We recently connected with Zane Zwicker and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Zane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I think the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the one I have currently in the making. For the last 8 years I focused on becoming a strong producer and engineer for my own music. But I would always put the music first rather than the lyrics or writing. I only started singing in 2018, so that’s been something I really wanted to improve on. With this new project I’ve been working on, my main goal was to put the lyrics/songwriting first. I think it really shows in the music, and I’m really excited for everyone to hear this new direction.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Zane Zwicker but online I’m known as mindysounds. I am a music producer and singer/songwriter, I’ve been making music for about 8 years. I started out making EDM music and got some recognition making remixes of popular Latin songs and posting them on SoundCloud in 2016-2017. Later I began trying to make my own pop/Hip-Hop music as well as trying to sing on my own tracks. In 2019 I launched my new artist alias mindysounds and my first song was released with my friend Panda Eyes, who I met through making electronic music. The song was originally a solo performance Hip-Hop track I made, but I ended up selling it to Panda Eyes and instead we released it as a collaboration. Afterwards, I released a steady stream of tracks through the years including my first EP in 2021 “Love, Fears & Broken Careers” and then my first LP in 2022 “Do Not Stand At My Grave”. In 2023 I released my first collaborative EP “BITTERSWEET” with my close friend and artist Clovers. Most recently I released the first single “Half The Man” off my second LP coming later this year.
I think what makes me stand out from other people in my shoes is my resourcefulness and versatility.
Moving into 2024 I really want to expand on working with other artists on their music. I love producing for other artists and I’d love to try and help write with more artists as well. I’ve always kind of stuck to myself with my creative process but that’s definitely something I want to change.
I have worked on some great music with artist friends like whereisluna, Raqs, Clovers, and Lil Panda X doing remixes, writing and full production. Being able to help artists achieve their vision with my knowledge of production, is something I really look forward to doing more of this year.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I think resilience can be found in working with what you have. When I first started recording music, I wrapped a Playstation microphone around a Yamaha keyboard and recorded directly into Audacity. That was the only way I knew how to get my ideas out at the time. Even though everything I recorded that way, didn’t sound very good. When I was 16, on my own I got Ableton Live, my first studio monitors (KRK Rokit 5’s) and a Steinberg UR22 audio interface. I haven’t really had any upgrades since then, and so everything I’ve ever made has used those same tools. I love the idea that it doesn’t matter what you use, you don’t need good gear to make good art.
Only a few years ago you were considered a “bedroom producer” if you had a minimal set up at home, but I haven’t heard that term in a while because I think that has just become more of the norm. It’s great to see that up and coming artists can easily have the tools at their disposal to express themselves without needing to rent studio time or buy expensive equipment. Looking back on my journey, I recognize the ways I was able to figure out how to best utilize what I had at home, to resourcefully create the art that I wanted to.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is definitely to make music a full career. Ever since I was 15 years old I wanted to have a job making music and I continue to work towards that. Whether it’s making music for other artists or my own music catching more attention, I’d want being creative to be my sole focus in life. I was always creative as a kid, but I didn’t know what opportunities I could have doing it for work, when I got older. Through high school I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I also tried other creative outlets like graphic design and videography. I was still constantly working on music, and didn’t have much of a social life at that time as a result. I think all the work I put into learning my craft has really paid off in the end, and I look forward to seeing how much further I can go with music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/mindysounds
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindysounds/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindysounds
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindysounds
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMhLLih9c2-MjSMgEXZkh9g
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/mindysounds
Image Credits
Hallie Tut (@hallietut) Dylan Lorriman (@blond_boii) Hannah (@meesourl)