Bass Bass Mix+Q&A Monthly Feature

Enigmatic Twins MZG Talk Beat Treatment Mix, Picking Up Steam Ahead of Hula [Mix+Q&A]

October 27, 2021November 12, 2021 by MP3 MAG STAFF No Comments

Taking on the music industry is enough to intimidate anyone, but having someone by your side makes the journey that much easier. For that reason, personable duo MZG are primed for long careers and success as Producers/DJs in this scene.

For many years, FL-based twins Zach and Charles Weinert worked on separate musical projects. In 2014, they gave in to the inevitable act of joining forces, and ultimately created MZG. Short for monozygotic, the scientific term describing identical twins, the name also represents the unique and powerful bond these two artists share.

MZG developed reputations in the Florida scene as consummate DJs, earning support roles for acts like Griz, Herobust, and Manic Focus. This also earned them yearly honors at the state’s resident festival, Suwannee Hulaween, which they are set to take part in yet again at the 2021 edition.

The past two years, the duo have spread their wings and moved cross-country to Colorado, the unofficial home of bass music in America today. MP3 MAG caught up with the twins to discuss their latest mix, Hulaween and more.

Check out MZG’s Beat Treatment Mix and read our full Q&A below:

What’s the origin of the MZG project? What moment/event led you two to deciding to join forces?

Charles: Monozygotic was originally my solo Dj alias I made senior of high school but I one day had a notion to save this moniker for when Zach and I performed together so I went by Sir Charles for a while until the time came in 2014 to start this project.

Zach: The hyphenated ticker, MZG, was brainstormed and created with a friend Cisco Adler at a show we played with him in Myrtle Beach. Three letters, MZG, is easier to grasp and people question what it means so it makes it easier and all around more inquisitive of what we do.

What prompted each of you to start producing electronic music?

Charles: I nurtured an affinity for electronic music in high school when I began digging on iTunes for music to assist in keeping me hyped when running cross country and track tbh. Listening to A-Trak and Boys Noize was my thing when I was training. Then I saw Eliot Lipp perform at Freebird when I was about 18 and that flipped a switch in my brain like “maybe I could do this”. Then weeks after that I went to my first festival ever, Trinumeral 2009, and saw an assortment of DJ/ producer acts like Pretty Lights and Two Fresh and I went home that week following, purchased Ableton, signed up for some Berklee Online Music Production courses and the rest is history.

Zach: We were attending a music festival called trinumeral in ‘09 and saw eliot lipp, two fresh and pretty lights using ableton to perform. After watching those performances we entered what ended up being an 11 year commitment to the program. What a fun ride its been!

Was there a particular artist or song that inspired you?

Charles: Early on it was A-Trak and Boys Noize. Then watching Eliot Lipp perform live with Ableton inspired me to produce and perform as well. There were a lot of songs that got me inspired but Eliot Lipp’s Beat Bunker Mix set it off back in the day for me.

Zach: Metameme by STS9

How would you describe your style of production? Do your styles differ at all?

Charles: Not really that different. We share samples and live sets. If anything I’m more synthesis and he’s more sample based but the ratio isn’t too drastic or anything.

Zach: Nothing too different. I love to sample and he loves to create synths. I particularly look for the best drum packs we can use.

How did the past year—pandemic, quarantine, etc—affect your creative process? Were you able to get a lot done this past year?

Charles: I mean the pandemic dunked on us as it did for everyone. We definitely got stuff done but didn’t get as much as we done as we would’ve liked to. We did however end up releasing our biggest track to date ‘Boolin’ w/ the boys Kyral x Banko on Groupchat. Also released remixes for Manic Focus and Maddy Oneal as well as a collaboration with Chris Karns. All of these tracks were pretty much done the year prior so work got done but we had a lot going on during the pandemic with work so there wasn’t as much free time as we thought there’d be.

Zach: It was fairly productive, we released a great deal of collaborative work w/ artists like Manic Focus, Maddy O’Neal, Chris Karns and Kyral x Banko.

How has your home state of Florida played a role in your career? What about Colorado inspired y’all to move West?

Charles: Florida was a good start. Suwannee music park was where we get our sea legs and went through plenty of trials with our past projects. It was a good incubator ya know? Humid and plenty of sunshine. But Colorado was calling our name with how centrally located and chocked full of fans genuinely ready to receive electronic music. Florida or at least where we were was a jammer scene and we started to feel a plateau with our output there so it was inevitable to just pack our things and head out to the west coast to see what we could make of it.

Zach: Florida was a great jumping off point! We we’re so fortunate to call florida home for a while especially with supportive festivals like Hulaween! The move to Colorado was for expansion purposes. This move has been one of the best decisions of our careers.

Tell us more about this ‘Beat Treatment’ Mix. Why do you think music is so effective as a remedy during tough times like we’ve had this past year?

Charles: I feel like the name sort of explains it. The beats/music treat the pain/suffering/demise. Sometimes when there aren’t any answers and the future is looking dismal all you have is music. It’s a quick escape from harsh realities of varying severities.

Zach: With the uncertainty and tension this past year firmly delivered, there was no better remedy for us than to escape from reality, if not only for a moment, and feel something again via music. Streaming, for example, became a large portion of musicians careers. We were all reaching to bring live music back into our lives. Music and performing brings a natural energy to our lives. It was quite supportive through the 2020 in more ways than one.

Any upcoming IDs/originals in there we should know about/expect soon?

Charles: There are indeed some ID’s and originals to expect soon if you’ve listened to Beat Treatment then you’ve heard more than a few of them.

Zach: Check out our beat treatment mix! Plenty of beat treats in there from your boys 😉

What are you most excited/proud of with this new mix? How does this material differ from previous releases?

Charles: For me it was the visual scenes that I made. It was a great experience to bring both visuals and music to the table. Learning After Effects and Illustrator over the years has been enticing its an incredible way to make custom visuals that come straight from my imagination to a finalized mp4. Never knew how fun it would be until I tried.

Zach: This beat treatment piece has an awesome theme in my opinion! We really love tying the visuals and the music together cohesively.

It’s been some time since our first MZG feature in 2019. How have you grown as artists and individuals since that time?

Charles: Honestly have become more fiscally responsible with funds and more tight with our branding and output.

Zach: We’ve grown tremendously. New branding, new team, new goals and new music! So much development has happened in the past 2 years it still amazes us.

What else is coming up for the MZG project that we should know about?

Charles: Hulaween is going on to be bonkers this year. Have a lot prepared for that set tbh. We’ve been playing there for years and growing with that festival but this year feels like a big one! We’re also gonna be on at least one more new festival next year too.

Zach: Be on the lookout for our new festival dates in 2022 and new music 😉 Also, we just received word about our set time at hulaween and it’s our best set time to date! This hulaween will be one for the books!