True inspiration can be hard to find in difficult times, and the past couple of years have been especially difficult. For Empty Isles, AKA Zach Lardy, the struggle posed a challenge he was willing to accept. This Nashville-based pop producer and singer/songwriter decided to make an EP of the daily battle, through the lens of his own singular situation.
His first release as an independent artist will be the catchy smash single “Hard to Cope” out Sept. 15th.
“I couldn’t make sense of it all,” says Zach. “The viewpoint of the song is written from someone else having a hard time coping, but ultimately I was picturing me having a hard time with all that was going on. There’s a line in the song about wearing a sweater; I legit wore the same sweater every day for months. It was my security sweater.”
Inspired by artists like Bon Iver and Japanese House and producers like BJ Burton (Kanye, Taylor Swift), Zach asked himself “What would a Bon Iver pop album sound like?” Zach has been busy working as a producer and set to producing his own music using aggressive sounds, with a willingness to push the envelope sonically.
Working alongside producer Chase Weber brought out a new sound and fresh creativity for this new project.
“Chase helped shape what my new sound is going to be,” Zach says. “He helped me get out of boxes I’ve forced myself to live in all the time.” “Hard to Cope” is the self-titled single off his upcoming EP coming out this fall.