Trilogy of EPs: Chronicling heartbreak and resilience

Electronic musician Zach James Douglas recently released ‘6×3’, the first of a trilogy of EPs chronicling heartbreak and resilience.

A past pupil of St Mac Dara’s Community College in Templeogue, Zach was formerly in the indie band Little One but in recent months turned his attention to developing his experimental electronic sound.

When working on the EP, Zach collaborated with a number of other musicians, like Saoirse and Manamon, who provided vocals to a backdrop of layered, textured synths for his songs.

The Old Bawn native told The Echo about his decision to become a solo musician, how it feels to put out such intensely personal material, and his plans for the EP trilogy.

You were formerly in the indie band Little One. Why did you decide to become a solo artist and how does it compare to being in a band?

I’ve just always wanted to produce this type of music.

As it is so electronic and particular, it can often be quite a slow and dreary process and listening to the same kick drum for four hours at a time isn’t everyone’s cup of tea!

There are definitely upsides to both being a solo artist and being in a band.

When you’re a solo artist, you can work when you like and you don’t have to rely on anyone else pulling their share of the weight.

However, the shared buzz you get from playing a good show or releasing a new single, is far, far greater with a band and is an aspect that I really do miss.

You recently released your debut EP ‘6×3’, which is intensely personal and grapples with your emotions following a break-up. How did you feel about releasing the EP and the vulnerability that comes with putting those songs out?

It was certainly a strange experience. I’ve written many songs in the past, but I very rarely ever used myself or my own experiences to drive the narrative.

I usually like to write about those around me and their experiences through a third-party lens.

I wrote this EP as a form of catharsis, to try and achieve some sense of closure with that particular chapter of my life, but I actually forgot that eventually, other people were going to hear it and pass their own judgements on it too!

There was a nervousness and an unbelievable sense of vulnerability that came with the release of each single from this EP, which I had never felt before.

Did you set out to make an EP centred on a break-up, or did the topic come about more organically when you were working on the songs?

No, I had no particular wish to write a heartbreak EP. I actually had the music pretty much tracked for four songs when the breakup occurred, but hadn’t settled on what the subject matter would be.

However, once I settled on the subject, I realised that four songs just weren’t going to suffice, so I needed to extend the EP to six, which is a decision I’m glad I made, because the final two tracks are probably my favourite!

The EP is the first of a trilogy of EPs. Why have you decided to release a trilogy of EPs?

The rationale behind this all stems from the subject matter of the first EP.

As I said, it was written as almost some sort of self-therapy and I knew that I would have to log the development and self-growth felt across the following months.

In a way, you could consider the three records as the EP that detailed what has happened, the EP that details what is currently happening and the EP that will outline what I hope will happen in the future.

What can listeners expect over the course of the three EPs, which will all be released over the next 12 months?

So I’ve actually just finished EP number two. This EP is more temperamental and is probably musically more experimental, but at the end of the day, I hope to convey the same level of lyrical honesty and authenticity throughout this second record, that hopefully came across in ‘6×3’.

‘6×3’ is out now on all streaming platforms.

For more information, follow @zachjamesdouglasmusic on Instagram.