URB: How has the Buenos Aires scene evolved and reacted to Zizek over the last few years?
GRANT: It’s gotten bigger, better, more exposure, more acceptance, more respect, more fans, more dancers, and more producers experimenting with this particular sound. The press, the government, and the public have all realized the talent and potential behind our crew and are beginning to get behind it even more. It’s nice. Even in the areas where our sound would once be considered way too eclectic, some young DJs are feeding in small doses to a crowd that throws bottles at the DJ if he doesn’t play the hits. Brave dudes, big ups. At our next Zizek party we’re debuting three artists who we’ve never seen play before, but whose productions have been blowing us away. We don’t care; that’s how we roll. We push each other, a lot, but in the end it’s only positive for ZZK. I just hope their girlfriends/wives feel the same!

Left to Right: Nim, El G (Grant) and Villa Diamante

Experimenting with new artists on a dance floor packed with 1,000 people on a Saturday night? Why not? I’m lucky to have the perfect partners in this; Villa Diamante and Nim, and each one of us is crazier and more daring than the next.

URB: The new Las Americas EP is a great way to bring together what we all know was happening–producers all over the place playing with the cumbia sound. Do you think more of these collaborations will be on the way? Isn’t it a little funny that as the world feels smaller and more interconnected, our music can be so expansive, expressive and encompassing?
GRANT: I read/heard once that music is the art that is most direct and moves the fastest, I firmly believe in that. Yes, expect more collaborations, we’re already working on Las Americas Vol. 2, it’s inspiringly good.

URB: That being said, any thoughts on the urban bass music and why it feels like it’s having its moment right now? Has anyone really surprised you?
GRANT: The internet, touring, small labels pushing big sounds. Once again, music moving faster than everything else. No borders, new frontiers, genres popping up by the minute. More communication and a new generation of people—my generation—running the hippest media and blogs. Schlachtofbronx blew my mind recently. Meneo is charting amazing territory. Watch out for Frikstailers too, kids are on some next level if I’ve ever seen. Ok, they’re on my label, but still!

URB: You and Zizek are at the center of this movement. How much do you control its direction? Are you interested in finding more ways to expand the brand?
GRANT: Not much, a lot? I don’t know, that’s hard to answer. We give our artists extreme creative freedom. We encourage them to push it bigger, make it crazier, think outside the box, we don’t follow one formula, we’re always looking for the next level. You won’t hear the same thing twice.

Yes, always interested in new ways to expand the brand. Our advantage is we’ve got this amazing crew producing amazing music with a team behind them that work tirelessly to make it happen. Our disadvantage is we’re at the bottom of the world, so it’s not easy to bump into the people who run the industry at a show, corner store, etc. But we make up for it on tour and on the web as much as we can. As for branding, yes, hey sponsors get at us for our next tour!

URB: What are some new elements, producers and sonic directions you have been hearing or would like to incorporate into your artists?
GRANT: All of our first solo album artists are developing their 2.0 and 3.0 sounds. It’s amazing. Fauna, Chancha Via Circuito and El Remolon’s second albums are all cooking and the directions they are going are more futuristic: more sounds, more fusions, more everything. Chancha is like minimal tribal South American dub cumbia folklorico, puts you in a trance on the dance floor. El Remolon’s sound is heavier, more synthy, bigger bass, dubstep influenced, more psychedelic, more melodic, more everything. Fauna have also taken their sound way beyond cumbia, incorporating some kuduro stuff mixed with Latin American sounds, higher BPM, faster and crazier. It seems that touring extensively with Douster in 2009 had its effects! Tremor is also taking it to different places, extremely excited to see how much crazier those guys can get, they are pretty mind blowing already. Leo the madman behind Tremor just got on a 40 hour bus in search of a guitar type instrument that a guy makes in the middle of the country, only 1 of 10 that exist. The guy’s mad passionate about his search for sound, and I’m mad excited. Lagartijeando’s mixtape is also currently in heavy rotation. Kid’s got some mad sounds and loving that ZZK is bringing its roots down… all these traditional folkloric Argentine and South American rhythms blending into one massive sound. And don’t even get me started on ZZK 3.

URB: Can I have the sweater in your Facebook picture? I love it.
GRANT: Haha, no way, I splurged on that from my first FeatBA big job! But hey, it’s that superstar Vibskov cardigan—and called “Bolivia” of all things—that a tour manager/DJ/label head bringing tropical futuristic sounds to Scandanavia needs to wear. I only buy clothes these days if I think their going look good DJing in. I was on the subway today going to give a speech to some University program and I thought, damn, I just look like I run a record label.

Check out URB’s exclusive ZZK mixtape Lagartijeando “Furia Tehuelche”

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Areti Sakellaris, resident gringa and jetsetter, is your guide.

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