Zach James Douglas
Zach James Douglas returns with his latest offering ‘You're Still Everything’ which features the budding and eminently talented vocalist, Lupupa, who hails from Milton Keynes.
Douglas, the Dublin native, has been rapidly growing a name for himself within the Irish scene and further afield with his genre bending style of alternative-electronic music. His distinct sound contains flavours of guitar based indie/shoegaze rock and glistening, synth heavy electronica, which is often offset by a warm hue of lo-fi bedroom pop, which creates his signature sound and showcases his talent as a producer.
His latest offering comes in the form of the infectious single ‘You’re Still Everything.’
The track features indie style percussive verses, reminiscent of Bombay Bicycle Club in their pomp, that are broken up firstly, by a thunderous, My Bloody Valentine-eque wall of shoegaze noise and secondly, by a luscious, symphonic arrangement that gives a subtle nod to “Holocene” era Bon Iver.
The opening chorus offers a rich foundation of vinyl style, lo-fi indie, vintage samples and minimal drumming for the remarkably vulnerable, yet assured vocal performance by Lupupa, which recalls shades of Arlo Parks or Joy Crookes.
The second chorus, in contrast, builds through a combination of rumbling live bass and drums, blended with a shiney, synth based production similar to “Awake” by TYCHO’, while the mounting vocal layers ebb and flow between each new musical detail, subtly added, to bring us to our final crescendo.
Speaking about the release Zach tells us:
“With my previous single “I’d Breathe For You”, the focus was based around the challenges faced by an individual, struggling to build meaningful connections during lockdown, but with “You’re Still Everything” I felt it was important to acknowledge those who put others before themselves and served as a rock for the ones they love, who couldn’t quite cope with the weight of the pandemic on their own. The level of mental fortitude required to maintain any relationship during lockdown is immense, but for those who have to carry the additional weight of a partner struggling to keep their heads above water, requires a level of compassion and empathy that I find awe inspiring. Unfortunately, a number of relationships within my social circle crumbled throughout covid, that notwithstanding, would probably still be going strong today. As sad as this is, it was always inevitable that some may not make it out the other end, but I’d like to think that for many of those relationships that did manage to weather the storm, that they have now forged a new level of resilience that might not have existed before and that their brightest days may still be let to come.“
Idioteque - Radiohead
This was the song that sparked my initial interest in any sort of glitchy/synthetic music. As a teenager, I was stubbornly obsessed with guitar bands and anyone who used synths or programmed drums, was instantly black listed, but of course, Radiohead are the exception to countless rules and this song opened up a whole new world for me.
29 #Strafford APTS - Bon Iver
Having been a Bon Iver fan since the “For Emma, Forever Ago” days, and having tracked their progression from an indie/folk act into something far more experimental, Justin Vernon showed to me that this transition can be achievable, without alienating your longer serving fans. This brought a sense of freedom to my songwriting/production and this song in particular, always stood out to me, due to the heavily processed, glitchy vocal performance. I’d never heard the likes of it before, I instantly loved it and knew it was an aspect that I could aim to incorporate within my own production.
Aminals - Baths
Baths is one of the most unique songwriter/producers that I have ever listened to. At first, his songs bewildered me, but as my ear became more accustomed, I became astonished and in awe of how he blends between traditional and synthetic instrumentation, as well as his skill to manipulate natural sounds and soundscapes into something totally unnatural and often jarring, but unmistakably unique. Listen to this track until you love it and then listen to everything else he’s ever written!
Kerala - Bonobo
Bonobo is just a master of rhythms. He’s a producer that, in my opinion, is unrivalled when it comes to his creativity in terms of choice of percussion, the patterns he devises and the execution - although all of his beats are played on synthetic samplers and pads, because of his natural ability, his feel and his unwillingness to copy and paste, it sounds like a real drummer on every track. He also incorporates a vast array of non-conventional instrumentation into his music, which is something that I have definitely used to develop and expand my own sound.
Glasshouses - Maribou State
Building on the themes of natural vs synthetic soundscapes and the use of non-conventional instrumentation in dance music, “Glasshouses” by Maribou State displays so many staples and features that I wish to have associated with my songwriting and production. Their luscious string arrangements, their rhythmic, understated guitar playing, layered upon a bed of beautifully produced synths and an absolutely stunning vocal by the wonder that is Hollie Walker. An absolute feast for the ears, with another subtle layer or motif coming to the fore, with each passing listen.
Dissolve Me - Alt-J
Between the ages of maybe seventeen to nineteen, I was consuming far more music than I had previously and was exploring all sorts of genres, in search of a sound I didn’t know I was looking for. Then I was introduced to Alt-J and their debut album “An Awesome Wave”, which changed everything for me and is still one of my favourite ever albums. I could have picked any song from this record, but I went with “Dissolve Me” because the bass synth was so filthy, it convinced me to go on Thomann and buy one for myself, thus beginning an ongoing, and most likely, life long obsession with filthy bass synths…
Coffee - Sylvan Esso
I was in the airport, waiting to go to London for a show, and I asked Faustina, who was the singer in my previous project, what she was listening to at the time and if she had any recommendations. She turned to me and said “Zach, you have to listen to these guys Sylvan Esso”, so I downloaded their first record to listen to on the plane and was immediately obsessed. Like my first exposure to Alt-J, this opened countless new musical possibilities and avenues that I wasn’t aware of previously. Their use of space, fleeting instrumentation utilised to convey a sense of feeling at specific moments and her delicate yet poppy vocal, which to me, is perfection, is why I always come back to this band and to this song specifically.
Angeles - Elliott Smith
As a younger songwriter, I was continuously striving to write the most intricate, nuanced and often, overcomplicated lyrics that I was capable of, because I thought, for whatever reason, that this is what it took to be considered a truly great songwriter. Elliott Smith dispelled this myth for me in the way that he could say what he wanted and incite a level emotion through a single line, when in order to achieve a similar result, it would take others an entire paragraph. He was my introduction to minimalism, which is still a concept I struggle with as an artist, but is something I strive to improve at with every song I write.
Scott Street - Phoebe Bridgers
To me, the only natural place to go after Elliott Smith is Phoebe Bridgers, who is one of the greatest songwriters of this generation. She holds many of the same attributes as Elliott Smith that keep me awake late at night, wondering how they do it. She can break your heart in three words, yet have you feeling hopeful and almost joyous by the end of the same verse. The instrumentation is usually minimal, yet lush, always lending to the song and never a distraction, but can also pack a punch in a heavier, more anxiety inducing way, when it needs to. All aspiring songwriters should study the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, because if you do, you’ll only get better.
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
As soon as I opened this list with Thom Yorke and Radiohead, I knew I was going to have to close it with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. Both are geniuses and both are absolute visionaries who changed the course of modern music and our perceptions of what was possible within music. “God Only Knows” is, in my eyes, the greatest song ever written. It is the perfect song that couldn’t have a single note changed or a solitary instrument swapped out. It incapsulates every important theme within each song previously mentioned - unique and perfectly arranged instrumentation, probably the most original and effective choice of drums and percussion I’ve ever heard, brilliantly sparse in certain areas and wonderfully lush and extravagant in others, the most exceptional vocal performance you could ask for and minimalistic yet unequivocally touching lyrics. A song that we should all just be glad exists, because who knows what all music would have sounded like if it hadn’t.
