As a viewer, it's easy to become enthralled by the work of today's DJs playing behind the decks. These modern rock stars shape and manipulate the dance floor, perfectly dictating their crowds to become one with the sounds that filter from the speakers and permeate the air.
These moments spent in tacit bond with the DJ can be fleeting, a mere distraction from the hustle and bustle of the mundane nine-to-five life. But for the artist, those interconnected moments often play out across many cities in multiple languages, and sometimes come with sacrifices that viewers may never realize.
For ZEKE BEATS, those sacrifices were put to the test in December 2022. The Australian electronic music virtuoso was in the middle of a West Coast New Year's Eve tour when he received the news that his mother, Barbara, had been hospitalized with septicemia and was in serious condition.
Being more than 9,000 miles from home, the DJ, whose real name is Zeke Ugle, was residing in the United States on an expired visa. Although she had already been approved for renewal, obtaining the physical documentation needed to travel would still require a long and arduous process.
“I was living in Portland at the time and my dad called me and told me Mom was really sick… they ended up having to sedate Mom because she was going through a lot of pain and they were trying to figure out what was wrong with her,” Ugle says. EDM.com. “They knew it had something to do with their liver, gallbladder or pancreas, but they had no idea what was going on.”
Unfortunately for Ugle's family, the regional hospital in his hometown would not be able to provide him with the care necessary to not only diagnose his ailments, but also receive proper treatment. So it was decided that Barbara would be flown more than two hundred miles away, to a better-equipped hospital in the capital city of Perth.
“As soon as it happened, I thought: I can't stay in the United States,” he explained, knowing that at that point he would have difficulty returning to the United States due to his expired visa.
Due to the severity of his mother's deteriorating health, Ugle returned home and canceled a featured appearance at Insomniac Events' Countdown NYE 2022 festival, where he was scheduled to perform alongside revered turntablist DJ Craze.
“Obviously, that was a big deal for me because Craze is a world scratch champion. He's a great teacher,” Ugle continued. “He was always one of my biggest idols and to be asked to do a back-to-back DJ set with him, collaborating with him was huge for me. But family trumps everything and I would never let anything get in the way of my family and me.”
Upon arrival in Perth, Barbara was placed in a coma and placed on life support. Surrounded by her family, she woke up 10 days later before beginning a long period of recovery that included a stint in the intensive care unit and a round of dialysis.
One year later, Momma Beats is fully recovered and in good health. In a full-circle moment, she found herself sharing her story on the other side of the world and eager to see her son perform at the same festival she walked out of 12 months earlier.
After hearing her son's resignations and all the concerts he canceled to be by his side, Barbara cries as she recounts her state of unconsciousness.
“I never knew anything about this,” he says with a sob. “Oh love, did you really have to do it? I didn't know.”
After wiping away her tears, she remembers the moments before her hospitalization.
“Well, all I knew was that one day I was good,” Barbara said. “I had been at badminton, I had been at the gym, I went to bed that night and suddenly I felt pains.”
“I said to [my husband Stanley]”I think I'll have to go to the hospital,” he added. “From then on I was already delirious. She was talking nonsense and, to be honest, that's all I remember.”
Barbara went on to reveal the severity of her condition and how she found herself unable to speak properly and having to walk again. She remained resilient through it all, but it was her tenacity that helped her the most.
“It was a really bad time,” Barbara continues. “I think it was worse for them because I didn't know what was going on… but I was determined. I knew I could do it. I just kept going.”
Barbara's perseverance allowed her to recover quickly. In fact, so quickly that within two months she was back on the courts playing her favorite sport, badminton.
For Ugle, his mother's rapid rehabilitation has allowed him to reflect on the real-life trials and tribulations that come with choosing a career in music.
“I have been in the United States for six years and in that time it was very difficult to be away from family because of Covid and all the visa complications,” he explains. “So that they're here now and have a chance to have some quality alone time with mom and dad, and also show them the things that I've talked so much about about America.”
Ugle says that in addition to teasing his audience with unreleased music, he planned to bring his parents on stage during his Countdown performance.
However, Barbara's enthusiasm was elsewhere. Although she was elated to see her son perform in front of thousands of people, she had her eyes set on the next stop on her first trip to the United States.
With a smile on his face and eyes still full of tears, he exclaimed, “Tomorrow we're going to Las Vegas!”
Follow ZEKE BEATS:
X:x.com/zeke_beats
Instagram: instagram.com/zeke_beats
Facebook: facebook.com/zekebeats
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/54trwadh
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