RB Exclusive Interview: Braydon Terzo Headlines Darkstar

Braydon Terzo doesn’t talk about Darkstar like it’s just another stop on the calendar. It’s the room where he cut his teeth in college playing to friends, classmates, and whoever wandered in early. Those first nights behind the decks taught him how to read a room. “I was DJing a couple of times a week at our house, just having some people over & having fun listening to the beats I dug up,” he says. From cheap controllers and late-night experiments in FL Studio, he moved on to Ableton, official releases, and eventually his own imprint, Roots Recordings. Now he’s set to headline Darkstar on January 16th, a return to the place that gave him his first real momentum. I had the chance to sit down with Braydon to pick his brain ahead of his upcoming AZ stop.

Braydon grew up around music. He remembers being 14 and listening to Deadmau5’s “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff” on Beats headphones, but it wasn’t until he left Modesto for Phoenix that dance music really hooked him. His first rave was Goldrush 2018. “It was like a whole other world for me,” he says. “Seeing how everyone was dressed, and just dancing, not caring to be judged.” He left the festival “the biggest Chris Lake fan,” and the next step was obvious, he bought a DDJ-400 and started throwing house parties.

By 21, he was taking producing seriously. Bedroom experiments turned into EPs, and a trip to Miami Music Week lit a new kind of ambition. “All I could think was that by the next time I come here, I want to have DJs playing my beats,” he says. Months later, that ambition got an unusual, early boost when Chris Lake downloaded one of Braydon’s tracks from a DM and played it throughout his tour. “That was my first big affirmation,” Braydon says. “I wanted that feeling, that adrenaline of waiting for your track to be played.”

Over time his sound shifted, too. Nights at Sunbar, Shady Park, and Darkstar seeing acts like Hot Since 82 and Michael Bibi steered him away from traditional tech house and toward a tighter, more stripped back groove. “When I saw Bibi play, that’s when I decided I wanted to play this cool minimal sound,” he says. 

That approach is also the idea behind Roots Recordings. The name is literal, roots as in underground, and it reflects what he wants the imprint to stand for, music that doesn’t always land on the big, commercial labels but deserves a proper home. “People were already sending me tracks for feedback,” he says. “And I figured, if they’re comfortable sharing their stuff with me, the next step is helping them actually release it.” A lot of those submissions ended up becoming staples in his sets. For Braydon, the appeal of a label goes beyond branding. “I’ve always wanted something separate from my name,” he says. “Something people can be part of on a personal level, not just being a fan of a DJ. It’s cool to draw producers in and build a community with them.”

Europe gave him a wider stage to test that identity. He’d just come back from his first run overseas, playing a warehouse show in Amsterdam during ADE and linking up with artists he’d only talked to online. “It was awesome… being on stage and just looking at how many people you can affect,” he says. He noticed something different about the crowds there, the way they were tuned in, less focused on filming and more on the music itself. “It reminded me why I started,” he says. The energy pushed him straight back into the studio the moment he got home. “I’ve just been writing and writing,” he adds. “It gave me that spark again.”

After years of grinding, experimenting, and honing his sound, he’s finally headlining the room that taught him the basics. Now he wants to use that history as fuel. “I’m hyped to share all of the unreleased beats I have and this stuff coming out on the label… finally get to share that with everyone here, so prepare for your Shazam not to work.” It’s not about theatrics for him so much as closing the loop by showing Phoenix the music he’s been road testing and the community he’s been building along the way.

A Few of Braydon’s Picks: 

Q: What’s a track of yours that deserves more attention than it received?

A: ‘Trust Me’ with Julio Bravo, I love the drums and textures in that song.

Q: Name a spot you like to get a drink before a show:

A: TT Roadhouse for sure. It’s a cheap, lowkey dive bar by my house with 20 different beers on tap.

Q: What’s your sleeper Phoenix restaurant pick?

A: DeFalco’s, super high quality and quick, can’t go wrong with anything there.

Q: What do you enjoy outside of music?

A: Kind of random, but aquariums. I had a 72 gallon tank as a kid and now I keep one in my office space. 

Connect with Braydon Terzo: Instagram | X | Spotify | SoundCloud