No Heart.” What made you want to tackle “No Heart” and return to the roots of your production style?

When I started the UZ project I was basically making instrumental rap beats, that’s really what I was just doing in the hopes that rappers talk to me, well it ended up being a different story. I do have a lot of unreleased “trap shit” and that beat was really one of my favorite. I remember having that melody stuck in my head and rushing to get home to record it and it ended up being not as awesome as I though but when I reversed it, I was like, now that sounds dope!

Ahah “No heart” is an amazing track and had a huge impact when it came out and I just put the acapella over the beat, arrange everything and there was the remix. I like the fact that it is simple yet powerful and when I played it in my Diplo&friends mix people starting talking about it and asking for it so we released it.

What can you tell us about your upcoming Rebirth LP? Are there any explosive collabs that we can expect?

It is really a “back to the roots” album. There’s going to be less collabs and featuring than on Layers and more solo tracks but I’d rather just let you discover by yourself. I don’t want to spoil the fun 😉

In a scene that can sometimes become stagnant with repetition, how do you manage to remain innovative while staying true to the original sound that your fans fell in love with?

The scene is getting a little repetitive but there’s always producers trying to push the sound to another level, you just need to find them. I personally just try to keep my sound as authentic as I can, I’m not trying to get the best or most complicated sound design, that’s not what I’m known for and that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m just keeping it “gangsta” and simple. I like minimal heavy bass music, catchy melodies than you can remember. Writing simple melodies is not as easy as it seems. Often overproduced tracks with too complex sounds are too extreme for my personal taste.

What inspired you during the LP making process? What sounds did you experiment the most with and are you happy with the results?

Like I said, I’ve mainly produced the album in the last 2months, I wanted it to be more consistent than Layers. I also recently changed my DAW and switched to Ableton to try and improve my music. I feel like it gave me more room for experimenting and trying new things and I think you can definitely hear it when you’ll hear the project. I was mostly inspired by my old stuff and wanted to mix it with my new sounds and mixing techniques that I’d acquire during the past years. I’m super stocked on the results.

With so much accomplished over the past year in regards to your music and your label’s steady stream of releases, what do you hope to accomplish in 2018?

I never take anything for granted and I always want to improve and do more for the music. I will still release my own music via the label but I think I’ll do less shows in the future. I’ve been playing shows for the past 20 years and really intensely the last 5years. I’d like to take a break from touring around 2019 and concentrate all my efforts on the label and the artists. My label partner recently started Quality Goods MGMT. We have signed sumthin sumthin, Ian Munro, UNKWN, Macntaj & Duskus. Very excited about we have in plans for them.

We are also going to start our own shows to showcase our artists and create a space where people can come and have fun while listening to some cool music. I think we started a movement with Quality Goods and I just want to see it grow in 2018. I’d like to thank all the fans, blogs and people supporting me and Quality goods Records and we have a whole bunch of cool projects coming out this year! Thanks!