Growing up in NYC, Zelev was first exposed to hip-hop music and rock before being taken to an EDM show at McCarren Park Pool featuring Armin van Buuren. Since that day, Zelev fell in love with EDM and it's scene. While his beginnings were deeply rooted in Trance music specifically, he's come a long way since then and his ears have grown to love the deeper darker sounds of Progressive House, Tech-House and Techno. He became more of a participant in EDM than a fanatic when he met his mentor, Jason Jollins at the first Electric Zoo festival in 2009 at Randall's Island, NY. He had heard Jason play several times around NY, including a headliner at Pacha in early 2009 and opening for Paul van Dyk at Roseland Ballroom in late December of 2008, where he was immediately drawn to his style of playing. Their relationship grew over the next several months and they began working together closely, with Zelev helping him with A&R on his own imprint, Acute Recordings. Zelev didn't want to feel like he was brought up through Jason's status in the industry, so Zelev formed The House Cartel with his brother DJ Capo in an attempt to gain fans of his music on his own. They began hosting events in Long Island, NY late in 2010 and early 2011 at the former Liquid Vibe nightclub and had several successful nights where they both gained valuable experience in how to work a crowd and also in how to organize a successful party. After gaining valuable experience through their own gigs, he felt he was ready for a bigger stage and he got it. He was on opening duties in a side room at Pacha NYC where Jason Jollins and Gareth Emery headlined the Main Room. He got a great reaction and gained even more experience warming things up for veteran DJs Matty & Romi which were headlining the room. As 2011 continues, Zelev pushes forward in the industry looking to organize even more events in the future. He has recently revamped his podcast 'Progression Sessions' to create more intelligent mixes through practice and experience as well as playing guest mixes on fellow DJs podcasts that allow him to express himself musically in ways he wouldn't be able to at a nightclub. Zelev is hopeful that 2012 will be a big year for him as he works to strengthen his DJ ability further as well as his production side of things where he can create original works for his DJ sets and future editions of 'Progression Sessions'