EX.789 Interplanetary Criminal

·49 min·4 clips

DJ Mag's DJ of the Year reflects on headlining Brixton and feeling imposter syndrome after a whirlwind year.

The episode is an interview with Zach Bruce, the DJ and producer known as Interplanetary Criminal. He begins by reflecting on his whirlwind year, including winning DJ Mag's DJ of the Year award and headlining Brixton Academy, while acknowledging feelings of imposter syndrome. He emphasizes that his success is a team effort involving his manager, partner, and tour manager. The host asks about his strategy following this cascade of accolades, and Interplanetary Criminal discusses planning his year around key moments like the Brixton show while ensuring he still plays smaller, underground sets. He defines his desired 'footprint' as leaving a mark on UK Garage by curating the sound for a new generation. The conversation shifts to his ATW record label, which he describes as a home for a community of garage artists. He highlights the importance of featuring garage legends like Tom Shorters and Jamie Duggan on the label, seeing it as a badge of honor. Interplanetary Criminal recounts his early days in Leeds, making lo-fi, genre-blending tapes with no expectations, and how that freedom fueled his creativity. He admits that after the viral success of his track 'B.O.A.T.', he briefly felt pressured to play for TikTok clips but later refocused on being a 'selector' who plays rare and unreleased tracks. He shares advice from fellow DJ Catamara about trusting the 'second drop' in a set and the importance of backing what you play. The interview concludes with him stating his goal is to be part of garage history by spreading the sound authentically, driven by intuition rather than chasing accolades.

As heard by us

A candid account of the feeling, pressure, and persistence behind Interplanetary Criminal's rise.

Resident Advisor Exchange follows Zach Bruce through a career that has moved from solitary writing in Leeds to a Brixton headline, DJ Mag recognition, regular ATW activity, and touring the world.

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Why you'd press play

You get the story behind the Brixton moment, the imposter syndrome, and the Leeds feeling underneath the early writing.

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