“Oh my god dude, that’s some Nardwuar level shit”: Zion Garcia on creating The New Film Star, collaboration and film influences
Zion Garcia. Photo credit: Billy Zammit
Interview by Koady
This week marked the start of tour for two of Sydney’s most prolific and exciting artists. ‘The Film Star Left His Heart Out West’ Co-Headline Tour is a celebration of multi disciplinary artist Zion Garcia’s latest EP “The New Film Star” released off the back of shows at the Opera House and Phoenix Central Park and the immense, groundbreaking debut album I LEFT MYY HEART OUT WEST by producer, rapper and DJ, Sollyy.
Rising filmmaker, producer and songwriter koady sat down with Zion ahead of the Brisbane show of tour to talk about the importance of collaboration, Letterboxd top 4 lists, the influence of skate culture on art and more.
Catch koady on support duties for Sollyy and Zion Garcia alongside iPod this Sunday 28 September at Black Bear Lodge. Last tix are moving fast and available here.
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Koady: You guys in Sydney with Full Circle have got a lot of cool stuff going on and I want to touch on that. Those sessions with other people during the making of the album, how important were they in the end to shaping the actual project?
Zion: Yeah, it's funny because, especially with FC stuff, I think people think we hang out more than we get to, getting us all in the room at the same time is always the really hard part. A lot of the songs that ended up on the EP especially, they were newer songs and the guys had heard iterations of the project over the last couple of years so I ended up going with a lot more of the new stuff than the older stuff, just trying to let go of stuff.
I remember the project was done around December, but then I spent a good two or three months… Because I play a little just to be able to make stuff, but had so many talented friends where it's like, “oh, okay, this guitar would sound way better if my friend who can actually play guitar can come in and just redo it”. Then within five minutes, it's like, “oh, man, why did I even do the guitar myself?”
I like to do everything on my own, to not get in my own way and just make music, because that's the fun part. I like to do it myself, but yeah, getting people in the room to do background vocals, guitar parts or saxophone, like this is why you don't do it alone. Instantly it created another barrier between me and the music in a good way where it's like, I could be outside of it and be able to visualise it a bit better. It kind of helped me to see the song from… You know, take myself out of it and look at things more, not objectively, but you can have this outside view. I thought it was really powerful, man. Collaboration is definitely the point now, for sure.
Koady: Yeah, also, I remember your set at BIGSOUND last year and it was just you with the 404 and there was so much stage presence with only that on stage. So I wanted to know when you go into actually creating the songs, if you're making a higher energy song, does it help if you’re in an environment in the studio with other people or do you find you still end up making those sorts of tracks even when you're chilling out?
Zion: Yeah, thanks! Oh dude, all the songs I’ve made have just been like me in my room. It could be like two in the morning, like energy is not even a thing, but somehow they always end up being... I think because I unintentionally love super visceral, tense music… Like I think I love chill music, but then I will go do a chill DJ set with my other friends and every time I queue up a song, it's always like, “oh, there's a bit of a non chillness to this chill” [laughs]. I think I subconsciously love even, Climax man…
Koady: Yeah Climax, it’s like what we were saying just before…
Zion: Yeah man you know, it's like my favourite film. So I feel like, you know, I just love really intense stuff. So for art, it kind of just ends up being then no matter what to be honest.
Koady: Yeah, I actually made this guy watch Climax the other day [laughs]. (EJ Wood is sitting in the room with Koady).
Zion: What'd you think, man? [laughs]
EJ Wood: It was stressful. I feel like the second half of it, I was like, okay, wait, when does this end?
Zion: Yeah, yeah, yeah [laughs]
EJ Wood: Like the first 10 minutes is the coolest movie ever. And the last 10 minutes I was like can we watch a normal movie at least once?
Zion: Dude, I love Climax. Nah, that's fair, man, legit. [laughs]
Koady: Talking about that, for like this whole project in general, were there any films in particular that encapsulated the vibe that you were trying to meet with the project? Or a different number of films that you felt were important when making it?
Zion: I think… it’s hard because my last EP was way more like retrospective of my… You know, birth till 21. So the films that I grew up with, and all my biggest influences were a bigger part of it. But then for this one, I wasn't thinking films as much as I was thinking of film stars, like movie actors. Or at least just the actors from films that I love. So they're not even really generic. Like I mean, I was thinking more like Johnny Knoxville and Jackass, like his presence in those films.I was watching a lot of concert films… I love… I hadn't seen the Talking Heads, what’s it called… Stop Making Sense until recent. But I just feel like the idea of that film and like seeing its clips over the years… Like that type of stuff influenced me. And it was a lot of just the ethos of movie stars and stardom as opposed to real films this time. I mean, like unintentionally, it's just always in my process. So yeah, it's definitely in there somewhere.
Koady: I feel like you've been asked this in another interview but, have you got a Letterboxd top four?
Zion: Oh, yeah. I mean, my top four on Letterboxd is usually like the best four things I've seen at that time. But my actual top four is like Boy, School of Rock, Napoleon Dynamite and… I think Climax, like I have to just admit it, it's my favourite. I think those four are like my shit.
Koady: In another interview you did, you were talking about skateboarding. I wanted to know if that played a role or the culture of it, with any of this new stuff?
Zion: Yeah, dude, I mean, not consciously, but I mean, that skateboarding is like a big part of my life. I wish it was bigger, but I just got injured a lot. I just, I just stacked it a lot [laughs]. And I got really injured. I had a big head injury, like mid 2016 or something? So then I just stopped riding as much. But skateboarding for me is everything, man. I still just play like the Tony Hawk Underground Games and the PS Simulator. Like, that's just like my casual thing that I do a lot. But I love, I mean, skateboarding is everything to me, man. Do you know Fully Flared? The skateboard film?
Koady: Nah.
Zion: That film, I'm gonna send it to you. That's a big influence on me. It's like, bro, Spike Jonze saw this random skate video and then he's like, “oh, let me make this grand intro for no reason” and it's just like, that changed my life as a kid. I think that's why as a kid, I thought skateboarding was so grand. It's just like this one movie, bro, it changed my whole shit. But yeah, nah, skateboarding always influences what I do.
Koady: It's pretty dope. I tried to get into it, like when I first moved to Brisbane. And I remember I was going like, down this… I was right outside the casino and I fell off and I just split my chin like all the way over and I never touched it again [laughs].
Zion: That's rough man [laughs]
Koady: It's scary, though. It's like a commitment to like, getting hurt. Like you're agreeing to pain by doing it.
Zion: Yeah, that's what I mean, man. It's like, you have to just be okay with it. I was okay with it but my mom and dad were never… So then I could just feel it like then I would go I was like, “I don't want to get hurt that bad” then I wouldn’t go but nah, I feel you, man.
Koady: Bro I saw you were also teasing in like… Late 2015, Project Makai? [laughs]
Zion: Oh my god dude [laughs] that’s some Nardwuar level shit.
Koady: I didn’t know if that was still dropping just wondering when we can expect that one? [laughs]
Zion: Bro, no way you know that shit [laughs]. I'm telling you, if you saw that, then bro, there's heaps of those around… I was doing that like my whole primary school… My whole primary school, high school man… I got them all on my hard drives. They're real albums. They're just like, I don't think I should drop… [laughs]. Probably some good samples in there, though… They exist man.
Koady: Were there any moments during creating the project in general that were important or special that you can think of?
Zion: Um… Oh man, I think… Well you know Church & AP? Like Church from Church & AP specifically, he was coming down a lot last year. Around the first time he came was around the time I did my Opera House show last year. I was working on this thing roughly… And he does this every time he comes to Sydney, man, he just says something or he does something that makes us all like, I don't know, he just flips the whole shit like… Somehow he does like one thing and then we all end up like… Bro, the last time he was here.. and then Sollyy just drops the album. It's like that level of like, I don't know. He just says the right thing at the right time. And then he puts us all creatively on a good path. But I mean, he came in December and I was working on this project, bro… In my head, it was not anywhere near done. He came in at like 6pm and then he did a few things... And then by 9pm, he was like “EP done”. Then we went to the show after and he kept telling me “man Zion, EP’s done. It's coming out next week” And I was like, “what the fuck, man? It's not?” but then, like the next week, I was like, “holy shit, it really is done” [laughs]. So shout out to Church. I genuinely don't know if it would have come out anytime sooner if he didn't do that. He's genuinely Rick Rubin.
Zion Garcia. Photo credit: @miki.mikka
Koady: Where is he from? In like…
Zion: Oh in NZ? Um…
Koady: Oh is he from New Zealand?
Zion: Yeah!
Koady: I sort of assumed that he lived down in Sydney.
Zion: Nah but he's always here, man. Especially recently. He's been flying down a lot. Yeah. Shout out to Church, man.
Koady: Awesome. All right, is there anything else that you’d like to mention?
Zion: Nah, I'm chilling. It's sick to see you man. I love all your work, bro. I mean your visuals, bro, they're like next level, man.
Koady: That video with like the... I was watching it the other day. I can't remember the song. The flashing with the quick pans.
Zion: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah [laughs]
Koady: Actual… Legendary.
Zion: Oh thanks, man. Yeah, I wasn't watching as many films this time around as opposed to just trying to make stuff. I think I've banked up all the things, like the itches that I wanted to scratch. So I think the plan this time had just been like making more than taking in new shit. I mean, I went and saw the fucking The Phoenician Scheme like two days ago.
Koady: Oh, was it good?
Zion: I'm not a big Wes guy, but you know, it is Wes. He's like one of the best. I didn't like French Dispatch or Asteroid City. So maybe that's why I liked this one a bit more. It's way simpler. Like I just feel dumb when I'm watching a Wes film like the last two where it's just like a movie within a movie within a movie, bro. It's like I can't do it. But yeah it was good.
Koady: Yeah, okay. Well, maybe I'll give it a watch. Have you seen Beau Travail?
Zion: Yeah.
Koady: It’s playing Sunday at the cinema down the road. And this guy's working, so he can't see it. But I think I might go and take the spot.
Zion: Yeah, dude, worth it. I don't know if it's Nick Ward's favourite, but it's like, man. So like all of 2020 was like he was begging me to watch it. And then we went to this place just to watch it. And like, I get it. I'm curious to see your Letterboxd bro. I'll wait for it. I'll wait for it.
Koady: Thank you, bro. Awesome to chat to you. I hope I'll come to Sydney sometime this year.
Zion: Yeah, thank you, bro. Good to see you.
Listen to “The New Film Star” below and catch Zion and Sollyy on tour across Australia this September/October at these dates.