Alt-pop singer Zapho has released her new single, Peoples. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
Her new track follows singles releases Fight Me and Water and collaborations with Tolü Makay and Ryan O'Shaughnessy and her new song is taken from her upcoming debut album.
Speaking about Peoples, Zapho says, "Genre wise my music and style is a mixed bag, but so am I, that's the Zapho sound. I wanted to make something that felt honest to me, I'm a lover of all types of music - it's about striking that unique balance!
"Peoples is very much so a reflection of my younger self, searching for the types of people that excited me, spiritually, romantically, platonically, creatively."
Zapho took the year off in 2021 to co-found the artist collection The X Collective - a creative community featuring members such as BBC Radio 1's Gemma Bradley, Tolü Makay, Elkae and many more.
Tell us three things about yourself?
I am a songwriter producer and artist based in Dublin. My debut album, Zapho, is coming out over the course of 2022. It took me over seven years to write, record and finally release this album. She's finally cooked.
How would you describe your music?
I float around pop, soul, R&B and electronic styles, that's the Zapho sound. I want to make something that feels honest to me and I like to surprise people in my music, so when they think they have the song figured out it takes a sharp left into a new dynamic or sonic landscape. There are plenty of ear worms and hooks in there, I enjoy writing lines that are easy to remember or just fun to sing for me!
Who are your musical inspirations?
Gosh, I could write a two-thousand-word essay on this, but I'll try my best to whittle it down to a few key players. Laura Marling was one of my first musical loves and influences. I felt so deeply connected to her voice and style of melody writing and her vocal tonal shifts and the essence of vulnerability and intelligence in a song. I can attribute a lot of my vocal characteristics to Laura Marling, Regina Spektor, Sylvan Esso, Adele, to name a few. With music I like I tend to absorb things like a sponge. Through the process of elimination and realizing I wasn't the next indie rock chic or singer songwriter, I fell comfortably into R&B, soul, funk and hip hop styles which I have now adopted largely in my set. I always let my musical gut feeling guide my choices. As a producer, and composer, I was always hugely inspired by movie soundtracks and scores from the likes of Hans Zimmer, Brian Eno, Trent Reznor. I found it fascinating that the music could almost act as a character, an essential storyteller guiding the emotion of the audience as much as the visual it's placed over.
What was the first gig you ever went to and the first record you ever bought/downloaded?
First gig I ever went to was Westlife, myself and a gaggle of female cousins and aunties marvelled at the floating moving platforms of hunky men and a stadium filled with fangirl energy. First record I ever bought would have probably been Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground - I can remember being absolutely obsessed with some of the tracks. I loved how class pop music was in the early noughties/late nineties, got away with murder, but there was a lot of clever writing and interesting new musical landscapes being explored. I miss that in modern pop music you hear on radio today, a lot of it seems so similar or formulaic that it's difficult to be surprised or hear something original.
What’s your favourite song right now?
The Girl From Ipanema - Frank Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim. I was listening to that on my cycle home and melting at the entire song. The melody and pure epicness of the two styles being merged so beautifully.
Favourite lyric of all time?
'Did you ever say it . . . No’ - A track called Uncatena by Sylvan Esso, it's a really simple lyric and a really simple chorus. Maybe it's the music, or the way she sings it. But it just breaks my heart, reminds me of every time I backed out of saying what I felt or what my delicate heart or mind's eye 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 a person with a musically analytical brain like myself, in this song I can always lose myself in its epic beauty.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify.
