Maryland-based singer/songwriter/producer, Zeph (Zephani Jong, 22), is releasing her self-produced single about platonic mixed signals, “friends or not” HERE with music video HERE, which will be part of her debut EP Scared of Everything to be released on October 15th with Neon Gold Records (MARINA, Charli XCX, HAIM, Christine and the Queens, et. al).
Last month, she debuted “are you?” alongside her first music video, filmed in Los Angeles and directed by Erik Rojas (Isaac Dunbar, Rich Brian, Jessie J etc).
Zeph was born and raised in Maryland and homeschooled until the 10th grade. Her interest in musical production and songwriting began with a field trip to the Apple store for a children’s tutorial of Garageband at the age of 10. It wasn’t until 2018 when Zeph began writing lyrics and songs, over time discovering her own sound and production style by experimenting with friends’ equipment in her bedroom. It was then she self-released her first song, “Forever & Always” which has now amassed over 13 million global streams to date, followed by “Lucky” and “Ways To Go”. Like her singles before it, “are you?” is written, recorded and produced by Zeph herself, and follows on the heels of her stunning Thomston collaboration “Magnolia” from earlier this year.
Inspired in equal parts by film composers like Hans Zimmer as she is her pop contemporaries, Zeph has continued to hone in on her own cinematic alternative-pop songs, which sound like they were pulled right from her diary and onto the silver screen. Channeling this medium to share her own insecurities and emotions, Zeph often creates soundtrack clips set to anime and comic shorts posted to her Instagram feed. She likes to describe her music as a soundtrack to a coming of age movie where everyone is the main character, especially those who feel like they are not.
In a recent Alternative Press interview, she talks about her music vision: “My dream job since I was 10 was to be a movie score composer. I really want my music to sound like little soundtracks to people’s feelings or how I’m feeling or pretty images or videos that I see. That’s why I post videos—it’s like a mini film score every time. I take a lot of inspiration from movie score composers like Hans Zimmer. I try to use a lot of orchestral instruments in my music.”
Zeph – Scared of Everything EP – tracklist:
1. are you?
2. could you love me while i hate myself
3. friends or not
4. miss me
5. unnoticed
6. scared of everything
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