Exron Exclusive Interview: Kayzo

Exron Music had the opportunity to speak with Kayzo during Moonrise Festival 2022 regarding his New Breed tour and his musical background.

We had the chance to sit down with Hayden Capuozzo AKA Kayzo to discuss his tour and some of his inspirations behind the album at Moonrise. Kayzo released his ‘New Breed’ album on Welcome Records back in June 2022. He started the New Breed tour early in 2022, playing all across the United States and even in Europe. He continues the tour late into 2022 with shows in Denver, Washington DC, Detroit, San Fransisco, and many more cities across the US. 

Courtesy Tania Hauyon for Insomniac Events

Kayzo has created his unique style by blending all different genres of dance music like dubstep and hardstyle with heavy rock music. ‘New Breed’ features lots of collaborations with artists like Phase One, Jiqui, ATLiens, Blosso, and many more talented artists. 

Hayden was sincere when he spoke about his work ethic and how he strives to stay inspired. He is constantly making efforts to evolve the Kayzo project and keep breaking the boundaries of what people consider to be EDM. Stay tuned for what he has in store for the rest of 2022 and make sure to grab tickets for the remaining New Breed shows! 

Exron: What was your inspiration behind the New Breed tour and album?

Kayzo: So the album has just been a continuation of this blend and mix of rock and electronic that I’ve been trying to incorporate into music over the last six years or so since my first album, ‘Overload.’ My thought process behind this album was a lot like the first album where I didn’t really go into this album with the intention of making an album. I think COVID gave me more time to sit down and play with the idea of making an album which was nice but even at the beginning of COVID, I was making music to kill time and be creative not with the intentions of making an album. Like with the first album Overload, things just started to come together musically I started to compile all these songs that I had been sitting on, and obviously, without having shows I just kept racking up music. And one day, I was just sitting there with 12 of songs already done and I’m like, I think we might have another album of music here. You always just listen back to them so much on your own and I realized that they all sound cohesive so that’s when we started playing with the idea of the album. My intentions behind the album in terms of who I wanted to work with and so on was the idea of ‘New Breed’ in the name. I really wanted to work and put on newer producers and newer people in the rock scene that are up-and-coming. Or, that maybe the large amount of people that follow me may not know, and work with more up-and-coming talent, either the future of dance or rock and get the best of both. I really want to help the next generation of artists from both to come together and create this sound.

Exron: What made you choose the name Kayzo when you first started?

Kayzo: I wish I had a better story for that one but really all it was was when I went to school at Icon Collective, the music school in LA. Back in 2012, we had a music business class that was one of the classes we had to take, and one of the projects during my time there was like a marketing and branding presentation they had us put together. One of the things we had to do was come up with an artist name a brand name of some sort. And I was just sitting there in class one day playing around with letters really didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t have a name off the top, so I’m playing with letters in my last name which is Capuozzo and I like the Z and the O. Maybe I’ll just be ZO. And I thought well there’s already Mat Zo, so that’s a little too close so let me just put the Z and the O on paper and work backward from there and see what I can put in front of it. And my names Hayden, so I play with the A and the Y, and I’m like okay I have AYZO, I need a cool letter in the front my last name starts with C. So, I put that in front, and I thought that doesn’t look cool or right, so from that point, I kinda went down the alphabet, and then I hit K, and I thought that looks kinda cool–KAYZO. It’s easy to say it’s not too many letters and probably easy to spell for a lot of people. I never thought that it would be the name that I stuck with, I just thought it was something I was using for a project, and then it just stuck and I kept it. 

Courtesy Cristian Beriguette for Insomniac Events

Exron: When you aren’t producing music what is it that you like to listen to?

Kayzo: Outside of what I make when it comes to electronic music, I’m pretty big on listening to Lane 8. I’m a big Lane 8 fan. I like to listen to that in the car when I’m relaxing. I also listen to a lot of liquid and jungle kinda drum and bass in my free time because it’s just fun and a little bit more easy-going for my ears than the heavy stuff. Outside of dance music, I’m a big lover of Jazz any kind of old Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. I also listen to a ton of rock in my free time, a ton of old and new. A lot of Bring Me and Under Oath, Sub 41, but I’ve been listening to a ton heavier stuff on the rock side. A lot of new bands–Born Ashore big fan of them, a bunch of heavy stuff on the rock side like really heavy heavy stuff lately. A little bit of everything. I’ve been drawing a lot of inspiration from a lot of the heavy rock side. I’ve been going through waves like ‘New Breed’ for instance, is a little more pop punk with a lot of melodic influence with a little of the heavy rock influence. 

Exron: In all your years of playing shows and festivals, what is the craziest thing that happened that left the biggest impression on you?

Kayzo: Oh that’s a good one! I’ve had a few crazy moments in the crowd, but I’d say some of my favorite moments from touring (and they aren’t like really crazy)–like this one specific thing happened, but when I go over to play in Europe and specifically places like Italy. The crowds over there are kind of an entirely different crowd. They don’t feel like a dance crowd like when you’re at a festival like Moonrise. Not to say it’s better or worse, it just feels different. Imagine playing for a FIFA world cup type crowd chanting for an hour and a half–kids making up chants and chanting them for an hour and a half during your set. I come from a sports background from hockey, kind of getting that type of energy mixed with the music is really special. So I’m Italian, and this is a good one but, the first time I played in Italy they all knew I was coming over to play there at this big festival called Nameless Festival. I got on stage and during the first five minutes of my set, they created this chant with my last name about me being Italian and I didn’t know what they were saying. It was so loud, I had to filter the music out and we got it all on tape. It was this chant that they were honoring me saying thank you for coming here–”you’re Italian, we appreciate you.” Representing it was pretty special.

Courtesy Cristian Beriguette for Insomniac Events

Exron: At Exron Music we’ve invested a lot in your relationship with Cray, and we wanted to ask what she might have taught you in your time together? 

A lot, but I would say to keep it short and sweet, she has been a big proponent of me taking time for myself outside of music and really just being Hayden. She’s helped me be able to separate myself as Hayden from Kayzo and being able to take time to enjoy my life as a person and not just overwork myself. I’m a workhorse. If I was single and by myself, I would be working 24/7 all day every day. But she’s been so good about helping me unwind and relax and appreciate where I’ve come, because I’m always looking ahead. When I’m doing something, I’m always thinking of five other things down the line that I can do and not because I don’t want to be in the moment, but because I’m always working towards the next thing. So, she’s really taught me to enjoy the moment and celebrate the wins. I’ve never really been good at celebrating the wins that I’ve had in my career. I’ve always, I guess, celebrated and enjoyed them but for instance, when I played Coachella (and all these festivals I play), I live in the moment. And then, when it’s done, I’m already thinking of the next one and what I can do to come back and enjoy it and do it all again, instead of being like, that’s really cool and I’m lucky I get to do this. So, I’m proud that I’ve gotten to this point. She’s been a really big help in me being able to live in the moment and enjoy my life with her and enjoy my career at the same time. 

Listen to ‘New Breed’ below!