1 hr 6 min
Bonus Episode: #55 - Zak Abel: Music, Masculinity and Mothers Man Down: The Anti-Man-Up Movement
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- Mental Health
Join Zak and I as we discuss his new track 'Less of a Man', which explores our relationship with masculinity and what it means to be a man in today's society. We also chat about Zak's experiences of mental health, his exceptional table tennis talent, mental health within the music industry and the impact of our mums in our lives. To me, Zak is a true example of authenticity and vulnerability, in his ability to share this truth openly and from a place of curiosity.
About Zak: Zak Abel is a British singer / songwriter, who first rose to fame after supplying guest vocals on Gorgon City’s UK Top 20 hit single ‘Unmissable’. Born in London, Zak’s journey into music was not predetermined, as despite this always being where his true passions lay, he once ranked Number 1 in England and had a position on the Olympic Squad for Table Tennis. Travelling around the world to train and play games, Zak’s earliest musical memory is listening to Magic FM in the car and being brought up on a diet of Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse and James Brown – soul music in the most classical sense. The depth and feeling that those artists packed into their lyrics were never lost on Zak, who started penning his own songs as a 14-year-old and uploading videos of his work to YouTube, which eventually led to him signing a record deal in 2014 and meeting influential electronic music producer, Joker. Zak and Joker released the four-track EP, ‘Joker Presents: Zak Abel’, in 2015 – a record Zak credits with opening his mind to new ways of thinking about music and a gateway for meeting other creative minds to collaborate with like in the career-defining tracks ‘Beautiful Escape’ with Tom Misch and Kaytranada on ’Say Sumthin’. Through these early collaborations, Zak felt both emboldened as a writer and confident as a performer, setting him up perfectly for the release of his 2017 debut album, ‘Only When We’re Naked’. This body of work saw him channel his creativity into pop spheres for the first time and it was a record that significantly increased his stock as a writer too – being asked to pen hit records for the likes of Kygo (‘Freedom’) Avicii (‘Ten More Days’), ZAYN (Flames), Paloma Faith and John Legend (I’ll Be Gentle) and Don Diablo (Bad).
Now signed to Vertigo Berlin (Universal Music Germany) and Island Records in the US, his own music never fails to disappoint, too: blending soulful vocals with R&B and pop, the smokey 2021 release “Be Kind”, which made it into AirPlay Charts in various European countries and Top 40 HOT AC in the USA has been the defining direction for his upcoming second album. Alongside music, Zak is an Ambassador for mental health charity CALM and speaks openly about issues surrounding this topic as well as channeling themes of identity and mental struggle into his lyrics.
Join Zak and I as we discuss his new track 'Less of a Man', which explores our relationship with masculinity and what it means to be a man in today's society. We also chat about Zak's experiences of mental health, his exceptional table tennis talent, mental health within the music industry and the impact of our mums in our lives. To me, Zak is a true example of authenticity and vulnerability, in his ability to share this truth openly and from a place of curiosity.
About Zak: Zak Abel is a British singer / songwriter, who first rose to fame after supplying guest vocals on Gorgon City’s UK Top 20 hit single ‘Unmissable’. Born in London, Zak’s journey into music was not predetermined, as despite this always being where his true passions lay, he once ranked Number 1 in England and had a position on the Olympic Squad for Table Tennis. Travelling around the world to train and play games, Zak’s earliest musical memory is listening to Magic FM in the car and being brought up on a diet of Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse and James Brown – soul music in the most classical sense. The depth and feeling that those artists packed into their lyrics were never lost on Zak, who started penning his own songs as a 14-year-old and uploading videos of his work to YouTube, which eventually led to him signing a record deal in 2014 and meeting influential electronic music producer, Joker. Zak and Joker released the four-track EP, ‘Joker Presents: Zak Abel’, in 2015 – a record Zak credits with opening his mind to new ways of thinking about music and a gateway for meeting other creative minds to collaborate with like in the career-defining tracks ‘Beautiful Escape’ with Tom Misch and Kaytranada on ’Say Sumthin’. Through these early collaborations, Zak felt both emboldened as a writer and confident as a performer, setting him up perfectly for the release of his 2017 debut album, ‘Only When We’re Naked’. This body of work saw him channel his creativity into pop spheres for the first time and it was a record that significantly increased his stock as a writer too – being asked to pen hit records for the likes of Kygo (‘Freedom’) Avicii (‘Ten More Days’), ZAYN (Flames), Paloma Faith and John Legend (I’ll Be Gentle) and Don Diablo (Bad).
Now signed to Vertigo Berlin (Universal Music Germany) and Island Records in the US, his own music never fails to disappoint, too: blending soulful vocals with R&B and pop, the smokey 2021 release “Be Kind”, which made it into AirPlay Charts in various European countries and Top 40 HOT AC in the USA has been the defining direction for his upcoming second album. Alongside music, Zak is an Ambassador for mental health charity CALM and speaks openly about issues surrounding this topic as well as channeling themes of identity and mental struggle into his lyrics.
1 hr 6 min