With a pluralistic approach and diverse collaborations, the São Paulo music producer explores the collective unconscious and musical ancestry, while navigating the challenges of the digital age.
Known for his alter ego that declares war against the copyright industry, deddjazz stands out for his versatile ability in the instruments at his disposal to create a unique artistic universe, where fragments of movies, video games and immersive elements are merged to form a timeless sound experience. His work not only defies convention, but also invites listeners to immerse themselves in a world where the collective unconscious materializes in sounds and rhythms.
Resisting the superficiality of social networks, the musician does not diminish his artistic impact. Instead of surrendering to the pressures of creating fast and ephemeral content, he opts for a more careful and meaningful development of his projects. This reflects his belief that music should be more than an instant consumer product; it should be an art form that deeply resonates with human emotions and experiences. This philosophy leads him to collaborate with other musicians who share his vision, resulting in rich and multifaceted compositions.
We spoke with deddjazz to learn a little more about his creative process and challenges. Check out the interview below.
CM: Do you think that your familiarity with the various instruments you play prevents you from delving deeper and specializing in a single instrument? During your creative process, have you ever faced the need to bring in an “expert” musician to materialize your creative vision? How do these collaborations take place?
Definitely. My creative need prevents me from focusing on a specific instrument, but if I had to choose, I also have no idea what it would be. I think that my musical nature is very plural when it comes to seeing very clearly the need not to experience the creation of music as a democratic thing. It dictates almost everything it needs, in terms of harmony, conventions, and rhythms; and my pleasure is to guide the direction that it, as a state of mind, is taking, so ultimately, I need most of the basic instruments at my disposal. Most of the time, I feel the need for a singer, usually the arrangement and melody is done by me, and the singer writes the lyrics and brings his identity to the song. The same happens with wind instruments, drums, or instruments that are not at my disposal.
CM: As a music producer, how do you relate to the dynamics of social networks and the need to produce content to reach more listeners?
I don't get along very well. It is true that technology and social networks brought a certain democracy to the media, but working on the music, the mixing, the mastering, the covers, the releases of each project, and then the dissemination, takes all my energy away from making a showcase in video format for my art; because the truth is that I tried, but the content is far from being part of something artistic. I think that this showcase used to be music videos, Mix TV, Play TV, MTV, at a time when processes were delegated to specific people and every type of content produced was part of a specific era of an artist. I simply can't handle everything with the quality I want, so I prefer to direct my energy better.
CM: Is streaming the solution or part of the problem for independent artists with regard to the distribution of phonographic works for you?
In terms of ease, we've reached the pinnacle. We have all the songs in the palm of our hand. The internet is good enough so that we can enjoy high fidelity sound without storage problems, on the other hand, the volume is very high and not everything is so good. Not to mention the terrible distribution of royalties to artists. So in a direct way, I think that streaming is a problem and a solution.
CM: Aside from the number of listeners, where do you hope to reach with your work? How do you imagine the development of your career and your work in the coming years?
Around the world. I feel that my beginning was very strong in North American research because of a spiritual and ancient relationship with blues/hip-hop/jazz. From now on, I want to incorporate more of our distinct rhythmology of Rio funk, samba, and that carnival vibe that I think is so intrinsic to the life of every Brazilian that it sets us apart everywhere.
CM: What can you tell us about your next release? Is there a primary source of inspiration for this next work? When will it be officially released?
My next release will be the album “Deddematics”. It's another compilation of work over a year. It will be launched on 05/07. By the end of 2024, I will remove a lot of things from my hard drive that may be interesting for those who want to follow my artistic development. Next year, fresh things are coming, with the presence of national rhythms, also intending to focus more on songs than instruments.
.jpg)
