Behind the music – Zapho
Alt-pop singer Zapho has released her new single, peoples. We asked him the BIG questions. . .
His new track follows the releases of singles fight me and The water and collaborations with Tolü Makay and Ryan O’Shaughnessy and his new song is taken from his upcoming debut album.
Talk about peoplesZapho says: “In terms of genre, my music and my style is a mixture, but me too, it’s the sound of Zapho. I wanted to do something that felt honest to me, I like all types of music – it’s about finding that unique balance!
“peoples is really a reflection of my youth, looking for the kinds of people that turned me on, spiritually, romantically, platonically, creatively.”
Zapho took a sabbatical year in 2021 to co-found the artist collection The X Collective – a creative community made up of members such as Gemma Bradley from BBC Radio 1, Tolü Makay, Elkae and many more.
Tell us three things about yourself?
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I’m a Dublin based songwriter, producer and artist. My first album, Zapho, released in 2022. It took me more than seven years to write, record and finally release this album. It’s finally cooked.
How would you describe your music?
I float in pop, soul, R&B and electronic styles, that’s the Zapho sound. I want to do something that feels honest to me and I like to surprise people in my music, so when they think they’ve got the song figured out, it takes a left turn into a new dynamic or soundscape. Lots of earworms and hooks in there, I like to write lines that are easy to remember or just fun for me to sing!
What are your musical inspirations?
My God, I could write a two thousand word essay on this, but I’ll do my best to narrow it down to a few key players. Laura Marling was one of my first loves and musical influences. I felt so deeply connected to his voice and his melodic writing style and his changes in vocal tone and the essence of vulnerability and intelligence in a song. I can attribute many of my vocal characteristics to Laura Marling, Regina Spektor, Sylvan Esso, Adele, to name a few. With the music that I like, I tend to absorb things like a sponge. Through the process of elimination and realizing that I wasn’t the next chic indie rock or singer-songwriter, I fell comfortably into the R&B, soul, funk, and hip hop styles that I’ve now widely embraced. in my set. I have always let my musical instinct guide my choices. As a producer and composer, I’ve always been hugely inspired by the soundtracks and scores of Hans Zimmer, Brian Eno, Trent Reznor. I found it fascinating that the music could almost act like a character, an essential storyteller guiding the emotion of the audience as much as the visual on which it is placed.
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What was the first gig you went to and the first record you bought/downloaded?
The first gig I went to was Westlife, myself and a group of cousins and aunts marveling at the floating moving platforms of muscle men and a stadium full of fangirl energy. The first record I bought would probably have been Girls Aloud The sound of the subway – I remember being absolutely obsessed with certain songs. I loved how classy pop music was in the early 2000s/late 1990s I got away with murder, but there was a lot of clever songwriting and interesting new musical landscapes to explore . I miss that in the modern pop music you hear on the radio today, a lot of things sound so similar or stereotypical that it’s hard to be surprised or to hear something original.
What’s your favorite song right now?
The girl from Ipanema – Frank Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim. I was listening to this on my bike at home and melting into the whole song. The melody and sheer epic of the two styles merge so beautifully.
Favorite lyric of all time?
‘Have you ever said that. . . No’ – A track called Uncatena by Sylvan Esso, it’s really simple lyrics and a really simple chorus. Maybe it’s the music, or the way she sings it. But it breaks my heart, reminds me every time I’ve stepped back to say what I felt or what my delicate heart or my mind desired. It’s silly, but personal.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Nick Drake- river man. This song has new layers and new meaning every time I listen to it. For someone with a musically analytical brain like me, in this song, I can still get lost in its epic beauty.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify.