Zayn says heās happy, donāt worry
Whether itās about his new album or mental wellness, Zayn says, āMy fans can rest assured everything is under control.ā
Last week I got a phone call: āZayn feels like doing an interview.ā Iād been waiting for this moment ever since the bad boy of Bradfordās 2015 FADER cover story, his first major press since going solo and one my favorite pieces weāve put to print. Our original interview was in the lead-up to Zaynās debut album, Mind of Mine, and this one, done ahead of the Sia-featuring āDusk Till Dawn,ā signals things are finally coming into place for his sophomore LP.
Details are still scant on Z2 ā he wouldnāt tell me the title or release date, though āa tour is definitely on the cardsā this time. But as is always with the case with Zayn, if you read between the lines you can see mountains. Heās sleeping well. Heās gardening. He tells a beautiful story about translating English letters to his immigrant grandfather. Great things are coming āsoon.ā
Hereās everything Zayn wants you to know.
When I heard we were going to talk again I tweeted āWhat would you ask Zayn?ā and I already got 2,000 replies. So we just have to run through those real quick.
Shit, yeah, Iāve got time for it. Donāt worry about it.
The biggest thing people said is just: Is Zayn happy? Is he healthy? Is he getting his rest?
I am, yeah. Super. I definitely am. Iām going to bed quite early at the minute. Iāve been working in the studio throughout the day and going to bed at a reasonable time, getting up at reasonable times. Eating all my meals. Iāve got a gym at the house, so Iāve starting doing a bit of training. My fans can rest assured everything is under control, haha.
When are you going to quit smoking, Zayn? I see you smoking too much.
I donāt know. I canāt give an answer to that because it would probably be a lie. Weāll just say āsoon.ā
When you and I last spoke, you were getting a band together to go on tour. Why did that never happen?
We did a few auditions for the band, and we got a band together, but I just wasnāt feeling it. The first record, I didnāt feel like there was enough material to do a proper show. So I just waved it off until the second album, so I can get the best of both. I think my confidence is definitely improved now, so a tour is definitely on the cards. Iām excited to start rehearsing.
When are you coming to Brazil?
I love Brazil. Hopefully as soon as possible.
You didnāt promote the last album for very long. Why did you stop?
To be honest, Duncan, for me I donāt really want to do shitloads of promotion. Iāll do the music interviews and stuff like that, that actually have something to do with what Iām doing. But a lot of public interviews and being on TV, to me, is more about being a social character, about being a ā whatās the word for it, when people are on TV but donāt do anything? Reality TV stars? I donāt buy into that side of things. I just want to do my music. If people hear about me from their friend, itās cooler than me being in their face all the time.
You donāt even tweet anymore, really. Youāre closing yourself off, but maybe itās a good thing for you.
I donāt necessarily look at it as closing myself off. I just view it as something I donāt want to partake in. I just want to do music.
You didnāt even show up to the VMAs this year, where you won. What were you doing that night?
I was in the studio, working. I was writing.
The award was for your song with Taylor Swift, and a lot of my friends are being really harsh about her new music right now. Youāre someone who can relate to her position, both hugely loved and hugely criticizedā¦
To be honest with you, Duncan, when it comes to anything that has to do with trivia about peopleās personal lives or things thatās going on in their careers, I donāt necessarily pay too much attention. I donāt pay too much attention to what people even say about me. I just tend to take it for what it is when I meet them people in real life and have a conversation with them. If theyāre cool with me, then I base my relationship on that.
In terms of relating to it, of course I relate to things being written about us all the time. But I donāt listen to it. I rate her as an artist, I think sheās cool, I think sheās successful, and I think she deserves her success because sheās worked hard. Thatās just how I look at it. I did a song with her, it was fun, she was professional. She gets on with my girlfriend, theyāre good friends. I donāt have a bad word to say about her. Sheās cool.
Is your second album done?
This record, Iāve kind of finalized it. But thereās always ideas. Every day I find another song that Iām swapping out with another one. Thatās why the album date hasnāt really come yet. Even though the album is pretty much there, and I have the material, Iām still changing things here and there. Itās not necessary in my head when I work on a song whether itās for a new project or whether itās for this.
How many songs do you think youāve written since the first record?
I donāt have a specific number. Itās a lot, but I know itās not as much as the first time around. Thatās just showing that Iām more focused on what Iām doing, and each song Iām saying what I want to say. The other record, I was figuring that out still, so there was a lot more material.
What are you hoping for, timing-wise?
Iām looking for pretty soon, man, next couple months. I donāt know. Thatās the beauty of the word āsoonā ā itās open to interpretation. The pressure is on from the management, haha, but Iām taking my time with it.
Do you have a title picked out?
It does have a name, and Iām really excited about it. Itās kind of going to be something weird with it ā I donāt want to say more. Itās not your usual way of putting out an album, letās say that.
On the first album, you were basically just working with Malay. Are you more open to working with collaborators now?
The thing for me on the first album, I wanted that to stand alone as a body of work that Iād put together, as I said at that time. Before that, Iād put records out with four other guys for five years, and I wanted to do stuff that was solely me. I focused on the stuff I wanted to do with Malay, and put some songwriter stuff on there.
Iāve done that again on this record, but Iāve tried to do more mainstream songs too, because obviously my fans want to listen to something thatās a bit more upbeat and feel-good and not necessarily always as thought-provoking or deep as my shit, haha. I have to do something thatās a bit more mainstream because they want to listen to some fun stuff, rather than listen to depressing songs all the time. I appreciate that. Iāve took that on board. Iām trying to do some more fun stuff for them. Iāve got a few tricks on there.
The Sia song came out incredible. How did that come about?
I didnāt get in the studio with Sia ā I did the majority of the song already, and my management played it during a meeting with her. She really liked it, so she basically said, āCan I do something on it?ā She did it separately, though, and Iād really like to work with her in a studio. She was probably the person who got it the most, straight away. I just thought she was really cool. She didnāt take much time, she just knew what she was doing.
I know you worked with Timbaland too. What was that like?
He was really fucking cool. I met him, he came down to the studio a couple times, and we did some cool stuff together. The song is really sick. It actually came from a voice note that I had on my phone and I sent it to him. He was like, āOK, let me do something with it.ā We sampled the voice note and made a song out of it. He was really cool. Heās hip-hop, man. His drums are always Timbaland drums, so it was definitely in that pocket.
Do you play any instruments on the album?
I played bits here and there. I played a few chords of guitar, a couple keys, piano, some synth, some basic computer-pressing shit, when we try to pretend weāre musicians and press buttons on keyboards, haha. I did a little bit of that. Iāve dabbled.
Whatever happened to āDragonfly,ā the heavy metal song you recorded?
Itās still there. I havenāt put it on this record either. So itās still in the bank. But thereās some stuff that is like an evolution of that kind of song, and they are on this record. Youāve got to just weigh songs out: Is this one better than that? Ah, yeah, it is, I have to put it on.
Do you play songs to your family? Does your mom have a favorite song off the new album?
Yeah, she does. She loves āDusk Till Dawn.ā Sheās seen the video and she really likes it. I play my sisters stuff all the time, and they tell me, āThis is cool,ā or, āI donāt think you should necessarily be this depressing on this song,ā haha. Itās always good to check with people who can be honest with you.
Your willingness to be depressing really resonates with your fans, though, and when you talk about anxiety.
I know. I feel like thatās why they always check, āIs he OK? Is he happy?ā Yeah, Iām happy. Thereās certain times that we like to take creative source from deep moments where I look for music, but thatās not necessarily how Iām feeling 24 hours a day. Iām all good. Iām chilling.
I liked seeing you act in the āDusk Till Dawnā video. It plays off your reserved personality in a compelling way.
That was fun for me. I showed it to my mum and she said to me, āAh, you look really confident, and itās really cool to see you like that.ā I turned and I said to her, āWell, Iām playing a character, thatās not me.ā Itās easy to be confident when youāre being a guy whoās such a badass and doing crazy shit. Iāll tell you now, if that was me in real life with police standing that close to me, Iād be like, āYo, I didnāt do shit! I do not need you to be that close in my vicinity.ā Obviously for the sake of the drama it was fun to do it, and Iād like to do more of it.
Will you have more blockbuster-style videos like that?
I have an idea in my head, and Iām going to be doing a lot more than I did on the last record just ācause I feel more at ease, a little bit. Iām more chill this time around. Iām just like, āAlright, cool, letās do it, whatever.ā Iām down. I want my fans to understand that obviously Iām appreciating everything, and Iām thankful for their support, so Iāve got to show my face otherwise theyāll think I donāt really care, which I do. I need to show my face. Iām enjoying acting, so thereās going to be more of that in the videos.
Are you still a big reader?
I am. I read a lot as a kid. I donāt know if Iāve ever said this, but my granddad used to get me to read letters. Heās actually first-generation Pakistani. He was born in India, before India and Pakistan were divided. He came over, and he didnāt speak a lot of English, so he used to get me to read his letters to him when I was, like, 3 or 4. So I developed a real want to read things all the time. I would read books constantly as a child.
Iām still a reader. Iāve read a lot of different kinds of things. At the minute, I probably spend too much time reading conspiracy theory books that give my mind way too much information that I probably donāt need. I like reading books about aliens and space.
I did. I didnāt see it too well ā it was a bit cloudy where I was.
I want to know, have you been gardening in your backyard? Have you been working the land?
I am, how did you know that? Iāve been gardening a lot. Iāve got cucumber plants, tomato plants, onions, all kinds of crazy things growing. I just went to the local garden shop and bought seeds packets, read the instructions, and tried it at home.
I have a really big garden with my wife, with all these fruit trees.
Thatās really cool. Weāve got some trees too ā lemon trees and apple trees and grapes.
One fan question was: What does the new album tell us about you that we donāt already know?
I donāt know. I listen to a lot of different types of music, not just R&B, and I appreciate it. I enjoy doing all kinds of different music. Iāve been playing around with different stuff. I like a lot of U.K. garage music, and that was a heavy influence on me as well as the more classic American R&B. Craig David and stuff like that, and I was definitely drawing reference from them. Weāve got more songs like the one with PARTYNEXTDOOR. Heās cool. But thereās nothing thatās really some juicy gossip on there, or anything world-changing, haha. Itās just me.
I could keep inventing questions for you all day, but I feel like youāre in a good place with this album and Iām just happy to hear that. So Iāll let you go eat some fish and chips.
Haha, will do. Thank you, bruh. Iāll send you some donuts.
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