The British artist’s electric mix of sounds and influences offer a fresh and exploratory take on underground music
As Zen Zsigo sips on a Coca-Cola, we’re the only two sitting in an otherwise deserted bar. Outside on the streets of London, an incessant buzz of pedestrians pass by, serving as a substantial contrast to the artist, whose unassuming character and musical project Cremation Lily is one so heavily affiliated with both the man-made and natural world.
Despite an extensive musical history involving various endeavors and aliases, Zsigo is quick to revel on how Cremation Lily is a more personal reflection, expressing how it, “May as well just have been called my name.” With this pseudonym having become one of his most elaborate ventures, an impressive and growing progression of releases reshape and explore the way in which genres are traditionally perceived, be it synth-wave, industrial or trap. This experimental nature is combined with unfaltering authenticity — the project being so interconnected with Zsigo’s own life and a projection of individual thoughts
For Zsigo, making music is a part of everyday life and seemingly always has been. He recalls of early influences which curated his interest, having been from a young age enticed by an atypical variety of music: from psychedelic rock, his mom’s Björk collection, to ethereal Icelandic vocal melodies. Yet, a major catalyst in the project of Cremation Lily can be seen as motivated by captivation from the late 90s in eurotrance – appealing through its own experimental nature with ambiguous synthetic sounds. Zsigo explains, “Looking back on it, that was super influential in terms of manipulating sound and not just using traditional instrumentation.” He himself now works by stretching noises and toying with pitch variation; a style created being so distinguishable through its explorative nature.
Yet, the origins and particularly defining aspects of Cremation Lily are much more intimate and profound. With the moniker being a reference to the funeral of his grandmother — Zsigo had started the project at the time of around her death —and recordings such as “Sea Spray Perfumes” influenced by his own near-drowning experience, it’s evident that a more personal dimension holds significance in shaping Zsigo’s production. These recurring confrontations with mortality are cogitated on within his work, with volatility in the presentation of oceanic themes throughout emphasising the natural world and its overpowering nature. Zsigo refers to the tape for “Sea Spray Perfumes” as “almost like a diary release,” the experience of almost drowning in the sea in Hastings having altered his perception of music. His abyssal recordings consequently became less jarring and more stabilising as a way of stabilising himself, introducing more meditational elements to his sound.
This direct, logbook-like involvement with his works is a repeated pattern for Zsigo. Despite professing to producing without methodology, it’s clear in some ways that there is an underlying structure to the artist’s process. He shows me a vast collection of recorded samples waiting to be utilised on his phone, and reflects on the importance of “building a catalogue of sounds.” Featuring the likes of “Sad Sax Brighton Beach,” it’s apparent everyday life and the experiences that accompany it — not just profound events — are key to shaping the sounds of Cremation Lily.
Being so interconnected with his own existence, it’s no surprise that as Zsigo’s life has progressed and been affected by external factors, changes within Cremation Lily have transpired and its sound perpetually evolving. Having previously been a part of a punk band, earlier works have incorporated more elements of this experience – heavier distortion and louder effects a frequent occurrence, seen in releases such as “Fires Frame the Silhouette.” However, with many samples of natural sound and a collection of aesthetics characterised by secluded landscapes, the environmental world has undoubtedly becoming a bigger influence as he has moved closer to nature. “Cremation Lily has to have ocean sounds.”
As Cremation Lily’s sound has transgressed, a crossover between various scenes has been enabled; experimentation merging undergrounds of an uncharacteristic collection of genres, for instance from ambient techno, industrial to the more trap-based SoundCloud scene. Having collaborated on various occasions with GothBoiClique’s døves, Zsigo enthuses how this relationship has helped to evolve his own sound, explaining that, “The only reason I started incorporating beats into recent songs is because when døves did the remix, I heard my songs with beats, and I was like, ‘That sounds cool.’”
despite Cremation Lily having a more individualistic and solitary style, Zsigo has also worked alongside Mirsy. He effuses how this combination of artists involved helps to transform a piece, “It works best if I just do something, but then at a certain point to get someone else involved.” With plans to further collaborate with the poetic Mirsy on an EP, and with døves involved in the production of an upcoming Cremation Lily EP, Zsigo’s persistent exploration and experimentation opens pathways previously disguised for the underground; it normalizes a more open style and less common way of creating.
This openness is a key aspect of and to Cremation Lily. After recently supporting Alice Glass at her London show, Zsigo explains the importance of such candidness. Its presence within the community factored in largely to what made the show more gratifying; “With her audience, they’re super accepting of stuff like mine because she’s used so much abrasive sounds and has a history on that experimental side.” Everyone coming to Cremation Lily and adjacent projects now tends to similarly be more receptive and, “their sincerity has been the best thing that’s happened lately.”
“Recently, drawing in different audiences through whatever reason has been really interesting, and I love feeling like the audience of underground music is so open-minded.” Evidently, sincerity is vital to Cremation Lily – striving to have both a genuine audience and presence. Having been apart of Wicca Phase’s UK and Europe run and his own UK tour earlier this year, Zsigo reflects on how the nice thing about smaller shows is that, “If I wanted to, I could talk to every single person in that room, or if they wanted to talk to me everyone could just talk to each other and be open with each other, and I think that’s important.”
Lately, Zsigo finds himself reaching an ever-increasing audience as his succession of tapes grows; a crossover open not only inclusive to music, but also wrestling. He fondly enthuses about close friendship with pro-wrestler Zack Sabre Jr. and occasions in which he’s designed his merchandise. There’s even been instances of being approached at shows by people who have discovered his sounds through wrestling, having had interactions such as, “Oh I found out about your music through Zack.” It’s a slightly unusual overlap, but reflects how creative scenes are increasingly accepting and accessible. Zsigo muses, “If you exist with a certain world and have created an audience which is open-minded and accepting, the potential for new ideas and music to be embraced is there.”
With various projects and plans for the future, Zsigo’s own EP is underway for a late summer release, it’s not entirely clear what direction the artist will progress in. With such an experimental nature, the confession that his upcoming release is the, “first thing I’ve done where the whole album I’ve felt like is new territory to me,” brings with it ambiguity but excitement. By showcasing a variety of music challenging more traditional norms and both a sincere attitude and audience, Cremation Lily is helping to pave the way for a generation of artists to be increasingly free in the methods and styles that they create with.