Last week URB presented an exclusive mixtape from one of the Zizek crew’s bass-busting producers, Lagartijeando. This week we caught up with the co-founder of Zizek, Grant C. Dull, to talk openly about the soundwaves he’s commandeered, his travels and worldview. Between his own DJ sets, running the ZZK label and being an ambassador of cool, he makes it all seem so natural.

URB: Did you intend for the collective to grow beyond your small group and humble mission to provide a cool gathering place in Buenos Aires?
GRANT C. DULL: Honestly, no. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but we certainly thought large in the beginning. Our mission statement with the party was “to put Buenos Aires on the map of urban music.” So yeah, I was inspired to go at it, but never thought it would turn into what it is today. And once those sounds started to come out—that energy—we just went with it. Then when I met the creative director of SXSW in 2007 and he said, “I know who you guys are, everybody does!” was when the light bulb really went off. That being said, music has always been a passion of mine, and since I was producing events for nearly three years before Zizek came along, the stage was set and everything happened quite organically.

URB: Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city but it’s quite faraway from NY, LA, London, and Paris. Most people would migrate to those areas, but the city is such a part of your sound. What are some of the advantages and challenges to living and working in Buenos Aires? Are any of those specific to you being an American?
GRANT: Buenos Aires is an essential part of our sound. I don’t think our sound could come out of any other city as strongly as it does from Buenos Aires for its obvious cultural, historical and geographical implications—a society who for ages has thought themselves more European than Latin American, but obviously is as Latin American as the rest, just with a twist. The blend of global influences with local roots and open-minded, eager, hungry, sophisticated and extremely talented producers, is what makes the ZZK Sound what it is. Our advantage is our sound, our identity, our passion, our power and desire to communicate and of course the numbers behind ZZK. It’s one thing if you’re a small group, a producer, a band, but at any given moment I’ve got 20 to 40 people powering ZZK, 10 artists on the label, graphic designers, illustrators, video artists, promoters, club owners, journalists, interns. It’s one big committed familia.

My advantage of being an American is two-fold. One, I see cumbia and South American music for what it is, not for what is was or what it should be, has been, etc. I don’t have prejudices and when, if I ever did, I’d be out. With cumbia for example, it’s great music that gets people dancing, it’s groovy, infectious, fun, sexy, powerful.

All the social elements that many Argentines hold over cumbia I don’t possess; it’s not that I’m not interested in them, it’s that I was born and raised half a world away and my cumbia is ZZK and my Argentina is 21st century. I’m like a teenager here, my reality is young and fresh, and that’s a definite plus. There are so many divisions in Argentine culture, in the world, in music.

Fauna at Roskilde Festival 2009 (Aclund photo)

I’m tired of divisions; I’m trying to create unions, fusions, cross-cultural pollinations! I love that music-heads can be into what we’re doing, but there are a lot of heads that are purists and close-minded and I’m not feeling that. Branch out a little, open up, it’ll do you some good!

In the end however, it’s all good, because those who think in the past will stay there, those that are open and embrace the future, will be welcomed by it. All I care about is the music and the people I work with, their talent, and the response we get from fans and the drive to get this music out to the rest of the world. It’s not so much that I don’t “care” about all the historical/social context that I’m treading on, sure I understand the social and historical importance of everything, but I’m certainly not going to let what society, the media and close-minded people have so say about something get in the way of a positive change. I’m looking for open-minded artists and open-minded followers, and while the rest continue to argue bitterly over who did what and why, I’ll be dancing. Essentially, it’s what I set out to do with What’s Up Buenos Aires and moving abroad in the first place; expand my own mind and tap into the beauty of human culture for what it is, blaze my own trail, build my own reality, and if I’m able to get some people to come along, let’s go! What better way to communicate one’s philosophy on everything than music? Thankfully here in Buenos Aires and with ZZK, I’ve managed to make all my California/beatnik/college notions of an ideal world into at least a glimpse of a reality. I wrote a lot of poetry on the beach, surfed, listened to jazz and classical music, read Joeseph Campbell, Buddhism, Native American religions, the Italian Renaissance, Ancient Greece, Goethe, Hesse, etc.

My second advantage is being American—or let’s just say foreigner, because being from the United States is really secondary—and living in Argentina for six years I can blend into both worlds. I’m as Argentine as I am American. Many are confused down here when they meet me; I’ve got a knack for accents, and I love slang and human expression through language and communication. The Argentines are absolutely hilarious and I’ve become one of them, in fact, I should be working for the CIA, maybe I am—Yes, I’m searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction on the dance floor, particularly with Latin rhythms. The same thing happened to me when I lived in Brazil, after three months people thought I was Brazilian. The more funny a culture is in its language, the more I dive into it. In Ghana I loved having to haggle for the non-gringo prices with loud over exaggerated expressions of bewilderment and shock of the prices that were thrown my way. I still throw out the little Chinese I learned while living in China when it comes to talking down a price. I appreciate personality. Plus, my American upbringing and the whole thing about work ethic, punctuality, drive, etc. has made me able to distinguish myself from my competition, you know, showing up on time and actually delivering what you said you would. Okay, I’m also a workaholic, but you would be too if you were into it as much as I am. Expat life isn’t easy, making it work in Argentina tampoco, so I’ve got to go at it pretty hard.

All in all, I’m not concerned with nationality and I wish borders didn’t exist, of course that’s easy for me to say as a passport-carrying, white, middle class American, but my notion of existence borders the romantic, if you haven’t noticed yet! Deconstructing pre-conceived notions and working towards conscious paradigm shifts in thought and culture through art is also quite fun. Not that I’m taking it too seriously!

The challenges are obvious. Argentina’s economy is rough and trying to make it in the art world in this country is hard. Surely it’s hard everywhere but Argentina needs to seriously pick up the slack when it comes to supporting their artists. It’s a hustle to make things work, but we’re grinding harder than ever and are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s hope it keeps burning strong before the wick burns out.

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