Zayn Malik desires a “super-minimalistic and raw” sound for his next album
Zayn Malik, the former One Direction sensation turned solo artist, is getting ready to release his most recent album, Room Under The Stairs, after years of waiting. Zayn spoke candidly with L’Officiel in one of his first interviews in a long time about his creative process, becoming a parent, and the emotional journey that led to his upcoming album.
He disclosed the intensely personal aspect of Room Under The Stairs while speaking from his rural Pennsylvania home, where he has been composing and recording on his own for the past six years. This album delivers a “raw and stripped-down acoustic sound, accompanied by confessional lyrics exploring love, parenthood, and existential questioning,” in contrast to his prior efforts, which frequently contained sophisticated studio recordings.
‘Room Under The Stairs’
“When I get time to myself, I spend the majority of my time in the studio—I’ve built, like, a cabin studio,” the woman, 31, said. This album was made in a similar manner. Working on some of the songs I was intending to include on my last record, Nobody Is Listening, coincided with it. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the farm simply unwinding and spending time with my kid, so that’s why I can do it every day.”
Zayn enjoys gardening as much as his three-year-old daughter Khai. “I moved out here probably seven years ago, that’s when I got into it,” he said. And now that I’ve improved a little, I get to tell her about that experience. Actually, my crops are useful and edible.
The People Under The Stairs, a 1991 horror comedy cult hit, served as the idea for the album’s title, Room Under The Stairs, which has special meaning for Zayn. The artist revealed that the song was actually created under the stairs, perfectly tying the metaphor to reality. “I watched a dark horror film called The People Under the Stairs when I was younger,” he remarked. I probably shouldn’t have seen it when I was younger.
“I always felt there was a strong sentiment attached to the idea of being under the stairs,” he said. The majority of my album was inadvertently recorded in a shoe cabinet beneath the stairs. Thus, I thought, “This is ideal.”
On teaming up with Dave Cobb
Through his collaboration with Dave Cobb, Zayn was able to realize his vision and connect with someone who shared his values and understood the meaning behind his songs. “I could tell straight away from speaking with him that obviously he’s a musical genius,” he said. He essentially grasped everything, from the motivation behind my actions to the necessary emotion, and just acted accordingly.
He described working with Cobb as “pretty seamless,” but acknowledged that there were a few adjustments that Cobb made. “Oh, do you mind if I put this here and I change the order there?” he said. He has far greater knowledge of music theory and structure than I do. I’m simply a young person that kind of guesses and sings karaoke after school.
Room Under The Stairs was created with the basic goal of creating a sound that is “super-minimalistic and raw as if it’s a conversation with me rather than this glossed-up version of whatever sounds appealing to the public,” according to the PILLOWTALK artist.He claimed, “For many reasons, some of my music in the past just felt a bit glossed over, like a little bit too perfect and affected by the computer,” signaling a break from his previous overproduced sound. I’ve never felt like I wanted to perform by standing behind it.
Fatherhood and making music
Zayn’s musical career has been greatly impacted by his experiences being a dad and spending time in nature. He strives to establish a true connection with his listeners via vulnerability and sincerity. “It’s past her bedtime,” he said in response to the question of whether his daughter ever goes with her to the studio sessions. Although she doesn’t visit the studio, she is beginning to realize that Baba performs music and sings.
Every time a song plays on the radio, she asks, “Is my Baba singing?” to everyone. But she kind of becomes bashful about it in front of me.
The singer claims that Khai has already demonstrated a remarkable passion for music, enthralling her father with her memorization of chord progressions and lyrics. “Khai already possesses a lot of natural ability,” the Mind of Mine singer beamingly said.
“She has an incredible recall of language, particularly when it is presented to her in a musical way. She can recall every word to every song she enjoys listening to.As she ages, I’m interested to see what she will be able to do.” Growing up in the bucolic surroundings of rural Pennsylvania, he said,Instead than drawing her attention to all the commotion that comes with it, I’m just trying to keep her grounded and content with Earth.
With “Room Under The Stairs,” Zayn takes listeners on a very intimate and contemplative journey where unadulterated emotion and spare melodies come together to create a singularly potent musical experience. According to the singer herself, “Nobody really knows what’s going on, that much is true. All of us are essentially speculating.”
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