23-year-old Melbourne pop-funk singer and multi-instrumentalist Zachary Leo – yes, you read that correctly – dropped a new single and video, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, on Tuesday 24 May. In addition to the cruisy cut and retro clip, he has also listed five pivotal albums that have influenced his sound over the years.
For fans of Ocean Alley with vocals reminiscent of Isaac Slade from The Fray, the disco funk grooves with modern pop arrangements are a silky-smooth blend in Leo’s signature style. The music mogul Michael Parisi protégé has a knack for crafting summery singles with chill vibes to wash away the tension of daily life. With his 2020 debut EP Feels and a string of solid singles under his belt, the young hopeful has his sights set on something bigger.
‘Can’t Get Enough’ is a swaggering tale of self-awareness and fixation on an alluring love interest with all the right touches. Wah guitars and vibrant basslines dance over airy synths and layered percussion to keep you moving from start to finish. This delectable sound was realised by esteemed engineers and producers Guus Hoevenaars (Courtney Barnett, Vance Joy, Tones & I) and Alex Markwell (The Delta Riggs, Mark Ronson, Diplo).
“The song speaks about being addicted to something that isn’t good for you and constantly wanting to distance yourself from reality, something that I found myself doing a lot over the past few years,” Leo explains. “A lot of my music tends to relate to what is going on inside my head, whether that be happy feelings or feelings of sadness. There are also frequent links to mental health which is something I feel very passionate about sharing with the world, so that hopefully others can feel they aren’t alone in their struggles.”
The man himself has compiled a list of five records that have undoubtedly influenced his sound, and we have to agree that there are some absolute classics in there.
Blood Sugar Sex Magic – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“This is the album that made me obsessed with music. I first remember hearing it in my Dad’s Station Wagon when I was like 4 or 5 and then came back to it when I started learning guitar at around age 8-10. It just made me want to get better on the guitar and really got me excited about playing. I visually see this album as the band just hectically throwing cans of paint at a blank canvas and this beautiful and chaotic piece of art comes out as a result. I definitely attribute a lot of my style to John’s playing on this record in particular.”
Brown Sugar – D’Angelo
“When I first heard this album, it completely changed the game for me. I would have been 20 at the time and was writing a lot of very rock centred funk music that didn’t really groove at all, it was a little bit all over the shop to be honest. I remember hearing ‘Shit, Damn, Mother F*****’ for the first time after a friend of mine played it for me and just hearing how the wah guitar riff was layered, and how that whole intro section grooved just left me in awe. I went down to my favourite record store the next day and bought the album and just went home and played the whole thing start to finish. By that night I had written the riff for my song ‘Feels’”
Awaken, My Love! – Childish Gambino
“I had always been a big Childish Gambino fan and I vividly remember a friend of mine showing me ‘Me and Your Mama’ for the first time and warning me to be prepared because it was going to blow my mind, and it certainly did. This album would not only go onto become one of my favourite albums of all time, but also my introduction to Parliament/Funkadelic and George Clinton, who would go onto to become one of my biggest musical inspirations. This album made me fall in love with that vintage sound and specifically that vintage, dry and compressed drum sound which I have gone on to use in my more recent releases ‘So Good’ and ‘Can’t Get Enough’.”
Travelling Without Moving – Jamiroquai
“This was one of those albums that was played frequently as I was growing up and was one of my first introductions to that clean cut funk/fusion sound. The thing that still stands up for me on this record is the bass. The more I listened to this album growing up the more I loved and noticed the basslines, and have made a conscious effort in my own music to make sure my bass sounds punch and pop as hard as they do on this record. ‘Virtual Insanity’ is one of my favourite songs of all time and the writing on that song is so incredibly clever, I will forever be failing to write a better song.”
Stretchin’ Out in Bootsy’s Rubber Band – Bootsy Collins
“This album is just one of the funkiest albums ever created. That vintage drum sound and bass groove really struck something with me and made me fall in love with that kind of combination. I think I place a heavier emphasis on that really dry and tight rhythm production purely from falling in love with this record. He is also able to create so much energy without being too heavy (from a rock and roll sense) and I think that opened up some doors for me in how energy is created in a song. I’d always just assumed you need 2 billion guitars and some loud drums, but listening to this record really changed that for me.”
Having supported the likes of Cub Sport and Thirsty Merc with multiple spins on triple j, Zachary Leo is a promising accumulation of our genre-leading local exports and is well on his way to being the next big thing. He will be celebrating the release of the new single with a launch show at Cherry Bar in Melbourne on Friday 10 June, supported by Sunday Honey.
‘Can’t Get Enough’ is available now on all streaming platforms.
You can follow Zachary Leo on his socials below.
