Deadbeats celebrates 10 years with the 7th annual ‘We Are Deadbeats Vol. 7’ compilation

17 tracks, one decade: Zeds Dead’s record label Deadbeats bets on bass music’s next class.

Deadbeats is closing out its tenth year the way it opened its first: by handing the mic to whoever’s next. Zeds Dead‘s Toronto imprint released ‘We Are Deadbeats Vol. 7’ on Friday, August 21st. The compilation spans seventeen tracks that range from deep dubstep to halftime, experimental bass, trip-hop, and hip-hop-leaning production.

The label launched in 2016 alongside ‘Northern Lights,’ Zeds Dead’s debut album, giving Dylan Mamid (DC) and Zachary Rapp-Rovan (Hooks) somewhere to put the records they kept championing in their sets. Nearly a decade on, it functions less as a record label and more like an ecosystem: a live roster stretching from veterans like Rusko and CASPA to newer voices like IMANU and CHEE; a weekly show on SiriusXM’s Diplo’s Revolution; a Twitch channel; a merch arm; and a touring brand whose Deadrocks run at Red Rocks has become an annual pilgrimage for worldwide fans. Guided day-to-day by label manager and music mogul Harrison Bennett, with A&R instincts sharpened on the road, Deadbeats has held to one idea throughout its vicissitudes: sign the unusual, then give it room.

Nowhere is that clearer than the compilation series, which functions more like a scouting report than a label sampler, catching producers a year or two before they turn up on festival posters. Vol. 7 keeps the formula intact, returning alumni Distinct Motive, Hydraulix, Smoakland and Mary Droppinz anchor a tracklist otherwise stacked with artists still building their first real followings.

A few tracks stand out. “Mind,” rsUN’s collaboration with Floret Loret, leans on the cinematic sound design that’s carried him from a 2025 touring debut to Deadrocks and Experts Only Festival this year. Crawdad Sniper’s “Lobble Robble” works the record’s trip-hop end, rolling low-end under a hypnotic, off-kilter rhythm, the style that’s made him a regular at Tipper-curated events. Denver’s PapaJay builds “Bring Me Back” around emotion-driven melody rather than pure weight, while Smoakland and Mystic Methods go psychedelic and immersive on “MYSTIC SMOAK.”

The compilation arrives midway through a yearlong anniversary run that’s already touched Miami, London, and Paris. Ten years in, Vol. 7 is the thesis in practice and a continuation of Zeds Dead’s impact on the electronic dance industry and community.

Image courtesy of Deadbeats | Zeds Dead

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Saracha

Heralding from sunny South Florida, I am a proud Florida Woman. In my free time, I surf the swamp, wrangle gators, open fan mail, and tend to my pets. In the wild, I’m most often spotted at immersive art spaces, step tappin’ in a shadowed corner of the club, hater blockerz on, totally incognito as your resident EDM spice girl. Although I generally tout my spicy side, if there’s one thing I’d love to impress upon the world, it would be this: it’s not a waste to give love to those who do not deserve it – it’s a gift. The world would be a better place if we gave, in kindness and in mercy, to those who need it most with no expectation in return.

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