Ben Zaidi’s music combines the lyrical solemnity of spoken-word poetry with minimal electronica. Written and produced by Ben in his Seattle bedroom, his songs reveal a sincere intimacy reminiscent of a private journal.
Zaidi grew up surrounded by the natural serenity of the Pacific Northwest, before traveling east to study poetry at Harvard. He recently broke the airwaves on Seattle’s iconic radio station KEXP 90.3, and has been performing at historical venues throughout the city including The Crocodile and The Barboza.
‘Our August‘ is a story of endings – some as carefree as summer, complicated as love, and final as life. A solitary hopeful stream running through a damaged land, reminding us that within loss lies the possibility of self-discovery.
In this interview we chat with Ben about music, the new project and more.
Q&A, links, and a stream of the album can be found below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from Seattle, Washington. I write songs that are really poems, pieces of feeling or thought made to evoke real emotion. Typically they come charged with elements of electronic music and hip-hop, musical movements that define the moment we are living in.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
In a high school class, I discovered music production software. It was amazing to me how a laptop could become a studio, a band, an entire orchestra. I had always been writing poems and now realized that I could create fully orchestrated songs by myself, keeping the same intimacy and earnestness of a notebook. Every day, living in the world, there are new emotions, images, tiny discoveries. I suppose I cannot escape the feeling that these are precious and important, and it is my duty to share them with the world.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
John Lennon, Jackson Browne, Chris Cornell. Justin Vernon, James Blake, Kanye West. Denis Johnson, Sherman Alexie.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Summer is usually the worst season of the year for me, creatively. I have always written my best songs in the winter. This year, even by springtime I found myself creating songs that felt distinctly summery. Ultimately, they all reflected warmth but a kind of dying warmth, the end of summer. I realized that they also each spoke of different endings––the end of a love, the end of a life––and I knew I had to release it now.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
I think it has helped me far more than hurt. I’ve worked in many different studios, and to this day have never been able to achieve the same intimacy as I can recording in my bedroom. That wouldn’t have been possible if I was born in any previous decade, so I am truly grateful for all those people whose hard work led us to this place. If I could, I would put all the people who’ve worked on Logic in my thank you’s.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
I dig the streaming world! Though I am not a fan of exclusive releases. Accessibility is very important to me, I think it’s respectful to your fans to not put up walls around the music. I do have some attachment to CDs, and would love to print some vinyl or tapes someday.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
You can stream and download my music for free at soundcloud.com/benzaidi. If you search ‘Ben Zaidi’ on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. you will also find it there. I’m also on Twitter and Instagram @benjaminzaidi.
Anything else before we sign off?
Much love to you guys at MTM, really thankful for your support. I hope your readers find meaning in ‘Our August.’
