Earlier this summer, the Slam Dunk Festival was England’s version of the Warped Tour, featuring big names like Offspring, Enter Shikari and Billy Talent.However, the opening of the main stage was ZanderHe sang a series of strident industrial pop songs, confronting issues ranging from sexual abuse to transphobia. Wearing a pair of reptilian wings and red contact lenses, a cripple writhing around the stage, ZAND’s only problem was that they couldn’t get close enough to their steadily growing audience.
“I want people to ask, ‘What the hell is going on?’ when I walk on stage,” they explained hours later, and their costumes “added another layer of fantasy” to the project. “I want to put on a show.”
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ZAND released their first “ugly pop” single “Boys Like U” back in 2018, and have been slowly creating a visual and sonic wonderland for years, swaggering with a growling, uncompromising attitude. The self-made “Freak” recounts ZAND’s upbringing and non-binary experiences, hoping that “people will be less lonely and excluded”, while “Slut Money” is written as an empowering hymn to “anyone who is judged for demonstrating the right to bodily autonomy and sexual liberation”. New single “DTF” ? “It’s masturbation,” they laugh.
It samples two different vibrators and features a dubstep breakdown that ZAND describes as a “climactic explosion of sound”. Instead of dressing it up as an anthem to self-love, ZAND wrote “DTF” because the very idea made them laugh, and the whole point of the project was to chase feel-good stuff. “It’s supposed to work out of the box. It’s supposed to be a little weird and squishy,” they explain. “And why not?”
This track is from ZAND’s upcoming sewer star EP, a conceptual piece that explores sin, animal desire and humanity through heavily satirical and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. “While there are two songs about killing your abuser, there are also some about having sex and it’s funny,” they assured, noting that humor is a big part of their music. The themes on the record are complex, and ZAND clearly put a lot of effort into creating the “ghost, bimbo dragon world”. sewer star, But “I also lose my temper a lot and try to have fun,” they explain.
Years ago, ZAND would have worried that silly lyrics would cause offense and would over-explain aspects of the project to avoid that. Now, they don’t bother so much anymore. “Usually, the only people who don’t get it are straight, white, and they get nothing,” they smirk. “If you want to know what I mean, just listen to the music.”
sewer star Provides another layer of freedom to the world of ZAND. When they set out to make “ugly pop,” they followed a strict set of rules, including making sure all songs touched on oppressive themes and provided some sort of education, as well as crafting jagged industrial pop that still pleased mainstream listeners. “Now, I just do what I want,” ZAND says of this evolution, with new projects fusing EDM and nü metal with soaring pop.
“As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that things aren’t always so serious. Life is too short. Is there really any point in having hope? Or do we have to keep living while the world is burning?” they ask. “Anyway, let’s have a party.” sewer star Debauched, escapist mayhem will no doubt be instigated. “I want to encourage people to be silly,” they continued. “Create your art the way you want.”
After all, ZAND first shot to fame at the age of 19 with their acoustic take on the classic “Bring Me The Horizon,” and it quickly took the music world by storm. “I’ve had a lot of people tell me what to do, and I trust them because I think they have my best interest at heart,” they said, rolling their eyes. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I got into this industry. I just loved writing songs and playing guitar.” ZAND was also struggling with his own gender identity, but coming out as non-binary helped things fall into place.
“Getting into myself and seeing the look I’ve always wanted helped a lot,” they explain. It also gave their music a purpose. “Every jerk and his dad can hear Ed Sheeran, but queer, non-binary, trans, they don’t have the same representation. They need that home too.”
ZAND hopes to really start building that sense of community with their upcoming US Headline Tour. “I wanted to create a space where people could come and be themselves,” they explain, rolling out a strict “no idiots” policy. “One can expect chaos, slutty dancers, and me laughing at my own jokes and hopefully you too.”
After a series of relentless anti-transgender laws and ongoing attacks on bodily autonomy, ZAND believes that a North American tour is now “very important”. “Even if you’re talking to a small group of people, it’s critical to provide them with a space where they can escape all the horrors of the outside world,” they said.
ZAND are often told how powerful their music is. “You don’t hear a lot of songs about the destigmatization of sex workers, or telling non-binary kids that their identities are valid,” Zander said. “But I’m just making songs that I wish I had when I was younger. I know my music is niche, it’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s for some, and that’s important,” they explain. “Maybe it will help them feel less alone, because the whole project really gives me a sense of community and purpose. People see me as fearless and hopefully they get that,” they added.
Following the tour on both sides of the Atlantic, ZAND will continue to expand their world with the release of their long-awaited debut album. “I wanted to push harder on the visuals and push the boundaries of ugly pop,” explained they, who were already excited to be working on a full length. “It’s going to be gritty, uncomfortable, fantastical and scary,” they say with a smirk. “Basically, I want to show the world what I can bring.”
