Hit The North: Zak, In the High Life Again

There’s a lovely, level-headed quality to Zak Whitefield’s new EP, To Anywhere. The five tracks may not rumble with any foundation-shaking shock of the new. Still, there’s a noticeable absence of attention-seeking that speaks of someone with a broader perspective on life.

“It’s well-known I’ve had to rough a lot over the last few years,” Zak admits. “Often going without food, sleeping on rat-infested floors and occasionally on the streets. That’s okay, because it’s all part of the experience. Comfort has a horrible way of cheating people out of living their lives to the fullest. I don’t want to get to the end of it all and regret playing it safe. I’d rather have something to talk about.”

Zak admits his love for the Pistols, Clash and Stooges may not be apparent in the mellow, dimmed-light contours of his music. His admiration of Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters, Ry Cooder, John Mayer and Josh Rouse is much more easily identified.

“I really like soundtrack music,” he says. "Into The Wild, Paris, Texas, Thelma and Louise – when I listen to stuff like that, I see images in my head. Vast, open landscapes and boundless skies. When I listen to a contemporary artist, I tend to associate what I’m hearing with the person singing it.”

His ambition to tour extensively in Africa and Asia speaks to a yen for the road-less travelled. However, for the time being, he’s enjoying a more typical route through small venues, including the living rooms of devoted fans, and ad-hoc festivals familiar to most entry-level musicians.

"It’s weird to think back to when I was a teenager and how much of a social hermit I was and then to think about now and everyone I’ve met, the places I’ve been, the memories made,” he avers. “Being a musician is a fantastic platform for putting yourself out there in the world, experiencing life. I try my best not to see it as a job to be honest. Otherwise I’ll treat it as such and it'll become just another thing to do in order to get by.”

This making-do mindset has also informed his attitude towards the particular demands faced by musicians nowadays.

“Because it’s so easy to put out music now, it seems like everybody in the world is trying to be the next big thing,” he says. “It’s all become extremely convoluted, like a million people trying to get through one door at once. That intimidates me. Maybe I’m cynical, a bit primitive for my age. On the other hand, I can record something, upload it and put it out to the world… within minutes. I can also book gigs by searching venues in a specific town. I don’t think I would've been able to travel and play so much without the internet. I’m not some neo-luddite who thinks it should be shut down."

With To Anywhere out now, he has something he can champion online and off.

“I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I feel like I’ve done an EP where I’ve meant every word I’ve said on it.”

The To Anywhere EP is out now