‘Five Albums’ : With zakè(Zach Frizzell)

I’ve been kind of bummed out about the state of the world. I guess “bummed out” might be too slight of a way to put it. For the last 10 years the world seems to have begun a slow slide into oblivion, and I’ve been hiding out in my little chunk of the universe hoping it would right itself, so to speak. That doesn’t seem to be happening. Between hate disguised as patriotism, religion slowly slinking its way into places it shouldn’t be, and of course the rise of the A.I. overlords that will sooner than later gain sentience and realize that they can exist without humanity, I’ve been feeling a little blue.

Whenever I’m down, music has always been there for me to lean on. Artists making sounds with their hands, voices and instruments has always been my go-to place when the world feels heavy. Sure, movies and books and graphic novels hold a special place for me as well. And of course finding solace with family and friends. But music is where I turn to the most for that shot of aural serotonin. From doom metal to bebop to power pop to ambient; classic rock, NWOBHM, synth pop and post-punk, music is the friend that always picks up the phone when I call.

So today I’m starting a new segment here at Complex Distractions called ‘Five Albums’. I ask someone I have a lot of respect and admiration for to list five really important albums that have made a significant impact on their lives. I figured 10 albums is too much, and one album is just too damn hard to choose. So I landed on the number five. And they talk as little or as much about these five albums and how they’re important to them. To kick things off, we’re starting with super ambient musician/producer/label runner Zach Frizzell, who makes music under the the name zakè.

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Zach is based in Indianapolis, which is only a hop, skip and jump from me in Northeast Indiana. He co-runs the ambient label Past Inside The Present, as well as running zakè drone recordings. Not only has he released a library of transcendent ambient/new age music on his own, but has helped build an ambient music community to which he has collaborated within for the last several years.

My first experience with Zach was with Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea, a musical project he started with fellow ambient musicians Marc Ertel and Damien Duque. Their album Liberamente(released on Danish label Azure Vista Records) really opened my eyes to the world of ambient music, and given that it dropped in 2020 it was a pocket of musical bliss to get lost in while the world outside was swallowing itself.

Liberamente opened the doors to artists like marine eyes(Cynthia Bernard), City of Dawn, Slow Dancing Society, From Overseas, Slow Blink, and Jessica Roch to name a few. I’ve also gone back to dig into artists like Stars of the Lid, Windy & Carl and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Zach continues to be a prolific ambient music artist, while also releasing music of fellow musicians and friends via PITP and zakè recordings. He’s helped build this community of artists and vibes and soothing cosmic hum that holds things together when it feels like it’s all going to fall apart. zakè is at the center of it all.

So without further adieu, here’s zakè’s five albums. After you’re done here, go give PITP and zakè drone recordings a look. Get lost in the hum.

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Radiohead: Kid A

“Came out when I was 16, already fully obsessed with collecting everything Radiohead. Singles, imports, slipcases, maxi-CDs, every variation I could track down. Kid A somehow pushed that obsession even further. Quite possibly my forever #1 album. In Limbo the best song ever written? Or was it Everything In It’s Right Place? Kid A? shit. The answer is A for all of the above. Still needing that Idioteque 12”…”

Boards of Canada: Geogaddi

“Just two years after Kid A was released, Geogaddi dropped. Equally as impactful as the former, while also having deep love and appreciation for all things BoC up until Geogaddi. If I imagined what perfection electronic music would be, Geogaddi would be it. Strange, beautiful, unsettling, completely its own world. Thank you sampled voice for helping me name my label.”

Stars of the Lid: And Their Refinement of the Decline

“Released the same year my wife and I bought our first home. I didn’t think Stars of the Lid could top what came before it, and then they casually released this. My favorite classically-driven ambient album ever. No contest.”

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

“My mom had mono pressings of this and Sketches of Spain, which she eventually gave me. I didn’t fully appreciate Kind of Blue until college. Perfect in every way, and still one of the easiest records to pull from the shelf regardless of mood.”

Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Volume II

“The first Aphex Twin record I ever bought on vinyl, picked up when a record shop in the mall was going out of business. Original, numbered, brown vinyl set for under $10 with their going out of business sale. I also grabbed the On 12″ for $5, which feels mildly offensive and incredibly lucky in hindsight. Like Radiohead, Aphex quickly became another collecting problem: singles, imports, maxi CDs, 12″s, whatever I could find. Once RDJ got into my soul, he stayed there. 32 years later, this still sounds impossibly fresh.”