ANGEL CANNON has built a sound that resists easy categorisation, a collision of hard techno, early 2010s dubstep nostalgia, and metalcore aggression that’s entirely her own. Since launching the project in 2021, he has gone from playing underground clubs to headline sets at EDC Las Vegas and warehouse parties across Europe, all while staying rooted in the DIY scenes that shaped her. We caught up with ANGEL CANNON to talk influences, family, the state of the scene, and what’s next.
Many artists today move across and blend genres rather than fitting neatly into a single category. How would you personally define or label your sound, and what genres, subgenres, or underground scenes have most influenced and shaped your evolution as an artist
It’s nearly impossible to define my own sound, but the best way I could describe it is a late 2000s-early 2010s nostalgia bomb injected into a hard dance casing. But this isn’t what I originally set out to do, it just naturally became this way due to my personal influences. Those being anything Monstercat was putting out pre-2015, old Skrillex, old Headhunterz and Angerfist, that time period’s metalcore and deathcore like Asking Alexandria, Emmure, or Underoath, and even some pieces of nu metal and trance music thrown in there. Hard techno was something I always loved and just naturally became the perfect genre for me to dump all of my inspirations into. Given my inspiration comes from such a wide range of influences, what I make couldn’t sound like anyone else’s work but mine. You know it’s an ANGEL CANNON track when you hear it. 
How did the environment you grew up in shape you as an artist, and in what ways does it still influence your creative identity today?
My father is a traditional Iranian singer. That deeply affected how I write melodically. My mother was in a touring Celtic folk band, which gave me a love of high-tempo music. My grandmother always played bombastic classical music for me as a kid, and that made me love that intense, anthemic writing style. Those three influences, combined with growing up in the 2010s with early brostep, complextro, and metal music, basically cemented how my brain understands music.
Do you prefer producing music in a studio setting, or are you more comfortable creating on the road/during touring?
I feel like I’m in the minority on this one — producing on the road or literally anywhere that isn’t my home sucks for me, unless I’m collaborating with artists I deeply mesh with. Every banger track I’ve made was produced, mixed, and mastered in my room on the same computer I play video games on.
Have you performed at any major music festivals or large-scale venues? If so, which one would you consider the most significant milestone in your career so far?
The biggest gig I’ve ever had was EDC Las Vegas last year. It was an unbelievable experience. To have started this project in 2021 and then jump to the biggest EDM festival in North America four years later felt completely unreal. Literally the week before, I had played in an underground club in my city to about 100 people. My brain couldn’t even process it until I got up on that stage and couldn’t even see past the crowd by the end of the set. Playing for over 1,200 people in a huge warehouse in Paris was also an unforgettable experience for me — European crowds hit differently.
Do you feel more connected to the energy of major festival stages or the raw intimacy of underground warehouse parties and DIY spaces, or do you find inspiration equally in both worlds?
I absolutely love both. I have so many fond memories of the Vancouver DIY scene, and I’ll always be an advocate for the underground. However, I do love playing huge festivals where everyone you know is there and it really feels like a spectacle. For me, a healthy balance between clubs and fests is where I want to be.
What role does rebellion or counterculture play in your music? Whether through challenging commercial norms, experimenting with sound, questioning societal expectations, or simply creating from a place of pure expression, how do these ideas shape your artistic identity?
Counterculture is deeply ingrained in what I do. I’ve always had a toxic trait of disregarding things because everyone likes them, and putting all my effort into exploring weird niches that only a couple of my friends even get. Growing up as a weird dubstep and metalcore kid before liking those things became normalized has made me keep a lot of what this music means to me close to my chest. In the end, though, electronic music and metal are both rebellious and anti-establishment at their core. Everything about the music and scene should reflect a rejection of norms and a love for self-expression.
How would you evaluate the current state of the global EDM scene in terms of its overall health and creative direction, and how would you position it within a broader spectrum ranging from emerging challenges to strong creative growth?
The way I see it, the state of the scene is a bit of a double-edged sword. On a positive note, the rising popularity of dance music as a whole has brought new sound and energy to the mainstream, allowing our art to be heard by a larger audience. On the other side, I think the mainstream is failing at capturing the soul of the rave — big artists rehashing their old tracks to stay relevant, influencer DJs taking up headline slots, generative AI becoming sneakily introduced into established artists’ music, and an overall shift of focus from artistry to social media manipulation.
However, the underground is absolutely thriving. Genre walls are being broken down, people are rallying behind artists with a clear vision and something to say with their music, it’s easier than ever to be independent and keep the ball in your court, and there’s a lot more focus and representation for the marginalized groups who invented and pioneered electronic music and were heavily sidelined in the past. So some bad and some good, which I feel like is always the case with music scenes.
What’s one piece of advice you would offer to an aspiring DJ or producer looking to break into the music scene today?
Stop overthinking everything. Every time you decide not to do something, or hold a part of yourself back in service of what someone else told you, you’re going to get more and more jaded. Whatever it is you want to do, ignore the noise and just commit to being consistent and honest with it. There are a lot of amazing people, but you’re going to meet a lot of horrible people too, and you can’t let the experiences you have with them destroy that spark inside you that pushes you to keep chasing the dream. Also, read your damn contracts — every time.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about the next phase of your artistic journey, both creatively and personally?
I’m very excited about the future. For a long time I was searching for what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, while opportunities I didn’t know what to do with were thrown at me over and over. Now, with the experience I’ve gained and a healthy step back to focus on strengthening my vision, the future of the project is looking bright and a lot more genuine.
Are there any upcoming festivals, tours, collaborations, headline shows, or major projects listeners should keep an eye out for over the coming months?
Nothing I can explicitly reveal at the moment, unfortunately, but a lot of fresh new music is coming and I’ll be returning to the performance game full force very soon. Some collabs are in the works as well, with a couple of returning artists to my catalog and a few new people who are cooking obscenely hard with me. Just stay tuned and keep up with me on socials to know what’s coming up.
Listen to the exclusive mix by ANGEL CANNON on PLAYY.
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