If you’ve listened to his music you might be surprised to hear that [Verzache](https://www.instagram.com/verzachemane/?hl=en) isn’t taking the world too seriously, he’s just here to spread good vibrations and good music for the rest of us. Hailing from Toronto, the 22-year-old is a bit of a musical phenom, becoming a major pioneer in the popular angst-driven modern acoustic sound. Creating his own sonic version of bedroom pop, the singer-songwriter brings his breakup melancholy Gen-Z vibes to both his production and songwriter styles.
Having made music for over 5 years now, Verzache states “I make indie pop, alternative pop, alternative hip-hop, stuff in that realm. It’s been fun, I started by doing electronic stuff. It’s been a weird journey.”
But Verzache’s story has always been about the journey. Starting out at one place then hitting major crossroads at some point during his career, he’s made some turns he didn’t anticipate. For one, growing up in Toronto, Verzache never dreamed of being a musical star. Fast forward to 2020 and Verzache who’s real name is Zach Farache has accumulated over 222 million combined streams in the States alone, with viral songs “The Loser” and “Needs” continuing to top the charts. And last month, Verzache dropped another 2 standout singles, “Calling” and “Messed Up,” holding fans over until the release of his forthcoming album titled _My Head is a Moshpit._ When asked about the “weird” journey and if he’s happy with where he is, he states, “I’m enjoying where I’m at, I'm not mad about it at all.”
Flaunt caught up with Verzache via FaceTime, who was surviving the wind storms over in Canada. Read below as we discuss his musical journey, his name, his new singles, importance in social media, and more!
**Being from Toronto, what was the household like growing up?**
I was actually born in Singapore, lived there for a year or 2 because my dad worked at Imax. We moved to Canada when I was 3, I’ve lived here my whole life. I didn’t live in downtown Toronto, more on the outskirts. Still part of it. I had a good upbringing, good family. I was very lucky. I worked in a lot of music. I started doing a lot of guitar when I was 10. Toronto didn’t have a huge impact on my music as a whole. I was a big fan of Drake like everybody is from Toronto. You have to, it’s a necessity. There wasn’t that much inspiration from Toronto, it was from artists all over. Music became part of my life, it was always there. I started making shit when I was 14, started taking it seriously when I was 18.
**What happened then?**
I basically started putting out more music. I put out a project. I finished music college. I got a manager when I turned 20. I took the trip to LA, talked to a bunch of managers. I’m working with him now, I’m taking it seriously so I can go to the next level with music.
**How did you get your name?**
My last name is Farache and my first name is Zach, so Verzache I thought would be a cool play on words. I don’t want to get any copyright problems with Versace, the fashion brand! \[laughs\] Me and my friends were talking about it, he said “oh Verzache is sick cuz Farache, it has the same letters.” My name Zach’s there too, it’s a cool name.
**“Messed Up” is going up, how do you feel?**
Good! I’m really happy people fuck with it. That was a dope first single to choose, one of my favorite ones from my album. I was excited to get that out but I was nervous as shit. It’s dope to get the good response back.
**Why were you nervous?**
I like to try new things. If you try new things, you can put off a lot of your existing fanbase or people who aren’t used to it. I did it and a lot of people dig it, I’m happy with that. I always get nervous, a lot of artists get that pre-release jitters.
**What are all the instruments you play?**
I play bass guitar and ukulele mainly, and I sing. I try to dabble with drums here and there, I’m not very good. I’m a learning student.
**3.4 million Spotify listeners, how does that make you feel?**
I feel good! It’s one of those things, you look at a number and it doesn’t really click for you. It doesn’t quite feel real, it’s hard to take that in as a number. I’m crazy grateful, one of the coolest things. I never thought that’d be possible in my life, I’m super grateful for the support. I can make a living off of music, that’s almost unheard of for me. It’s definitely dope.
**You just released “Calling,” who and what inspired this record?**
“Calling” is one of those bittersweet ones of not letting go. It’s about toxic relationship shit you want to get over, but it’s still a part of you. I recently ended a relationship, that’s about trying to get over some shit like that. “Yo this is wack, I still have feelings.” I pulled the plug, still have feelings for sure even a month after. One of those things: I have to record this idea and if I don’t, then I’ll hate myself. I did, one of those therapeutic moments you feel really good about something after you get it out of your system. It was a natural one.
**How does music help you cope?**
In COVID-19 times, music’s getting me through a lot of it. It adds a lot of color to my life, everybody needs that. It gives you that extra stimulation. Everybody needs stimulation for your brain when you can’t really go out as much. A lot of people are still going out but if you try not to, it definitely adds a lot to the boredom. It’s been helping me a lot. Other than music, I’ve been watching movies and playing games. Making funny faces in the mirror.
**They say you’re not a social media guy. How much do you feel you need to be as an artist?**
It’s super important to be on social media, that’s huge. Image is one of the biggest things in the music industry, especially for new artists. I see a lot of new artists coming out with really great visuals, really appealing stuff. The visuals are more of a drive to gauge attention and interests in listeners more than music nowadays. It’s super important to have a social media presence, to talk openly with your audience and express yourself. That’s the only way you can do it nowadays. If you’re not playing shows, you’re definitely on social media.
**3 things you need in the studio?**
A guitar, a microphone, does a computer count? A synth of sorts, that’d be tight.
**What can we expect from your new album titled _My Head Is A Moshpit_?**
You can expect me, my highest of highs and lowest of lows. Over the last two years, making it was a big emotional album that I put a lot of work into. It’s a story, somewhat chronological order of events in time. It makes sense. You can expect a lot of emotional songs, a lot of catchy ones that you can dance to. I wanted to have a good variety, some diverse music in there. It’s not one style, it’ll be a lot of different areas.
