Ahead of Breakfest this weekend, WAX sat down with one of the acts performing at the all-dayer: Ziggy 2000.
Once described by Headfirst as “bubblegrunge”, Ziggy 2000’s sound sits firmly in the middle of the Bristol scene. Inspired by both the folk and post-punk/grunge bands that are currently making it big in the city, Ziggy has come up with her own twist on the sound. She is authentically herself, with dreamy vocals over grungy gutiars.
Her album covers evoke pop-punk of the early 2000s, and so do her lyrics. It’s a perfect mash-up of everything that makes the last few decades of alt music so great. Her songs are raw, full of emotion, and sound like they’re taken straight out of someone’s diary.
If you’re heading down to Breakfest, Ziggy 2000 is not to be missed. Here, she talks about her inspiration and why she’s obsessed with the chaos of playing life.
Tell me a little about your new track Telescope – what is it about and what has inspired it?
I am an absolute sucker for big feelings. At my worst I can be quite melodramatic, and at my best I’m addicted to magnifying everything that I experience, whether it’s something joyful or something sad, or in this case it was the feeling of falling in love.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it yet?
Bristol’s Headfirst has called me their “bubblegrunge sweetheart” before, which I adored. However, I do feel that since then I’ve matured and fallen deeply in love with the grandeur of shoegaze and artists like she’s green, Glixen and Wisp, so right now I feel like “fairy shoegaze” encapsulates it the best. I love whimsical, twinkly and toybox soundscapes spliced together with gargantuously fuzzy guitars.
As part of the Bristol scene, are you inspired by the local artists here? How do you feel about the music scene in the city? Do you look forward to playing Breakfest?
More than I could ever say. I love this city so much, even more so now that I’m moving to London after nearly eight years! My good friends are all ferociously talented musicians who are pretty cemented in the scene, for example Dogsbody, Horsefair, and Hamburger, whose music I adore (I’m listening to Wax by Dogsbody on my CD player as I write this). It’s also so inspiring in the sense that I played one of my first ever shows with Mimi (Dogsbody) two years ago and last month she shared a stage with Self Esteem and Pixies. Nuts. They inspire me and seriously keep me on my toes, a recipe for any successful relationship and the sign of a really healthy scene.
As for Breakfest, I’m stoked to be sharing the stage with The Cindys. My bandmate introduced me to them and I saw that they played at Greenman too. I’m also so chuffed that the last venue I get to play at before I move to London is Strangebrew; it’s one of the main ones on my hitlist and I think it’s the best live music venue in Bristol! They have amazing taste and have always had an unbelievably strong sixth sense for artists on the brink of blowing up.
What does playing live mean to you as an artist?
For me personally, playing live is always a chance to learn and, in the best way possible, embarrass myself in some sense. I am always striving to be better, and there’s literally no better way of learning than fucking up on stage. I have a stupidly fast-paced and scattered brain and I’m obsessed with the chaos and clunkiness of live band performances; everything is always going wrong, nothing ever works properly and there’s always some kind of crisis, but when you run off stage with your best friends all breathless and yapping about how you nailed it and how that solo was amazing or that weird vocal thing I did in the moment was sick, the adrenaline overrides and it’s just pure joy – it’s always worth it.
Can people expect a bigger release after this one or anything else you’re working on?
I’ve been writing an absolute ton. I think because of learning to play in a band this last year and discovering so much new music, as well as the deliciously endless world of pedals. Every time I hear a new kind of sound, I’m inspired to write new songs. I also have an EP that is titled and visually imagined and ready to go, I’m just figuring out how to get it recorded! No one has any money and unfortunately I don’t know how to produce yet, although producing, and becoming a sick DJ as per requested by all of my friends, is one of my next big ventures.
//Words: Clara Bullock// Photography: Sam Wilson//