Zuzu: Hot Out of Liverpool

The Liverpudlian singer has caused waves across the music scene with her latest EP 'How it Feels'.

Photo of Zuzu by Phoebe Phox

Zuzu, the songwriter, producer, director, the list goes on has become the artist to watch this year, with her centric indie rock music.

This year, she has already encountered NME Top 100 of 2020, headline her own tour across the UK and gained worldwide attention.

The ongoing pandemic hasn't stopped Zuzu and I don't think it's the last time we are going to hear about her this year.

Luckily I had a chance to ask a couple of questions about her life under lockdown and her latest project.

First of all, what has lockdown been like for you?

Lockdown has been okay. I feel like I can’t complain too much as there are so many people out there putting their lives on the line daily. I’m struggling a bit with social anxiety and stuff, weird not having those face to face encounters that reassure you everything is good with the people you love.

At the beginning of the year, you were included in the NME Top 100 for 2020. What was that feeling like for you when you found out?

Finding out I’d made the NME Top 100 was surreal. I’ve read NME since I was a kid and dreamed of being in there one day. I found so many of my favourite bands in that magazine and had the covers plastered all over my walls as a teen!

What was the one thing which made you pursue the career of music and where did the name 'Zuzu' come from?

There isn’t one particular moment that made me want to pursue a career in music. It’s just something I have always been determined to do since I was a kid. I honestly can’t even remember a time when I didn’t want to do music as a job.

The name ‘Zuzu’ comes from my mum and dad’s favourite film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ an old black and white Christmas film.

When you were younger who did you aspire to be and has that changed over the years?

When I was younger I wanted to be Alex Turner, he has always been a good example of how your accent can still be a part of your music and you don’t have to change yourself and your identity to be more palatable to the mainstream. He’s a northerner who sings as a northerner and people all over the world love him for it. I still admire Alex Turner but I just wanna be Lizzo now.

Last month, you released your latest EP 'How it Feels', what has the reaction been like from your fellow fans and what is the meaning behind the project?

It’s been so boss to have the E.P out for people hear, it was released during lockdown so it’s proper heartwarming to get messages from people saying it’s helping them through this bizarre time.

I never really had an overall meaning behind the E.P, it’s a collection of songs that have helped me express the challenges I was facing at the time they were written.

However, touring these songs live has cemented in my mind that they are just about being a human. Feeling strong, empowered and brave but also scared, vulnerable and hurt. That’s why I called the E.P ‘How It Feels’ because it’s normal to feel everything. Sometimes all at once!

What is your number one song from your latest EP and why?

Skin And Bone’ because it was the hardest for me to put out but gave me the most back. I wrote that song when I was 14 and it was about a hectic time in my life. It's about being in an abusive environment and the fear that produces in your head. I was afraid to put it out because I didn’t want to have to talk about my past experiences but so many people reached out to say how they had been through the same thing and it instantly made me feel 100% less alone.

Recently you encountered your biggest headline tour to date, as a rising star, what was that experience like and how excited are you to get back out performing live?

The headline tour was so so cool. It makes me warm and fuzzy to think about it. I would cry every night after everyone had gone and the van was packed up because it was that overwhelming.

It’s hard to explain how grateful I am for that experience, those people who paid to come to see me play my tunes and scream them back at me with so much passion; something I can’t ever get over.

I love hanging out with people as much as possible after shows, getting to thank them face to face for changing my life. I cannot wait to get back playing again and will never take for granted a sweaty venue with a cupboard for a backstage room ever again.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, you have connected with your fans in such amazing ways from Instagram live streams to home festivals. However, what has been your favourite so far?

My favourite live stream so far was probably the one where we wrote a song together on Instagram live. I had my little toy Casio out that has all these boss pre-made drum loops and some little buttons for the chords and we wrote a song about coco pops together. It was called the 'coco pop bop!' It was so funny.

I have a fan group on Facebook called ‘Planet Z’ where I do a bunch of other cool stuff for fans. I’m currently working on loads of fun things I can do to thank people for their ongoing support.

As a rising artist in the music industry, what advice would you give to people who want to start out in music?

The advice I would give is to focus on writing good songs, that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. All the good things that’s have happened to me always come off the back off people reacting well to the music.

And finally, what does the future hold for you?

The future for me holds a lot of cats, a lot of new music and hopefully a lot of McDonald's.

If you want to find out more about Zuzu why not follow her on Instagram or Facebook and listen to her latest project on Spotify.