Paramore's Zac Farro Drops Surprise Reggae-Influenced 'Zafari' EP

Prolific creator Zac Farro has dropped his surprise EP - Zafari - today via his artist collective Congrats Records - STREAM HERE. His first solo release outside of HALFNOISE, Zafari is Zac's exploration of Reggaeton-inspired instrumentation, sparse vocals, and vibrant production, anchored by focus track "Tangerine Tree" and a cover of The Kinks' "This Strange Effect." The five-song EP was produced and recorded by Zac at his Los Angeles studio with additional engineering from Paramore bandmate Taylor York.

"I have been exploring world music for a while now, and Reggae is one genre that slowly snuck up on me about 10 years ago. It is the root to so much of the music that inspires me, and I didn't realize that until recently. Zafari was made out of my appreciation for the genre and I wanted to put it out under my own name as I hope to release more music that doesn't fully fit under the HALFNOISE moniker. It's one of my favorite projects and is meant for an easy summer afternoon." - Zac Farro

Since moving to Los Angeles from his hometown of Nashville at the end of last year, Zac - a drummer, producer, singer, songwriter, video director, and photographer - has been on a creative high. Outside of his personal projects, he produced and collaborated on Becca Mancari's new album The Greatest Part, which was released in June via Captured Tracks to critical acclaim from NPR, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and more, while also directing the video for lead single "Hunter." Having already shot several videos for HALFNOISE and Paramore, Zac also directed the stunning official music video for Hayley Williams's new single "Dead Horse," taken from her solo debut Petals for Armor. The cut has over 4.6 MILLION views on YouTube with Rolling Stone noting "the visual takes some Eighties, Kate Bush-esque inspiration in its eye-catching lighting, costuming and color."

Zafari is the first taste of new music from Zac since his most recent HALFNOISE album - Natural Disguise - was released this past October. Garnering accolades from NPR, Billboard, Stereogum, VICE, The FADER, NYLON, Paper, DuJour, BrooklynVegan and many more, HALFNOISE began as a collaborative solo project in 2014, with Natural Disguise being Zac's first foray into producing completely on his own.

Zac Farro's Zafari EP is out today and can be streamed/purchased via all DSPs HERE, and you can check out the visualizer for "Tangerine Tree" HERE. To stay updated on Zac's vast creative projects, stay tuned to his brand-new personal website https://www.zacfarro.co.

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