Zeitgeist Energy Exchange Channel 80’s sleaze on ‘Who’s The Kid’

With Inspire // Radicalise, Melbourne-born, Berlin-based drummer and producer Ziggy Zeitgeist returns at the helm of Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, delivering the most expansive and ambitious project of the collective’s career. Out April 18th via their own Energy Exchange Records, the double album channels the kinetic spirit of their signature “hi-tech jazz”—a heady fusion of jazz, club culture, and deep groove—into a bold exploration of artistic purpose. Written between Berlin and London with a pan-continental crew of collaborators, Inspire // Radicalise dives into the emotional tug-of-war between creative intuition and self-doubt, pairing raw musicianship with a fiercely danceable, future-facing sound.

What do the words "Inspire" and "Radicalise" mean to you, and how did they shape the vision for this  album? 

Inspire : To be Inspired. to seek inspiration . to be open to inspiration in the fleeting moments and Inspire others.  

Radicalise : don't be afraid to be radical. to think and dream outside of the norm. Sometimes standing up for what you believe in requires one to radicalise to take risks rather than refining oneself to the limitation of society.  

You’ve talked about the internal struggle behind creative motivation—what kept you pushing forward  with this project when things got tough? 

Yea it seems a common thing for creatives today just feeling the scene is so oversaturated its  honestly hard to just feel valued to feel seen sometimes . obviously that is many layered.. and  doesn’t even begin to cover the difficulties of just having space and time to make music and  somehow make a living out of it . Honestly when I’ve found myself creatively blocked the best thing i  found is going back to practicing forgetting about making an album or hitting deadlines or even trying  to write great songs and get back to just feeling connected with an instrument and feel I’m improving  at something everyday I’m unravelling a little more of the mystery and magic of music. its a gift, a  blessing we need to remind ourselves every time we touch an instrument. Practice is the meditation.  

How did the addition of electric guitar and disco/highlife influences shift the energy or direction of  your sound? 

Hmmm i guess its a few things. i did a trip to Ghana last year that got me gassed on a lot of highlife /  West African disco vibes. and somehow returning to some roots stuff like Hendrix / Prince / Curtis  Mayfield people like that. Somehow the electric guitar brings back a bit more of that psychedelic  element as well i guess that’s a vibe. 

What was it like collaborating with musicians across Europe, the UK, and Australia—did any  unexpected magic come out of those sessions? 

I guess that’s what I’m getting at having some of the OG collaborators on the record cats like Abase,  Moody, Owusu; Matto Hayes. we is been playing together for a while now. then theres always some magic that occurs when working with new people in different parts of the world it brings out something unexpected which is such an essential part for our process.  

As one of the most dynamic live acts around, how do you capture that same intensity and freedom when you’re in the studio. Basically, we're having serious fun. They way we work in the studio we can be deadly serious and focused for hours on end and just gassing ourselves up just on the music. the music evokes emotions in us and it feeds back into the music it's a feedback cycle. Humour is an important element sometimes were just into making weird sounds and goofing around as well, they also turn into songs.  that’s what i mean about hang chops.