"Only one thing really matters and that’s the meaning" - An Interview with Zac Pajak

By James Garbett

You have to have something to say and a message; the music should be there to get that across and when it works... you have a special song!

While Zac Pajak started out busking on the streets of Kingston, writing and producing his own songs from a home-made studio in his parents’ garden shed, it's exciting to see his career beginning to take off as the young singer/songwriter is quickly garnering more and more acclaim from critics and listeners alike.

Having spent five years gigging in London pubs and working on several other artists' tracks including Major Lazer, Mr Eazi, Raye, Danny Jones, NUUXS, One Bit, he is now an established artist who’s comfortable mixing up genres and breaking down barriers between styles, which keeps his own music fresh and unique. We were delighted to be able to get the chance to speak to him.

Interview

Could you tell us more about Southern Comfort, what meaning does it have for you, and could you talk us through the composition to the final finished song?

Southern Comfort is about home and the people and places close to my heart. It’s a country song at its core because I’ve always been inspired by folk music growing up, listening to artists like Ryan Adams and Bon Iver.

The song was written a few years ago now and though it’s taken a few different forms over the years, it’s always stood the test for me. I actually played my sister down the aisle to it - so it was already a special song before a lot of people had heard it.

It resurfaced again recently so I began writing new parts and re-recording guitars in my home studio where I grew up making music at the back of my parent's garden. I decided to switch the song from acoustic to electric guitar and began throwing some drums together. I worked on the song remotely for a bit with my producer Jake Gosling - we sent it back and forth a few times during lockdown until it sounds like it does.

Why did you choose Southern Comfort as a lyric?

The lyric itself was inspired by one of my favourite Ryan Adams songs ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’. The song was born in a hotel room while I was on the move back home, down the country to London. 'Southern Comfort' seemed to sum up that journey perfectly and the song wrote itself pretty quickly after that.

It's a lovely music video, could you talk to us more about the creation of it?

Thank you! We didn’t actually intend to shoot a full music video that day. We knew we wanted the viewer to feel like they were following me around each place like a friend in a similar style to a home-video. We set out to find a few natural spaces to film some little promo bits outdoors and we ended up getting loads of nice footage which would’ve been a shame to waste! We didn’t overthink it too much and tried to keep it really simple - I think less is more a lot of the time. 

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and it wouldn't have been possible without the talented Sam Davies behind the camera directing.

Do you ever have writer's block and if you do, what do you do to get over it?

Sure, I’ve experienced writer’s block a few times. I think if you can understand where the block is coming from then you can work to overcome it. It could be a different reason from one person to the next. Sometimes it’s about going inwards and tapping deeper into yourself and other times it’s about looking outwards and even physically going out, living more and gaining experiences to write from.

What would be your advice for someone wanting to be an artist?

Believe in yourself and remind yourself often of why you started making music in the first place. It can get tough and loads of things are going to tell you to stop along the way but if you do it because you love it, you’ll make music anyway.

How has your experience of busking affected you? Phonetically and additionally as a music artist?

I’m really grateful that I found the courage to go out and sing on the street when I was younger. I was a wreck from the nerves sometimes and I still get nervous now but I don't think you’re human if you don’t. Busking taught me how to manage those nerves and channel them in a way to better the performance. 

How has lockdown been for you? Has inspiration been difficult or something you've been able to channel?

I really miss playing live, like a lot... that’s been the hardest thing during lockdown for me. I think live music is going to hit differently when it finally returns!

Lockdown has allowed me the time and space to really focus on the music I'm writing though - I've managed to stay productive with a lot less distractions and I’ll come out the other side of this with a lot of new songs which I can’t wait to share!

When did you decide to pursue music as a career?

I don’t think I consciously made that decision until quite recently if I’m being honest. I did know from the age of about 15 that I would always make music - whether that be ‘professionally’ or not. I just loved writing songs and creating music and it was just 'what I did' growing up. 

What is the thing you're most proud of so far in your music career?

I'm so grateful that I still get to make music every day and I think that's what I'd consider my biggest achievement - being able to do something I love for a living.

I still find it hard to believe sometimes that I co-wrote a song with Major Lazer. When we wrote ‘Tied Up’ with Mr Eazi I never imagined that it was going to end up being listened to and enjoyed by so many people, so that's still pretty awesome.

You experiment with lots of interesting musical styles (Again is incredibly different to Southern Comfort) do you go into a song with genre-in-mind or is it something that develops? 

I think I'm still working it out and that's the fun part! It's easy to get hung up on different genres and what you 'should' sound like but I don't think there should be any rules - I just try to write whatever I'm feeling depending what mood I'm in that day. I'm influenced by so many different artists from all kinds of genres and that's how I keep it exciting for myself. One day I'll be writing an acoustic folk song with another singer-songwriter and the next I'll be in a session with a producer writing to a dance track and I love that.

Favourite snack? (we're all about snacks at Run That Again)

If we're talking savoury it's cheese, crackers and chutney all the way. When it comes to sweet... well I can eat an unhealthy amount of Mars Ice-Cream bars while watching Netflix some days.