With a knack for defining the intimacy of heartache in a way that makes you feel like she’s experienced your own unique emotion, Zsela is an easy artist to get to know, yet an elusive entity. Tomorrow – 14th June – she unveils her most coherent and grand statement of musical intent to date: her debut album.
Big For You is a personal and poignant work, full of captivating highlights both in the lyrical nuance and in the sonic landscapes. Floating thorough disparate genres with ease, Zsela’s fluid musicianship lies centric to the album’s rhythm and flow, with the carefully curated track-list never straying close of emotionally imposing, rather light and relatable.
Having found her voice through an array of smaller releases across the last few years, the debut full-length – which includes contributions from Nick Hakim and Marc Ribot and production from Daniel Aged (Frank Ocean) and Gabe Wax (Soccer Mommy) – looks set to propel the singer-songwriter into the driving seat as a tastemaker of the alternative sphere, and a storyteller of life’s most visceral moments.
We connected with the rising star to discuss her essence, future plans, and the nitty gritty behind the brilliant record.
Listen to Zsela’s latest single…
Read the interview…
Hey Zsela! How has the year been for you so far?
It’s been very active getting ready to release my first album!
How would you describe your essence as an artist?
Resourceful… does that work?
Congratulations on your debut record, Big For You. How are you feeling about the release?
Thank youuu it feels pretty surreal that it’s finally happening! I’m really excited for people to hear it in full. The album is a journey and I feel like getting the full picture is really important.
Why did now feel like the right time to drop the album?
My friend told me once that it feels like a “sweaty” album… On that note, Summer is fitting.
Talk us through the sonic influences on the LP?
I really wanted diversity of sound, and to play with dynamics with this ‘tension & release’ theme throughout the album. Also this was a big influence, not sonic but— “less is more”.
It comes across very diverse stylistically, was there an intention to not to feel limited to one sound or genre?
I don’t always fuck with genre but I do like to fuck with genre.
What are the main themes and ideas that you touch on lyrically across the album?
The heart… is a big one. It wasn’t till I came up for air after finishing this album that it really started to sink in how much heart(break) is an obvious through line. Also duality is a big theme in my writing and throughout this album, and in the title. Big For You at the heart touches on the causal versus intentional dance we play between being ‘full of you’ and ‘full for you”— the complexity and magnitude of the space we take and fill up for love.
What has the rest of the year got in store for you?
I’m going on my first headlining tour in August and excited to go overseas to play shows in November. Hope to seee you!