Sea to Sky corridor, get ready to meet a rising phenom.
ZADA is bursting onto the local music scene with the release of her debut album, Water in the Desert. The eight-song collection was co-produced by Brian West and Chin Injeti with input from Elliott Beenk and Tim Olivershe as well, and it’s a microcosm of the artist’s unique flavour.
At just 20 years old, ZADA has already begun to discover her creative identity. Her stuff is laced with guitars and synths, which provide a complementary contrast to her silky-smooth vocals. She’s also a multifaceted talent who uses her experience producing, designing sets and storyboarding music videos to take ownership of her career in more ways than one.
“I don't really see myself as just one type of artist, and if I stick to one thing for too long, I kind of get stale,” explains ZADA. “So, I like to switch over and view things differently. For a while I was used to creating alone, but since the start of releasing music, a whole new world opened up—one that brings me so much joy—and a newfound passion for collaborative expression."
‘Glamorous fashion, rugged nature’
Water in the Desert’s music videos would not have been possible without accomplished cameramen Blake Jorgenson and Leo Hoorn. ZADA praises them for their approach to the project and to her as a member of the team.
“They really provided all the tools and collaboration to dig into the edgier side of visual production,” she says. “I've loved working with other companies, but they just got my idea. They also were very passionate about it, and that was the most important thing to me. From a visual aspect, we're always trying to bring in the outdoors.
“It really mattered to me that the project was less in the studio and more outside, and had that crossover between glamorous fashion and rugged nature.”
ZADA’s own eclectic background is something of a crossover. She and her siblings hail from Ethiopia, but she’s lived in Whistler for more than a decade and a half. Growing up, her parents always provided her with a canvas to express herself, whether it was through sport, music or other forms of art.
At first, ZADA gravitated towards poetry, writing down her quiet and unfiltered thoughts as one tends to do when quite young. She bounced around multiple musical instruments and found some affinity with the trumpet, but was forced to set that aside when she got braces at an inopportune time. Eventually, ZADA grew to love playing piano, and has re-introduced the guitar into her life as a songwriting tool.
Two summers ago on her 19th birthday, the African-born Whistlerite took the stage at Olympic Plaza alongside her producer and mentor Injeti. She was blown away when a crowd of nearly 2,000 people showed up to cheer her on, marking her unofficial introduction to the Sea to Sky scene.
“I had a lovely welcome from Whistler, and they were super supportive,” she remembers fondly. “It was quite a fun time.”
A reason to get excited
Composing and launching an album has been an eye-opening experience for ZADA.
The breakout star is familiar with the rhythm of pumping out single after single, but Water in the Desert threw her a bit of a curveball. It was recorded in Vancouver, Los Angeles and the United Kingdom, and draws upon the influence of genres like R&B, jazz and Afrobeats.
“When we went to London, there was a street dancer whose movement was so fluid against the starkness of the architecture,” the artist recalls in a press release, saying the memory contributed further to the album’s thematic juxtapositions between elegance and grit.
“This is completely new territory,” she adds. “[I remember asking myself:] how are we going to do this? How are we going to promote it?”
Things worked out rather serendipitously on that front. Water in the Desert’s March 1 release coincided with ZADA’s presence in Washington D.C. for the Black Girls Rock Fest, granting her a perfect platform to show off her content. She’s since dropped by the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas, and looks forward to a homecoming at the Garibaldi Lift Company (GLC).
“I’ve never performed there before, so that's definitely a reason to get excited,” ZADA says. “March 16 is going to be awesome.”
DJ Foxy Moron will open the show this Saturday at 9 p.m. before ZADA steps into the spotlight at 9:45 p.m. More information can be found at https://zadamusic.com/.
