Artist Profile – Zak Meow (USA)

As ever, we are always very keen to find out what’s happening with drum and bass outside of the UK, which can be tricky when you live there and the world is such a huge place! There’s been so much ridiculousness on the web recently regarding stateside DNB, and everyone is absolutely entitled to their opinion, but we don’t concern ourselves with the politics. We concentrate on the people and the music, and that leads us nicely onto Zak Meow.

This dude is coming straight out of Atlanta, Georgia (and you can read a bit more about the Atl scene in our interview with MetaPattern way back in 2022 – check out our Index page for more besides!) and has been a part of the US EDM scene since 1989.

We don’t want to say much more. We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but trust us, this is one interesting fella. Read on to find out more about the current scene in the USA and more!

Zak! Welcome in!

Hi! Great to be here!

Zak Meow is a pretty interesting stage name. What gives?

I have had so many DJ “personalities” over the years. I’ve played and produced under the names Evil Z, DJ Doomsday, Digital Analogue, Noize Ordnance, among others. Zak Meow started out as just MEOW. The logo was a zombie cat with a dead mouse in his mouth. (Like Deadmau5, that was the gag.) It wasn’t meant to be disrespectful. I admire all that Joel has done especially with Mau5trap records. But my distributor said I couldn’t use a one word name, I had to use more so Zak Meow was born. Funny though. No one has asked about it until now. I think everyone just assumes I like cats.

Let’s go right back to the start. You were originally coming out of the goth scene of the mid to late 80s. As well as being a highly inventive phase for music generally, it was and still is a massively underground scene that has never relied on mainstream attention to survive. Tell us a bit about the goth scene in Atlanta around this time and what it meant to you?

The goth, metal, punk, hardcore, and rave  scenes were all intertwined in Atlanta in the 80’s and I moved through them all.  The goth scene in particular had the fetish scene baked into it and I was always drawn to latex performers and models. Spinning the dark music for their shows just came so naturally to me and the after parties in clubs of Atlanta was where I could work out the more aggressive tracks!

Like many global scenes the goth movement grew from the hills and valleys of northern England, and predominantly Yorkshire, so how the flip did it find its way to Atlanta and into your ears?

There were 2 clubs in Atlanta that I feel had their heads in England. The legendary punk club Metroplex and the 24 hour club Backstreets. So much of these clubs and their patrons fed off EVERYTHING coming out of the UK. The music, the culture, even the politics. We just ate it up.

You’re a musician with the ability to play quite a few instruments under your belt, so I’m guessing there was involvement in bands during this ear for you too? (tell us about the metal band – BTW I absolutely LOVE metal!)

I started my music journey playing in a band called Nihilist in 1987 as the band’s vocalist. We thought that we were a metal band but we were more like American hardcore. Then as we got better we had embraced the hardcore moniker, but had become more thrash metal and even later industrial metal. We sold 10’s of thousands of cassette tape ep’s at hundreds of shows across the US but was never considered “commercially viable” by record labels. We were considered the masters of the American underground and to be honest, that suited me just fine. We were always able to maintain our creative integrity. You can Google Nihilist Atlanta and find some stuff that was preserved on the internet thanks to some old fans. Good times.

By 1989 things had changed for you though, in that you discovered the joys of turntablism and playing records at parties? ’89 was a period of intense change on the electronic music frontier, what with the American house music scene having such a huge global impact, and then in turn the UK scene morphing that into its very own version of breakbeat culture. Tell us a bit about your transition into the rave scene?

Yea. When I started playing I didn’t know a thing about mixing. It was all about song selection. I would fade one song into the next like a radio jock for the first 2 years or so. It was when I worked at another 24 hour club, Club Anytime, that I met Johnathon Stewart, who would later become FACTOR E, that I saw the potential of turntables unlocked. Man, what he did was just masterful! Beat juggling, scratching behind his back, 3 records blended with such precision.

It opened up a whole new world for me. I began collecting records that were not my usual fare and started looking at the records I had in an entirely different way! I could now take my goth industrial tunes and blend them with different beats and make a whole new song that no one had heard before! It was amazing! So far from the dj booth where I stated that had 2 turn tables and 2 tape decks.

I know that the import records business was big back in the early 90s in America, and this is what bought the sound of the underground rave scene to people cross the country. You have stayed with it ever since, so it clearly had a huge impact on you?

It did! Every Friday I would be at the local record shops digging through what was new. That is one aspect of the scene that I miss is the sense of community around the record store. The music brought out the best people no matter what style or genre they were in to. 

By the early 90s you were making records and getting them pressed on white label to sell to independent record shops. This must have been a really exciting time!

I started playing around with tape edits in the early 90s. I played one of my edits for a friend and he said “Dude. You gotta get this out”. It hadn’t really occurred to me that I could have records pressed until he gave me the phone number of a pressing house and I called them. I had thought that was something that only a record label could do. I scraped together the money for my first pressing that was a hardcore remix of the Messiah song There Is No Law. Most I sold at shows or out of the trunk of my car but I was surprised when I sold the last copy at Satellite records.

You’ve made music across a range of styles under the dance music umbrella though, including hardstyle, hardcore and breaks. This is still quite unusual, as most producers tend to lock into one style and stick with it. You obviously like to explore many musical avenues?

As I mentioned before I’ve played and produced under many different names. The one that got the most recognition was Evil Z. Evil Z did hardcore, breaks and hardstyle but I always felt I had more to offer. I was being pigeon holed into one style.  I didn’t care for the way the hardstyle music of the late 2000’s was turning sort of bubble gum soft so I just sort of killed off that persona. Started working on reinventing myself so that I could have more musical freedom.

There have even been links to Omar Santana’s label, who has been a monumental figure on the global underground scene for many decades?

I became friends with Omar in 2005 after I booked him for a show in Atlanta. He is an incredible producer, DJ, and friend. We’ve worked on many projects together from live events to merch to remixes. I still have his old Korg Prophecy and Roland JP-8000 in my studio.

Cyberaver has also been a huge part of your life and career. Tell our readers about this project and how it came about?

In 2004 the Atlanta scene had sort of fallen apart so I teamed up with a long time friend from the goth/fetish scene and co-promoter J-Sin. We took the new music and blended it with the older goth/fetish aesthetic to create Cyberaver. We managed to strike at the right moment because Atlanta was hurting for something fresh. We hosted djs from different genres from all over the world and got to showcase amazing local talent while running elaborate themed stage shows.  Every show was like a circus!

You’ve played in quite a variety of locations and venues too, from your home state of Georgia to NYC. These must have been exciting times?

I’ve had the opportunity to play in almost every state in the US. They were always fun times. The best shows for me were always Seattle. Something about Seattle ravers in the 2000’s and 2010’s were just different. Those kids were insane! But anyone who has toured while raising a kid and maintaining a family will tell you, while it’s fun, it can be a difficult way to live. In the airport waiting on a ride while on the phone helping your kid with their homework while waiting on an email about who is going to headline your next event back home. It can be rewarding and exhausting at the same time.

And you still DJ?

I still have my residencies in Atlanta and I am currently getting ready for a European tour that kicks of in Bratislava Slovakia on May 3 2024 which coincides with my next track, ZMAD, coming out. So yes, I am a career DJ. I’ll be doing this until I simply can’t anymore. It’s part of my DNA. It’s who I am. 

And then this brings us on to a current area of interest and creativity for you at the moment, which is DNB. We gather this is currently a hot topic in the states at the moment, in terms of mainstream interest at least (we know that on the underground it has been healthy and vibrant in small pockets across the land for many, many years). So please elaborate on your current involvement with it, and where you are with it right now?

I started doing DNB because it’s the most diverse style there is from it’s jazz influenced styles, to ragga, to liquid, to neuro, to metal DNB. It’s a style without limitations and I’ve always been drawn to the high BPMs from my time as a metalhead. It just speaks to me no matter the mood. I can always find or write a DNB tune that matches what I’m feeling creatively.

The genre is vast now with lots of off-shoots, so if you had to pick a couple of favourite styles and pick a few names or labels out of the hat, what and who would you mention and why?

This is the toughest question so far. Well to start I have to say that I am in love with everything Zardonic has ever done. There is a reason why the man (or is it machine) has been at the top of his game for 20 years. He has unparalleled studio skills and the energy of a crazed wombat!

I also have to give a hat tip to RAM records for taking a chance on Mandidexterous. Her production skills are top notch and she deserves the recognition for her feel good, never let the party stop style.

Then I also have to give it up for the newer labels that are pushing the harder sounds like Eatbrain and Dirtbox. All the innovators that keep the fresh sounds alive! 

And what about the scene in your locality right now? It’s been a while since we caught up with Atl DNB. Is it still vibrant?

The scene in Atlanta has never been healthier. Thanks to people like the legendary MJ Lee that has been pushing the DNB scene for 30 plus years. Guys like Torch DNB that throw amazing monthlies.  We have weekly events from smaller promoters and plenty of DJs that have been carrying the ball for decades. Even EDM promoters are starting to book DNB DJs for bigger events. It’s not just alive in the A. it’s thriving!

Imagine Audio (your label) is currently your main vehicle for getting your music across the Globe. What was the main reason for starting the label?

I have been screwed, whether intentionally or not, by a few labels in the past. I started Imagine Audio as a way to have total artistic control over what I do.

And how have you found actually pushing the music in such a crowded and notoriously difficult marketplace?

It is difficult and I’d be lying if I said I did it all on my own. I’ve had the help of some wonderful collaborators, friends, remixers, and lately I’ve hired a label manager that is so knowledgeable that I don’t know how I got by without him these last few years.  

The artist roster has been slowly building though. Building a family of producers and artists around the label must be pretty exciting?

It is! The one aspect of being in a band that I miss is the collaborative aspect. I have some pretty decent ideas but when you get a team of people that come together to create it becomes so much more special

And there have been some pretty hot remixes coming out of the stable lately too. Tell us about some of that fire!!!!

There are some producers that I just love and have been very fortunate to work with. Kid Panel always slays the breakbeat remixes. I met an amazing person on Discord of all places named Thystle (we interviewed her a while back – check the Index!!), who gave a liquid DNB treatment to the sing Throw Away by me and REEBZ that is killing it. And of course the mighty Zardonic currently has a couple in the works that are sure to be absolute fire, including a remix of a tune I did with Mad Hed City.

So, the vision for the label then, over the next few years maybe is what?

I started the label as a vehicle for my own music but I have decided that it’s time to open it up to like minded artists. We’ve been getting some decent attention and I’ve always been about collaboration and sharing the spotlight.

Away from music, you’re a voice actor and book narrator.  This is really, really interesting, as even in your day job you’re knee deep in the creative process of creating and recording. In fact, you collect microphones. We would love to know a bit more about this!

Haha! I’ve always been a bit of a gear junkie. I can’t walk into a club without looking at all the speakers and lights without a twinge of envy. But yes, my biggest gear vice is microphones. I just love the thought of how a mic can have a personality and bring different colours to the same sounds. My main mic is a 20 year old Blue Dragonfly. It’s beautiful and functional with such warm tones. I have several old Sennheiser SM 58 style mics, some Sony’s, a few WW2 vintage mics from the 1940’s, a Neumann M49 V that set me back a month’s pay. But the newest one in my collection is a Blue Woodpecker ribbon mic with a hard wood casing and gold tone hardware and screen. God this is gorgeous!

And you also make your own hot sauce. I know of at least one other person in DNB who does this. What’s the deal with it, and how hot does it get?

Careful. You’ll get me in sales mode. I can talk about hot sauces all day! I named my hot sauces after my favourite microphone. Dragonfly hot sauce. Ripe red jalapeños smoked for 14 hours then turned into a mash that is aged for 12 months. Reconstituted with tomato and vinegar and a secret blend of roasted herbs. The jalapeño is pretty hot but the smoked ghost pepper version I recommend for true pepper heads!

As a peace out then, leave us with something you really want us to know, or something you feel might make an impact. Give us some insight!

Fuck the hate. Let’s dance. We are greater than I.

FIND OUT MORE HERE:

https://www.instagram.com/zak_meow

Stream ZAK MEOW – Evil Z music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud