JDNB Interview - Burnzy
Burnzy has been turning heads both here and abroad since bursting onto the scene in 2019. Fast track to today and he's slowly become one of the hottest prospects to come out of NZ drum and bass in 2020. Praised widely for his dark and gritty tunes, Burnzy is constantly pushing his music to heightened levels every year.
Burnzy has signed music to a number of labels in 2020 - including ‘Audio Addict’ and ‘Four Corners’, ‘Liondub International’ along with many others awaiting announcement. His music transcends across borders, having collaborated with UK artists such as Disrupta, J Select & Joely to name a few. Burnzy music is being played across the globe, featuring multiple times in different sets on Bloc2Bloc Radio and Koollondon. Now gaining the local recognition he deserves its safe to say Burnzy is one of the most exciting acts in New Zealand right now.
After a huge 2020 performing sell out headline shows and huge sets at both of New Zealands biggest festivals ‘Rhythm and vines’ and ‘Northern Bass’with his fast paced mixing, high energy, big rig tunes and a lot of middle fingers, he is sure to mash up any dance globally. With his recent 'Proper' EP, which is out now on Liondub International and a few colabs to come from that we thought it would be good to have a chat with him about his release and also to find out more about BURNZY!!
Thanks for chatting, Amazing to see New Zealand partying again, I so miss them vibes right now!! Make all of us here on restrictions jealous and describe that feeling when you dropped that first track?
Cheers for having me on, honestly It was absolute carnage the first gig back, from the crowds energy to even myself raving over a few tracks I had been working on during lockdown. It truly has been a blessing to be able to play gigs under the current climate the world has been under. For me before covid hit I was playing opening and support slots/shows and still trying to break my name amongst local talent in NZ. When covid hit, obviously the borders were locked and it gave me a bit of a shining light to play more shows and have the experience to tour and headline shows around New Zealand, which for me was something I thought wouldn't happen this early in my career.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
So I am 22, born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand but my mum is from Manchester in the U.K, so it had always been my plan to potentially travel if not move over there once I had graduated which I managed to do at the end of last year thankfully, having just majored in marketing really helped me understand branding and promotion. I come from a very sporting driven family with Rugby being the forefront, considering its new zealand's national game. It was basically my whole upbringing and I had played every year since I was about 5 up until about 2018 when I suffered an injury and had a bit more spare time to myself to pick up a DAW and have a jam. In the back of my mind I had always wanted to do music and to DJ, having dabbled a little bit with virtual DJ and Fruity loops when I was around 14, back when UKF had just come about and dubstep was in its prime. But of course Sporting sort of took over and I never really had the time up until the start of 2018. This is when my passion for music and producing grew and I was experimenting a whole bunch of genres and sounds really trying to figure out what brand and direction I wanted to head down. Around that time, groups called “Dnb Talk” & “Dnb production” came into the picture and I saw there was a big community and a lot of help so I downloaded a bunch of sample packs and basically taught myself through YouTube and that group. I had always loved and listened to Drum and bass but never really took it seriously as my main genre up until the start of 2019. I began releasing a whole bunch of free downloads consistently to build my profile and following, and slowly made connections with other up coming producers and three years down the line I'm still new to all of this but I couldn't imagine where I would be had I just given up and im grateful to be in the position I am now.
What would you say has been your 3 biggest achievements so far within the drum and bass scene?
I would have to say having the opportunity to tour around New Zealand headlining shows was truly humbling for me. I had never been to a few of the places we went too and just seeing how far my music had gone around New Zealand gave me such reassurance that maybe this is what I was made to do. From playing opening slots to touring around New Zealand in the matter of three months after releasing my debut EP with Audio Addict, it really gave me the kick up the bum to work even harder and cement myself, as best as I can in the DNB scene over here.
I was also given the opportunity around new years to play at two of the biggest festivals in New Zealand being Northern Bass and Rhythm and Vines which had been a massive bucket list festival to play at since I was old enough to attend them. I had always told myself and my mates some day I would be up there and it was completely surreal to be given the chance this early and I was super grateful but also very nervous before and during each set due to the amount of people in the crowd.
Lastly, releasing on both Audio Addict and Liondub was really up there for me as both labels have shaped the jungle rawness and elements of my sound and production I try to encapsulate. I always looked up to DJ hybrid and Liondub for their production and the way they go about their music, so it was awesome to have the opportunity to release on both great labels and have a chat with both of them.
Your recent release is the ‘Proper’ EP which is out now on Liondub International . What was the feeling like when you got the call to say your tracks were getting signed?
Super humbling and was really gassed to work with a prestigious label like Liondub International, I had always been a fan of their sound and music they put out. After looking at their various catalogues and the artists that have come through the label I was just happy to be a part of that. The EP chopped and changed a bit to what it is now, due to my old laptop basically dying and losing memory, which meant I had lost quite a few old projects which were originally on the EP. We kept it tight and locked but i'm glad it has seen the light of day and gotten the reaction and support it has had so far.
Which track would you say you had the most fun making?
From the EP, It would be a cross between Drinking and Hands up, I made drinking at the start of lockdown and that track kind of seamlessly came together with the flow of it and how I made it. Hands up as well was another quick finish, which felt unique and had me singing the vocal in my room. Sometimes certain tracks can take weeks where I'm pulling my hair out to finish them or I get over listening to it after a while, but I found myself still enjoying the sound of them and I really like the samples I used in Hands up.
Where do you see yourself in a few years time?
I really plan on taking my brand and music production as seriously as possible. I think there has been quite a lot of eyes on New Zealand recently and I just want to do my part and do my best to put out quality music to put New Zealand drum and bass on the map and hopefully travel the world doing what I love. Obviously it's baby steps and I have to continue to innovate and get better but i'm willing to do my best and hopefully make some positive strides in the next few years. I have a lot of goals I want to tick off and everything seems to be pretty go-go at the minute so I'm excited to go with the flow and see how far I can reach with my music, while staying true to who I am and staying humble.
Where do you get your inspiration from when making tracks?
A Lot of other producers really inspire me to push the boundaries and try new things. I try to listen to alot of other genres as best I can, so I tend to find a lot of inspiration from various samples, be it from hip hop tunes, house tunes whatever I'm feeling at that time. My music at times can be very heavy but throughout the week I try to tone it down and listen to alternative music to keep my ideas fresh and keep myself sane haha. My inspiration usually comes from creating intros first, I usually find it quite hard to make a drop first so I love to build it up and gauge the vibe I am going for. Most of the time I try to create lush atmospheres and head down a liquid route but later find myself adding in reese basses and kick rolls to bring it right back to being heavy and dark haha.
If you could remix one track from Liondub International, which one would it be?
Jayline - Anglo Saxxon, I'm a big fan of Jaylines production and that track was a staple in my sets and still is! Absolutely love the bass and the breaks in the track, proper heavy business!
Name your top 5 Liondub International tracks?
This is a tough call considering the massive catalogue Liondub has but for me the jungle to the world compilations always got me going. There's too many bangers from the label but if I had to nail it down to tracks I like to play out it would be these 5.
Johnny Osbourne & Bladerunner - Night Fall Dub
Just for fun, you can book 5djs and 5mcs, who are you booking?
That is a massive call haha, Too many talented Djs and Mcs to select but If I had to go for my own personal taste it would be Serum, Benny L, Turno, Bou & Simula! Mcs I would have to go for Inja, Eksman, Trigga, Jakes & Carasel. Now that is one filthy line up I would pay a lot of money to see haha.
What are your goals for the next year?
I really want to travel to the UK and Europe and play some shows and festivals! I have never been over those ways, so it would be a dream come true to have the opportunity to play at some iconic events over there. I also have my eye on some labels I would love to drop an EP on and some repost channels such as UKF and Skankandbass which would be an absolute dream come true to feature on that channel as it really shaped my love for electronic music and I have always loved those channels.
What would you say you like most about the www.jungledrumandbass.co.uk website?
I love how much content is on the website, so many interviews, promos and charts. I can tell you guys really put a lot of time into the website and you're passionate about what you do.
Thanks for your time. Lastly any thanks or shoutouts?
Shoutout to Erik and the whole Liondub crew, all the support has really meant alot and I'm glad to get the EP out! Also to anyone who has supported the EP and my production whether you're from NZ or not, it has really shown me some confidence in what i'm doing. Would love to thank my friends and family and the forte touring crew for the support.
Burnzy 'Proper' EP is out now on Liondub International: Download / Stream Here
Burnzy Socials:
Soundcloud / Instagram / Facebook
Liondub International Socials:
Juno / Soundcloud / Facebook
Interviewed And Edited By: Chilla
Published: 13/04/2021
