Creating its own, poetic, sensorial and unique reality, GZLZ makes its experimental debut, the EP “Z_LAB”, an electronic and pop journey. Conceived by the creative laboratory GONZALEZ, the songs inhabit different but complementary moods . GZLZ is an artistic project which uses music as a sensorial platform to create unique experiences for the listener. They had already experimented with sound and audiovisual creations in visual arts projects and now they are taking an extra step. For this year, new surprises are promised. The project comes with a cinematic live directed by Jardim. The EP and singles are available on all music platforms and the video is available on GONZALEZ’s YouTube channel.
What was the process of creating the EP “Z_LAB” like? Can you tell us more about the inspirations behind the songs and how they reflect the sonic identity of the GZLZ project?
The process of creating “Z_LAB”, as a whole, from the first recordings to the release, lasted around a year and a half. The first moment, the musical, was one of research and sound discoveries; of creating GZLZ’s sonic identity. The second moment, the visual, also involved a lot of research and execution, when we translated the songs into a live performance event, where sound and image could be deeply associated. The third was publicity, when we thought about the entire concept that we wanted to transpose onto the covers, the publicity images, the way we wanted to present the work we had done to the public; I consider this moment as important as the others. About the inspirations behind the songs. None of them were recorded with a pre-conceived idea already closed. I had in mind that I wanted to produce a sound that could be associated with images, with a scenario outside the standard “space-time”; that had something of a laboratory experiment. Other than that, I recorded all the songs, at first, leaving my creativity very free; creating a bass line that I found interesting, looking for timbres in synthesizers that awakened something in me. Of course, the musical references I carry are important in these moments: Mike Dean, Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Flume …, but, in short, I can say that the first moment of the recordings was quite free, and a second one was about polishing, conceptualizing, searching for a set of songs that could compose a whole and make sense.
How would you describe the sensorial experience that the EP seeks to provide listeners? Is there a specific narrative or concept that guides the sonic journey of the album?
I would describe the sensory experience of the EP as a trip, a journey, a path. The songs have a touch of contemplation: sometimes chaos, sometimes lightness, sometimes party, sometimes loneliness. Associated with the LIVE experience we did, the images greatly enhance this sensorial “course”, as it was something we thought a lot about how to offer an image experience that was not just an “accessory”, but that actually proposed sensorialities, senses, “paths ”. So, I believe that the narrative that runs through the album is experimentation, the escape from standard time-space, through a retro-futuristic, performative and multimedia concept.
In addition to music, the GZLZ project explores other forms of artistic expression, such as visual arts, fashion and research. How do these different aspects connect in GONZALEZ’s creative universe?
The different aspects of GONZALEZ come together precisely in this proposal to be a creative and multimedia laboratory. Therefore, we like and want to explore various languages that interest us in experimenting. And, somehow, seek a convergent meaning in all these languages, which is precisely the possibility of experimenting, of feeling ourselves and of passing on to the public the sensation of actually being inside a laboratory; a figurative laboratory that metaphorizes, in the end, life itself, with all its range of sensations and affections. So, our products, our clothes, our works, and everything else we want to create, converge in this sense, the laboratory, the creative, the multimedia.
You mentioned the launch of a clothing and accessories capsule, in addition to the physical space. How do these elements relate to GZLZ’s music and aesthetic identity?
The clothes and accessories are reverberations of what we believe to be the fundamental basis of the brand. We work with art, with aesthetics, with concepts. Accessories, for example, will be something that speaks to both design and utility. I believe that as a label we seek to be in this intermezzo between these two poles . The clothes, the same thing. We are producing pieces that are affordable; which can be used both at night and during the day; that provide functionalities for people; that make sense for your day-to-day life . We seek to ensure that design can actually contribute, functionally and/or aesthetically, so that people can feel good about themselves, whoever they are!
Could you tell us more about the live cinematic that accompanies the release of the EP? What was the concept behind the direction and how did you plan this visual experience to complement the music?
I tried to create an environment that brought this atmosphere of experimentation, and that was not located in a defined time and space. This gave the visual part of the project a dimension that was both futuristic and apocalyptic, which was exactly what I was looking for. Furthermore, we needed a visual idea that could be reproduced “easily” in the future, because the main idea is that we can reproduce Z_LAB with other artists. GONZALEZ only makes sense from the meeting. Speaking of visual references that I used to build the project’s identity, we have the work of James Turrell , who served as a strong inspiration for the images in “Matiz”. In “Baile do Ajante”, a book was fundamental in awakening the curiosity to research funk in more depth, both sonically and visually, which is “Mundo Funk Carioca”, by Hermano Vianna. In the book he talks about the emergence of the first funk dances in Rio de Janeiro, which inspired me to use archive images as a way of composing this moment in our live. At 1mA I was interested in exploring the way in which sound frequencies can compose unique images. This fusion between frequency, sound, image, using our logo as a “guinea pig” for this experiment, was what I sought to do. In “Ramal” I wanted images in negative, and that brought this idea of size, with people passing back and forth , like in a train or subway station. Aaron Siskind ‘s photographs and the works of László Moholy -Nagy were fundamental references at that time.
What are the next steps for the GZLZ project? Are there any plans for future releases, collaborations or artistic projects that you can share with us?
Right now we are starting a new phase for GONZALEZ, which translates into our physical space! After a long time waiting for this moment, it finally arrived. The space will allow us to realize many of our desires and objectives that we have for the brand, both in the short and long term. In the coming months we will do some remixes of songs that are on the EP, with artists that we really admire! And we will launch the first GONZALEZ product, which, apparently, will be a keyholder . We are very excited and working hard on this. In the middle of the year we will launch the first pieces of clothing, which are already being designed. And so we close the first half of this year with a lot of work – and pleasure! for GONZALEZ.
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