zakè(ft. various artists) : Silentium

Zach Frizzell, aka zakè, has done a lot to build a musical community within the ambient/new age/drone worlds. Between his label Past Inside The Present(which he co-runs with a collective of like-minded artists), as well as his own zakè drone recordings, Zach has gone a long way to build a vibrant, engaging, and forward-thinking musical community. […]

zakè : Caelum

zakè, aka Zach Frizzell, is a musical explorer. This is something he’s proven time and time again over the course of the last several years as a solo artist; as well as collaborator, label runner, and all around thoughtful creative. He never seems to take for granted the time he spends composing blissful, long form […]

Benoît Pioulard, Viul, From Overseas, zakè, Marc Ertel, Wayne Robert Thomas : Koselig

Zakè Drone Recordings was born out of a time of unknowns and uncertainties five years ago in 2020. While the world was isolating and social distancing, musician and label head Zach Frizzel(zakè) started an offshoot of his home label Past Inside The Present, a label built on a community of like-minded creatives. Zakè Drone Recordings […]

zakè : B⁴+3

The latest from ambient sound wizard Zach Frizzell, aka zakè, is the enigmatic and widescreen effort B⁴+3. Originally known as B⁴, a 2023 Zakè Drone Recordings release that was a musical companion to art prints created by Frizzell, zakè felt that he wasn’t yet finished with this record. In fact, in describing that feeling he […]

Long Story Short(Ambient Edition) : Slow Dancing Society/Billow Observatory/zakè/Chihei Hatakeyama, Hakobune, From Overseas, zake

2024. So how’s the new year been treating you? Already one month down, just eleven more to go and we’ll be looking at 2025. But hey, let’s not rush it. It’s going to go by fast enough as it is. Let’s talk about some soothing, heady sounds that might help you through it all, shall […]

“The Boundless And The Infinite” : In Conversation With Musician, Composer, And Label Runner zakè

Central Indiana is a vast, endless horizon of cornfields, farms, and the occasional city strewn in for good measure. If you’ve ever been to West Texas you’d feel right at home in this Midwest pocket of agriculture, small town life, and the feeling of being nowhere and everywhere in just a single glance. Interstate 65 […]

zakè & Benoît Pioulard : eve

There’s something magical about the silence of a snow-covered winter’s eve. That moment you step out from a warm, conversation-filled family room into a snow-covered neighborhood can be overwhelming. There’s a deafening hush, as if stepping into your own head space; snow falling from darkness above, soundless and impervious to the everyday static and aural […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2023(Ambient/New Age/Drone Edition)

Well we have made it yet to another year-end list season. It’s been a long-ish year for me, but there has been plenty to soundtrack the angst-y days and anxiety nights. What do I do to cope with the mental anguish and shadowy unknowns? Well, I listen to music. I exercise as well, but the […]

zakè and City of Dawn : Ash

There’s a kind of musical alchemy when Zach Frizzell (zakè) and Damien Duque (City Of Dawn) come together. I first heard these two back in 2020 as Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea(along with Marc Ertel.) Their Azure Vista Records debut Liberamente was a breath of fresh air; blankets of sonic warmth and sublime tones […]

zakè : Orchestral Tape Studies II

I’m always enthralled by the work of zakè. The ambient/new age composer has spent the last several years building a catalog of forward-thinking, thoughtful, and intellectual albums. Records that accumulate beautifully orchestrated sound collages and sonic realms that put you, the listener, in a state of contemplative and meditative bliss. Using electronics to create both […]