ZUU Music: The Story of Doing What You Love

We culture vultures welcome Robb Dixon to talk about his amazing new project, Zuu Music.

My name is Robb Dixon and most people who know me will have no doubts about what I do as my profession. I make no effort at all to discourage people from knowing.

My acquaintances and Facebook ‘friends’ will probably know that I work in the music industry; and my close friends and work colleagues know more specifically that I am a sound engineer and musician. However, I can safely say that not even my closest family or my various touring parties know anything about my life or what goes on for a 22 year old sound engineer who gets to tour the world for a living.

This article is an attempt to explain in the most honest way possible the concept behind ZUU Music and also what my life is like. You may ask why the fuck you should even be interested and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. Firstly, this isn’t some ego trip. My intention is to inspire people as I feel my generation and also society in general has come to accept mediocrity into its very existence and that really bothers me. I also feel like it is important for as many people as possible to understand how awe inspiring life can be if you wake up and realise it. This is basically my inspiration for creating ZUU Music in the first place; a desire to let everyone know the beauty I see from my perspective as I feel living life is like participating in the most grandiose art installation possible. With art comes the sliding scale, at one end there is the drawing of a tree and the other is a shark in formaldehyde. My life is the latter. Let me explain:

So it’s 2014 and the music industry is still as out to lunch as it ever was. It’s insane. The people, the infrastructure, the relationships, the drugs, the shows… The list is endless… Getting drunk and stoned with your boss while you are at work may sound like something from The Wolf of Wall Street but for me it is a strong possibility every time I enter my workplace. I’m not lording this as a positive aspect of the job whatsoever, this is just one of the many absurdities which goes to show what kind of environment I am surrounded by. This proceeds onto my next point which is that I am so deeply immersed in the music industry that I can’t remember nor even imagine what normal life is like. When I was at the airport on the way home from a run of shows out in Europe, the passport control officer asked me where I had flown from and I could’t even remember which day of the week it was let alone which country we were in last. I spend every day of my working life with celebrities both up and coming and on their way down from the top of the music ladder, which only adds to the surreal feeling which is my life. On top of this, each night I get to powerfully effect anywhere from several hundred to several thousands of people with the mixes I create. This in no way detracts from the importance of the musicians of course but any accomplished musician will be able to tell you how much of a duality there is between the band and their engineer. Also understand that at any point I could so easily get sacked. If a drummer misses a beat only people with a keen ear would notice. If I mess up and accidentally mute the desk by leaning on a mute group the whole show is ruined.

That pressure is what makes it a bigger buzz than any drug available. On a day to day basis as my career is progressing I have found myself in control of P.A. systems more expensive than my house and giving instruction to colleagues and people who work under me in the ‘industry hierarchy’ who are sometimes twice my age. The whole thing is backward and all of the things I have described in this paragraph are what makes it all such a farce. At some point during each day I stop and think ‘how on earth did I get myself into this position?’ and that is why I am going to be making a documentary film about it.

The film is going to be a fly on the wall documentary with little to no polish. It is intrinsically an art film. Point and shoot. I am aiming to get one point across and if I succeed with that I will consider the film a success. I want to show the world that life can be unimaginably exiting and in the moment, every moment as long as you chase it.

As part of the film, I am going to be writing and recording the soundtrack. I have been lucky enough to have met some incredible musicians via my engineering and I am taking some of them (both famous and unknowns) into the studio to record my music. This is where the normal shit ends yet again. There will be no pre-production or rehearsals, no sheet music, no preconceived ideas prior to walking into the studio. Some of these people have never even met before and via my direction are going to create the sounds which I can hear in my head. Its a jam session on a massive scale. Just like the mixes I create live, we have one shot at getting the music right. Just as what you see in the film is uncontrolled, in the moment videography, so will the music you hear. This absolutely terrifies me as I am working with instruments I cannot play myself so my communication must be on top form otherwise I am going to be not only wasting all of the money spent on these studio session but also the film I have captured will go to waste as without a soundtrack, it is pointless. Also note that the recording of the soundtrack will also be in the film itself. It’s like one big loop with itself within itself.

ZUU Music is the name under which I am producing all of this. I’ll eventually have a website up, but for now I am posting photos of the shows I am involved with for the film at: www.facebook.com/I.am.ZUU.music

I also have a Kickstarter to help fund my studio project and filming process. This is also where you can check out the trailer for the film: kickstarter.com/projects/1188862230/zuu-music-a-film-about-life-in-the-music-industry.

A big thank you to these culture vultures for allowing me this space to shout!

ZUU MUSIC x