LIFE IN LOCKDOWN - ZARDONIC INTERVIEW

''THE QUESTION IS, WHEN WILL THIS REALLY BE OVER?''

Here at Future-Rocker, we thought we'd do what everyone else is doing: reach out to friends and checking they're okay. Covid-19 lockdown is the first global shared experience since the World Wars, so it'll be fascinating to see how everyone handles the sudden change of lifestyle.

First up, is Venezuelan Metal Drum n Bass overlord, ZARDONIC. We caught up with the hyperactive artiste to find out how he's occupying his time.

It's an obvious question, but...what are you doing during lockdown? 

I definitely can get no chill, so I am always working or finding a way to put my time to good use. Even at home with nothing to do, you can only play video games and watch Netflix for so long. So I have done everything in my power to expand my network of contacts and at the moment enjoy working with several new clients in need of soundtracks, mixing, mastering and remixing services. One of the highlights of my career is being able to create the soundtrack for the sequel to the topseller hit Superhot VR. The new game will be called Superhot: Mind Control Delete, and it is now available on Early Access via Steam. No idea on soundtrack release dates yet, but being involved with such a powerful, fun, caring team has been a very enriching experience for me. They definitely don't work like most other people do, and that's the key to their success!

Besides that, I have done remixes for Lisa Miskovsky (Mirror's Edge), Liv Sin, Satan Takes A Holiday, Skarlett Riot, Smash Into Pieces ( see above ), Shining, and I am currently working on the mix and master as well as guest music for the soundtrack of the new indie game Hellbound, produced by Argentinian developers Saibot Studios. This game is EVERYTHING I wanted in a game. Fast paced first-person-shooter, blood, gore, magic, it's literally a 90's kid's wet dream. Imagine Hexen, Duke Nukem 3D, Serious Sam, Doom and Quake mashed together with modern visuals. No story. No objectives. No bullshit. Just good ol' shooting through hordes of respawning demons to get the yellow, blue and red keys all the way to the next level. There's a free-to-play survival mode available right now and a demo of the first level. Mind you, it's not easy and quicksaves are out of the question. That's something you get with the full version only. But it will be frustrating unless you know what you're getting yourself into. You should check it out!

Also, since the last Friday of March I had two new remix singles released which are leading up to the release of The Become Remix Album. It comes with 10 new remixes of the tracks from the 2018 album Become, including my own VIP version of Takeover together with Fickle6 of The Qemists adding new verses to it, as well as remixes by Code: Pandorum, Sadhu, Vigilante, Pythius, Voicians, Merikan, Enduser, Sinister Souls, Shadow Sect and Hocico. Four of those remixes will also come with their own instrumental version, so that's fourteen tracks total.

You escaped your troubled homeland Venezuela - where does Zardonic choose to set up his Base of Operations, and are they strict or loose with the lockdown there?

I'm in Burscheid which is a small town in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. That's where Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Münster and Wuppertal are, so even while I am in the suburbs, I am very close to a lot of major cities and that makes movement super easy for me. Things here are done a little differently because of the culture. So while some activities have come to a halt, people are simply keeping their distance and wearing masks and gloves everywhere. Supposedly everything should be over in a couple weeks, but we will be required by law to wear protective masks. Air travel is obviously out of the question, which is driving me crazy. If I didn't have the blessing of working in the studio with such amazing people, I don't really know what would become of me. I am extremely thankful for this because I didn't know I was preparing for such a situation.

When lockdown is over, what do you want to do first?

The first question is, when will this really be over? You know? We have no idea what the hell is really happening. I personally don't even know what to believe anymore, but I guess I hope to be able to get my tour back on track. I had a whole tour planned for this year to promote the Remix record with a lot of dates cancelled / postponed, and it was planned to be done together with Fickle6 who has been doing a wonderful job. He knows how to keep people excited and I love hanging out with him. So hopefully we'll get to that. But I can't think about what I'll do until I know when. If I think too much about what I want to do after the lockdown, it'll be like a daily reminder of the things that I can't do right now. And that drives me insane. Better focus on what I can do now, because there's not much else we can do, can we?

 You can pre-order the BECOME REMIX ALBUM here.


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ZARDONIC EXTRA!