Zach Templar: Interview at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam

We are very excited to share an interview with Zach Templar after his live performance on the 19th of May at a sold-out Bitterzoet in Amsterdam, which was part of his European tour. Zach Templar is an emerging alternative music artist from the UK, known for his deeply personal lyrics, unique sound, and soul-stirring melodies. Andrej spoke to Zach about his European tour, career rise, upcoming music projects, and collaborations with other artists.

What are your feelings about the tour?

Amazing! Oh, it's amazing. The people are amazing. I've never been here before. I've never done a show here. It was incredible, just seeing everyone singing these songs I wrote in my room when I was like, 13. It's pretty crazy. I love it. It's amazing.

Were there any memorable moments or fan interactions during your tour?

There are loads! Tonight, we got the shades and all sorts. They made a hat in Manchester with gemstones on it, and here they throw sh*t on the stage. It’s amazing; I love it. It's so nice to see that they care about the project. They just love making sh*t.

When you're creating songs and writing them, what is your main source of inspiration or where do you get your inspiration from?

I live in a really nice, chill seaside place, so I sometimes go for long walks, bringing my laptop to lay down some ideas. Or just music in general; I love listening to a track and thinking, "Oh sh*t, that's sick. I'll try that genre or direction for my next track." Movies, books, interactions—like right now, I might write a little snippet about some guy I met at the airport. He was a security guard who told me his girlfriend of seven years had just dumped him.

You had a very rapid start in your career. Only a few songs released, and you're already touring Europe. When you first started making music, did you envision this happening so quickly?

Hell no! It's amazing, but it wasn't an accident. I've been recording and researching how to do this sh*t since I was much younger. It did take me a little by surprise, but there's a long way to go. I want to be somewhere much bigger, hopefully soon, hopefully soon. Within the next five to ten years.

Are you preparing some longer projects?

Oh, yeah! The plan is to have my debut mixtape out by the end of this year. I don't have an album or anything because, in my scene, it's all just singles or double-sided singles. There's no project, so that's something I really want to do. My mixtape at the end of the year—hell yeah!

I'm excited to hear it. I also noticed that you don't have many collaborations at the moment. Is that something you want to do in the future, or are you focused on solo music right now?

Definitely! I've always done it myself, making beats on my laptop and singing along to them. For my mixtape, I'm going to work with some producers and engineers who are more experienced than me. Hopefully, that will elevate my sound. As for artists, I'd love to collaborate with people. I started off wanting to establish myself as a solo act, not just a feature artist. But now, I'm in a place where I can start working with other people.

Do you have any specific names in mind you would like to collaborate with?

Oh, f*ck yeah, definitely! Dominic Fike would be sick, although that's probably never going to happen. Frank Ocean, if he comes out of wherever he is. If MF Doom was still alive, that would be pretty cool. There's this guy called Verzache who was my inspiration when I was younger. It would be amazing to do a full 180 and collaborate with him. I'm open to anyone—hit me up.

What is your current number one song? What are you listening to at the moment?

Adrianne Lenker, or Justin Timberlake—we've been spamming his songs on this tour. It's a mix of everything at the moment, really.