Dzeko
/Our sit down with the frosh week headliner
The Xaverian Weekly caught up with the Toronto based DJ minutes before he was set to headline the Frosh Week concert on 8 September 2017 in a KMC dressing room. Faintly smelling of hockey skates and sweat, the dressing room had been converted into a mock green room with a large, circular table surrounded by chairs and a glass fridge, containing little else than Red Bull and Fiji water. Standing at the center of all this is Julian Dzeko. Checking his phone, the twenty-five-year-old DJ comes off as a reserved and quiet type, currently focusing on his now minutes away concert. This same focus, ironically, caused him to forget about the interview as he arrived late from decompressing at the Maritime Inn.
Now sheepishly apologizing for his absence he begins the interview by discussing his projects as a recently solo artist. “You feel like you’re starting over again” he says, describing his eight solo months as “different” but good. He hasn’t slowed down either and has two new songs dropping later this month, and later in October, he’s dropping a collaboration with well-known EDM DJ, Tiesto. Previously collaborating with Tiesto on a song, Dzeko called it a “really good experience” and is looking forward to working with him again. One day he hopes to collaborate with Martin Garrix, one of the biggest headliners in EDM currently. While he had never attended university, one of his close friends wore an X Ring and was acutely aware of the school’s reputation as “one of the best,” Dzeko was excited to be performing during Frosh Week. At this point in the interview to the surprise of our interviewers and Dzeko himself, four Frosh had managed to find their way into the dressing room, eager to meet the DJ. As Dzeko’s people moved to accommodate the incoming groupies, Dzeko was evidently pleased of the chaos- smiling and becoming momentarily distracted from the interview. Returning to focus in a moment of self-reflection, Dzeko noted that he stands with few as a Canadian DJ. “There’s not many [Canadian DJ’s] I’d say there’s a lot of Dutch DJ’s, like Garrix, Hardwell. Avicci, he’s Swedish, Tiesto- those guys”. Being a Canadian in a genre with so few countrymen, Dzeko asserts it allowed him to easily make connections, but stressed “if you work hard at it, just like anything, you can really do it.”
Running out of time, the Xaverian thanked Dzeko and wished him luck with his show, who cheekily responded with a wink and a smile saying that if he had he gone to university, he would have attended StFX.
Key Songs:
1) Dzeko: Heart Speak, California.
2) Dzeko & Torres: L’Amour Toujours (Tiesto Edit).
3) Tiesto, KSHMR, VASSY: Secrets.
4) Martin Garrix: Spotless, Helicopter, Pizza, Tremor (with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike)
