Zeb Wayne has quietly carved out a space for himself in Electronic Music, bringing together thoughtful production, a distinct creative mindset, and a genuine love for the process itself. A third-generation musician with deep musical roots, Zeb’s journey has been shaped as much by instinct as by intention – from early UK Garage influences to experiments in the studio with his kids. With a fresh run of releases on the horizon and a new label, WiP, acting as both outlet and ethos, Zeb continues to embrace the idea of music as a continuous evolution. We caught up with Zeb to talk early inspirations, creative rituals, and what it means to grow at your own pace in a scene that rarely stops to pause. Hi Zeb Wayne! Thanks for joining us, how are you? I’m good – thanks for having me. You come from a third-generation musical background – what are your earliest memories of being surrounded by sound? My Grandpa wrote a song for each of his grandkids the day we were born – so you could say that is my earliest memory! I still have the original recording. Was there a specific moment or artist that really pulled you into the world of Electronic Music? I think it started with UKG. I was at the beginning of teenage hood when that scene exploded in London, and I fell in love with it. It felt like it merged cultures and sounds, and I used to obsess over DJ EZ mixes (still do). What was the London scene like when you first started DJing? How has it evolved since then? When I first started DJing I was a very young teenager, so the London scene for me was playing on whatever set of decks had been set up at whatever house party I found myself at, until an adult returned and kicked everyone out! But once I was old enough to play in clubs – the scene felt very exciting, and being the DJ felt quite sacred. Not everyone had an infinite record collection at the tap of their fingers then – only the DJs had the tunes, and only the DJs knew how to play the tunes in the right way. Now everyone’s a DJ! How would you describe the Zeb Wayne sound? A work-in-progress. Tell us about your label WiP – what inspired it, and what are your plans for it? WiP actually started as a concept for a music platform – a space to share work-in-progress tracks rather than polished material, and a bit of a nod to dubplate culture. The idea came from realising I had a huge folder of unfinished music just sitting there and then chatting to other artists who all had the same. Ironically, I then ended up finishing a load of tracks, but I loved the mindset and all the brainstorming we had done with WiP + I wanted to release my new music independently – so it felt like an apt name for the label! What does a typical day in the studio look like for you? It starts with coffee. Mornings are usually when I write and put down new ideas (which is the reverse of how I used to work). The middle part of the day is when my very young kids tend to descend on the studio and take over – this often culminates in us making songs about poop with very aggressive synth sounds. In the evening, I come back for editing, arranging and refining concepts – sometimes my songs, sometimes the songs about poop, depending on my mood. How do you bring your studio tracks to life in a club setting? Do you test them out before releasing them? Yeah, I love testing new stuff out in a club environment – you can’t replicate that setting (or feeling). But I also like to hear tracks in the other places I listen to music most – which for me tends to be the car or going on a run. You’ve worked with a range of artists – what have those collaborations taught you, and how have they shaped your own sound? It’s taught me to never get too rigid in how I work – because everyone has their own ways, and there’s almost always new things to learn. As a producer, the goal is to bring the best out of whoever you’re working with – how you get there doesn’t really matter, so I’ve learnt to not be too dogmatic in my approach to each project. What does longevity mean to you as an artist in the Electronic scene today? How do you hope to contribute to the wider culture? Electronic music tends to be a journey of discovery, and longevity for me is very much about that – being excited to keep discovering and keep creating. There is a quote (which I can’t remember) – something about how most people do all their music discovery in the first 20 years of life, then spend the rest of their lives listening to the same stuff on repeat – don’t fall into that trap! Finally, what’s coming up next for you? Any new music or projects in the pipeline? Yeah – my first solo single in forever, called Tell Me, is out July 11th on my new imprint WiP. Then I’ll be releasing a regular stream of singles over the next year. I’m also producing a musical… and trying to open a padel club. Zeb Wayne Online First Look: Zeb Wayne Talks Musical Heritage, Growth, and His New Chapter with WiP
Zeb Wayne is an artist who finds power in process, not just in the finished product, but in the messy, evolving layers underneath. From his early days navigating pirate stations and London house parties to launching WiP as both a label and a mindset, he’s remained committed to the long game. As a producer, curator, and collaborator, he’s clearly not chasing fleeting trends, but instead building a sonic identity that grows with him—track by track, idea by idea. With new music landing imminently and even a musical in the works, it’s clear Zeb’s story is still unfolding, and it’s one we’ll be listening to closely.