Talking to: Zouj
© Jamal Cazare
Zouj, aka Adam Abdelkader Lenox, a French/Moroccan/American musician and producer, brought up in Paris, now based in Leipzig, has been making leftfield, playful waves on the European noise DIY scene with his band Lingua Nada over the last few years. But lately he has taken an entirely new path as a solo artist, veering away from the band’s guitar rock aesthetic with a new mission. Embracing his love of the quirky and electronic Zouj explores what modern pop music should sound, and more importantly, feel like.
The result is his debut EP Tagat (mixtape), released in June on City Slang Records. Tagat is a sonic exploration of Zouj’s solo musical output so far - of lyricism, catchy pop hooks and addictive basslines, exploring the spaces where dark and heart, analogue and synthetic meet, full of glitches, vocoders and bonkers visuals as well. You are not likely to hear a more surreal, genuine and joyful mash up this year.
But it’s more than just music- he is working with an ever-growing network of musicians, photographers, directors, animators, toy makers and graphic artists to create a synthesis of sound, visuals, symbols, dress and movement. Zouj spoke to us recently about his music, the people who inspire him, and why he would never use the term DIY to describe what he does.
Tell us a bit more about yourself and where you are at the moment.
I generally smell acceptable and I’m back home in Leipzig since yesterday; I was in Berlin for two weeks.
What is the music scene like in Leipzig?
Pretty cool, since this East German city offer(ed) cheap rent and a lot of empty infrastructures people have had the time to experiment and do their own thing instead of working 40 hours a week to afford living in a big city while doing music on the side. So we have very forward thinking, innovative shredderz and artists around here.
© Jamal Cazare
Have you always been into music and performing?
I think so, when I was a toddler I wanted to be a dancer or something. I never thought ‘astronaut and firefighter sounds cool’, so I suppose always, kind of.
You’re pushing a big DIY aesthetic - did you ever study music and production or are you completely self taught?
I´m not one of these music-school-business-graduated students that push a DIY aesthetic as a marketing campaign to make some schmekelz, if that´s what you’re asking (I say that because I know a bunch)! I don´t even think I ever used the word ‘DIY’ - not to flex but I was doing it before I even knew it was a thing. I would do things for my projects because otherwise no-one else would, that was about it. Simple thought but, you don’t have a booker ? Get a mail box and a presskit. Can’t afford a graphic designer for 100 bucks an hour ? Crack an Adobe and get on YouTube. It always looks a little odd and the shows were in mouldy basements, but at least I’m not sitting on my couch watching football or something. Yet it’s not an aesthetic or a ‘lifestyle’ that I particularly defend for myself, for example, I have a structure like a label and stuff now, but I don’t feel like I betrayed some kind of punk rock oath, you know?
Sorry that was a lot, but to answer your question I basically stopped [studying music] when I was sixteen, a year after I went to a ‘sound engineer’ school for about a year to realise quickly that the way the craft was taught was boring - ultra technical, cold, completely depraved of any artistic depth and that I’m never gonna use some $3,000,000 Neve console anyways, so what was I even doing there? Honestly I felt like I learned nothing useful that year, so I’m 95 % self taught!
Tell us more about your collaborations across music, visual arts, photography, videography etc.
Whoever is cool and likes my project jumps in, I guess. I tend to work with people that are around me and that I find inspiring, or sometimes I’m just esoteric and think the universe puts nice people on my path automatically. I like the idea of common success / common growth, so that’s why I tend to collaborate with the people I meet/are around me. There are exceptions to this rule, but that’s when I really fall in love with someone’s project. I don’t really dream of working with this ‘Big American producer’ or something.
Your music isn’t easy to pigeonhole, but what genres do you think feed into your music? Who are your heroes and influences? Have they fed into the music you make?
I like taking a picture and make music over that. Like, typing "cursed dank memes" and imagining making music to illustrate that. Of course my output is biased by the music I already know and appreciate (*enters list of 1,000 artists including Deerhoof and Arca here*) but I don’t really start with ‘I’m gonna make a song now, and it’s gonna sound like X and X’. So I don’t think of a genre.
I’m surrounded by humans with great wit and ideas which influence me constantly. And I don’t mean musicians - a cook that knows about sci-fi or an accountant with political opinions on post colonialism would drive me more than some Aphex Twin-like Ableton expert electronic artist.
© Ben Jakon
You are from a truly international background - do you think you have picked up elements of your heritage and the different places you have lived and put these into your music as well?
I’m picking up a couple of things from North Africa.
Tell me about your latest EP - how it came about, what the idea is behind it and how it’s been received so far.
I used to play in a noise rock band for a long time but I always experimented with electronics and production on the side. One day I just thought to only do the electronic based nonsense, the next day Ian Chang’s debut album came out and it resonated with me so much that it just pushed me to totally go for it.
It’s funny how some musicians are so excellent, when you see them you want to stop making music. But then there are the other musicians that are excellent and so honest with what they do that it invites you and motivates you to do MORE music. Ian is in the second category.
Anyway, back to the question - Tagat is an experiment so the ideas behind it are either obscure, messy, forgotten or buried. I would have shared more on another day, but today I’m shy. Musically it’s the first step of what I will be doing in this electronic realm. It’s been very well received, much better than I would ever have thought!
Do you have a stand out track you are particularly proud of or have loved making?
Depends on the day, I like Embryo 2 today.
What is next?
I’m fixing myself a sandwich and I’ll take a nap, it’s siesta time here. And maybe I’ll make a track with Ian Chang someday, who knows?
Reviews
