FL Studio music maker

Award-winning DJ, Producer and Sound Designer

Zardonic

Zardonic is using our FL Studio shortcut keyboard

Who is Zardonic?

Zardonic is the name of my DJ project which consists of blending Metal and several forms of Electronic Dance Music, mostly Drum & Bass, but also Electro, Breakbeat, Drumstep and whatever I feel like doing. I'm an enemy of false limits and patterns and I believe it's good to break the mold every now and then to keep the balance.

How did the brand Zardonic come to life, especially the mask?

I got the name in 2004 and I've been using it ever since. I was looking for a word that related to Metal, was barely used, and had no results on any web searches. The word Sardonic obviously had several results, but absolutely nothing for Zardonic. So I kept the name while I was thinking of a logo. I remember being originally inspired by the way Carl Cox had his own face as his logo and how that made him so iconic. I tried taking my own face and doing something similar and ended up with the Zardonic logo as we know it today. It was of course fairly different from my face, so I figured I had to find a way to make everyone remember it so I went with the same principle and made it a mask. The first time I put it on my face it almost felt like it had a mind of its own. Kind of in a Tyler Durden sort of way. Zardonic is free in ways I could never be. And he comes alive on stage while I take care of the music in the studio.

Who have you worked with?

My music has been released on Entertainment One Music, JVC Kenwood Victor Entertainment Corporation, OWSLA, Plastic Head, Renegade Hardware and Human Imprint to name a few. I've also done remixes for BeyoncÈ, Above & Beyond, Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Syndicate, Gorgoroth, Celldweller, The Qemists, Blue Stahli, Semargl, AK1200, Evol Intent, Black Sun Empire, then Rocktagon Worldwide does all the production management part and thanks to them I've had the opportunity to produce the 2015 Main Theme for World Series Of Fighting on NBC Sports Network as well as amazing records for Eve To Adam, American Grim, Brian James Schram, LikeMeLikeYou, Abbi Scott and the list of clients keeps growing!

How are you working in your studio?

Well, my mind is pretty chaotic as much as I try to keep everything in order. I would say I can work as long as I have inspiration but I force myself to be as disciplined as possible by following a weekly schedule. That's why I like having tools that give me total hands-on control. Hardware synthesizers and MIDI controllers that give you the ability to control plugins without any hassle and less point and clicking. Tools that put all the options at your fingertips so you don't have to chase for menus and remember shortcuts you wouldn't remember otherwise.

What's the best session you've had?

That's a hard one! I guess it depends if the is answer based on the results or the process, but I think the longest fully working session I've had was producing American Grim's debut record. It took too much patience of which I have absolutely none, yet the result is something so satisfying and by the time we were done producing it, they had all those labels that turned them down now begging to sign the record and all the naysayers swallow their words while they're constantly touring in the United States and their fanbase continues to grow exponentially. Being part of that is empowering!

And judging by how inspired I was and how fast I got my ideas right where I wanted them, I would say it was the session for a new song called "Take It Off" which is yet to be released. I will have it on my next record so I can't say much about it yet, but maybe when someone reads this interview in the future it will already be released! And in that case, I hope you've enjoyed it!

What do you think about the FL Studio Shortcut Keyboard?

In all honesty? It exceeded ALL my expectations! I find myself coming up with ideas much quicker than before and using the mouse less and less. I've seen this concept before for other software but I remember it being limited only to overlays for Apple keyboards and not a lot of software options, plus lacking the luxury of having backlit keys and extra USB ports that your keyboard has. I am glad to see the goal with this product was excellence and it's a much welcome addition to my studio. Thank you!

Zardonic - FL Studio

The Logickeyboard for FL Studio gave me not only access to all the options, but it also reminded me of a lot of options that I did not even remember in the first place!