Zack Knight
Zack Knight is tipped to be one of the artists to look out for over the next twelve months as he is about to release his debut single All Over Again.
I caught up with him to talk about the single as well as the debut album that is just around the corner.
- You are about to release your debut single All Over Again so what can we expect from the track?
Well my sound is a pop/electro sound so you expect that through the music. But the single is about living your greatest moments all over again. But you can expect a lot of melodic hook lines, a lot of hooks and some epic visuals - I think you will really like.
- This is a great dance tune but the B side Be Somebody has a real ballad feel to it so how would you describe the sound of your music?
As a songwriter I can’t put myself in a box and I try to be as versatile as possible. I can’t say that I am a certain sound but as far as the first single goes, and the B side, it’s got a lot of R&B soul involved but I am crossing it over with up tempo dance music.
- Which other artists would you say not only influences you sound but also your song writing?
I grew up listening to Boyz II Men, some of the R&B old school stuff, and they influence my music. But not just that sort of music but I also grew up listening to Michael Jackson and he stepped outside of the box and I think that‘s what I learned from him - to try and do something different rather than to stay inside my comfort zone.
- Is there an album on the way and if so what can we expect from it?
The album is already done and I will be dropping that later this year. You can expect some tracks like the B Side ballad that really echo my struggles, I have been grafting since I was 16 or 17 as a writer in the music industry.
So a lot of the experience that I have been through will be on the album so there are some slow, mid tempo ballads in there. I can’t really put it in one sort of specific sound.
- This album is really introducing you so what does the album say about you as an artist?
Good question (laughs). If you keep going you get there in the end. I have done a few albums but I didn’t have a record deal at the time so I was putting them out as mixtapes but I didn’t get the response that I wanted.
So I have combined some of the songs that I have done over the last five years of my life so, in a way, it shows the grind and the B Side song Be Somebody explains how it was and how hard it has been for me.
So I think that is what the album is about - if you keep on going and believe in yourself then you will get there in the end.
- How much of the writing did you do for the album? How important is it to be able to have that creative freedom?
I think it is very important to have creative input. But at the same time you have to be quite established to have songs pitched towards you so as a new artist you have to learn instruments and you have to be able to compose music and write and mould your sound.
First impressions count and if I come out with something now and change half way through it would kind of… I will evolve but the name and everything will stick with me forever so it’s very important.
- You have talked about your struggles so how difficult is it to break into the music industry as a new artist?
I have been through so many experiences for example I have had shows where they used dodgy credit cards so I have had plane tickets that were sent to me that ended up being cancelled and I have had shows where I have not been able to hear myself.
But I think with all those experiences you become quite thick skinned. But at the same time I was in a management deal with a very reputable production company but after about a year and a half or two years I was at the end of it and we parted ways.
At that time they were managing N Dubz and myself and I thought that I was in a great place and working with some great people because they had platinum records all over the walls and I am thinking ‘I have made it, I am here.’
But actually I haven’t because I was doing was being manufactured for that band and at the end of it one of them had to go back to Barbados and that was it so that whole two years just went to waste - right when you think you are in there and you have got it it can go in a flash really.
- You are signed to Prestige Records so what drew you to that label?
I have got some Eastern heritage so I keep my ears close to my roots and I listen to the Asian music scene as well.
I knew of them because they had a very successful artist who had got forty or fifty million views on YouTube, which is amazing because he has crossed over and brought up the hip hop influence and mixed; they have mixed English music with Asian music and that really appealed to me.
So I knew already of them because they were the biggest thing around in the Asian world.
- The video for All Over Again saw you team up with director Nick Barlett so how did that collaboration come about?
I have known about him for ages and I have been watching his videos - he has done so many cool videos over the years.
And I remember thinking that it would be a dream to work with this guy and when I signed with the label I told them that I wanted this and I wanted that and they made the call and the rest is history.
- You are being tipped as one of the new artists to watch this year so how do you feel when you hear things like that?
I feel humbled really (laughs) because I don’t have expectations and I never really expected any kind of response I just love making music so to hear something like that is just great.
- There are lots of great Brit talent around at the moment so which artists are you enjoying?
I think that Adele is doing really well at the moment and I am really feeling her stuff. I listen to some of Amy Winehouse’s music as well, that is they type of music that I want to get into because it’s what I love and it’s what I want my music to evolve into.
- Finally what's next for you?
I am going to be dropping my next single which will be followed by another, so at the moment I am just looking around for the next video director. I have got a few designer labels that are going to be doing some bespoke piece so I will be doing some stuff for them.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw