ZXSP - 'Back to the Action' | An Interview
Say what you like about the myriad of outstanding women who grace this Synth scene of ours but few are as warrior like or more powered by Cyberpunk influence than 'ZXSP'
Stemming from Action movies and dystopian aesthetics the worlds she creates within the tracks she solders together are a powerful reminder of where our imagination can take us with some skill and ingenuity.
'ZXSP' is the brainchild of Arina Adler who makes music inspired by Synthwave, Cyberpunk, metal, 80's film scores and 90's video game soundtracks proving without a shadow of a doubt that its not just the resolve of the Male Artist fraternity. I was grateful she took the time out to do this interview with me as having listened to her tracks she was certainly someone I knew I need to know a little more about, here's the result...Enjoy!
Tell us a little about you, where you’re from and how you got started in Music?
My name is Arina Adler, I’m from Europe and I’m the person behind Synthwave artist ZXSP.
I’m actually a professional musician and music has always been for me a big meaningful part of my life. So I always wanted to express myself with music before even starting in Synthwave.
How would you describe the music you make?
My music project ZXSP is inspired by cyberpunk, 80's action movies soundtracks, 90s videogame scores and metal music too. In my tracks I try to picture some concept and create a cinematic vibe. This is what I especially like in Synthwave, by the way. My music tells stories from not distant future, alternative present and retro-futuristic past. Just imagine a book or a movie from 1980's about dystopian or post-apocalyptic future or a cyberpunk video game. My music could be a great soundtrack for not existing pieces in this genre.
Who are your influences in music today? Who did you listen to when you were growing up?
I was growing up mostly with rock and metal music, and especially 1980's heavy metal – Accept, Ratt, Iron Maiden and many other bands. Moreover I cannot forget to mention the influence of classical music, because some period of my life was dedicated to it.
I have many influences for my music today. A very important one is John Carpenter. His music had actually introduced me to Synthwave music. For music that is in progress now my influences are Rammstein, unrivaled “System Shock” soundtrack composed by Tim Ries and Greg Piccolo, Giorgio Moroder and amazing composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
If you couldn’t make the great music you are making today what would you be doing?
It’s very hard to imagine my life without what I do now. If I couldn’t compose music, I would probably play in a band, or maybe work part time as pianist in a restaurant. If I wouldn’t be into music at all, in a situation I can barely imagine even in parallel universe, I would
probably go into science, there’s also coordinate grids and sound waves, or become a full time Twitch streamer.
If you could collaborate with anyone else on the scene who would it be and why?
Irving Force. Because I absolutely love what he’s doing with music, especially this retro-gaming style and cinematic vibe. This is what I also appreciate the most in my tracks. Also Powernerd, because of their analog sound, retro computers aesthetics and guitars. All these things give me a huge inspiration for my creativity. I would also like to collaborate with somebody from women in the scene, maybe Oceanside85 or Dana Jean Phoenix.
Who or what got you into the Synth scene initially?
I like this question. I always was looking for music where I can do what I want, where I can really create something that I like. And electronic music was a big discovery for me because with a very minimal setup consisting of DAW and a keyboard you can be a musician performer, a composer, arranger and audio engineer. So you don’t need to leave your place or find more people to record something.
Synthwave really fascinated me because it is a kind of reflection of everything I want to express in my art – action movie soundtracks, retro-gaming, metal, synthesizer music. In fact 1980's has been always a very huge, maybe even infinite, source of my inspiration.
What sound do you love the most?
Bandcamp Cha-ching email. Joking of course. Well actually sound of rain outside when I’m in my room is very enjoyable. Or analog reso synth sound.
If you’re having a bad day what do you do to make yourself feel better?
Depends on what made my day so bad. But mostly I’m just trying to distract myself from bad thoughts. My close people, video games, watching something can help. Developing new sounds on synthesizers really helps too; this is some kind of meditation.
Is there anything new you’re working on currently that you’d like to share a little bit about?
Yes, I’m working on a release that will continue and expand a story you could hear in my previous album “Hyper Force”. It’s gonna be a prequel and have more 1980's sound, also many references to classics of dystopian literature and movies.
What’s next for you as an artist?
I’m just gonna continue working on quality of my content
Please consider supporting ZXSP via the following links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zxspmusic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zxspunk/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ToqFpXDRZwkx03e4Ooqu9?si=21L1pBsLT5OOBPwomCaxmg
Bandcamp: https://zxsp.bandcamp.com/
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/zxspunk
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RocknFuckinRoll1979/featured
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zxspunk
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zxsp