The spirit and aura behind Lizdek‘s works and vision are simply unmatched. His diverse and charismatic storytelling through sound puts listeners into a vast trance. Full of surprises and secrets to uncover. Not to mention how unpredictable his techniques truly are. Always leaving a smile on your face while inspiring many within the underground. Paving a healthy and organic path for the future of this genre. From releases on Partica Artist Group, Sable Valley, to collaborations with capshun, Bendel, and many more, this is an artist whose musical boundaries are completely nonexistent. He’s always working his hardest to deliver his best to date with each release. And it’s with our great honor to introduce him with his very own guest mix and interview! Within this adventure of pure insanity, we’ll witness what lies ahead for the artist while embracing a deeper dive into his persona. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this wild ride!
First off, thank you for taking the time for this! How are you doing so far?
Thanks for having me on, I’m doing good! At the time of me writing this, I am 8 days nicotine-free, so I’ve been feeling a lot better. More concentrated and motivated, has been helping lots with getting anything music-related done.
Diving into the mix, what can listeners expect or look out for?
In this one you’ll find lots of Trap, Dubstep, touches of DnB/Halftime, and a good chunk of Electro House. There’s also some stuff outside of EDM sprinkled in there, mostly rap or rock. RAW energy.
Any major goals you’ve set for yourself throughout this new year?
Travel and play shows. Go see people in new places. Continue making music in the midst of it all. The circumstances between 2020 and 2022 prolonged a lot of those plans, which I know lots can relate to. Given how eager I’d become last year to pursue that, this year is the year I wanna see everyone and everything I’ve been wanting to see.
The main obstacle was taking what some people would call an absolute mess of a collection of songs and packaging it into something cohesive
Congratulations on your newest EP! The diversity is crazy. What was the inspiration behind the direction you took for that experience? Were there any obstacles?
Thank you! The main obstacle was taking what some people would call an absolute mess of a collection of songs and packaging it into something cohesive; thankfully, myself and Halcyon succeeded in doing that. A lot of that EP touched on childhood themes that I’ve been attaching to the Lizdek name these last few months, largely attitude-era wrestling and gaming from that same era. I know I’m a generation behind (22 years old) but that’s still what I gravitated towards as a kid.
Your works are always so full of color and spirit, were you self-taught in terms of music production or did you have any mentors along the way?
Everything I learned on the production side was through other peers on the internet and YouTube tutorials. Never took lessons for any of it. Same goes for my creative process, songwriting style and whatnot, which is not something that I think you can teach. That color and spirit is something you have to build yourself if it’s not already there. I can only teach people how to be me, but why would you wanna do that when you can just be yourself?
Are there any fun facts listeners don’t know about you yet?
I try to make it pretty clear to people that I come from a balkan background, specifically a Serbo-Croatian one. However, most people don’t know that I can speak a decent amount of the language. I’m rusty though, so if any serbs or croats wanna link so I can dust off the cobwebs, hit my line.
Outside of the electronic spectrum, who are some of your favorite musicians you’ll listen to from day to day? Have they impacted your own personal work today?
Right now I’m heavily on FRVRFRIDAY and untiljapan for rap stuff. Their swag is unmatched at the moment, in their own respective ways. On the rock side, it’s admittedly a bit of a whirlwind, but Motley Crue, Killswitch Engage, and Judas Priest come to mind. The Naked and Famous and Cigarettes After Sex are namely in my rotation on the more indie wave. Obligatory shoutout to some balkan inspirations as well, thank you Sadin Idic, Lepa Brena and Aca Lukas.
The name “Lizdek” holds a lot of weight to me, so I want to make sure that anything I do under that name represents my true self, especially given how many dumb, disingenuous characters can be found in music and entertainment as a whole.
What’s the story behind the Lizdek name?
Lizdek is my surname. It originated in Bosnia, but there’s a handful of Serbians with the last name as well. I use it as my alias given the number of attempts I’ve had under made-up names in the past. It’s been since late 2016 that the SoundCloud account was created and I’ve come to the realization these last couple of years that I don’t want to waste time doing something as an artist that doesn’t stand for something. The name “Lizdek” holds a lot of weight to me, so I want to make sure that anything I do under that name represents my true self, especially given how many dumb, disingenuous characters can be found in music and entertainment as a whole.
If you could play a show anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I want to tour the United States more than once or twice before I even think about where else I want to go. That has been one of my biggest dreams since the beginning. I have a very hard time reaching my US peeps because of how difficult it can be to obtain a performance visa, but once that’s sorted and I’ve checked that off my list, I would love to play a show in Croatia, Japan, and/or Australia. All those scenes seem so full of life in a very different way that the North American scene, and I would love to experience that in person in the future.
Do what you have to do to make sure you don’t sacrifice being yourself.
For those wanting to start out in this crazy industry, producer or other profession, what advice would you bestow upon them?
Do what you have to do to make sure you don’t sacrifice being yourself. But, be smart and creative with how you showcase that to the world. Keep in mind how many people are in this space scrambling to have their hands on the same thing.
Any last words you’d like to say to our readers and listeners out there?
I hope you guys enjoy the mix! Always appreciate the opportunity to share some words along with what I’m doing. Much love to you all, hope you all have a great 2024 with me!
LIZDEK FUXWITHIT Guest Mix Tracklist
** = unreleased
1. Lizdek – The Dirty Dutch Destroyer 2024
+ 2. – Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love
3. Schoolboy – Aftershock
4. The Bloody Beetroots – My Name Is Thunder (feat. Jet)
5. Knife Party – EDM Death Machine
6. F.O.O.L – Feelings (Lets Be Friends Remix)
7. Svidden – Chemistry
8. Minero – The Touch
9. The Bloody Beetroots – Rocksteady (Gigi Barocco Remix)
10. Lizdek – ID**
11. Lizdek – MEMORY_MACHINE
12. Lizdek – ID**
13. Malixe – ID**
14. SHM – It Gets Better (Control Freak Remix)
15. Moody Good – Tweakrrs Revenge
16. Lizdek & Aekae – ID**
17. Sir Spyro – Topper Top ft. Teddy Bruckshot, Lady Chann and Killa P (Disaffected Bootleg)
18. TUNGO – Monkey Business (VIP Mix)
19. Skybreak – ID**
20. Lizdek & nikko – ID**
+ 21. Cesco – Up The Place
22. FRVRFRIDAY – JACOB’S LADDER
