{"id":26046,"date":"2015-12-22T23:32:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-22T22:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/?p=26046"},"modified":"2015-12-22T23:37:52","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T22:37:52","slug":"interview-damian-lazarus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/interview-damian-lazarus\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Damian Lazarus"},"content":{"rendered":"

A true storyteller, Damian Lazarus often holds court at those special times of the day when only his kind music is required.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crosstown Rebels, Day Zero, Get Lost, Rebel Rave<\/strong>, his own DJ and production career, the discovery of a wealth of influential talents are all achievements that make Damian, not only one of the most respected exponents of the contemporary house and techno scene, but also one of its key tastemakers and pathfinders. Throughout a career spanning many years Damian Lazarus has worked tirelessly to maintain a constant flow of creativity and innovation within the house and techno sphere. Never losing focus, he continues on his mystical pathway to greatness, unleashing his positive spirit on the masses at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

On January 8, Damian Lazarus will be joined by a legendary cast of comrades as Crosstown Rebels celebrates 13 years with the 2016 edition of Day Zero. Musical offerings from the core Rebel sound will include Acid Pauli, Bedouin, Blond:ish, DJ Three, Eduardo Castillo, Felix da Housecat, Fur Coat, LUM, Metrika<\/strong>, and Serge Devant<\/strong>. Day Zero presents an opportunity for the like-minded to gather, reset, and relearn – a coming together of the world\u2019s best party people and a source of inspiration for the year to come. <\/p>\n

Anticipating Day Zero, Damian Lazarus speaks with us on the mystical origins of the event, the energy of the Yucatan Peninsula, how to curate a lineup that is equal parts music and spirituality, and much more about this most unique event. You can find the event link and tickets at the end of the article.<\/p>\n

“Day Zero really is one of the most important events at which to realize how special it is to love and be loved.”<\/span><\/h3>\n

Many know about the Dec 21, 2012 date but (perhaps) less are familiar with the January 8 date predicting the world\u2019s end. Can you give us a bit of background as to where this prediction came from?<\/strong>
\nSince celebrating the beginning of this new chapter in our lives following the inaugural Day Zero in 2012, we have selected a different date around the beginning of January based on advice we have received from the spirit world. This time we are reliably informed that Friday 8th January, on the eve before the first new moon of the year, provides us with the most positive energy for the event. Our new location has already been blessed by the Mexican shamans we collaborate with yearly and as always the blessing ceremonies on the site will further cement the power we need to make what follows so special.<\/p>\n

The Yucatan Peninsula is high on my list to visit, but have not had the pleasure to do so yet. It is described as spiritual and ephemeral. What is your impressions of the location, and energy it provides? How does this energy coincide with the energy necessary for a quality event?<\/strong>
\nOur spiritual guides and the Mayan elders that we work with for Day Zero are very serious about the location that we choose for the event. We have brought them to the various sites that we look at each year and we discuss which of the options feels most powerful. This year we are returning to the heart of the jungle in an area in Tulum that has most likely not been visited by many people before. We have discovered some caves that lead to underground cenotes (water filled sink holes) and the clearing where we will position the main stage area is so beautiful it feels as if nature called us there to bring something creative and unique.<\/p>\n

Have you encountered locations around the world, whether on tour or on personal time, with a similar energy?<\/strong>
\nI am so fortunate in my life that I get to travel the world and visit special places but in truth, Tulum provides me with the most powerful energy I have experienced. We have looked at the possibility of taking Day Zero to India and to some other places but all roads continue for now to lead back to Mexico but you never know what the future holds.<\/p>\n

The lineups for Day Zero over the years have been quite diverse, with many acts’ sets celebrated to this day. How does each year\u2019s lineup come together? I would imagine that there is a certain mindset or philosophy amongst the acts each year. Is this true? Does this like-minded aspect go beyond a strictly musical focus?<\/strong>
\nThe energy at Day Zero is quite unlike most other festivals or parties, there is a magic in the air that needs to be felt and transformed by the artists performing. The connection with the spirits and with nature is very powerful and I believe that once the artists feel this, their artistry goes to as higher place and what comes out on the day is something next level. <\/p>\n

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From the perspective of a curator, what would you like to say about this year\u2019s lineup?<\/strong>
\nThis time around we have invited artists that already are on the spiritual journey through music and some that we feel will grow and have a positive reaction to the experience. Every year we gather all the artists before the event and hold a pre-party get together, usually the night before, where we connect, eat and drink and discuss what is about to go down the following day. I am super excited about the way the line up feels this year and the set times have been curated for maximum effect to take us from 5pm on the Friday through to midday on the Saturday.<\/p>\n

Now, musically speaking, have there been any particular standout moments for you over the years?<\/strong>
\nAcid Pauli\u2019s closing sets have always been very special, Mathew Jonson\u2019s live set on top of the pyramid 2 years ago was in a different league and Massive Attack performing at the first event was simply incredible. Personally speaking, my sunrise sets at Day Zero are very important for me and I feel it gives me the energy and right vibes to move forward musically throughout the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

This year you will have an interesting performance collective Red Moon, founded spearheaded by Cirque Du Soleil founder Guy Lalibert\u00e9<\/a>. How did this collaboration come about? I don\u2019t want to ask for you to give anything away here, so I will simply ask about Guy Lalibert\u00e9 as a creative mind and personality. How do you respective artistic approaches match?<\/strong>
\nI met Guy a few years back and we became immediate friends. His creative vision and ability to create magic everywhere he goes is unparalleled. What he brings to performance I try to bring to music. We collaborated at an event at his house in Ibiza this summer and created an unforgettable experience for the people and I think we just felt we have a common mindset and I am delighted to have him involved now with Day Zero.<\/p>\n

Finally, as 2015 has come to an end and Day Zero being one of 2016\u2019s first premiere events, how does it aid in your own reflections on the past year, as well as what is ahead?<\/strong>
\nWhen you are with us at Day Zero, soaking in the beauty of what we have created – amongst the spiritual guides, the artists, the performers, the unique staging, the out of this world lighting and you are there beneath the cosmos in Tulum, holding hands with your friends and experiencing the incredible sound, it is impossible not to reflect on how lucky you are to live in this world of magic and to think on all the possibilities that await you. Day Zero really is one of the most important events at which to realize how special it is to love and be loved.<\/p>\n

Soundcloud <\/a><\/span> Artist Page <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Day_Zero_Tulum_Mexico\"<\/p>\n

8 January | Day Zero Festival<\/a> | Tickets <\/a>| Tulum, Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A true storyteller, Damian Lazarus often holds court at those special times of the day when only his kind music is required. Crosstown Rebels, Day Zero, Get Lost, Rebel Rave, his own DJ and production career, the discovery of a wealth of influential talents are all achievements that make Damian, not only one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":26049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3971],"tags":[8072,8076,6364,4677,5048,5020,8077,591,8073,2964,5199,2993,8079,8074,8075,4556,8078,8080],"class_list":["post-26046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-interviews-london","tag-acid-pauli","tag-and-serge-devant","tag-bedouin","tag-blondish-london","tag-crosstown-rebels-london","tag-damian-lazarus-london","tag-day-zero","tag-dj-three","tag-eduardo-castillo","tag-felix-da-housecat","tag-fur-coat-london","tag-get-lost","tag-guy-laliberte","tag-lum","tag-metrika","tag-mexico-london","tag-rebel-rave","tag-red-moon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}