Riding in on oceanic waves of drone and immense muscular drums, enter the spectral pop duo ZAZA. While associated with their peers in Brooklyn's recent exploding indie-pop scene, ZAZA sonically contrast from their guitar-pop brethren in favor of something darker, more mysterious driven by haunting, ethereal vocals and rolling, cavernous rhythms. Recently releasing their debut EP ‘Cameo’ on Kanine Records (Chairlift, Grizzly Bear, Surfer Blood), Speak N Spell in Australia, and Rallye in Japan, the duo have just finished mixing tracks for their new album to be released later in the year.
ZAZA is the musical union of multi-instrumentalists Jennifer Fraser (formerly of the Warlocks) and Danny Taylor, both west coast transplants who connected by fate in New York. The duo started creating textural loops and aural soundscapes, yielding strange ideas during the isolation of New York winters. Quite insular in the song-writing process, all the dreamy melodies, lyrics, and timbres are written about/for each other. The band describes their sound as "a love affair that feels like metal on metal".
For their live performances, ZAZA incorporate the sonic and visual into their shows with Jennifer constructing set pieces and Danny altering and configuring their electronics and instrumentation. They have been favorably compared to acts like Ride, Slowdive, and Mercury Rev and have supported such acts as Raveonettes, Echo & the Bunnymen, Tricky, and BRMC. ZAZA’s songs exist between hazy drones and sultry, melodic hooks which challenge the listener while at the same time intimately inviting them in closer.
www.ZAZASOUND.com
Buy ZAZA's 'Cameo' EP out now!
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“Psychedelic slice of Slowdrive-like haze.” - Under the Radar
"A gorgeous and mesmerizing EP of dream-pop noir" - eMusic
"Weird and dreamlike, this Brooklyn duo write ethereal songs that hover like morning mist — soft, strange music for somber times." - ROLLING STONE
"These mystical, dreamy vocals hold just as much weight as the swirl of sound. Their upcoming EP Cameo.features six tracks of exalting audible pleasure. ZAZA is a drug — a beautiful, mind-numbing, addictive drug." - fensepost.com
“If you could imagine holding hands with your lover and jumping on pillows of opium smoke then you will love ZAZA's new Ep, Cameo. (They) create dream like sounds that gently ease you into melodies like beautiful sirens drawing you into infinity…like drowning with a smile on your face.” - Embraced Randomness Blog
"A haunting duo that spin dark webs of atmospheric pop. Imagine if Grizzly Bear recorded an album using Talk Talk's Laughing Stalk and Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs as their only points of reference." -SURFING ON STEAM
"Blissful tunes full of lush guitars and synthesizers with melodic bass lines." -honeysdeadhoney.com
"They've only done a handful of gigs, but they're already generating a buzz, on both coasts. Echoey, ethereal singing over smeared-out gothy soundscapes." - boingboing.net
"ZAZA are an awesome duo creating ethereal shoegaze influenced fuzz." - DRONE MAGAZINE
“This gem of a band sparkles just as much as their name does as they distract you into another hazy realm with their haunting vocals and eerie melody” - Beatcrave.com
"ZAZA mesmerized the audience of spindles of delay soaked floating guitars and humming bass lines." - Amateur Chemist Blogger
"ZAZA floated into their set, blending each song into the next in a way that was reminiscent of the first half of Deerhunter’s Cryptograms album.” - www.buzzafied.com
"Swirling, ethereal, droning…." - www.punknews.org
“ZAZA are a name you need to know about…they have become one of New York’s best kept secrets.” – Dazed and Confused
