For March we had the chance to talk to one of the best performers of Vienna’s scene: Zascha. From a massive stage presence and wild outfits, often considered outrageous by the general public, to an interview oozing with creative energy. With hard-core bangers like “Choose Life” and the newly released “Lie” featuring the vocalist of Glazed Curtains, another talented Viennese band, he manages to draw in crowds and make his concerts an experience. In this sense: Take a dive into our chat with him and learn more about his beginnings, influences, and plans!
“Fuck me”
He laughs as he recalls his beginning’s cliche: School dropout begins to play music with a friend, finds himself making rap beats for a year before beginning the search for his own style, for his way of making and creating music. Imagine Kate Moss in the early to mid 2000s, lived-in leather pants, the Berlin techno scene with a sprinkle of French avant-garde, and you might get a small taste of what makes him and his music so unique. Even to him this road has not been a clear one, not one lit up by streetlights, but rather a constant tumble through the dark. Interests change, influences blur into each other, and life happens. Zascha himself doesn’t know where he wants his music to go but he doesn’t have to, at least not yet, because he just finished his newest EP. It contains industrial elements as a reflection of his time in Berlin accompanied by heavy guitars and a fresh take on the 90s. The goal of sounding modern and representing his generation has been achieved, as his changing influences make sure that not one song sounds exactly like the next one. Be it using electronic and industrial elements or just making the songs super horny as he did with his yet-to-be released single “Skin” which he performed for the first time Vienna's B75 on the 26th of March. When he played us the song on the day of the interview, we were sure that the next few months will be highly interesting, just as he had promised us.
Speaking of performances: His influences and artistic mind go well beyond the song writing process. This happens at night when nobody disturbs him and it’s just him and the music. The most recent show at B72 showed once again that his evolution doesn’t stop. Imagine a tall figure screaming at you while hanging off the railing dressed in black boots, knee pads and shorts, done up in a mixture of goth and punk elements. This was part of his show and worked perfectly as he played a mixture of fan favourites and brand-new songs. Those are as always produced by his long-time producer and bassist Andrey Melnikov. When asked about what he enjoys most about being on stage, the answer was quite simple: Screaming at people and calling them names. He is sick and tired of boring stage performances and wants to give people a show, to make them uncomfortable in the best way possible. A concert, in his opinion and ours, should be an experience, something unexpected, big, and interesting to watch. He does this well.
There is time for heartfelt moments as well. He gave a speech about acceptance, being who you are unapologetically, and the feeling of not being safe because of the way you look, act, or simply are. This is a struggle both him and his fans understand well.
But you do not simply go on stage and make up the songs on the spot. That’s not how it works. You need good songs. Like we mentioned before, his new EP he wrote at night, his most creative time of the day, with his favourite songs on repeat and nobody to call, knock, or disturb his process. The passion that he puts into his songs paired with the wordless understanding between him and his producer has brought about his best sound yet. It’s not always the case that he sits down to write; sometimes it’s when he’s walking back to an Airbnb. In Paris. In the middle of the night. For two hours. One of his most popular songs “Giselle”, was birthed this way. And the song still works as the crowd goes crazy for it.
All this music keeps him busy. The EP coming out, a cool musical collaboration, he did not tell us who it’s with, in August and trying to make music videos, or rather visualisers, a term he uses as he has very specific ideas of what a music video is. After consuming loads of visual art, he is trying to make these projects look interesting, something that shows his style and the worlds he wants to create, even without a huge budget of several thousand euros. If someone can do it, it’s Zascha, we’re sure.
To end this month's article, we decided to ask for a final statement from Zascha and this is what he has to say to you:
“If you see me on the street, don’t be scared to say hi. I probably just have a bitch face because I didn’t sleep much.”
written by Anna
copy edited by Heather Awen