Canadian solo producer/composer Zeko Deshoda is a man possessed with an unreserved passion for music, not to mention a deep pocket of ambition. Excitement toward what he has accomplished and what he has yet to achieve are fixed characteristics of this rambunctious twenty-two-year-old go-getter.

And make no mistake, Zeko has made music a high priority for close to a decade now. Since his debut self-production, “Early Mornings to Late Nights” at the age of seventeen, he has kept his nose to the grindstone without looking back.

When Deshoda was nineteen, he put out an earth-shaking LP entitled “Sleep Well, Sweet Dreams” which contained his breakout singles ‘Police’ and ‘Dial, Dial, Dial’—both of which are downright show-stoppers.

After graduating from the Centre For Arts and Technology—in Kelowna, B.C.— with a diploma in Electronic Music, Zeko put his most authentic foot forward and began composing house beat after house beat until he had enough content to start crafting a house-hop LP.

I had a chance to catch up with Zeko at my home in Calgary, Alberta to discuss some of the work that went in on the back end during the making of his ten-track, 2021 newsworthy record, “Palm Court”.

Taylor O:  Tell me about the intro track.

Zeko D:  The Intro is an overture, like Broadway musicals; they play instances of themes that you hear throughout the performance… it is a funk blend with my house sound and a hip hop outro. It blends the genres and shows you what you are about to experience.

Taylor O:  Did you create the synth breakdown in track 5 ‘Bye’ from scratch?

Zeko D:  The synth break down in “Bye” is sound designed by me; I’m trying to do something different but still digestible.

The main thing that school helped me with more than anything else is when I have this idea in my head, now I have the know-how to take that idea and instead of being frustrated I am able to turn it into actual music, and that is the most freeing thing.

“…what it comes down to is how raw you are willing to be … the more vulnerable you let yourself be, the better reaction you will get…”

Taylor O:  I’ve noticed a common theme in your music is spitting fire over ex’s who have screwed you over; who are these bitches, and how much credit do you give them for the art they have inspired?

Zeko D:  My exes deserve more credit than I would give them. Pain is such a big part of an artist’s tool box. Transforming that is the true art. If you’re an artist and you don’t know how to turn your pain into something dope, you need to get your s*** together, because life as an artist is all about that.

I hate to say it but love is just an endless topic. It’s bad, it’s good, it’s evil, it’s fantastic, it’s euphoric… In a million different contexts. It comes down to environment and experience.

Everyone can relate to love… that’s a blessing but it’s so easy to be cliché and generic … what it comes down to is how raw you are willing to be. The more vulnerable you let yourself be, the better reaction you will get.

Taylor O:  Track 6 Next Up (Interlude) has some very honest content…

Zeko D:  Interlude is the turning point of the album, which is refreshing because I talk about everything I didn’t know how to talk about for years without sounding corny.

The following track (‘Break the Bank’) is about getting f***ed out of your mind in a club after breaking up. I talk about not letting being broke hold you down. You have to push through that s*** because it doesn’t mean anything. ‘Appetite’ (track nine) is about addiction, the list goes on…

Taylor O:  Track 7 Break the Bank; break it down for me…

Zeko D:  This track is about getting wasted at the club. If any track is a sell-out track, it’s this one. It’s a club-pleaser but it’s a blast. It’s goofy; the essence is you shouldn’t care. It’s that mood you get into after breaking up, where you want to meet a bunch of people and try new stuff—the grossest part of the rebirth stage.

It’s like a lot of my music will sound great under the influence of drug s, but this song hits different when you’re drunk. One of those dirty bangers that you don’t worry about the lyrics. “Aye lil mama, aloha hi, getting fucked up like a Lohan high”. How drunk do you have to be to get that? About as f***ed up as Lindsay Lohan.

Taylor O:  Tell me about your second single, ‘Tidal Wave’

Zeko D:  It’s what you expect. its comfortable in terms of electronic music… vocals, guitar and ambient bass… it has lots of movement, standard house drums, good way to introduce parts of my new sound. As a single it has that potential to go somewhere and has that replay value.

“…I miss the simplicity when I was a kid, and I would show up to my buddy’s house and go biking all day…”

Taylor O:  What is the outro “Self Synthesis” about?

Zeko D:  Not wanting to be a slave to the internet. I f***ing hate that.

The lyric “Best time to be in society with one piety” is basically saying:

We worship the internet as if its our god: our worship of Wi-Fi. People look at it as a necessity and look at it the same as food and water; people are dedicated to it.

Then I wrote “…the internet is like a cigarette, cancerous without moderation…”

Too much of this s*** and it will turn you into a weird delusional conspiracist who thinks we are being controlled in the matrix… people need reality checks. We are seeing a step in the evolution of the human race in the way information is being shared right now, but you have to sit down and say ‘I can’t learn everything’.

It’s overwhelming… this song is mostly about being like, ‘I miss the simplicity when I was a kid, and I would show up to my buddy’s house and go biking all day’ … something I see people doing less and less. I don’t want my life to be lived through a screen.

Taylor O:  Best piece of advice you could give to someone?

Zeko D:  Action is currency. Your actions are literally money in our society. When you decide to go do something with your day, those actions will help you push something forward and people will recognize that you do s*** and you are an action taker, because they know you are going to get something done.

Taylor O:  So, what’s the upcoming plot for the Deshoda crew?

Zeko D:  My biggest scheme right now is the new music in the vault... very excited for what’s to come. I have summer tracks ready to go. 100% the vibe I’m invested in—I’m a spring/summer guy.

I think we are all getting a good idea of Zeko’s hard work ethic and industry awareness as we observe his personality quarks and his dangerously serious approach to music and marketing.

“Palm Court” is certainly his most vivid, intentional release to date, as illustrated by his precise sound design, versatile lyricism, and jaw-dropping electronic drum-breaks. With bangers and bops such as ‘One More Time’, ‘Electrical Touch’, and ‘Tidal Wave’, it is clear that the natural skill Deshoda was gifted has been groomed by both arduous education and non-stop practice.

Decide for yourself if Calgary-born Zeko Deshoda has the charm required to slide into your daily streaming playlists, as your house-hungry eardrums cool back to the pool-side charisma of the 2021 spectacle “Palm Court”.

And don’t let that bass blow your stereo as it premieres right here, right now on Tuned Up’s Hollywood North Files.