T.H.E Interview – MR EAZI & DJ EDU

MR EAZI & DJ EDU open up about their album, ‘CHOP LIFE VOL. 1’, the South African dance music scene and more.

Aditya – Hello, we’re glad to have you for this interview. We’re almost halfway through the year, how’s the year been for you so far?

EAZI – So far, so good. I’ve been mentally preparing to release music and tour so I’m super excited that it’s the second half of the year, from now my time is just dedicated to touring and releasing music.

Aditya – I had the opportunity to listen to your album ‘CHOP LIFE VOL. 1’, it’s a perfect cross-over of African & Electronica music. What was the creative process behind this album?

EAZI – It was just vibes to be honest, having fun with good people, good music and good food and just celebrating life, there wasn’t any real intent for anything a part from putting happiness on the music and give positive vibes

Aditya – Off the massive 14-track album, which track is your personal favorite and why?

EAZI – “Die For You”, because it was never meant to be on the album – I recorded it at 4am after going to the club, so the randomness to which It ended up on the album and how beautiful the song sounds, makes it my present favourite album.

EDU – Unfortunately I don’t have a favourite track on the album because the spectrum of the sound of anapinna that it covers, makes me feel a different song, depending on my mood. So, today “Wena” might be my favourite, tomorrow “Tear Chain” might be my favourite but when I first heard the project, tear chain was my favourite, but it changes all the time now

Aditya – The album pays homage to the South African dance music scene, what aspects of it did you aim to capture in the album?

EDU – If you listen to amapiano when it first started it can be a bit monotonous but it has become so dynamic now and it was trying to represent two different flavours from rappers and singers and we were trying to bring our own vibe to it and have fun by doing so.

Aditya – With a diverse range of collaborators on the album, how did you go about selecting artists to work with? What qualities did you look for in your collaborators?

EAZI – It depends on the sound. On the heavy tracks we were looking for those who can do the heavy vocals, for the soft tracks we were looking for the vocalists who we felt could bring out the soul, so for the sound it was different for every song.

Aditya – The album takes listeners on a journey through South African dance music and its different facets. What do you hope people take away from this musical journey

EAZI – We hope people will take away positive vibes from this album.

Aditya – The album features a diverse spectrum of South African dance music, from deep house to amapiano to tribal house. How did you approach blending these different genres?

EAZI – By bringing different artists together to be themselves, vibe and have fun. This allowed us to experiment and bring the genres together.

Aditya – As you embark on the Choplife Soundsystem tour, what are your expectations and hopes for bringing the ‘Chop Life’ experience to different audiences around Africa, the UK, and Europe?

EDU – We hope that everyone that comes to the ChopLife events can have a good time and have fun, like we did recording the album.

Aditya – Could you share any standout moments or experiences during the recording process that left a lasting impression on you?

EDU – Its amazing what you can achieve in a space where everyone is free to express themselves, a lot of fun was had during the recording process because of that and I look forward to being in a space like this again when we record Vol. 2.

Aditya – Lastly, when do we expect ‘Chop Life Vol. 2’?

EDU – ChopLife Vol.2 is in the works, since the release of Vol.1 we’ve had artists hit us up to send us songs and we are going to try take the ChopLife SoundSystem across Africa.