Zuzu talks: Singing in her accent, Adventure Time and The Sims

 

Zuzu talks: Singing in her accent, Adventure Time and The Sims

Merseyside musician Zuzu first started writing songs at the age of 7 and by 18 she had a publishing deal. Her debut single 'Get Off' was released in 2016, with her first EP 'Made On Earth By Humans' following in 2018. She released her latest single 'My Old Life' on 30th July, the second single from her upcoming debut album 'Queensway Tunnel' due for release on the 12th November. Zuzu's instantly recognisable vocals draw you into a sad song where heartbroken, the subject of the song drives to the edge of the Mersey and throws in her phone. A beautiful, chill song about being in a terrible place in life, with sweet acoustic guitar and mellow drums. Zuzu said the video for 'My Old Life' is inspired by her seeing 'My Bed' by Tracey Emin in the Tate art gallery.

I was lucky enough to get the chance to speak to Zuzu:

‘Timing’ is obviously your first single off your upcoming debut album which is all new songs. Have you got any more details about it yet or is it all secret?
I think it’s very Scouse, I’ve been here for the last eighteen months. I’m from Liverpool and I was raised in Liverpool but I don’t think I’ve ever actually had to stay in Liverpool for this long, obviously because of covid. Normally I’m on the road, I’m visiting places, but not this year, and I think that’s really crept into my music quite a lot. That’s what I’ll say without giving away any secrets! 

The video gives me Tomb Raider vibes. Who came up with the idea for the music video and why did you decide on Williamsons Tunnels to shoot it in?
The plot from the video was all my idea. I can’t really talk about it yet but my album has a theme running through it, it’s not a Lara Croft theme but it is like a Liverpool underground kinda theme. So I had been checking out the Williamson Tunnels anyway and I had done a Lara Croft style photoshoot there because I thought it would be fun, and it came out so well that I was like “I wanna do a video there” and I was thinking about what the song meant to me and how timing was so entwined with our lives and stuff and that’s how I came up with the concept of it. 

And you’re now releasing your music on your own label Planet Z, what made you decide to do this?
Times have been changing, a lot has changed in the last year or two to be honest, and I guess one thing just lead to another. I’m working with other people to make Planet Z a thing – I can’t take all the credit, but ultimately I have creative control now and I get to steer my own ship which is actually surprisingly hard to do or to get to do in this industry. 

Is it what you expected?
I think so, I always took a lot of stuff into my own hands anyway, there’s been a few more details that I’ve had to learn like how long you need to put things on DSPs [digital service providers - online stores and streaming services]  – so I’ve learnt a lot about deadlines and how long the process takes and things like that but it’s really cool, I’m learning everyday, and so far I’m really happy. 

 Who were some of your main inspirations when growing up?
My main inspirations were Taylor Swift, the Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles, Avril Lavigne – I had a real mix of worlds and I never really knew how to describe my music but actually I feel like it’s a weird amalgamation of some Arctic Monkeys Taylor Swift shit you know what I mean? The Arctic Monkeys inspired me to embrace where I’m from, to be proud of that and not shy away from the way I naturally go to sing, because you have that kind of ironed out of you quite often, especially if you’re from the North West or the North, you’re not meant to sing in your accent, and for me, Alex Turner changed the game so I was obsessed! Taylor Swift I’ve just always been the biggest fan! From her first album she inspired me to write songs that tell stories and she’s sick I just love her! I still love her to this day and I feel like she’s one of those artists who just gets better, I think everything she puts out is better than the last thing, I find it very inspiring because a lot of people try and make you feel like “oh your first album’s the best” and all this, and it’s like “Nah, there's a value in growing older and learning about the world!” - I just think she’s a prime example of how people can be relevant forever. 

You can’t not love Taylor Swift!
You can’t, and if you do you’re a mug!

Can you remember what your first songs were about?
Yeah my first ever song was about witches cos I thought that’s cool – I wanted to be a witch at that point, so when I was 7 I used to write some witchy songs. Then as I started getting older, when I was like 10-14, that’s when Taylor Swift really entered my world and when I started writing a bit more about my life. I wrote ‘Skin and Bone’ when I was 14, that was the song I put out last from my last EP, but that’s a song from a long, long time ago.

Were you always encouraged and supported by friends, family and teachers with music?
Yeah my mum and dad and my family have always been very supportive – my mum and dad encouraged me to write songs and they’ve driven me places across the country when I was young, my mum and dad have always been so, so supportive. I don’t know like [about] teachers, I’ve had some boss teachers in my adulthood, but I didn’t really have the most encouragement at school from music if I’m being honest. I never really had much guidance at school, only really at home, and then as I started to get into my late teens I started to meet friends that would teach me stuff, because again in school I didn’t have many other girl friends that wanted to play instruments or play guitar with me, and the lads didn’t want to hang out with me so I was on my own a lot of the time. It wasn’t until I started meeting other people in music and other friends, that’s when I felt like I really started to learn.

You moved from Liverpool to London to put together a band and book  gigs, how old were you then and how was that experience?
When I moved to London I was 18 and that’s where I met my boyfriend/producer Kurran. We’ve been together eight and a half years, that’s where I met him, and it was a great experience. I think that it was good for me, I met people that I needed to meet and it was good for me to go and experience life in the big city! But ultimately it never felt like home. It was boss, I’m not one of those people that are against London, it’s alright and it can be fun, but there’s an ever-pulling thread that’s always like “come home!” to me.

I’ve seen that you often caption your posts with things like “Scouse energy”, “Scouse girl” and you started a Spotify playlist of artists from Liverpool. How do you feel where you came from has influenced your music and your career in music?
That’s a good question, I guess it’s influenced me a lot… a lot I can’t lie. The second my song starts playing and my voice comes in people know I’m from Liverpool, so I’ve learnt  to just embrace that because I’ve had such negative energy from that before – I’ve had people tell me I shouldn’t sing in my accent, people just slating me for my accent and stuff, and I’ve just had to grow a thick skin, so now I actually use it as a shield because like “I am fucking Scouse, and I’m into it, so fucking come for me, there’s nothing you can say that’s gonna make me less proud to be Scouse!” It’s made me go further into it because people have told me not to do it and that makes me be like “Nah!” It’s not just Scouse girls, I talk to people about this a lot and there’s a real stigma attached to people with strong accents from anywhere, but people do hit you with that shit all the time, especially trolls on the internet, so for me that’s made me lean into it more. And the fact that I just am around Scouse people, [there are] terms of phrases that I don’t even think about the fact that that’s what I say, but I do. I think being around other Scousers naturally influences my music. 

And how do you find the local music scene?
It’s boss oh my god, theres so many, so many cool bands from Liverpool and just the surrounding areas. I feel super lucky actually because not everywhere in the world has such a roaring music scene. I’m lucky cos I can’t move for other friends that are in arts now, when I was younger that’s all I wanted – to have friends that did the same kind of thing – and now like all of my friends are musicians or artists or whatever. I think that theres a real community here that I never found in London – it’s special! I think the music scene is special in Liverpool – I think it always is and always has been and probably always will be. 

What local artists are you listening to a lot at nmoment?
I love this question – Red Rum Club, The Mysterines, Munkey Junkey, Sophie Morgan, Amber Jay, Clean Cut Kid – I could literally go on forever – Gen and The Degenerates, there’s this amazing girl called Jazmine Johnson who is a sick singer from Liverpool – she’s dead scouse love her, there’s a girl called Josefina who’s from Argentina, and she flicks between Spanish and English - she came over here to study and now she lives here, she works for Ditto Music, she’s sick! 

You must have been proud to be part of the Sefton Park Pilot Gig with Blossoms and The Lathums – it was a big thing for Liverpool to have this pilot gig – how was it?
I can’t even put into words – people keep asking me how it was and I can’t even describe how it was, it was just… unreal! The lead up to it was mad because when we took on the gig I was like “Oh yeah this is sick” but everyone was like “ooo you’re gonna be first on, you’re gonna be the first on” and all this stuff and it was stressing me out a bit. Then in the build up the week before there was a lot of news stuff and press stuff so by the time we got on stage I was like “fucking hell, what the fuck am I gonna say? What am I gonna do?” but then the second we walked out the crowd [gave] the most intense roar I’ve ever heard! We could have been the Teletubbies, I could’ve been dressed as anyone and they’d have screamed the same – it wasn’t even me I was lucky I got to be the one to do it! It was just insane and I cried like a baby afterwards. I came off stage and just cried and cried and cried. 

Did you have any concerns about playing it, covid-wise or otherwise?
I did but I also had a lot of faith too because there was a lot of preparation that went into it and it wasn’t like just a casual little thing – all the checks were happening, all the guest lists were very strict, so I had a lot of faith in it and I wasn’t really nervous. I felt like there was a lot of negativity towards some of the organisers and stuff and I felt a bit bad for them and it was a bit nerve-wracking because what if people were right what if something does happen? But it didn’t – trust in science – I’m into it, I’m into the science.

You’re gonna be playing with Blossoms again in September and you’ve got a couple of festivals which are still going ahead at the moment – fingers crossed – What’s your favourite thing about the festival experience?
From my perspective it’s great because I get to see so many bands in one place. Never normally are you on a lineup that’s that varied and vast that some of your favourite artists will be playing. I love that when playing a festival because I love to just be in the crowd for my favourite bands – that’s my favourite thing about being at a festival. Seeing kids especially, it brings it back for you how important those first festival experiences are and how formative they are. I think festivals are quite emotional in a way because you see all the kids with their bucket hats and it’s a beautiful sight and I miss that, I miss seeing crowds of people with their friends screaming their favourite songs together – it’s just the best. 

I'm so intrigued to know about your involvement with Adventure Time! You wrote 'Woke Up' and 'Eternity With You' for the Obsidian Distant Lands episode - how did that happen?!
I have no idea - I still to this day don't know how it happened! I just got a DM one day from Adam Muto. I love Adventure Time - I stan Adventure Time- I've all the comics, I've got the bedsheets I've got the merch - I fucking love it! And I got a DM one day from the executive producer being like "I work on Adventure Time, I was wondering if you'd be down for writing some songs for a new project we're working on?" and I was like "What the fuck!”  He said that he read in an interview that I said I would be open to working with Cartoon Network. I was like "I'd love to work with Cartoon Network! That's my dream job!" I wasn't just being like "I'm open to it"! He somehow read that which is crazy to me! That he managed to read [that article] from an English Magazine. We got the project through and it was Marceline who's my favourite character ever - I think it's the only thing I can think of that could be an example of manifestation. I can't think of any reason why that would happen - I still can't wrap my head around it - we're just some average band from Birkenhead it doesn't make any sense - but I'm glad it happened! 

 

I know that you played The Sims on YouTube Live - what job do you usually choose for your Sims?
I have so many options honestly I'm a big Sims fan - we got to do a song for the Sims!

That was gonna be my next question! How was it going in and recording your song in Simlish, was that weird?
It was so fun, it was so weird but so fun! Truly, truly weird. They send you through a translation of your lyrics in Simlish and then you have to learn it and sing it, and I still know it now because it took me that long to learn it!

 

It must have been difficult to not accidentally sing the actual lyrics
It's true - but now I find myself wanting to sing the Sims lyrics when I'm singing it normally which is not great! But I don't actually have a favourite job for my sims - I like to switch it up because I feel like I get bored if I just do one thing.

 

You've achieved so much! Do you have anything left on your bucket list?

I would love to keep writing songs for cool projects like  Adventure Time, whether it's animation or film or video games or whatever - that's something that I find really fun. I think writing songs with other people is cool too I wanna be doing that, but also I just want to keep putting my music out. Nowadays I'm trying to be more grateful for every opportunity that comes my way as opposed to being like "I want this and I want that" which is obviously a good thing too, but since COVID I'm trying to just find some balance and be grateful for everything that comes in and enjoy it in the moment as opposed to worrying, cos I'm such a worrier. I think in this industry you can put so much pressure on yourself about what's coming next instead of just appreciating what you have done, and that's something that I'm really guilty of.