One of my favourite newcomers of 2017, Brampton artist Ziyaad Luceō recently returned from a two-month hiatus to release this three-part track titled “Good Evening Melodies”. This track serves as the prologue to Ziyaad’s forthcoming debut EP.
Using production courtesy of the Sonder production duo, Ziyaad built this track as a cinematic audio experience with three very distinct parts and switch-ups. The first part of the song is the party prelude. The second part is the party and turn-up. And the third part is the comedown.
The track was actually a record that Ziyaad had scrapped. But he decided to return to it and release it as part of the rollout for his upcoming project. It’s a dark, atmospheric record that so perfectly embodies the breed of soul-speak music we’ve come to expect from Ziyaad. Listen to “Good Evening Melodies” below, and check out our in-depth interview with Ziyaad.
“I tend to take breaks and periods away from making music to reidentify what direction I want to go as an artist. I like to experiment with different rhythms, flows and techniques in this space of time. – Ziyaad Luceō”
Q&A: Ziyaad Luceō
HipHopCanada: Start off by telling me about the significance of this song to you on a personal level.
Ziyaad Luceō: Personally, this song hits home. From the story to the instrumentation, everything about this record emulates what and how I want to create music. I feel as if I’m in my element and during the creation period everything came naturally to me. This song allowed me to do things that I’ve been feening to perform for some time now. The instrumental gave me access to communicate the prologue to my EP’s story-line. The dark atmospheric vibrations worked hand-in-hand with the night-life narrative. I loved how I was able to use my voice differently in terms of pitch, flow and intensity. It’s as if this song was a calling to me.
HipHopCanada: Talk to me about your two-month hiatus and what prompted that? What did you do during your hiatus, and how has your approach (and sound) changed since your return?
Ziyaad Luceō: I tend to take breaks and periods away from making music to re-identify what direction I want to go as an artist. I like to experiment with different rhythms, flows and techniques in this space of time. Yet with that being said, I don’t plan hiatuses. They just happen. Randomly. And honestly I love it this way. During this time I get to live life naturally and grow as a human being first and an artist second. I literally just live in the mundane of life so when the time comes, I can create my X-Factor. Yet this hiatus has been different because I took a step away to focus on my EP. Originally I felt like this break was going to be longer but I really wanted to throw out a track that will give my audience a sense of what sound and energy will come when the EP roll-out begins. “Good Evening Melodies” was a scrapped song that grew on me. I felt like it was a perfect beginning to the next chapter in my life and career.
HipHopCanada: The production on this is really interesting because the sampled portion of the track is kind of layered underneath your vocals. So at parts, it almost sounds like there are two songs going on at once. Or like… a sidebar within your song kind of thing.
Ziyaad Luceō: The instrumental is actually off Sonder’s demo tape “Undone.” I combined two instrumentals together but left the samples untouched. So I guess it was “kind of” intentional on my part. When creating the sample wasn’t an issue. I felt like it gave the song character and charisma that will make it identifiable when compared to my other bodies of work or compared to work by other artists. Engineering “Good Evening Melodies” was very difficult because I knew it was going to need to be extremely precise and accurate so the overall record can be clear and understood by the listener. I feel that I was successful at it.
HipHopCanada: This track is also structured with quite a few switch ups and parts – hence the title “Good Evening Melodies” I guess. There’s a lot of different changes in vibe and emotion here. Give me the low-down on each “part” of the track.
Ziyaad Luceō: You always seem to figure out my ideas behind my work perfectly! “Good Evening Melodies” is the prologue to my debut EP. I wanted it to be an experience with a start and a finish. The sound effect of the cassette tape meant that I was changing. Changing sounds, story-lines and my image to ultimately begin Chapter 1 in my musical career. After the cassette sound effect, there are three parts to the song. The first part represents getting ready for a party. The second is getting to the party and turning up. And finally, the last represents the come down where the craving for real love blossoms.
HipHopCanada: I love that. Explain the title “Good Evening Melodies” and what that represents.
Ziyaad Luceō: “Good Evening Melodies” is meant to be the prologue to my EP content. It was going to be named “All I Know” but I wanted to create a connection to my project without completely giving it away. The title to my EP hasn’t been released yet but I’ve been creating awareness through the abbreviation “LNC” (hint: one of the words is “Night”). With that hint, it is only appropriate that a prologue to a night should be an evening. Since the song was arranged into three parts it felt like it was a compilation of melodies and rhythms. I was really inspired by Kendrick Lamar’s roll-out planning for his recent project DAMN. when he released “The Heart Pt 4” [and] combined three or four songs into one. It was artistic and creative, businessly. He generated so much hype around it and it wasn’t even a single off the project. So when it comes to the title, I just wanted to keep it simple and give the listener everything they need to know from the title, yet at the same time making them a bit suspicious. When I finished the song it was around 8:00 P.M EST and I looked outside and thought, “these are perfect evening melodies.”
HipHopCanada: Tell me the story behind how you ended up working with Sonder for this.
Ziyaad Luceō: Sonder is a huge influential production group combined of two creatives named Atu and Dpat. They created a demo tape called Undone about a year ago and I got the instrumental from there. Unfortunately, I haven’t met them… yet.
HipHopCanada: Talk to me about the decision to finally release an EP, and what that creation process has been like.
Ziyaad Luceō: I feel like I’ve come to the point in my life where I have to put up or shut up when it comes to music. It’s been my main focus for years but it’s time to show everyone what I really can produce. I want to create an amazing story that will help people throughout their lives; change the way they see the world, and maybe me. I’m tired of being on the sidelines and I’m ready for the game and whatever it wants to throw at me. I’m ready to showcase my flaws in raw form. And the best way for me to do that right now is a project. The creation process has been hard but I have always stayed motivated and inspired. I know this is the beginning of an amazing story. I’ve been working on music almost every day for hours on end with my family and my team. Yet with that being said, I still understand that life is all about balance so I expect for things to take longer than I would want. But I have a timeline set and the music will definitely be on its way. LNC.
“Since the song was arranged into three parts it felt like it was a compilation of melodies and rhythms. I was really inspired by Kendrick Lamar’s roll-out planning for his recent project DAMN. when he released ‘The Heart Pt 4’“
Written by Sarah Jay for HipHopCanada
