At just 19 years old, Sydney singer-songwriter Zac Sellars is crafting melodic, acoustic songs of such personable clarity that it belies his youth.
His newest single (and just his third release overall) is titled 'Atlantis', a song that "tackles the heartache of unrequited love; going back and forth with doubting how someone feels."The metaphor of the lost city of 'Atlantis' refers to the sinking feeling of not wanting to face the truth because you know how much it will break your heart."
Who is Zac Sellars... I am a 19-year-old, singer-songwriter from Sydney. When I was very young, my dad taught me how to play guitar; this brewed into my love for songwriting which I really started to get into around the age of 14.
Now five years on, I'm building up to the release of my debut EP later in the year and could not be more excited for the music I've got coming out in the next few months.
I sound like... I often get compared vocally to Shawn Mendes. I take a lot of inspiration from Ed Sheehan as far as songwriting goes, and a few of my songs give off Lauv and John Mayer vibes. So I would have to say those four artists give a good insight as to who I am musically. I really strive to add modern pop elements to the acoustic sound that I have grown accustomed to and build on top of those foundations.
My first gig was... At a local primary school for a 'welcome back to the year' barbecue. I was mainly just playing acoustic, background music for a bunch of young students running around and parents chasing after them.
In the studio I usually... One thing that has become sort of a tradition is ordering some local Mexican food with my producer Jordan and taking a breather after a couple hours to just have a yarn.
Generally I lay down acoustic guitar first and then do all my vocals. I think we normally get about 10, 12 layers of vocals depending on the song. For 'Atlantis', I think we ended up spending six and a half hours in the studio just because it was such an important song to get right, building vocals on top of vocals to get a really epic sound to those choruses.
If I could tour with anyone... Well it would have to be Ed Sheeran for me. He has been one of my idols for such a long time and I think there's so much I could learn from him both as a songwriter and a performer. The fact that he holds the gaze of other 200,000 people for one and a half to two hours using only his voice, an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal is something I will always find amazing.
Social media is... I'm most active on Instagram, I love working with photographers to get some awesome pictures. My favourite photo to date was taken standing in the water by one of my friends Angus McKee.
My favourite app at the moment is... Well my phone tells me it's Netflix. I only just started watching 'Stranger Things'. I'm a touch late to the party, but I'm pretty hooked at the moment.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time... I work at a pub on the side to help fund my passion, so one time I went downstairs to change a keg when I had only just started.
The tap mechanism is kinda tricky to put on properly. Long story short, I didn't put it on properly, dousing myself in ice cold VB. I then proceeded to drop a tray of schooners, causing me to be a very wet and frustrated boy for the remainder of my shift.
If you'll have me on your bill, all I ask is that the rider contains... Two things for starters. Salt lamp, and your coldest, most local micro brew on tap. I find salt lamps so soothing to have in my space when recording, so a very earthy green room would be sweet. I can be a little bit of a douche when it comes to beer, but I always find trying new local stuff so interesting.
The most scary scenario I've found myself in, was... When I was four, I was at the beach with my family and got lost for about two hours. That was pretty mortifying.
The few times I've performed, I think I was having too much fun to be scared at the time so as far as being scared in my career, playing a song to someone you respect musically is always a little bit scary. In all honesty, that fear is some of the most rewarding stuff because you're always gonna get amazing feedback out of it.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be your spokesperson... Greta Thunberg would be all over it I presume. For someone so young, she is unbelievably well spoken; certainly puts me to shame for goodness sake.
If you had to live in a city abroad, where would you choose and why? Without a doubt in my mind it would be London. London has such a nice culture about it and France, one of my favourite places in the world, is a train ride away. Two hours away from all the bread and cheese that haunts the nightmares of someone with severe food allergies.
Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party... My producer Jordan is honestly such an awesome bloke, so he'd have to come along. Then probably Lauv, he’s such a character and that would certainly keep things interesting.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? I have been told I make a banging lasagne, so if I had you lovely people around I'd probably make that with a nice side salad.
When it comes to pets are you a lover or hater of our furry friends? I love animals. Growing up I had a dog, at least two cats at any one time and for a while we had a few chickens. It's surprising how well they all got along; still got my dog Chelsea and two cats Mynx and Tabby. My mum also was a wildlife carer for a bit, so we'd had owls, possums and a sugar glider at one point. So I suppose you could say I'm an animal lover.
No matter the expense, send me a case of... Balter XPA. That sh.t is liquid gold.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... This morning. I started going to the gym about three years ago, and if I didn't love beer so much I think it would show a bit more than it does at the moment.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? I don't like mowing the lawn. The nature strip outside my place is riddled with rocks, roots and low hanging trees,so it's always a bit of danger.
Do you have any phobias? When I was much younger I was petrified of spiders; nowadays they make me reeeeaaally uncomfortable, but I'm much more realistic about how terrified they make me.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? I don't watch a whole lot of reality TV, but I certainly wouldn't want to get my head caved in by the Honey Badger on 'SAS'. Maybe 'MasterChef'; I'm an alright chef so could be a bit of fun.
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? Honestly, most of my mates you could just prank by giving them Carlton Zero instead of real beer. They're all pretty hard people to prank.
One time, a few of us were going to a fancy dress party and we picked up our mate in casual clothes; needless to say he was pretty shaky until we got back to my place and got changed into our suits, so that was a bit of a laugh.
Best local takeaway joint for a 2am feed that will leave you with a food coma? There's a local kebab joint nearby that do the filthiest, naughtiest kebabs and seem to always be open no matter the hour. However, sometimes it feels like you end up with far worse than just a food coma.
Which fictional character best describes your personality? I'd like to think Jake Peralta from 'Brooklyn 99' is a solid stab, a bit goofy and ultimately quite light-hearted but very focused on my own goals and doing the right thing.
Last show you binge-watched (and what kept you glued to the screen)? I just finished my tenth viewing of 'How I Met Your Mother' (best sitcom of all time, change my mind).
The characters in that show are so real and yet so wildly exaggerated, which keeps me coming back to it. There are so many tiny, hidden details which you'll take no notice of and then the writers will bring that tiny detail and write a whole episode about it three seasons later, which I think is so clever.
