Zane Lowe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zane Lowe
Born
Alexander Zane Reed Lowe

(1973-08-07) 7 August 1973 (age 50)
Spouse
Kara Walters
(m. 1999)
Children2
Career
ShowThe Zane Lowe Show
Stations
Style
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • television presenter

Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.

After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through presenting on XFM and MTV Europe (MTV Two), developing a DJ career by opening sets for bands and eventually landing a slot on prime-time radio on BBC Radio 1 from 2003 to 2015.

In 2015, he was head-hunted by Apple to be the Creative Director of their new world-wide music station, Apple Music 1.

Early career[edit]

Born in Auckland,[1] Lowe attended Auckland Grammar School and was a presenter on local music station Max TV.[2] Zane was a member of Urban Disturbance, an early 90s hip hop group whose standout hit was "No Flint No Flame"[3] and Breaks Co-Op, alongside Andy Lovegrove and Hamish Clark. Lowe and Clark formed Breaks Co-Op in Auckland, releasing the electronic album Roofers in 1997 before they both left New Zealand to travel and pursue other interests. Both would eventually develop their careers in the UK.

DJ[edit]

Lowe performing live

Lowe relocated to the UK in 1997. He initially worked at the Record and Tape Exchange in Notting Hill, before being asked to cover for a show on XFM, going on to host XFM's Music Response. In 2003, he joined BBC Radio 1.[4]

As a DJ, he has played sets at festivals including Coachella,[5] Future Music Festival in Australia, Glastonbury,[6] Creamfields and Bestival. He has toured with artists including, Skrillex, The Prodigy, Kasabian and The Weeknd and opened shows for both Muse[7] and Foo Fighters at their concerts at Wembley Stadium. As well as being a regular performer at Ibiza and Mallorca Rocks, Lowe is also Musical Director for the brand.[8]

MTV[edit]

Lowe started his career on MTV UK before moving to MTV2 Europe (now MTV Rocks) presenting shows such as MTV News (1998-2001), MTV News Daily Edition (1999-2001) and Brand:New (1999). From 2002 to 2015, he presented Gonzo, its flagship music show.

BBC Radio 1[edit]

Lowe's BBC Radio 1 evening show was broadcast from 2003 to 2015. The show developed a number of features including the "Zane Lowe Meets" interviews.

On 15 February 2015 it was announced that Lowe would be leaving BBC Radio 1 in March 2015 to launch a new station with Apple.[9] Lowe presented his last show on 5 March 2015.

Apple Music 1[edit]

At the 2015 Apple WWDC Keynote, Lowe was introduced as one of the DJs of Apple Music 1 (previously Beats 1[10]), a radio station part of Apple Music.[11] He was also the host of the Apple Music show Planet of the Apps.

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Awards Category Result
2005 NME Awards Best Radio Show Won
2006 NME Awards Best Radio Show Won
2007 NME Awards Best Radio Show Won
2008 NME Awards Best Radio Show Won
2010 Radio Academy Awards Music Broadcaster of the Year Gold
Radio Academy Awards Best Specialist Music Programme Gold
2011 Radio Academy Awards Music Broadcaster of the Year Gold
2012 Artist Manager Awards Industry Champion Won
2014 Radio Academy Awards Best Specialist Music Programme Bronze
Radio Academy Awards Music Radio Broadcaster of the Year Gold
2015 Grammy Awards Album of the Year (Sam SmithIn the Lonely Hour) Nominated

Ryan Jarman incident[edit]

Lowe is remembered for saving Ryan Jarman's life at the 2006 NME Awards, an incident which NME now refers to as "engraved in indie folklore".[12]

The incident occurred when Jarman's band, the Cribs, accepted an award on behalf of winners Franz Ferdinand. While on his way to collect the trophy from presenter Russell Brand, Jarman fell onto the Kaiser Chiefs' table and pierced his back with broken glass, narrowly missing his vital organs.[12]

He was taken to hospital but discharged himself to return for the show's after-party later in the night. However, his injuries were severe and he fell unconscious in a back corridor. Lowe, a fellow guest at the party, found Jarman lying on the floor bleeding profusely and another ambulance was called which took Jarman to hospital where doctors stitched up the injuries.[13]

Discography[edit]

Remixes[edit]

Year Song Artist
1995 "What I Gotta Do" 3 the Hard Way
2008 "Look for the Woman" Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
"F Ur X" Sway
2009 "Vlad the Impaler" Kasabian
2011 "Still Speedin'" Sway
2012 "Lightspeed" Kill the Noise & Datsik
"In the End"
(Whateverman Remix)
Snow Patrol
2023 "Running Out of Time"
(Re: Zane Lowe)
Paramore

Writing and production credits[edit]

Year Title Artist Album
2012 "Blood from a Stone" Example The Evolution of Man
2013 "Count on Me" Chase & Status featuring Moko Brand New Machine
"Wake Up" Sway Wake Up
"Dot" Amplify Dot Paper Cuts
"5 Minutes" Tinie Tempah Demonstration
2014 "Restart" Sam Smith In the Lonely Hour
"Running Low" Netsky featuring Beth Ditto Non-album single
"Walking Out" Liam Bailey Definitely Now
2015 "Baby Blue" Action Bronson featuring Chance the Rapper Mr. Wonderful

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kiwi-born DJ home for first stadium gig. The New Zealand Herald. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Zane Lowe biography". jhooakley.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2017 – via Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ "Urban Disturbance - AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz.
  4. ^ Crawley, Jason (26 March 2003). "Lowe swaps XFM for Radio 1". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. ^ Payne, Chris (25 January 2013). "Coachella 2013: 10 Non – Headliners to watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Glastonbury – Zane Lowe Keeper of the hottest records". BBC. 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Muse Announce Big Names for Wembley Shows". NME. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
  8. ^ Stassen, Murray (31 October 2014). "Ibiza Rocks Group launches Croatia Rocks for 2015". Music Week. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Zane Lowe to leave Radio 1 in March". BBC Newsbeat. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Apple announces Apple Music radio". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Apple – Press Info – Introducing Apple Music — All The Ways You Love Music. All in One Place". apple.com.
  12. ^ a b NME 26/01/08
  13. ^ "NME Awards star hospitalised twice in a night". nme.com.

External links[edit]