From Toronto, Canada, singer/songwriter, composer, and producer, ZK releases his latest single “You.” While growing up in Toronto, ZK found himself grasping inspiration from his surrounding Caribbean culture, leading him to create music that captures elements of different genres like hip-hop, R&B, reggae, dancehall, and many more. Speaking on his recent single “You,” ZK mentioned that he created this song to capture the entire feeling of falling for someone. While also giving us a tropical pop summer atmosphere with vibrant production and ZK’s passionate vocal delivery, “You” takes us back to the golden days.
Starting with bright and fluorescent production with soft chiming keys and fun background vocals, “You” opens with nothing but warmth. Moving into the first verse, ZK’s vocals bring forward the likes of his many inspirations and channels an honest and compelling approach to this pop-infused reggae/dancehall hit. ZK brings forward his descriptive and infatuated lyrics of meeting someone for the first time and remembering every little detail about the moment. ZK thrives when it comes to describing a scene and finding lyrics that resonate with everyone. All in all, “You” screams summer love and lets us reminisce about the times we spent with our loved ones.
You can listen to "You" here.
Hey ZK, welcome to BuzzMusic! We’re really getting down with your catchy lyricism on your recent single “You”. How did you manage to describe those personal scenes, but add lyrics that everyone can relate too at the same time?
Thank you for having me, I'm really glad you guys are feeling the new track! The lyrics and whole story for “You” came about from mostly personal experience. I brought myself back to the feeling of meeting and falling in love with that special someone for the first time. The way I tried to recapture that idea and make the listeners “feel” the song, was by creating certain scenarios within the song. For example, in the first verse, I talk about meeting that someone on a summer night, which automatically puts listeners in the shoes of that scene. Ifeelthat’sagreatwayto connect to the audience because for some, they may have gone through the same feelings. I also wanted to make the lyrics as simple, catchy, and positive as possible so that any age group can sing and dance along.
We’ve noticed that your single “You” grasps a few different genres like dancehall, R&B, and reggae, yet it’s also incredibly pop-infused. What made ZK take this dynamic pop route, rather than sticking with one sound in particular?
Wow, thanks for noticing because those are the exact genres I was going for! Dynamic is the perfect word to describe it. I always found that mixing different genres together worked better for me. When I make my music, there always more than one song or genre that influences me with the song. And almost always, its songs that are from different genres and sometimes even different languages. I get a different vibe from each of them and when I put them together like I did for “You”, the outcome turns out to be a different unique representation of my sound.
Speaking on the overall sound within your single “You”, we’ve mentioned that it’s very pop-infused yet dynamic. Did ZK have any original intention for how you wanted the production to feel and sound?
I actually experimented with many different sounds and arrangements to get the feel I was looking for when it came to “You”.Believe it or not, the music for “You” started from a simple voice sample that can be heard in the intro and throughout the song, which is actually my two-year-old nephew! Originally, I had a more of a Dancehall feel in mind for the song but after a lot of long nights in my home studio, I found the perfect balance of different genres that came to be “You”. For this song, in particular, I switched it up and I went more of a modern pop feel. I believe as an artist that each song one puts out, should be somewhat of a reflection of who they are and what they represent. In this case, Pop as a genre is one of my many favorites and I wanted to sound as “ZK” as possible thus adding hints of Reggae, Dancehall, and R&B. I also wanted to give it a kind of island rhythm that reminds the listeners of a positive tropical vibe, something we all can use during these current situations the world is in.
We’ve heard that after three singles, ZK is working on your debut EP for release. Could you give us a sneak peek into what the overall EP is about?
For my debut EP, I'mtreatingit like a debut album in the sense that it will basically be who I am through a couple of songs. The singles that I released earlier were more pop-based which is one part of the music I love. For my EP, I hope to give listeners a more intimate, personal vibe with some organic acoustic tracks, some funky reggae, and of course more pop fusion tracks. I really want it to cover a wide spectrum of music that has influenced me and hopefully everything will flow together to give listeners a real idea as to who “ZK” is.
What can we expect to see from you throughout 2020?
Well as mentioned before, The EP is first in the works as it's been on the top of my musical goals that I want to accomplish for a long time. Other than that, I really want to put out some music videos as well to give my listeners a more personal feel for when they listen to my music. I was in the process of starting one for “You” but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to postpone it. Another aspect I wanted to explore is getting in touch with other talented artists and work on some collaborations. I feel that it would be a great way to get my music to a wider audience and discover other great and unique sounds at the same time. Overall, I really just want to continue to make more music and really get it out there for the world to hear. On that note, I would like to thank the entire Buzz Music team for this opportunity! It has truly been a great experience to share my music and thoughts with you guys. Stay tuned for more music from me in the future!