by alex grainger
photo courtesy of zz
ZZ released his debut album GHOST. The 19-track album follows his journey home as it leads with the feeling of homesickness to ending with his home zip code in India. The dynamic album full of hip hop to R&B beats allowed ZZ to craft his own sound and answer burning questions in his mind. Read more about GHOST and ZZ below!
Can you tell us what GHOST is about? Are you telling a story through the album?
ZZ: “Most definitely, it starts off with homesick and ends with 110021, which is my zip code in India. Everything in between is my journey getting home whether it be turning up, feeling lost, feeling love, and heartbreak.”
What’s the meaning behind the album title GHOST?
ZZ: “GHOST is me throughout this album. It’s a state of mind, a state of recklessness, living in the late night and being comfortable with being alone.”
What was the creative process behind your debut album?
ZZ: “I started with ‘homesick…’ (which originally wasn’t gonna be on GHOST until May 2022), then ‘papi’ and ‘bonita’ came and I kept on making more and more stuff, and I guess subconsciously my brain was just creating things with similar tones and themes. Halfway through I realized this has to be a full album so I got to work. One and a half years later here we are.”
Is there a track off GHOST that is your favorite? One you are most proud of? One that was the most challenging to create?
ZZ: “Definitely not. I don’t have a favorite, but I do have certain tracks I listen to more at different times. Right now I’ve been listening to ‘bliss’ a lot more.”
How would you describe your sound? How do you think you will grow into it over the next year or so?
ZZ: “I definitely love my chord progressions, regardless of the instrument as long as what you’re hearing strikes you emotionally, that’s my sound. I just hear things and know what’s right. I don’t know how to explain it. Radiohead and Tyler chords for example, not the same but f***ing sensational. TOO good.”
Having been raised in New Delhi and having moved to Los Angeles in 2020, how do you feel both places have influenced your music and this album, if at all?
ZZ: “Well, I definitely got homesick for a few months which inspired ‘homesick…,’ and everything that
came in between helped me find the sound of the album.”
What was your reaction to the finished album?
ZZ: “F***ing beaut. Perfect and cohesive.”
How have you grown as an artist through the experience of creating GHOST?
ZZ: “I feel like I got a lot of questions answered in my head and got some things off my chest while making GHOST. I crafted my sound and it’s just the beginning. The music that’s coming next is… you’ll see.”