ZAY, The 16 year old independent artist takes the Sacramento indie pop scene by storm! From his Debut in April 2019, ZAY has shown us the dark side of his mind. His Debut EP “Suicide” talks about that dark times he went through in his mind and with the people around him. “I don’t want to be fake or fabricate my storys and what I have to say to people, every artist wants to make people happy and make people feel not alone and so do I”. From that EP emerged his First Hit beloved by all fans and new listeners “Seashells”. This Acoustic Pop summer hit was on of the first songs to get Isaiah into the live music scene of Sacramento. With more music release’s that 2020 year such as the “Sunny Day’s EP” , ZAY was working on his Debut album “15 Going On 16” which Released January 2020 with such songs like “Seashells”, “Landline”, “Blue” and “The Fall Of Lucifer”. With school, family and life happening all around him, he never stopped working hard and doing what he loved. “2019 was such a big deal for me, it really taught me about who I was and what I wanted to do in music and in life. It was my 15th year of life and the whole album his basically a story of how I learned who I was and became happy again”. From Live Shows to Virtual Shows & Tour’s, ZAY has been working hard to make sure his message, of safety, love and acceptance is present at every show and in every song to make people feel at home and bring that homey feeling.
Where are you based?
In lovely Sacramento CA
How long have you been making music?
I’ve been producing my own stuff for about a year now. My first EP was produced by my older producer Charlie at the Sacramento Public Library Recording Studio in March 2019. Since then I’ve been using garage band and producing/writing my own music. It’s really a magical thing. I’m always trying to evolve my lyrics, cause we all get comfortable with a theme or certain words when writing. It’s always good to try new things sonically and lyrically.
What genre would you consider your music to be?
Bedroom Pop mostly. I’m trying to move more into the Pop genre of music cause that’s the stuff I absolutely love. I’m currently making more indie rock stuff. The concept of genres just totally divdes the music industry and artist’s. A true Artist needs to be able to respect and hopefully appreciate all kinds of music no matter the sound. Cause it’s art. It’s not just country art or pop art. It’s art by itself. Music is so beautiful.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
I have been doing activity’s in the arts for so long. I did theatre for a long time. I did painting, dancing, ballet etc. And when I got my first keyboard in 2019 I just started writing and playing around with it and I just fell in love and knew that this is what I wanted. I was writing with freinds and producer’s from all around the world thanks to social media. I’m always Inspired by big pop artists who worked really really hard. Cavetown is my biggest music Inspiration cause he did what I’m doing right now and I keep telling myself that if I keep working and hustling I can do what he’s been doing. Multiple Album’s and Tours.
What are your biggest musical influences?
Cavetown, Chloe Moriondo, Girl In Red, Conan Gray, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Katy Perry, P!nk, Lana Del Ray, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra, Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, Pine Grove, Landline.
Are you signed to a label or are you an independent artist?
Independent Artist! I’m very proud of it! I’m just gonna keep working my ass off and when I have the material and the will and heart, I’ll start chasing some record company’s. It’s all about hustling. Just gotta keep bugging them til they say no. If they say no, then you keep working.
What have been the biggest challenges in your music career?
Currently it’s being happy with my work. You can only do so much to make the perfect song you heard in your head. It’s a hard thing to do. I’m so lucky and blessed that I’ve been collecting lots of instruments and recording equipment over the last 2 years that I’m really starting to put a full on legit at home recording studio. That’s not the case for alot of people and artist’s. You just gotta use what you have, even if that’s just a voice recorder on your phone. We all start from somewhere.
How many songs or albums have you released to date?
I have 3 EP’s out currently. “Suicide, Sunny Day’s, 16”. I put out my debut album in January “15 Going On 16” wich was just about my journey in finding happiness again and growing as a person.
Can you tell us a few things about your latest release?
My newest single is probably my best song yet! It’s called “A Sunflower Summer” it’s the lead single of my upcoming EP “Dreaming”. This song is just about the perfect summer. Late nights @ 7/11, playing at the beach, making out at moonlight peak etc. This song just summarizes my perfect summer.
Any plans for new music or upcoming projects we should know about?
My upcoming EP “Dreaming” is being released on August 2nd. I wrote all the songs in quarantine just dreaming about all the things that would be different if covid-19 didn’t happen. There all very upbeat summer songs. Very pop rock, and of course very meaningful! It’ll be my best project to date!
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