Isabelle Rezazadeh (born 28 March 1995), who is known by her stage name Rezz (stylized in
all caps), is a Canadian disc jockey (DJ) and record producer from
Niagara Falls,
Ontario.
Rezz released her debut
extended play (EP) Insurrection in 2015 through
Owsla's sub-label Nest HQ. In 2016, she signed with record label
mau5trap and released her follow-up EPs The Silence is Deafening and Something Wrong Here. Rezz released her debut studio album Mass Manipulation in 2017 and her follow-up album Certain Kind of Magic in 2018. She released her third album Spiral in 2021 through
RCA Records. She then founded her own label HypnoVizion Records, through which she released her fourth album Can You See Me? (2024), which focuses on a
bass music sound.
Early life
Isabelle Rezazadeh was born on 28 March 1995[3][5] in Ukraine to a Ukrainian mother and an Iranian father, before moving to Canada at a young age.[6][7] The family settled in Niagara Falls.[4] While attending high school there, Rezz worked at a branch of
Hard Rock Cafe.[8]
Rezz began DJing at the age of 16,[9] playing music by other artists until she became inspired by a
deadmau5 concert to create her own. According to Rezz, she knew she wanted to work in the music industry when she was 18.[9] The American disc jockey (DJ)
Skrillex noticed Rezz via a blog; he followed her and sent her a message via
Twitter.[10][11][12]
Career
2013–2016: Early career
In 2013, Rezz started producing music on her
laptop at her home in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and uploaded it to the music-sharing website
SoundCloud.[13][14] She released Insurrection on
Owsla subsidiary NEST on 20 July 2015. Later that year, she released music on deadmau5's record label
Mau5trap and her track "Serenity" was included on the
compilation albumWe Are Friends, Vol. 4 (2015).[15][16][17]
In 2016, Rezz announced her first
extended play (EP) The Silence is Deafening, which was released on the music label Mau5trap on 22 January 2016. Her second EP Something Wrong Here was released on Mau5trap on 7 October 2016; it charted in the United States, peaking at number 19 on the
Billboard Dance Charts.[18]
2017–2018: Mass Manipulation and Certain Kind of Magic
In 2017, Mau5trap announced Rezz's debut
studio albumMass Manipulation. On 7 July 2017, a
music video for "Relax" was released on Mau5trap's
YouTube channel to promote the album's release. Mass Manipulation was released on
digital download stores on 4 August 2017,[19] and as a
vinyl LP on 6 October 2017.[20] In 2018, Mass Manipulation was named the best Electronic Album of the Year at the
Juno Awards.[21]
On 1 June 2018, Rezz announced her second studio album Certain Kind of Magic.[22][23] "
Witching Hour", its lead single, was released on 4 June,[24] and the second single "
Hex", which was made in collaboration with
1788-L, was released later that month.[25] The album was released on 3 August through Mau5trap.[26]
On 14 May 2019, Rezz announced on Twitter her EP Beyond the Senses was set for release on 24 July.[27][28] She released the single "Dark Age" the following day.[29][30] On 12 June, she released a collaboration titled "Falling" with the American band
Underoath.[31][32] It was accompanied by a music video that was released the same day,[33][34] and an online VR listening party through
WaveVR with
VR Arcades across North America and also
Otherworld in London taking part in physical events supporting the listening party.[35]
In 2021, Rezz collaborated with
deadmau5 to release a single named "Hypnocurrency" through Mau5trap.[38] On 24 April, she performed a set at
Porter Robinson's virtual music festival Secret Sky.[39] On 21 May, Rezz released "Taste of You", a collaboration with
Dove Cameron.[40] Rezz released Spiral, her third album, on 19 November.[41]
2022–present: HypnoVizion Records, It's Not a Phase, and Can You See Me?
In 2022, Rezz launched a label called HypnoVizion Records.[42] The label's first release was a Halloween-themed mix and album entitled Nightmare on Rezz Street 2.[43] On 21 April 2023, an EP entitled It's Not a Phase (styled in all caps) and described by the artist as "goth-punk" was announced[44] and was released on 20 July.[45]
On 13 October, Rezz and deadmau5 released "Infraliminal", a rework of deadmau5's 2012 song "Superliminal", as their debut single as REZZMAU5.[46] An alternate version titled "Infraliminal (Isabelle's Version)" was released alongside the original. Speaking about the track and collaboration with deadmau5, Rezz cited "Superliminal" as her favourite deadmau5 track, stating: "That's one of the key songs that stunned me and I immediately had to learn to produce music. I put my own lil [sic] spin on it, while Joel also did his own lil [sic] spin".[47] In January 2024, Rezz with
Subtronics and
Holly released collaborative singles titled "Black Ice" and "Dysphoria", respectively.[48][49] She also announced her fourth album Can You See Me?, which was released on 14 March.[50]
Musical style and influences
Rezz is an
electronic music producer and DJ; her sound has been described as "midtempo bass" and a modern styling of "
new beat".[1] In 2015,
MTV called her the "new queen of the dark techno scene", writing she had been "making electronic and techy beats for two years" at that point.[3] EDM.com's Niko Sani wrote Rezz's "deliciously ominous, often alien-sounding bass music" helped gain her popularity within the electronic music scene in around 2016.[51] Other music writers have referred to Rezz's music as sounding "dark",[52] as well as "menacing", "mechanical", "haunting and industrial".[53]Spotify's outlet For the Record profiled Rezz, calling her "one of the most highly regarded producers of
downtempo soundscapes", and saying she "strikes a firm balance between minimal original tech compositions and the all-heavy bass".[52]
Rezz has described her music as "eerie, grungy, dungeon sounds".[54] She has stated while growing up, she listened exclusively to bands,[55] particularly punk and rock bands.[52]My Chemical Romance,
Bring Me the Horizon, and
Underoath have been cited as such bands she listened to in her youth.[56] She cited
Silverstein as one band that she frequently listened to that had an influence on her EP It's Not A Phase.[55]Deadmau5 is an early inspiration for Rezz.[52] She has also mentioned
Zeds Dead and
Metric as fellow Canadian artists who have influenced her.[52] Rezz is known for the signature LED spiraling "hypno glasses" she wears during live performances.[57]
Personal life
On 15 August 2023, Rezz announced her engagement to fellow musician and frequent collaborator Sydney Fisher, who is known by her stage name fknsyd.[58]