Ipswich-bred, Brisbane-based ZAXCY is carving a niche for himself in the city’s underground
His latest, What Do I Even Know For Sure, is a rollercoaster of emotions, pulsating with a raw energy that’s as infectious as it is intoxicating.
We caught up with the genre-bending artist to talk love, loss, and the future of music.
Scroll down for the full interview.
Happy: What are you up to today?
ZAXCY: Today, I’m immersed in music—listening, working on new tracks, and reading music reviews.
It feels like music is constantly on my mind! During weekdays, I balance this passion with a more traditional 9-5 job to maintain stability and nurture my creative skills.
Lately, I’ve been making a conscious effort to spend more time outdoors, hanging out with friends, going on hikes, and exploring the beauty of our country and beyond.
Happy: Tell us a little bit about where you live? What do you love about it?
ZAXCY: I currently reside in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, close to the river.
It’s not my endgame, but it’s an affordable option for now, sharing a place with friends which is advantageous in this market.
I’m fortunate to have space for creativity and nearby parks to wander in. The city is easily accessible by train, which is convenient.
I’m still discovering many hidden treasures around Brisbane and enjoying every bit of it.
Happy: Can you walk us through your songwriting process? Where do you typically find inspiration?
ZAXCY: I approach my songwriting in two main ways: the Gardener and the Architect.
The Gardener mindset involves exploration, nurturing ideas, and embracing creativity with a sense of wonder.
It’s about capturing happy accidents and entering a flow state. The Architect phase comes next, where I curate and refine ideas from the Gardener phase into a cohesive project, I take a more measured approach when going through demos, ideas and just seeing which ones have something that I feel can be expanded on or further pushed.
Inspiration comes from everywhere—other forms of art, the world around me, history, and science. I’m always absorbing different sources of inspiration like a sponge.
Happy: Speaking of inspiration, we love the journey you take the listener through on your latest album, can you tell us a little bit about the inspo behind it?
ZAXCY: Thank you! I unexpectedly found myself in a long-distance relationship with someone I met online just before the pandemic kicked off.
At the time experiencing these rushes of young love through the internet was very foreign and surprising. Due to impracticalities of long distance relationships we would break up after around 8 months as the pandemic had unfolded in 2020.
It was a new experience of love mediated by the internet, which influenced the themes and sounds of the album.
I wanted to capture the essence of this strange modern e relationship in a hyper-connected always online world through my music.
Happy: How did you first get into music? Were there any key artists or experiences that shaped your sound?
ZAXCY: EverMusic has been a part of my life from the beginning, influenced by my dad’s musical interests and growing up with early 2000s pop and alt-rock.
To this day a lot of that music is tinged in nostalgia for me and as I grew older and explored more music, following my own tastes I would find fellow Aussie Flume, all the way back in grade 7 for me, and I would get hooked on his debut album.
My parents would give me my first CD, the deluxe version of that debut album which included a copy of Ableton, the software Flume uses to create his music, along with some content from Flume around his process at the time from live workshops he did with Ableton.
Too many countless artists have shaped me and my approach to music, but to commit to hand full, Arca, Clarence Clarity, Little Snake, Death Grips, and the late SOPHIE who we so tragically lost.
I get really obsessed with artists and their discography and the album rollout, so whenever I find an artist that truly resonates with me causing me to go down a manic spiral trying to find every little demo or bit of content they have done to try and better understand the context of their work, how their trajectory unfolds and experience the great work they produce.
Happy: Can you tell us a bit about your favourite instruments or recording tools you use to create your music?
ZAXCY: I’ve been using Ableton since I first received it with Flume’s album years ago, and it remains my go-to software for production.
I’m constantly exploring new tools and custom plugins to expand my sonic palette. Lately, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for stringed instruments like the violin for their expressive qualities and ability to evoke powerful emotions in my music and would love to play more with traditional acoustic instruments.
Happy: What’s been your biggest challenge as a musician so far? On the flip side, what’s been your greatest accomplishment?
ZAXCY: Getting fans and spreading my work, I’m always so caught up in process of creating and being in my bubble that it’s hard to push myself out and spend time doing, what is to me, the more laborious tasks of building a fan base and moving in ways that many influencers do in this current online space.
The process of creating for me is already so consuming and a multi-faceted lofty undertaking for one man, producing, mixing, mastering as well as the art. All this while balancing a traditional 9-5 and attempting some normal social life and it never feels like there’s enough hours in the day.
It’s been hard to properly invest in a marketing strategy or much social media presents, it’s something I’m always thinking about and trying to work on. Most of the fans I have accumulated so far have been just from genuine experiences and meeting and talking about music, organic interactions.
I then went on to explore more of curator Rick Rubin sort of role in helping other artists develop their sound which has been rewarding in a different way and taught me different things.
My accomplishments of finishing two albums and getting myself to that point of being able to experience the fruits of my labor, developing a body of work overtime that I can return to time and time again for me have been gratifying milestone to achieve, as well as seeing projects through to release as an executive producer helping with all aspects of the process from song selection and sequencing of the track listing.
These things have been paramount to my artist development and have primed me to further navigate the industry and develop projects that are genuinely resonant to me.
Happy: Are there any hidden gems or lesser-known artists you’re currently listening to that you’d recommend?
ZAXCY: I love discovering underground talent! Artists like Ceratone, Jarodpanda, and Deadify are producing incredible music across various genres.
Little Snake and Kavari are also artists pushing boundaries in electronic music that I can’t get enough of.
Happy: Lastly, what makes you happy?
ZAXCY: What makes me Happy? I find happiness in the sheer privilege of being alive at this moment in time.
I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had and the vast possibilities ahead—meeting new people, exploring new music, and experiencing the wonders of life.
The journey of self-growth and navigating this ever-evolving world brings me joy and purpose.
