EDM rising star Zac Waters may be young, but he sure is making waves globally with his fresh take on combining genres, and heart-felt tunes.

With a bunch of remixes and originals under his belt, and collabs with some of the scenes most notable names, it seems as though the world is his oyster.

Ahead of his upcoming gig at The Met in Brisbane, the super star Zac Waters joined us for a quick chat.

STONEY ROADS: Hey there Zac Waters! Fill us in on what you’ve been up to lately.

ZAC WATERS: What’s up SR! Just finished a lovely cup of coffee from my local cafe and now sitting down in the studio to write some music.

SR: You’ve got quite an awesome studio set-up, what’s your favourite toy? What’s the newest addition to the family?

ZW: Thank you! Favourite toy would have to be my monitors – Trident HG-3’s. They have seriously helped me develop my mixing ability, which has exponentially increased my progression as a producer.

I recently bought a Korg MS-20 Mini for some cool analog sounds. It’s been great getting a feel for synthesis and patching and it’s really helping me get a deeper understanding about how it all works!

SR: You describe your sound as ‘Meltrance’, what is it about the genres that resonates personally with you?

ZW: I think my sound encapsulates a number of different sounds. I’m super open to experimentation (as are my management which is amazing!) and I’m constantly working on new sounds and ideas. I love not being bound to one particular genre and it’s always really rewarding to see that people understand that and receive my new ideas positively.

SR: Your soundcloud tagline is ‘emotion to sound converter’, tell us more about that.

ZW: One of the most important aspects of music production to me is emotion. I believe that my music emulates my personality.

SR: Who are you hoping to collaborate with in the future?

ZW: There are a lot of great producers I’d love to work with, but most immediately, MaRLo.

SR: What got you into producing in the first place?

ZW: The Annual 2011 – Tracks like Seek Bromance, Animal Rights and The Island pt. 1. I was completely fascinated by the production, and began inquiring about how to make that sort of music. A friend helped me put Ableton on my computer and away I went. only really started to find my way in late 2012. It was a huge learning curve.

SR: What inspires you?

ZW: A good cup of coffee, mostly.

SR: Where are some of your favourite places to play? Any memorable stories?

ZW: Before it’s closure, The Palace Theatre in Melbourne. The venue definitely played a noteworthy part in the progression of my performance and the direction of my music.

Among the stories that are probably appropriate to discuss publicly…

Green Apple in Adelaide, my best mate and I flew interstate to play together (it was his first interstate show too). Got to the venue, and turns out it was an old synagogue, which was pretty insane. A full house, a few too many vodka lime sodas (way too many vodka lime sodas), and 3 or 4 hours of insane crowd reactions.

SR: What’s been a highlight of your career thus far?

ZW: Achieving a Beatport Trance Chart number 1.

SR: What are you listening to at the moment?

ZW: James Holden – Balance 005

SR: Aside from music, what do you do in your spare time recreationally?

ZW: I roll around in a pit full of plastic balls and pretend that I’m the Lochness monster.

SR: You recently posted about including a donation to the RSPCA in your rider, tell us more about that?

ZW: RSPCA and Big Cat Initiative are something myself and my family have been donating towards since I was a little kid, so I thought it would be an amazing opportunity for me to add it to the rider in the hope that the clubs and venues would be generous enough to make a small donation too!

I would happily forgo a bottle of vodka to a donation to either of these charities any day of the week.

P.S. a big thanks to I Am Sam for the inspiration!

(Find out more about the charity here)

SR: What’s next on the agenda for you? 

ZW: I have albums worth of new music coming out. Releases are banked up all the way until the end of the December. It’s been a relatively quiet start to year music wise, but I believe timing is crucial. Thanks to everyone for being so patient!

This is just the beginning.

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ZAC WATERS VIA FACEBOOK AND SOUNDCLOUD.