Adrian Dzvuke is one to watch. The Perth-based artist just opened for Coldplay’s recent Perth show, and is melding his Nigerian and Australian influences into feel-good tunes. With the release of his new single Ecstasy, we met Adrian to talk playing to 60,000 people at a sold out Coldplay show, and what’s next:

Congratulations on such an incredible year! We’ve been loving your music. First of all, we must ask, how was opening for Coldplay? What did you learn from the experience?

Such an incredible experience! My team and I had a blast. One thing I learnt is how much passion and effort Coldplay put into their show. I was really inspired after witnessing such magic (no pun intended).

How did it feel performing your songs to such a massive crowd? We can only imagine!

It's still so hard to explain, it felt so surreal! Imagine thousands of people singing your songs back to you. Actually a dream come true!

We love your song Ecstasy. Tell us about creating this record? What was inspiring you? Who did you work with?

Ecstasy is a song about that situationship that you know is bad for you but can’t seem to get yourself out of it. I worked on this record with Conor Lawson & Sheldon Yeoman in Margaret River which is a beautiful coastal town in Western Australia. I mention that because I think you can feel that in the song, the way it's got this wavy and sensual feeling to it but also very laid back. I’ve always been a fan of Tim Lyre and I just knew he would kill that second verse! I was so excited when he sent it back.

How do you think your Zimbabwe roots have influenced your sound?

I always like to have a lot of groove in my songs and I think that's definitely influenced by my roots. I also think the way that I write and my deliverance/cadence is hugely influenced by my language. I recently discovered there's a lot of rhythmic guitar in a lot of Zimbabwean music which is something I am also really into. You can hear this influence a lot of my EP 'DON’T WORRY BOUT IT SWEETHEART'.

And how has your time in Perth informed your music?

I definitely think my sound is  heavily influenced by the Perth scene as I've been on tour with bands like San Cisco, played with Pond, Spacey Jane etc. It's that really beachy and laid back energy that makes it into the music. I also think Perth is very live music orientated which is something that has really helped me hone my craft as a performer.

Who would you love to work with in the future? (Producers, artists, directors etc…)

I would love to co-write with Kevin Parker. I think we would make something really cool and interesting. I also recently found out that his dad is Zimbabwean so maybe we would have similar influences sonically?

Who is on your playlist at the moment? What have you been loving listening to?

I am listening to a lot of South African house/amapiano music at the moment. I never really delve into the EDM space either but recently I have been enjoying that sound and also experimenting on ways I can incorporate it into my work so we’ll see what happens.

We love your visuals - how do you dream up the visual world of Adrian Dzvuke?

At the moment I am just loving a lot of vibrant colours. It comes and goes in waves to be honest. I go by however I  am feeling at the time. 

What’s something you’re passionate about aside from music - perhaps something you’d like to use your growing platform for?

Really cool question. I am very passionate about African kids getting opportunities in the arts space especially in Australia. I always say that being Afro-Australian is such a new concept in this nation and we are still trying to find our identity here and I want to be able to help facilitate that in the music/arts space somehow.

What’s next?

Well I am working on a lot of new music at the moment and also hopefully playing more shows all across Australia! I’m just grateful to be able to do what I love.

@adriandzvuke