Photo: Colin Clarke
We chat exclusively to Zaflon about his songwriting and production process on the day of his entrancing new single release ‘Till The Meds Wear Off’.
First we ask what his creative process looks like and whether he has to be in a certain ‘mood’ to write. He tells us: “I love discovering new sounds and realising new perspectives on music. This can come from working with different people or trying new techniques.” And indeed, Zaflon has a lot of experience working with different artists as a producer across various genres throughout his musical career: “I've worked with so many people from pop singers, to rappers, classical musicians, rockers and jazzers. You really get a chance to see what different aspect of sound turn people on and what they have in common.”
It’s interesting to hear how, almost like a method actor, he gets into character to write: “Sometimes when I'm working on a tune I think of the person I'm making it for the most and the context in which they're listening to it. Are they raving at a festival, are they listening on headphones staring out of a train window with the countryside flying by, or are they blasting tunes in the car with some close friends?” This makes the creative process more fluid for Zaflon: “Once I have that image the process becomes clearer and easier and I start to flow with what feels best for the tune. Getting in this flow is like catching a wave on a surfboard. I love it and the more I do it, the more waves I'm able to catch…”
Zaflon created a feel-good, lo-fi lockdown like no other to accompany his single, which you should watch below. Given the restrictions of social distancing during lockdown, Zaflon decided to curate a collection of shots filmed by different dancers from round the world he found online. Everyone involved was glad to be dancing again, and that's the message of the song really - we're all human, we all want to dance and to connect with one another. Zaflon portrays that basic instinct with the upcoming single and accompanying video.
‘Till The Meds Wear Off’ will seriously have those lockdown blues lifted. We've got to keep dancing. Out now on all major digital and streaming platforms HERE