Words and Photos / Arturo Evaristo

“If you spoke to me 10 years ago and showed me where I’m at today, I would have known immediately that’s where I wanted to end up,” REZZ says, her voice steady with conviction. “I’m becoming the level I used to look up to.”

That evolution is the heartbeat of her new era: a phase not just defined by sound, but by vision, aesthetics, and a sharpened sense of identity. Known for hypnotic baselines, industrial textures, and shows that blur the line between music and spectacle, REZZ has never been afraid to step into uncharted territory. But this moment feels different. “As soon as I focused on what would make me stand out, a portal appeared in my mind — that became my aesthetic,” she recalls.

It’s a path sparked by a teenage epiphany. “The first time I ever felt that fire, that passion, was when I was 15 and saw Deadmau5 perform.” From there, the blueprint formed: sound that could rattle the body, visuals that could bend reality, and a stage presence that demanded total immersion.

Now, REZZ steps into a space she once longed for. “I didn’t have a female idol doing this at the time — and now I can say I’ve become that.” With her latest work, she’s not just reimagining old songs, but reimagining herself — an artist who embodies the end goal she once chased, and the future she continues to build.

As The Pendulum Swings feels like both a nod to your roots and a leap forward. When you were piecing it together, what did you want listeners to feel most, nostalgia or discovery?

I’m very stoked and I almost feel like I’ve been really impatient to show people where I’m at. I often feel this impatience when I make a new project. I’m eager to show people where I’m at. This era really feels like it’s not just musically but artistically and visually, even how I dress, it’s very end goal type vibes. For me this is how I want to be perceived, this is how I want to look, this is how I want to sound. If you spoke to me 10 years ago and showed me where I’m at present day, I would have known immediately that’s where I want to end up. And that’s how this era feels for me. I’m becoming the level I used to look up to. When other artists master their own identity you can see how much they pay attention to the details, from the light shows to their own outfits. It’s everything. I pay attention to all that. It’s super cool to see our personal taste become a part of our overall identity.

You’ve cited influences like Gesaffelstein, Deadmau5 and Justice. How did those inspirations shape the industrial and slow techno textures we hear on this record?

When I was first releasing music at 18, one of the things that was interesting was people were comparing me to other successful artists, constantly saying “Hey, your music sounds like Gesaffelstein.” I discovered Gesaffelstein through my own fans like 12 years ago. I ended up researching him and getting inspired by him after the fact. It’s funny because for the first few years he was somewhat of an inspiration, as opposed to now, he definitely inspires me so much more than I anticipated. Probably one of my number ones back then was Deadmau5, who will always be one of my major influences these days. I’ve always loved Justice, Gesaffelstein and Deadmau5. I was watching the Coachella livestream and while I had seen them perform live before, something about watching them on this livestream gave me an epiphany. I realized what made them stand out, and what made them the greatest of all time. The music is number one, the quality of their sound choice, the selection. A lot of their tracks are remade records from their older discography. There are so many updates to their sound, and the music is authentic. Both of them individually are so original, even down to their aesthetics, an incredible atmosphere, and as characters, and both really encouraged me to find my own uniform. While they wouldn’t normally wear their looks any day of the week, they commit to the bit for the show. They won’t even stop the show to drink water, but they’re so committed to the performance. Indisputably, the greatest of all time.

Some songs on the album started years ago as demos, like “Contorted” and “Telepathy.” What was it like revisiting old ideas with a 2025 lens?

Honestly one of the most satisfying things ever was to revisit Telepathy. It’s the perfect example since the song was made 8 or 9 years ago. I always loved it then but there was something missing that I wasn’t able to figure out until now. It was so satisfying to release the finished track and bring it up to date. Same goes for Contorted, Upper, there are just a few songs on the album that I would always listen to and think to myself ‘I still really love these ideas. It made me confident to retackle these older ideas and bring them into the present, more up to my standard. Something about them still feels aligned with my project and even redoing the tracks itself aligned with me now.

Your projects are always as visual as they are sonic. How did you approach building the aesthetic world of As The Pendulum Swings, and how does the “Downward” music video capture that vision?

Oh that’s actually funny because with this particular album I don’t know if the visual aspect was as consistent throughout. It was all over the place. For the first few singles they were very much PORTAL vision oriented because I was promoting the PORTAL shows and was using the visuals from those shows. Once I put out 4 circular visualizers I was ready to focus on switching it up. While there hasn’t been a consistent theme, I just went with whatever felt like the vibe, whether it was related to the PORTAL shows or some sort of optical illusion.

For Downward I specifically imagined an 8bit sort of style visualizer. It sounds like a pixelated version of Rezz to me. And so I was like it would be so cool to have a pixel Rezz video to match. I ended up finding an artist with visuals to match, she was by far the most amazing and passionate artist to collaborate with, her name was Katabera. She completely took my idea, and made it a billion times better than I expected. Mind blowing job.

PORTAL at the Tacoma Dome will make you the first female electronic artist to headline there. How does it feel to be breaking that barrier, and how do you think about scale when designing a show of this size?

It feels amazing. Awesome. Gratifying. Definitely one of the end goal vibes. It’s one of my ultimate goals and dreams to be doing a show on this level and scale. Its peak. I’ve always said I wanted to be the girl version of Eric Prydz. He’s notorious for his soloshow. It’s a super heavy audio visual performance. I didn’t have a female idol that was doing that in electronic dance music, a woman to look up to and now I can say I’ve become that sort of representation. It’s just amazing.

REZZ ROCKS has become a tradition, and this year brings back Nightmare On Rezz Street. What makes Red Rocks so uniquely tied to your artistry?

It’s so crazy how it’s turned into that. I didn’t expect it to evolve into a tradition for my fans. It’s special. Even just the title makes perfect sense to have a Rezz show happen there, of all places, it is the perfect outdoor area. People feel like they need to be there. And this year both nights will be completely different. It’s going to be a unique experience and I’m sure people are going to be surprised in so many ways.

You’ve built a reputation for sold out shows and historic firsts. Do those milestones drive you, or are they more of a byproduct of following your own path?

It feels amazing. Awesome. Gratifying. Definitely one of the end goals. It’s one of my ultimate goals and dreams to be doing a show on this level and scale. I’ve always said I wanted to be the girl version of Eric Prydz. I didn’t have an idol that was doing that. I didn’t have a woman to look up to and now I can say I’ve become that sort of crazy visual representation.

HypnoVizion has become a hub for collaboration and community. How do you see it evolving alongside your personal career?

I see the label evolving into more of a community of underground industrial and bass music artists. I want it to become a home for people that otherwise don’t know where to release their music. The mid tempo and industrial scene is quite niche compared to other genres and I want HypnoVizion to be the home for it, including having events and parties.

With the album, PORTAL, REZZ ROCKS, and a 2026 headline tour ahead, how do you stay creatively centered while always pushing boundaries?

I stay centered by having time off in between shows. It’s super important for me to have time to do whatever I want for a few weeks in between big events. It helps me stay creative and healthy.

If As The Pendulum Swings represents where you are at 30, what do you imagine the next era of Rezz looking like?

I’m not sure but all I do know is that everything will continue to get better. My music. My visuals. My fashion sense. Everything will get better.

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