TOZA makes no secret of the fact that he creates his music together with a co-producer. While the Australian artist comes up with the ideas and concepts himself, part of the technical production work is handled by his co-producer. He understands that this can sometimes be a sensitive topic within the harder styles, but for TOZA, one thing matters above all. “If you’re just honest about what you do, it doesn’t really matter what people think.”

ALSO READ: From edits to festival stages: the emergence of TOZA

Over the past few years, TOZA has grown from an emerging Australian artist into an internationally established name within the harder styles. His music has generated over 109 million streams and he currently reaches more than 710,000 monthly listeners. Performances at REBiRTH Festival, Intents Festival and Defqon.1 have further strengthened his position in Europe.

At the same time, his diverse sound, combining rawstyle with hard techno, uptempo and other harder electronic influences, allows him to connect with different audiences and artists across the harder styles. That versatility has also resulted in collaborations with artists from different corners of the scene, who are fully aware of TOZA’s creative process and the way he works with his co-producer. As his sound continues to evolve, his international demand continues to grow.

In the latest episode of PLAFONDDIENST, TOZA openly explains how his music is created. He has been working with his co-producer for almost four years, with the two developing a clear division of roles. “I start the projects and come up with the concepts and ideas. He then does the technical work, plus the mixing and mastering,” TOZA explains. “That’s how we bring my ideas to life and give them that TOZA touch we’ve developed together over the past few years.”

“He wasn’t allowed to work on my projects without me”

When TOZA was still living in Australia, he says he would always sit next to his co-producer while they worked on his music. “He literally wasn’t allowed to work on my projects if I wasn’t in the room with him. I always wanted to be there.” At the same time, those studio sessions helped him learn more about producing himself. “I learned so much from him during that period. He taught me a lot about production and why he does certain things.”

Since moving to the Netherlands, that way of working has inevitably changed. “Now we work through Discord. I can start a project, send things over to him and say, ‘This still needs to be done.’ Then I can go to sleep and he can continue working on it.”

“I’m just honest about what I do”

TOZA doesn’t try to hide the fact that he doesn’t handle every technical step behind his music himself. According to him, being transparent about it makes all the difference. “I think that if you’re just honest about what you do, it doesn’t really matter what people think,” he says. “I’m the perfect example of that. I’ve explained what I do on multiple podcasts.”

For TOZA, it ultimately comes down to bringing his own musical ideas to life. “I want to put my vision of music out there, and I’m honest about how I do that. If people like it, that’s great. If people don’t like it, that’s completely fine too.”

He also invites anyone who questions his role in the project to see for themselves. “If you really want to know what I do, come spend a day with me. Come spend a weekend with me. I’ll happily show you what I do.”

“People don’t think about what a comment like that can do”

At the same time, TOZA sees the discussion surrounding co-producing as part of a bigger issue on social media. According to him, it has become incredibly easy to criticize artists online. “People don’t think about what a comment like that can do to someone’s mental health,” he explains. “You can say whatever you want, but you don’t know how someone is feeling at that moment or what is going on in their life.”

That is why TOZA tries not to let those comments affect him too much. “I wish people would celebrate each other’s success a little more instead of hoping for someone to fail.”

Hear more about TOZA’s new music, his return to Knockout Outdoor and the differences between the Australian and Dutch hardstyle scenes in the latest episode of PLAFONDDIENST. He also talks extensively about his career, his move from Australia to the Netherlands and his plans for the future. The full episode with TOZA is available now on your favorite podcast platforms.


Images via: TOZA