zakè

Indianapolis-based Zach Frizzell is the man behind the prolific zakè project, whose warm drones and analog textures have yielded dozens of albums – both solo and collaborative – across a broad spectrum of atmospheres and tonalities.  He is also the founder of Past Inside the Present, a renowned record label and artistic collective “in search of the world’s most inventive and engaging quiet music”, as well as its sister imprints, Zakè Drone Recordings and Healing Sound Propagandist.  
From the sweeping, melancholy resonances of his Orchestral Tape Studies series, to the slow swells that typify his work with kindred souls like marine eyes, City of Dawn, and Tyresta, Frizzell creates a distinct sonic environment with every effort, unifying them with a balance of classical training and adventurous experimentation.  Among his catalog, there are striking contrasts: Remembrance (2022) is unique for its brevity and sunrise gentleness, while Veta (2024) patiently unfolds with the ominous loom of an approaching squall, and the travelog Carolina (2021) nests its open-sky drift in a set of evocative, naturalistic field recordings.  These variations highlight the influence of intuition on his compositional process, as each mood is established by the careful addition and subtraction of layers to achieve an organic flow.
When forging musical alliances, Frizzell consistently unveils different dimensions of the zakè universe, bringing his artillery of analog synths and tape manipulations to new sonic territories.  His list of partnerships is a who’s-who of modern ambient, including ASC, Benoit Pioulard, bvdub, Lucy Gooch, James Bernard, Drum & Lace, Markus Guentner, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Chihei Hatakeyama, Jonas Munk, and many more.  He views each record as a means of processing lived experience, and as a marker of time; this is perhaps best exemplified by Silentium (2024), an anthology of 21 collaborative pieces created during a protracted period of recovery, and an attempt to wrest meaningful connection from lonesome uncertainty.
His two albums with 36, Stasis Sounds for Long-Distance Space Travel I and II (2020/2022), found a sweet spot with listeners, garnering millions of streams, thousands of physical sales, and widespread praise.  Complex Distractions called them “sonic bliss”, while Igloo Magazine delighted in their “spatial transmissions, awash with billowing tones”.  Frizzell’s discography has further been lauded as “a realm of boundless beauty” (Bandcamp Daily) and “thoughtfully immersive” (Headphone Commute), occupying a timeless, formless space that is equally suited to both focus and disengagement.  
In addition to his own labels, Frizzell has partnered with a stable of acclaimed imprints, including Azure Vista, Affin LTD, quiet details, Polar Seas, Dunk!Records, Florina Cassettes, and others.  UK stalwart Sonic Cathedral is the home of Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea, his acclaimed trio with Marc Ertel and Damien Duque.  Their 2024 album Reveries conjures an enigmatic, pastel haze that the artists lovingly deem dronegaze, and has drawn considerable praise from critics and followers alike.
​Despite the intensely personal nature of his recorded work – and of deep listening music in general – Frizzell is a benevolent and community-minded curator.  From his headquarters in the American Midwest, he has developed a roster of creative peers from as far away as England, Sweden, Japan, and China, all in pursuit of a new standard for modern experimental artistry.  Since 2018, Past Inside the Present, Zakè Drone Recordings, and Healing Sound Propagandist have issued landmark albums from established voices like bvdub, Purl, Hakobune, Pausal, Slow Dancing Society, and Warmth, while also fostering a new generation of innovators like T.R. Jordan, Cat Tyson Hughes, From Overseas, and Christina Giannone.  The three labels have earned a reputation for equitable, artist-led operation and aesthetically rich output, honoring posterity over profit, and blurring the ephemeral with the eternal.