Zenizen
Featured off Zenizen’s debut Australia EP, front woman Opal Hoyt presents her self-directed, shot and edited video for the mesmerizing single “Follow the Leader” that inspires all natural born leaders to find & follow their fancy. Hoyt incorporates a host of intimate shots, perspectives, angles, filters & overall composition to provide a real sincere visual compliment & accompanying piece where the feelings found on “Follow the Leader” are reflected in an organic party among dear friends. Opal described the visual piece as being, “The lyrics of ‘Follow the Leader’ come alive at a party of epically holistic proportions with an aesthetic nod to your favorite 90s movie,” where the evocative & harmonic elements of her voice, progressions of chords & keys are set to great times with good people indulging in a joyous meeting. The song & video exhibits the zen of togetherness & the importance of loved ones & good friends regularly congregating as Opal expressed to us that the, “promise of sticking together seems even more prescient in the recent days.”
“Follow the Leader” opens with that trademark Zenizen/Opal Hoyt style where that feeling of awakened realizations washes over the listener/viewer with a that renewed sense of tranquility & potential of the day. The video ends & begins with Opal focusing the lens upon one of her rooftop sleeping friends, where scenes of soirees are depicted as if something out of a daydream thought up by the video’s own Rip Van Winkle character. Hoyt saturates the video with the sensation of sun rays & natural light constantly cropping into the focus seen in the frame. Further effects of reds & blues create a heady feel where garden & living room gatherings are seen with a degree of benign & indulgent hedonism. “Follow the Leader” is about life long friends following in each other’s steps, keeping up with one another, laughing together, eating together, drinking together, imbibing & ingesting all sorts of party favor delights that keep the event bright & spirited. The motif of togetherness, not unlike that of the song, is everywhere as a decadent time is engaged where the banner of friendship is exalted as everyone’s shared universal code of close confidants through a genuine human bond of connection.
Those late to the Zenizen party are strongly encouraged to experience the Australia EP for themselves that offers a sense of peace & zen for all of us caught in the messed up matrix of this modern world. From the aforementioned lead in track “Follow the Leader”, Opal illuminates & heightens the possibilities of all things like the understated lullaby of “Expanding”, to “Nicer There” that seeks out a certain kind of greener & nicer space & place of solace & joy. After the listen, read our recent interview with Zenizen’s Opal Hoyt.
Tell us all about your summer adventures and your recent UK travels! Where all did you go? We want stories!
I have an aunt that lives in Edinburgh so we went over to stay at her place since we hadn’t been in a while. I stayed there for a few days then went down to London and Air bnb’d a couple days then went back up to Scotland. It was really beautiful. Honestly it was mainly family stuff—aunt’s house, my mom has been on this book tour so I actually went with her to one of those in London. I spent most of my time in London lurking around various coffee shops and working on the video and some other stuff piece by piece. The last day I actually met up with Hiatus Kaiyote and crew for their show at Somerset House which was probably the highlight of my….year? We were right up in the wings it was so great seeing the crowd and hearing them in this massively open but somehow intimate venue. It’s a beautiful space. That was actually the only night I really went out for real on the trip—we ended up in this park/loading dock situation in Hackney and I missed my train back to Edinburgh the next day but I consider it a pretty minor consequence.
Tell us about how the experiences of recording your Australia EP further enlightened your perspectives as an artist.
The recording of the EP was deliberately done really rapidly—the goal was 5 songs in five days and we ended up doing three songs in about two and a half days. It really forced me to trust myself as a producer and as a performer—even when the trust wasn’t there it was just like, sell the shit out of it because we’re not going back. I like the organic feel of it—the full length will definitely be several steps tighter and more developed but the EP helped me really understand what was necessary for me and what I shouldn’t stress about.
What can you tell us about new recordings in the works?
I have probably 70% of the songs for the full length going, some older ones and some new stuff from the past few months—Ben, my guitarist, and I will probably spend some time shopping them into full demos before I decide where and with whom to actually work on the final recordings. Then I’ll probably sit down and workshop the new songs that will flesh out the rest. The whole thing is shaping up to be pretty sumptuous—I’m hoping to keep the imagination in it.
Describe the rooftop hangouts & art of zenning out that can be attributed to that super-mellow video for “Follow the Leader”.
Ha, zenning, amazing. I think it’s really that the honesty that comes with being with a close circle is the ultimate goal, whether you try to get there with booze, drugs, music—hate, for some. I stopped drinking for about six months a while ago and the craziest thing about it was that I had come home at one point and still passed out in all my clothes but completely sober. It was basically out of habit more than anything else and it’s kind of like, what’s the point again? Humans like to be together.
What artists & phenomenons did you discover recently in your UK travels?
I was…horrific…about going to shows this time around the UK. The Hiatus show was honestly the only thing I did that wasn’t working on my own stuff.
What is on your must hear/end of year list?
I really should make a Deeper Space year recap but as far as top like 10 maybe (in no particular order and I could continue):
1. Norvis Junior, Pyrrhic Victory EP
2. Tamara Renee, Cycles (single) << like, get this a grammy
3. Salt Cathedral, Homage EP
4. Hiatus Kaiyote, Recalibrations Vol. 1
5. Noname, Telefone
6. serpentwithfeet, blisters EP
7. Silentjay & Jace XL, Sacrifice
8. Honduras, Gathering Rust
9. Beverly, The Blue Swell
10. DJ Harrison, Vault Series 7: Doxxx
Thoughts on 2016, hopes for 2017?
Wow 2016—definitely ready to leave this one behind in a lot of ways, turning backs on shitty stuff as well as looking forward to building on good things. I think everybody has a lot to do. Hopefully the hateful and terror-mongering among us trip and fall and can’t get up.
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