Talking to: ZULA
What happens when you combine electronic dance music producer Glue 70, the post-punk, shoegaze, grunge sounds of Freak Slug, and mix them up with a healthy dose of Manchester’s underground scene? You get ZULA. Forged in the small hours following big nights, the quiet hours of cocooned downtime, and the time spent soaking up inspiration from their home city, ZULA is a project born of experimental experiences.
ZULA released their first single Winter Blues late in 2020, which is taken from the EP Play, released on Ad Hoc Records in February. They are already garnering attention nationally, getting airplay on, amongst others, BBC Introducing Manchester, Radio 1 Extra and 6 Music; their distinctive sexy, lo-fi, off-kilter dance-floor rhythm sound being championed by the likes of Jamz Supernova and Tom Ravenscroft. We caught up with them recently to talk about what brought them together, their musical connection, the Manchester music scene and their latest single Come Back.
Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you started working together.
C: We met through my friend Ben, who I run a record label with, and he contacted Xenya through Soundcloud.
X: I was making music under the name Freak Slug. I was making more bandy, experimental lo-fi sounds; very different to what Conor makes, which is more housey, electronic, upbeat stuff. It was quite a random co-lab, but we work together well and on a new, different sound; completely.
That was my next question actually! What is different about what you do together compared to what has come before?
X: I think the thing that overlaps is that we both bring quite a moody but energetic vibe. Freakslug is kind of 90s inspired; shoegaze, punky grunge, so there is a moodiness to the way I sing and the sounds I tend to choose, whilst Conor has got quite an upbeat, energetic, uplifting sound. [ZULA] kind of makes this moody, energetic dance music, but there are also softer elements and lighter melodies that come into it.
So, Connor, what was it about Xenya’s music that made you want to ask Xenya to be involved in your music?
C: It was Ben who brought us together really; I had heard a bit of Xenya’s music before but not really that much, and then when Ben linked us up we spent a day jamming at his. I think after that day we just established a connection.
X: When you meet somebody, as long as they have a good ear, it’s about the vibe, the mood you create together. Because once you’ve established a good bond with someone, and you communicate openly, you can fucking make anything, there are no limits. We make so wide a range of stuff, but because we are good at communicating together, we can make good music. You know sometimes you can be in a room with someone who is talented, but there is not that communication, that openness, to just do whatever.
What's the music scene like in Manchester at the moment?
X: Besides Covid, there is quite an underground scene which I am pretty involved with. There are a lot of dark, industrial sounds going on, the genre I would say is almost a mix of grime instrumental and heavy, industrial house, then the afrobeat, dancehall scene mixed together as well. But there is quite a dark undertone to the scene, and we are quite inspired by that really.
Is that how you see the Manchester scene moving at the moment Conor?
C: Yeah, although it's hard [with the pandemic] to fully know what's happening in the scene at the moment. It's definitely more sporadic and spread out, it's hard to place the vibe exactly. But dark, heavy, urban; they are the three words I would attribute to our scene.
What musicians are inspiring you both at the moment?
X: I am inspired by a lot of Manchester artists to be honest. There’s a lot of rappers I like, listen to or I make music with. Conor makes music with an artist called KinKai, there’s an artist called July 7 who lives around the corner who I love, then there’s bigger artists like IAMDDB who really inspire us; she is like contemporary r&b and stuff like that.
In terms of Manchester there are a lot of talented artists, it is crazy. And I pay them a lot of attention, because they are the underdogs, a lot of artists in the north aren’t paid attention to as much as in London, for example. I love to support local artists and there is a community in Manchester where we actively do that; like we play each other’s music on the radio shows. Everything is about community here and a tight knit support system, it’s really beautiful and powerful to be honest.
C: I always struggle with that question because my tastes and influences change so much from week to week! But yeah, the stuff I am listening to at the moment, I always go back to the 80s and I am listening to loads of this French guy Varnish La Piscine at the moment. He’s a hiphop artist but his beats are quite 80s style. I am always inspired by anything that is from the 80s or sounds like it could be, like the new sounds that are a revival of 80s synth pop. This is with my production work with Glue 70; I love that happy chords sound.
Tell us a little bit about your musical backgrounds and how you have ended up where you are today.
X: It's a weird one with me, because when I was a young child I always thought I would be a painter, an artist specifically, I always said that to my mum. I studied fine art in London, and I was always very set on that, but then something changed when I then moved to Barcelona.
I was always making music in these times but people were listening to it and saying I should give it more attention, so I started playing shows in Barcelona. It was quite a daring thing for me to do because it was out of my comfort zone; I always preferred to be on a canvas, in a gallery, and not speaking to people; well, not much! But yeah I just sort of decided to give it energy and because of that a lot has come through quite easily without trying, so it shows that this is the right path for me.
Then I moved back here two years ago, and it's kind of like the music reflects where you are, and Manchester is quite a heavy, rainy city, so the music I make here is going to reflect that; it comes naturally with this world.
C: When I was about six or seven I definitely thought I am definitely I was going to do something to do with music, I was thinking about being a pop star or something, because when you’re little you don’t really think about the people behind the music, you just hear music and only really see the pop star at the front of things. I knew I was going to go down a musical pathway.
I didn’t really get into exploring myself musically until I was around sixteen. I played some instruments in school, I played the cornet when I started high school, then I switched to playing keyboard, I did GCSE Music but it wasn’t very inspiring, the way it was taught. In fact I would say it set me back musically; it made me feel less inspired to do music for a couple of years after that.
Then I was in my garden one day when I was about seventeen, I could hear my next door neighbour working on a beat, I just heard what he was sampling; Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade, and I thought that I could probably make a better song than him with that sample. So then I just went to my room, I had the software already, and I downloaded the track and made a version of what he was making, but what I thought was better.
I guess that was the start of it all. From there I just locked myself in my room for three years and just found my way from there, I slowly established a style. My style is pretty established now but it definitely took a fair five or six years to get to a style that I have now.
Tell me about your new single Come Back, and your EP.
X: The single Come Back is about dancing, and to put it bluntly, about when you come back home after a night out and your brain is a bit messy and you don’t want to sleep but you’ve been out dancing and you have had a really good time. All of the EP Play has got quite sexy vibes.
C: It’s kind of sexy in a laid back way, some of the vocals I have been involved with, my style with Glue 70 is more in tune, more regimented, more aware of getting the perfect take, whilst with ZULA it’s not really like that, it is more laid back. So some of the vocals in ZULA’s music are not always in tune, they are one take, they have that feeling of not being really aware it was being recorded.
X: It’s definitely getting played and getting attention; for our first release it’s doing okay.
C: It’s had radio plays, like BBC Introducing Manchester, 6 Music, Radio 1 Extra. Jamz Supernova from 1 Extra is interested in our stuff, there’s potential to work with her on her label as well. She is cool, she has good taste.
How has it been releasing music in lock down and making music in lock down? Has it had a really big effect on you, positively or negatively?
X: I don't think it has affected the production level, it is hard to say; I think we have just got that drive regardless. Of course it would be nice to go out and dance, I get a lot of inspiration from going out to nights. I am enthused by the energy of the music; it gives me energy that I can put back into the music, not having that is, I’m not going to lie, it isn’t fab.
I think we are thirsty for it now, the youth are tired, we want to make music, and be creative in general. The problem is that if you are used to not making all of a sudden, if you are used to stagnancy, not much comes from it. Even in the mind, you need to keep the ball rolling, that is what we are missing, we need to get out there now and bring that inspiration from outside back inside, you can't just constantly find new things from inside. I find inspiration from conversation, from connecting with new people.
C: I feel like I have been influenced in different ways. Part of the inspiration for me before Covid, I would make a track and think about it being played in a club, I would think “god, this will sound good being played out on a big sound system”. I think that’s why the music I am making at the moment is more 80s and chill because I am thinking more about kind of chill, less house vibes, which is kind of good in a way. I feel like it has inspired me to make music with a different vibe, being more experimental with my sound. I think everyone is thinking about what music people are chilling to…
X: …rather than dancing to.
C: I am really looking forward to getting out there and doing some festivals. Before it all happened I was sending stuff out to loads of festival contacts in January 2020. March came and I realised I should probably stop applying now.
What’s coming up next for ZULA?
X: We have got so many things, we have so much music there ready. I think we will release some singles next to keep the energy going, and then think about a summer EP. Some singles which are quite happy to keep you going through spring, then some happy, uplifting, light melody tracks for the summer; we will just pick some out of the bunch.