Complex Sessions 010: Tom Zanetti

The "Darlin'" hit-maker goes inside the mix.

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Tom Zanetti grew up wanting to be "a spy, just like James Bond." Usually, when people scale back their dreams for something more realistic, they go for a steady office job. Zanetti scaled his back to be a DJ. Fortunately, it paid off for him—because it sucks enough scaling back your dreams once, let alone twice—and he now finds himself touring up and down the country with regular stints at global party destinations. He's also found success as a producer with the widely-praised "Darlin'". The track grew from a word-of-mouth success in his native Leeds into a national success. It was that same grassroots crowd that backed him in the first place, helping him to push his music nationally and then internationally. 

Tom and his best mate, K.O. Kane, also run a few club nights around the country, including Sleepin Is Cheatin' and One Religion. Zanetti began putting on raves with the Insomnia nights in Wakefield, nights he ran with his girlfriend at the time. The critically acclaimed night has since grown and grown, bringing with it much success for Tom Zanetti. It's on the basis of that success putting on club nights that he's built his career as a DJ and producer. Check out his exclusive mix (with assistance from K.O Kane) below, and get to know some of his musical likes and dislikes on the other side.


Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.
As with all our mixes, myself and K.O Kane like to cram as much music as possible into our selection, crossing genres and having no boundaries. We don't always get to showcase a lot of music other than our own, in our live sets, so we like to really switch up our mixes and throw in a few curveballs you probably wouldn't expect. 

What was the one track you absolutely had to include?
"You Want Me" was a no brainer. 

Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?
We're really feeling The Chainsmokers' stuff at the minute, especially their new one, but it just didn't fit in anywhere. 

What's the first single or album you ever bought?
First song I ever bought from HMV was Daniel Beddingfield's "Gotta Get Thru This". I still love it to this day; it's a tune! My first vinyl that I owned was Grandmaster Flash's "The Message". The type of music I was listening to, like speed garage and underground bassline, you couldn't buy it in HMV—so we used to get the copied CDs down in the market [laughs].

What's the last physical record you bought? 
Amnesia Classics from the Amnesia shop in Ibiza airport; I was there over the summer for both work and leisure. I played Ibiza Rocks so I think it was on the way back from there, and it was my birthday so it was a bit of a trip. I didn't buy a physical copy, but I did just get the Bryson Tiller album as well. That's a recent release that I'm enjoying.

What do you want to see happen musically over the next 12 months?
I'd like to see a lot more collabs with American and UK artists, like how Drake and Dave have worked together, Skepta and Pharrell etc. I think that needs to happen more. Also, I would love to see more bassline-orientated music accepted and breaking through in the charts.

What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?
Nothing needs to die... Everything needs to flourish! Everyone has their own opinion, and everything has its own space in the market. Don't hate—appreciate.

Tracklist:

1. Tom Zanetti - You Want Me f/ Sadie Ama
2. Catchment - DJ's Delight 
3. Sam Divine & Curtis Gabriel - Confessions f/ Nat Conway
4. Alex Sessions - So Hung Up f/ Itchy Rich
5. KDA - Just Say 
6. Zed Bias - Spiritual 
7. Gorgon City - Freeze 
8. Chris Lorenzo & Sonny Fodera - Afterparty 
9. Arun Verone - Timewarp (SIC Records)
10. Oushe - Peeta Andre 
11. Tom Zanetti & K.O Kane - Who's Right 
12. Gorgon City - Smile f/ Elderbrook (Terrace Dub)
13. Tom Bull f/ Natalie Wood - Escape 
14. Tom Zanetti - Darlin' (Chris Lorenzo VIP Mix)
15. Shift K3Y x DJ Zinc - Jumpstart 
16. Tom Zanetti - Shock Treatment (Shaun Dean Remix)

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