Justin Ortiz is the epitome of an independent, self-made artist. Better known for his professional name Zitro, he is a pop singer/songwriter, recording artist, and producer based in the Bronx. Zitro has an impressive catalog of singles, three full-length albums, and various EP’s and shows no signs of slowing down. His latest release “Bacon And Waffles” in collaboration with Joshua Morata truly highlights his skill and versatility as an artist. The duo matches perfectly on top of the retro-inspired electro-pop soundscape. Zitro’s vocals are spotless as always, and Joshua Morata adds an unexpected rap edge to meet and hugely surpass the listener's expectation for this track.
Sounding like it could have been pulled directly from Justin Timberlake’s “Man of the Woods” album (in a good way),
“Bacon And Waffles” is a complex and satisfying single that benefits hugely from the way that Zitro’s voice meshes with itself to create a warm and satisfying pad of sound, which elevates the chorus to something quite delicious. The whole production of “Bacon and Waffles” sounds hugely confident at every turn. This composition is also all about Zitro’s vocals, and they are terrific. His voice is all his own, and “Bacon and Waffles” is a warming and wonderful slice of pop that delights, has great dynamics, and is very well mixed and produced to complement his talents.
Check out “Bacon And Waffles” here and read more with Zitro below!
Hey Zitro! We’re really enjoying bumping your album “Season III: Cast Party”. What was the overall concept of this project?
The original concept was about having a handful of artists (4-5) feature on the tracks, and for all the songs to be anthems of dancing, loving life, and positivity, hence the title “Cast Party”. As many know, real-life gets in the way, and it didn’t work out like that. I started to get influenced by a different voice and I wrote heavier and darker songs ever since I came back from Europe. So the concept automatically changed into being about the ups and downs of life, as cliché and boring as that sound. However, by listening to the album start to finish, you really do see both the best and worst in me.
“Bacon and Waffles” is a great song! And is the only song on the album with a feature. Can you tell us why you chose this song and how your collaboration with Joshua Morata came about?
People love a fun, danceable song as the first single and songs about sex get people’s attention, so there was no doubt that this had to be it. The collaboration with Joshua wasn’t our first. I’ve been on songs of his, and he’s on two other songs of mine. We’ve been collaborating since 2017, starting with a cover of The Weeknd. He, as always, did a fantastic job, and worked in his own style. I’m glad we pulled it off once again.
We know that you're a lover of integrating a variety of elements into your music. Would you ever incorporate contrasting genres into your music, or do you think it would ruin the type of sound you're attempting to reach?
We’re talking about an album here that starts with a club dance track (“Alive”), ends with a rock ballad (“Sleeping In”), with a wide variety of r&b, funk, and experimental in the middle. Variety is my life and I’ve grown up listening to everything. My CD collection proves this. Also, it’s great if you have an album to give an audience because you could never go wrong when you have variety in your sound. If the listener doesn’t like tracks 1, 3, or 5, they will instead like tracks 2, 4, and 6 instead.
Your musical catalog is beyond impressive! How do you remain on track and motivated to continue to create music so consistently?
The support that I currently have from listeners motivates me, even more so now. Also, I feel the need to pump out as much music as possible because of how short life is. Whether I die famous or not, I want to leave behind large discography for somebody on earth to find and go through and enjoy.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. What's the next move for you artistically? Do you have any events you’d like to talk about?
I’m plotting out something new before the end of the year, along with a video for this album, and of course, I’ll put some new pieces of merch out for the new era.