With The New EP “Close Your Eyes & Listen”, Zzz. Finally Faces Himself
A fearless dive into vulnerability — Zzz. blends alt, pop, and R&B with unfiltered truth.
Miami-born Zzz. has always lived between worlds—between melodic bedroom R&B and raw alternative rock, between youthful recklessness and hard-earned clarity. His new EP, Close Your Eyes & Listen, feels like the first time he’s fully stopped running from himself. It’s a deeply personal record, where every track carries traces of growth, vulnerability, and emotional reckoning. “I wanted it to feel like ASMR—like you’re in the room with me,” he tells me, describing the textured, immersive sound that moves beyond polished radio hits into something intimate and tactile.
Collaborating with legendary producer John Feldmann—known for his work with Blink-182 and Avril Lavigne—Zzz. crafted songs that balance raw energy with introspective honesty. Standout track “Somebody Else” captures the ache of long-distance love with big hooks and even bigger feelings, signaling a turning point after collaborations with Travis Barker and Trippie Redd.
More than a collection of songs, Close Your Eyes & Listen is Zzz.’s sonic confession—a moment where he faces himself, finally and without apology.
To celebrate the EP’s release, I caught up with Zzz. in Los Angeles, fresh from a late-night studio session, to talk about shedding old skins, finding emotional clarity, and what it means to truly listen.
“ It’s really about slowing down and feeling things fully. We’re so overstimulated—socials, news, noise. I wanted people to actually listen.”
Justin Staple: You grew up in Miami—a city with its own unique rhythm. What were the early sounds that pulled you into music?
Zzz: I was always drawn to melody. Bruno Mars, Adele, Cher, Justin Bieber—that kind of big, emotional pop. Then in middle school, I got into Florida’s underground. That raw, distorted, DIY sound—sci-fi rap, all that. I used to do covers on YouTube. There’s this old video of me singing “Billionaire” floating around. That was the first time I saw music as something I could do, not just admire.
JS: When did things shift from covers and rap beats to something deeper—more you?
Z: When I got to LA, I was still making rap—mainly because it was easy. Grab a type beat, record, upload. But it didn’t feel personal. I started questioning why I was making music that didn’t even sound like what I listened to. Eventually, I stopped chasing what producers thought would pop and started following what felt right to me. That opened the door to guitars, vocals, live drums. Melody became the driver again.
JS: You linked up with John Feldmann on this. That’s a wild combo—punk legend meets Gen Z genre blender. How did that happen?
Z: He hit me up after hearing one of my songs and invited me to the studio. The chemistry was instant. John’s a machine—he’ll cook up a whole beat in five minutes and hand you the mic. First day, we knocked out like four songs in a few hours. It just worked. We made over 30 tracks together and trimmed it down to the ones that hit hardest.
JS: Describe Feldmann’s energy in one word.
Z: Caffeinated. That man runs on espresso and adrenaline. His sound is chaotic in the best way—raw, high-octane, full of life.
JS: Let’s talk about “Somebody Else.” It feels like one of the most personal tracks on the EP.
Z: Yeah, that one’s close to home. It’s about my girlfriend—we met in college, but I moved to LA not long after. Long-distance is tough. That song is about those early nights alone, hoping she knows she’s one of one. Feldmann’s drums really carry the emotion. It’s big but intimate at the same time.
JS: The title—Close Your Eyes & Listen—it feels almost like a command. Where did that come from?
Z: It’s really about slowing down and feeling things fully. We’re so overstimulated—socials, news, noise. I wanted people to actually listen. My girl actually took the photo that became the cover—she had tape over her headphones. That image stuck with me. It says everything the title does without words.
“The people in your corner? Don’t take that for granted. I want this to remind people to appreciate what they’ve got—and if they’ve lost it, to learn from it. This whole project was made with heart, not hype.”
JS: You’ve started letting fans into your process more—livestreams, texts, content. What flipped that switch?
Z: I used to be closed off. I thought it was cooler to be mysterious, but honestly—it’s not. Fans want to connect, and I started realizing that. Now I stream, I respond to DMs, I talk directly to people who care about the music. It feels good to be real with them. I missed out on that with my last project.
JS: What other themes are you exploring on this EP?
Z: Definitely love, but also loss—of self, of control. I was drinking a lot during the early stages of the project. I’ve been sober eight months now, and you can hear the shift. There’s more clarity. I was writing about chaos, and then I started writing from the other side of it. The project tells both stories.
JS: “One More Night” hits like a breaking point. Where were you mentally when you made that?
Z: That one’s eerie. I wrote it right before a major fallout—like, everything around me crashing. It was about reckless nights, drinking too much, ignoring signs. Then it all actually happened. That song ended up predicting my own burnout. After that, I knew I had to change. It was one of the last straws before I got sober.
JS: Now that the project’s out, how do you feel?
Z: Relieved. Proud. It’s hard to fully let go of something you’ve lived with for so long, but I gave it everything. I’ve got a stream release party coming up, probably heading back to Miami after. My birthday’s soon, but I’m already focused on what’s next—live sessions, maybe a deluxe, more videos. No slowing down.
JS: What’s the takeaway you hope fans walk away with?
Z: That love matters. Loyalty matters. The people in your corner? Don’t take that for granted. I want this to remind people to appreciate what they’ve got—and if they’ve lost it, to learn from it. This whole project was made with heart, not hype.