Review & Interview: ZINGARA chats about her inspirations and debut album ‘Code of Dreamz’

Article & photo by Sally Watanabe

Last weekend a crowd packed into the 9:30 club in Washington, D.C. to hear one of bass music’s fastest rising talents. 

Zingara has been taking the EDM world by storm in the past couple of years, creating otherworldly bass frequencies that inspire you to dive deeper into the subconscious mind. Her first EP “Mind & Body” encompasses a genre-bending “astral trap” sound that simultaneously elevates the mind while grounding the body with deeply textured soundscapes. 

I had the chance to watch her perform on her first headline tour, which shares the name of her debut album— The Code of Dreamz. Every element of the show from the production and performance to the visuals and lasers made you feel completely immersed in a chamber of possibilities. 

Despite a late night set that began at 1am, the crowd showed up with energy and gave Zingara a vibrant reception. Originally from Baltimore, MD, playing the DC show felt “basically [like] a hometown show for me” with family and friends coming out to support. For Zingara, one of the best parts about being on this tour is sharing the experience with her people. 

Although she is incredibly busy, she was kind enough to answer questions about her journey with music production and experience on tour. You can read our exchange below: 

How did you learn music production and what has been your biggest inspiration to create? 

I learned about music and video production in college. I went to Towson University and studied Electronic Media and Film. I knew basic music theory from playing the clarinet in the past and I was also a competitive dancer up until college. I started to DJ my freshman year (2017) and played at the local bars and clubs pretty much every weekend until I graduated. I got involved with local companies, threw shows, filmed and played the shows and officially started the Zingara project my junior year of college. After I graduated I started to really promote myself online and started working with the best team I could possibly ask for and now I’m here! 

I was originally inspired by my love of performing my whole life and just being able to express myself through music. I loved telling stories through dance and now I get to combine my love for all of it in my shows! Clozee and Alison Wonderland were two women I really looked up to from the start of my project. 

Speaking of producing, a big theme in your music is mind/body connections. What are some ways you set your space/intentions when in the studio? 

My studio is my safe space. It was really important to make a space I can relax in all day. Besides the equipment I have a lot of mood lights, plants, crystals, oracle cards etc, and a lot of the gifts I have been given throughout my journey with this project (crazy pearlers, stuffed animals, etc)! This may sound weird to some people but I like to have each element represented on my desk and I like to light a candle to fully get into my flow state. I love to pull an oracle card

and write a song based off of the message. Sometimes I’ll sit outside and read a chapter of a book I am reading to set intentions and write with the knowledge I learned from the book. It’s a vibeeee. 

With your debut album Code of Dreamz coming out soon and an epic tour currently underway, how have you curated these songs? What role has dreaming played in your creative expression? 

I wanted my first album to represent the ways I live my life and my favorite topics which have to do with dreams, being connected to the universe and the spirit world. I love sharing my stories about these topics and teaching people what I have learned. I had a dream telling me to call my album The Code of Dreamz. When the full tracklist comes out and you read these songs in order it actually writes a sentence/poem which I thought was a cool idea. I also wrote poems to start a couple of these songs which I will also eventually share. 

The album is dedicated to my child self and the cover art is supposed to be me in my childhood bedroom and has a ton of symbolism in it. I’ve had crazy dreams my whole life. A lot of them have predicted big world events. I’ve learned a lot about my subconscious mind, the universe, and my soul. I had a lot of answers come through my dreams. My loved ones who have passed visit me in my dreams often. I’m also super into talking about lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis. I realized following my dreams should not only be taken as a saying, but also literally. 

I've also watched the tour vlog series and I love it! How does it feel to share this experience with your fans in an authentic and vulnerable way? 

I love vlogging. I’ve been vlogging since I was in middle school, believe it or not. I had a bunch of youtube channels and started making videos when I was 11. I love watching back memories, but I also think it’s a great way to share with my friends, family, and supporters everything I’ve been experiencing. It’s fun having everyone be able to see the behind-the-scenes. I know talking about all of my experiences whether it’s good or bad can help people and that’s what I want to do here. It’s definitely scary sharing the more vulnerable moments but I have had so many discussions with my people and my supporters telling me it’s helping them and it makes me want to keep sharing those parts of me because it helps me too! 

What moments on tour have been your favorite so far and what are you looking forward to? 

I’ve had a lot of great memories on tour so far. I’m about to go into week five of traveling. I love being able to travel with my friends and my team. Getting to see all of our hard work pay off is a really rewarding feeling! I love walking into a new venue each day and knowing we’re about to do some really cool shit! Getting to be on stage and let my emotions and vulnerability pour out is something I am really grateful for. Connecting with everyone and hearing people scream the lyrics to new music and songs that I have just previewed online and isn’t released yet is crazy! I also just played a show in DC, which is basically a hometown show for me and I got to see a lot of old friends, family, and familiar faces. I had a lot of friends and family get to see me perform for the first time as well! I feel so supported by my people.

As you mentioned on instagram previously, "The concept of this tour and album is to fully embody my childhood dreams"... looking back now, do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would impart on your younger self? 

If I was going to tell my younger self something, it would be to slow down and to trust the universe and that everything you’re going to go through no matter how you perceive it is something you can learn from and be grateful for. Love is the key to the universe.