Playlist: Zac Colwell

What’s the best music video you’ve seen recently and why?

A sound designer friend showed me Ollane - Holy Discover which I was really impressed by. 

Really beautiful cinematography and it is the best visual representation of an anxiety dream that I’ve ever seen. Even down to the feeling that there must be some elusive deep meaning.

What’s the first music video you remember being impressed by?

I remember loving a lot of music videos from the 80’s like Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer and Faith No More - Epic. 

Men At Work - Down Under I remember, and of course, Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters held a special place in my heart.

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

My all time favourite video was for my childhood hero George Michael - Faith.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?

I love the illustrations on the book covers of the sci fi novels that I read as a kid. Illustration is an inspiration for my musical ideas because I get more of a hand-made feeling from them than other artforms for some reason. Maybe it’s some kind of kinetic feeling, and it reminds me to just apply myself right away.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I’m listening to whatever my friends send me! Often their own work. But also loving the new Adi Oasis album, and I always look for obscure music from the past that may not have been popular at the time but resurfaces, often due to an association with film or picture of some kind.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

I rely on my vintage synthesizers a lot. Roland Juno-60 and Moog Source. I couldn’t work without them. Also some older tech - my saxophones and flutes.

I am a Pro Tools user and am really grateful for that technology as well as dozens of software plugins that are just amazing tools in modern music creation.

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?

Unfortunately George Michael has passed away. Otherwise I’d have to say my dream is to produce an album for someone like Julio Iglesias that would satisfy both his older listeners and younger ones as well.