Granite Island Discs: Zara Richards
For her final issue with The Note, beloved editor Zara Richards got chatting about her favourite songs, albums and musical highlights.
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What five songs would you take to a desert island?
1. Iggy Pop – ‘The Passenger’
2. Bob Sinclar – ‘Love Generation’
3. Glass Animals – ‘Youth’
4. Gala – ‘Freed From Desire’
5. The Jezabels – ‘Easy to Love’
I’m a tragically nostalgic person – always have been, always will be. And cast away with nothing but my own memories to keep me company, I’d want touchpoints that take me back to that time, that place, that person with ease. Cringe, I know. These aren’t my all-time, bury-me-with-them songs, with the exception of ‘Easy To Love’. They’re simply another portal to somewhere that’s not a giant rock floating in the middle of the sea.
If you could only pick one, what would it be?
‘Easy to Love’ by The Jezabels. It’s stayed with me since Year 9 (lol) and still, somehow, makes me feel very alive.
What’s your favourite album?
Albums are tricky. I tend to listen to them only when I write now. Lately, Maribou State’s Hallucinating Love, The Avalanches’ Since I Left You and Loyle Carner’s Not Waving, But Drowning have been on repeat. The first record I ever fell in love with – truly, deeply – is Paramore’s self-titled LP (I was 15); Florence + the Machine’s High as Hope, Mark Ronson’s Late Night Feelings and The Belair Lip Bombs’ Lush Life are regular repeaters when I’m feeling existential. None of that answers the questions, though. Gun to head? Probably Tyler, The Creator’s Igor. Blew my mind then, still has me hooked now.
What’s your favourite song by an SA artist or band?
A terrible question for someone who writes about the local scene for a living. It has to be Coldwave’s ‘The Ant’. There’s just something about it that took my breath away from the first guitar chord – it’s hard to put into words. It splinters my perception of time in the best way. Coldwave are distinctive, unafraid and real. Seeing this band grow over the last three years has been bliss.
Favourite music-related memory?
They’re all so hazy, but I know they’re well-loved. Vintage Vibes and Harvest Rock in 2023 was when the reality of my job actually sunk in – the adrenaline and excitement of interviewing artists backstage honestly has never dimmed, and the access we had at those festivals was mind-boggling. On a personal front, I have the most beautiful friendship group that started in 2019 at Beyond The Valley during a 45-degree heatwave, which sounds nuts, but it was a life-altering weekend that brought me these people I’ll have in my life forever. Being with them (dressed as fairies, no less) at Strawberry Fields last year, with Swim and Sam Alfred playing b2b sets, was pure joy. But the one I’ll hold the closest to my heart forever is seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019 with my mum. It’s the band we always listen to together and it’s defined our entire relationship. We cried the whole time. Otherworldly. Stevie Nicks is God.
