LA-BASED QUEER ARTIST ZZZAHARA UNVEILS “I’D LIKE YOU TO LEAVE” + VIDEO

Los Angeles-based queer guitarist and songwriter zzzahara shares a new track, “I’d Like You To Leave,” alongside a video directed by Ross Harris—listen here and watch here. The new track is taken from their forthcoming album Tender, slated for release on September 22 via Lex Records.

“There was a point last summer when most of my friends and I were single,” zzzahara explains. “It was a blast to share stories of funny dates and talk about the vulnerability that comes with dating. I remember feeling this relief of being alone and thinking how funny dating truly is, especially when you have no idea what is going and you are going with the flow.”

“I love this music video because during the time I was single, I happened to be watching ‘Rock of Love’ with Brett Michaels,” zzzahara continues. “It really inspired the direction of the video. Ross was over at my place once while I was watching the show, and from then on he would send me some funny memes of the show. It always stuck with me.”

The new track follows previously shared album offerings “Girls On SSRIs Don’t Cry” and “Kensington.”

Additionally, zzzahara will be performing select dates this fall, including their first ever European shows—see full routing below.

Their debut album, Liminal Spaces, was released to critical acclaim via Lex Records in 2022. Of the album, Ones to Watch wrote, “The beauty of zzzahara’s songwriting is how brilliantly they take the mundane and make it magical.” Liminal Spaces features singles “get out of la,” “lust,” “gurl,” “cupid’s out tonight”—which FLOOD praised as “a playfully bitter fantasy about a less-than-helpful evil cousin of cupid,” while American Songwriter called it “mysterious and riveting,” comparing zzzahara’s voice to an “ancient secret”—and more.

Born to Filipino and Mexican parents and raised in Highland Park where they still reside, zzzahara is the moniker of queer songwriter and guitarist Zahara Jaime. Growing up in Los Angeles, they felt disconnected from Southern California’s predominantly straight white male rock scene and discovered making music as a way to process the experience of living in an ever-gentrifying city.

They became the touring guitarist for Eyedress aka Idris Vicuña in 2018, which spawned the collaborative duo The Simps, who released their Siblings LP last year. Following their solo debut EP Simp.Wave in 2021, zzzahara signed to Lex Records and put the finishing touches on their debut album, a collection of songs about queerness, love, lust, absurdism and feeling lost that trace their stylistic and emotional evolution from childhood through present day.

ZZZAHARA LIVE
October 18—They’re Gonna Be Big @ Supersonic—Paris, FR

October 19—Trix—Antwerp, BE
October 24—Courtyard Theatre—London, UK
November 1—Café Du Nord—San Francisco, CA
November 3—Substance Festival—Los Angeles, CA
November 5—FREAKOUT Festival—Seattle, WA