Malcolm Zeller (@djresco) makes his Sound D’Elite debut with Lose Control, a two-track EP landing September 4 on Ilario Alicante’s imprint. The New York-based DJ and producer comes into the release with a growing club profile, having played rooms including Club Space, Hï Ibiza, and UNVRS while releasing across labels such as NUSONIDO, Deeperfect, WHYNOTUS, and South Of Saturn.
The EP fits the lane he describes in the interview below. “Lose Control” leans into disco-infused basslines, vocal pressure, and direct club energy, while “High Roller” moves into a deeper, more percussive groove. Both tracks sound tied to the dancefloor-first instinct that runs through his answers: knowing where you are, who is in front of you, what kind of slot you have, and how much patience the room can handle before it needs a push.
That is where Zeller’s perspective gets more interesting than a simple “read the room” answer. He
talks about different cities having different musical sensibilities, longer sets giving space for deeper records, and surprise only working when the DJ has prepared the floor for it. The result is a practical look at DJing as a constant negotiation between preparation and instinct.
Interview With Malcolm Zeller
When you’re preparing a set, what elements are you thinking about most — mood, flow, energy?
I think a lot about the room and the market that I’m playing in.
Different cities have different musical sensibilities, so I feel it’s important to adjust accordingly. I never go as far as prepping music I don’t personally enjoy, though — mainly, I narrow down the records within my library to curate a specific vibe for a given place.
One record might go off at a certain party and totally flop at another. Factoring this in ahead of time, along with the slot time I’m playing, opening vs direct support vs headline, is central to my mental prep before a show and helps me deliver a great set.
Do you consciously think about the shape of a night, or does it reveal itself as you play?
I consider it beforehand, but I always adjust as I’m playing. It’s a bit of a game I’m playing with the crowd. I try a couple of different vibes out until I land on one that gets people moving, then I ride that wave until it stops working and go back to testing. Keeping the finger on the subtle pulse always.
How do you approach pacing across a longer set?
A longer set has more ebbs and flows.
There are more underground records that I love but can never play in a shorter set. I like to use these to create interesting moments and breaks in the energy during a long set so that people can stay tuned in and not get overwhelmed or bored by hours and hours straight of high energy records.
These in-between records also serve to create a contrast with the bigger tracks and make the peak moments all the more impactful.
Do you usually anchor a set around a few key records, or build it more intuitively?
Typically, there are a few recent records I’ve found that I’m super excited to play out. But the flow is intuitive, and I also have my go-tos that I know will work.
What helps you weave in surprise without losing coherence?
Context is important. I like to think two or three records ahead and create a nice transition/lead up to a surprise record. It’s nice to build in a specific direction before dropping something crazy.
Can you recall a night where everything unfolded exactly as you envisioned?
Yes! A couple of months ago, I played in the Wild Corner, the bathroom, for Konflic at Hï. It was my first show in Ibiza, and it couldn’t have gone better. Energy was on point, and everyone in there was locked in.
How much of that arc is planned, and how much emerges in the room?
It depends on the set. If I have a longer set, sometimes I like to plan out vibe changes by the hour or half hour. But recently I’ve been only planning my opening track and playing it by ear from there.
Closing Thoughts
Zeller’s answers work because they describe DJing as a process of narrowing rather than overloading.
He is not building a set by grabbing every big record that might work. He is filtering his own library for a room, a city, a slot, and a specific kind of crowd. That is a cleaner way to understand Lose Control as well. The EP is built for the floor, but it does not treat the floor as one universal room.
That connects with my interview with Jaguar B on flow, restraint, and reading the room. Jaguar talked about the energy exchange between DJ and crowd, and how presence behind the decks can decide whether a room stays open or closes down. Zeller’s approach is more analytical, but the instinct is related. Both artists are paying attention to what the room gives back before deciding how hard to push.
There is also a natural comparison with Frederik Neu on house music, friendships, and creative trust. Frederik’s interview dealt more with the people around the records, but his sense of house music as something relational fits Zeller’s answer about different cities having different musical sensibilities. A record is never only a file in a folder. It changes depending on the room receiving it.
That idea gives Lose Control a sharper context.
The title track brings the vocal-led, disco-infused energy up front, while “High Roller” pulls the EP deeper and more percussive. The pairing reflects the same balance Zeller describes in his sets: some records push, some records hold the pocket, and the DJ’s job is knowing which role the moment needs.
The bigger takeaway is that Zeller treats surprise as something earned. He thinks a few records ahead, builds toward it, then drops the unexpected record when the floor has been prepared to follow. That is a more durable version of club control than chasing instant reaction, and it is the reason Lose Control feels tied to a DJ who understands restraint as part of impact.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
