Seattle-based artist ZOF shows off her innate abilities as an artist with the soundscapes found on her debut album, Nostalgic Premonitions.
The Pacific Northwest might be renowned for its lush forests, awe-inspiring venues like The Gorge, industry-leading tech giants, and delicious seafood, but there’s something else that’s gorgeous coming from the region — the soundscapes that ZOF creates. This Seattle-based artist isn’t just a DJ and producer; she’s also a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, making her approach to music all-encompassing.
ZOF’s exploration of the electronic realm has seen her grace labels ranging from Desert Hearts and House Of Hustle to Box Of Cats and Techne, with most of her tracks residing in the house music realm with a flourish of techno now and again. While singles and EPs have surfaced from this multi-talented artist in the past, one piece of the puzzle that remained missing was a full-length album, and now, she’s delivered just that with the release of Nostalgic Premonitions.
The story behind Nostalgic Premonitions began years ago when a younger ZOF would wonder what the future would look like. Try as she might, visualizing beyond 2020 was always “almost blurry or distorted,” and as the year grew closer, uneasy emotions settled in about its uncertain nature. “I didn’t know what I knew, but I knew something big was going to happen,” ZOF said. “I had as hard of a time coping with lockdowns as anyone else did, but I accepted what was happening immediately, almost as if I’d been expecting it, or dreading it.”
This furthered the notion in ZOF’s mind that she’s a bit clairvoyant, bolstered by other prophetic dreams that left her with a sense of nostalgia for something she hasn’t actually experienced. Channeling this into her artistic work, the concept behind her debut album was born as she set off to capture the feeling of floating between the past and present from a 3rd person perspective.
Nostalgic Premonitions isn’t just your standard house music album featuring a mixed bag of singles. Instead, it acts as a cohesive story, with ZOF placing the tracks in an intentional order as she explores the repetitive cycles that we face in life and the impact they have, for better or worse. She calls its structure a “refined hourglass,” which couldn’t be more fitting as you listen to each passing soundscape.
Lead track “Same Thing” kicks off this journey with its subtle groove and lyrics that center on the album’s core message of repetition in life. On tracks like “Let’s Be Friends,” “Glitter,” “Psychosomatic,” and “WiFi,” there’s a range of unique layers that are simply delightful to explore. But paramount to those tasty electronic grooves are the vocals from ZOF that range from airy and bubbly to more pensive and emotion-fueled, all enhancing the experience and adding depth.
“Question” and “Believe” are two of the album’s true standouts, arriving smack dab in the middle of that refined hourglass structure ZOF set off to achieve. From her vocal prowess to the deeper basslines perfectly fit for dancefloors, these two tracks act like a solid one-two punch that will make you a fan if you haven’t fallen in love with her yet. That said, the tracks that build up prior and those that follow after are just as essential to help catapult ZOF into the depths of your heart, so trust the process and listen to this album from start to finish.
Explore the sounds on Nostalgic Premonitions by streaming the album on Spotify or your favorite platform, and follow ZOF on social media for the latest from this blossoming artist in the scene.
Stream ZOF – Nostalgic Premonitions on Spotify:
ZOF – Nostalgic Premonitions – Tracklist:
- Same Thing
- Let’s Be Friends
- Be Real
- Glitter
- Psychosomatic
- QUestion
- Believe
- WiFi
- On My Own
- Told On Yourself
- I Don’t Care (No One Takes Me Seriously)
- Day One
Follow ZOF:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud