ZHU

A logo, a falsetto, and a blind Grammy

In 2014, an anonymous SoundCloud profile and a flag with a Z were enough for the gloomiest deep house to slip into radio stations around the world. Faded, taken from the EP The Nightday, climbed to the top spots in Australia and the UK, topped the Billboard dance chart, and reached the 2015 Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording: the first anonymous artist to achieve that nomination. Pete Tong marked it as an Essential New Tune on BBC Radio 1, and Mind of a Genius, with Columbia, signed a phenomenon that demanded to be judged only by the songs. The mash-up Moves Like Ms. Jackson, with the now-unmistakable falsetto over Outkast tracks, had paved the way.

Sahara, Red Rocks, and Grace Cathedral

The closing of the Sahara tent at Coachella 2016, with the premiere of Generationwhy—number 1 on the Billboard dance albums chart—earned him comparisons to Daft Punk. Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Ultra Miami, EDC, and Sziget confirmed that the project no longer fit in the club. Genesis Series (2015) crossed Skrillex, AlunaGeorge, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony; Ringos Desert (2018) added Tame Impala and Majid Jordan. In 2021, DREAMLAND 2021 was born on a road trip of over 16,000 kilometers during the pandemic and was presented with six sold-out nights at Red Rocks. The mixtape Musical Chairs (2022) and The Days Before Grace (2023) anticipated GRACE (2024), recorded at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco with its own documentary and collaborations with Sabrina Claudio and Banks: a more choral and cinematic stage, now with the Astralwerks and Zhumusic label.

The BLACKLIZT warehouse and the black gold of BLACK MIDAS

The BLACKLIZT warehouse concept—black dress code, hypnotic techno, warehouse-style parties—became his dancefloor laboratory. In 2026, BLACK MIDAS (Broke / BLACKLIZT Sound Syndicate) brought back deep house and early-morning melodic techno, with the On The Move tour through clubs and festivals in Europe, America, and Oceania, including a return to Ultra Miami. A multi-instrumentalist trained in piano, trombone, and jazz in the San Francisco Bay Area and a graduate of USC Thornton, ZHU remains a producer, vocalist, and showman: a bridge between auteur house and the underground night, booked worldwide by United Talent Agency.