Zilo is a 24-year-old singer from London whose love of painting, poetry, and writing has evolved into music. "I was never really confident enough to write songs," she admits, until, inspired by instrumentals from the producer/vocalist Dream Koala, she started applying what she loved about poetry to music.
"Don't Waste My Time," which is out today, is only her third song, and she's already building a signature style which matches her warm, rich vocals with textured production that sounds inspired by classic hip-hop. Rooted in R&B and soul, all her music so far feels very personal, reflecting her experiences and her outlook on life. "I feel that it is super important to learn to be comfortable in your own company and it’s something I do find myself talking about in my songs a lot," she says, and "Don't Waste My Time" is an important reminder to always value your own time, even if others are not.
Zilo also paints the vivid, memorable artwork for her music, resulting in an artistic output that represents her vision, unfiltered and unobstructed. Buy/stream "Don't Waste My Time" on SoundCloud or via your preferred platform here. The track was produced by Marco Bernardis and Lophiile .
Read our interview with the rising artist below, and look out for more from her in 2018.
How long have you been making music and what inspired you to start?
I’d say I’ve been writing songs since I was about 19 or 20. So for around five or six years now, I guess. Before that, I was more into writing poems, stories, and things like that. I was never really confident enough to write songs. I used to think that there was a certain way to do it and I couldn’t help but think, “Well, I haven’t got a clue what the correct way is so I’m just going to give that one a miss”.
It wasn’t until late 2012 that my cousin showed me this artist called Dream Koala and the instrumentals he made. I just felt instantly super inspired by them. They were really airy and beautiful and had loads of room to speak my thoughts over. It got to a point where I thought that I might as well just give songwriting a go... how hard could it be? Surely it’s just putting poetry to music? So I did, and I wrote this song called “same,” which very much was a poem over music.
Once I established what the main things that I loved about poetry were (which were the poet's use of rhythm, rhyming patterns, and telling an interesting story), I just applied that same approach when writing songs and it has definitely become my favorite part to figure out and play around with when doing so. I usually feel like that plays a big part in what also makes a song memorable or catchy to me anyway.
Who are you singing to on "Don't Waste My Time"? What do you want listeners to take from the song?
I’m more so speaking about situations I’ve experienced at different points in my life in which I've felt frustrated, let down, or haven’t felt like someone has valued my time. Even though it seems as if I’m speaking directly to one person, I’m actually not. Being someone who spends a lot of time alone anyway, I’m really particular about who I spend time with, so when I do invest my time or energy into people it’s a really big deal for me.
I feel that it is super important to learn to be comfortable in your own company and it’s something I do find myself talking about in my songs a lot. I’m always trying to encourage people to learn to do the same. Having time to recharge or reflect whilst being completely alone helps me deal with a lot of things and also gives me time to uncover a lot about myself. I always think, it doesn’t matter what stressful situation anyone puts me in because I am learning to truly love my own company and I’m so happy doing my own thing that if it all gets too much, I can just communicate how I feel and keep it moving without them. I don’t have to keep stressful, unhealthy friendships, situations or relationships going for the fear of being alone.
You make the artwork for your singles too. Did visual art or music come first, or have they always gone hand in hand?
I’ve been painting and making stuff for as long as I can remember. My nan [grandmother] is an artist and I spent a lot of time with her as a child, so inevitably I ended up picking it up by being around her doing it. I’m a lot like her in the sense that I like to express myself through a variety of different mediums. Plus, I get bored doing the same thing for too long (I’m a typical Gemini). She was always making something (jewelery, artwork, clothing, writing stories for me to read) and encouraged me to do the same too.
I also studied art at school but to be perfectly honest, it sort of sucked the joy out of it for me because I prefer having total creative freedom and it’s really hard to express yourself freely when you have to follow a syllabus or curriculum. That completely killed it for me.
Consequently, I stopped painting for about five years and only recently got back into it in summer 2016 when I went to stay with my nan in Cornwall. As soon as I stepped foot through the door, I noticed that she had the easel laid out for me with brand new paints all around it and three large canvases ready and waiting for me to paint on. I ended up spending the whole week painting and it was really weird because my own unique style of painting ended up being born as well. It was great!
It quickly made me realize that I might as well just do my own artwork for my music as it would be completely original and I’d be able to do exactly what I envisioned. Also, I’m really impatient when it comes to waiting around for other people to do things for me, so I’d much rather just do it myself.
Do you work with other producers / artists when you're making music or is more of a solo pursuit?
Typically, I’ll work closely with a producer (even though a lot of them are artists as well, they’re all multitalented). Sometimes they’ll send me a beat and I’ll write to it in my bedroom, and then I’d go and record it at a later date at a studio. Or alternatively, I’ll organize a day or a session where I write and record with the producer at their studio on the day. It honestly just depends really. Most of the producers I’ve worked with have become friends of mine now and we’ve just figured out what works best for us.
For example, with “Keep Up Wimmi,” Jake sent me the beat. I forgot that he had even sent it to me, and then I rediscovered it in my emails about a year afterwards. I wrote a chorus and first verse in my bedroom, then I went to studio a few days later with one of my engineer friends and I wrote and recorded the rest of it on that day. Jake then went in afterwards and adjusted more of the production once he’d heard what I’d done to it. So in that instance, we both did our own thing separately, then pieced them together and that worked really well for us.
On the other hand, with “Don’t Waste My Time,” I had a session with Marco and that song was written on that same day. I actually think we finished that in about two and a half hours. He already had the main structure of the beat, and then I came up with melodies and lyrics to it pretty instantly. So it can vary.
One thing I would say is that it’s always a collaborative effort with whoever I work with, in the sense that we all recognize each others individual strengths and then we’ll come together and combine them.
Coming up with the lyrics is something that’s quite personal to me, so I prefer that to only come from me. I go into my own little bubble when writing. I put my headphones in and mumble melody and lyric ideas into my voice notes on my phone. I’m really quite private about what I’ve written until I’ve figured it all out. Then I’ll be like, okay I’m ready to record now. It’s a very quick process either way.
Is London an inspiring place to live as a young creative? Are there downsides?
I’d say it’s pretty inspiring, yeah. It’s a busy place with loads of stuff constantly going on and there are always new things happening. London is a creative hub with a lot of talented people that are all connected in some way shape or form. I think a lot of my inspiration comes from seeing other young creative people confidently doing what they love and having fun whilst doing it.
One thing I would say though, is no matter where you live, it’s quite easy to get caught up in the little bubble of wherever you’re from so I think it’s really important to travel and remind yourself that life is bigger than the place you live in. You can drive yourself crazy staying in one place for too long.
What can you tell us about your plans for the rest of this year?
Hopefully I manage to go on holiday somewhere as I’m in desperate need of some sun, sea and sand. Oh and of course, way more music related stuff too which I’m very excited about. Who knows, maybe even a whole body of work is on the cards?
