Portuguese newcomer Zed The Dreamer – aka Zé Pedro Viveiros – returns with the release of his soulful new single Comfort (Not Love), out now.

Combining elements of indie, jazz and soul, Comfort (Not Love) is an intricately woozy track that explores the feeling of comfort over passion. Fans of the likes of Tom Misch and Gus Dapperton will feel at home here. Talking about the single Zed explains, “its about the moment of realisation that you are in a situation only because it does not require effort and not because you have any real passion for it. It’s an internal debate of what you were, what you are, and what you will eventually become.”

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Zed the Dreamer about the new release, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

The honesty, I always felt that Folk and Soul are styles rooted in very honest emotions and stories.

How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?

I’ve been sharing my music for one year and a half now, it was a very important step for me. I feel now, people can see the way I perceive the world and the way I deal with my emotions

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?

My influences span between Bon Iver and Michael Kiwanuka, Phoebe Bridgers and Matt corby, anything that feels extremely emotional, that’s my jam.  The love for music keeps me going, i love music, i love playing, spending hours and days writing songs, meeting new people in the world of music, I am just very obsessed with this form of art

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

I was trying to discover myself, or at least a new aspect of myself, an evolution one may say. I want to be better than my last song, there is so much to learn, so much to discover and not only musically, but esthetics, images, marketing approaches, I felt like a kid again, it was extremely exciting.

What was the last song you listened to?

Memory box by Peter Cat Recording Co. They are insanely good

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Vinyls! The whole physicality of it it’s just dope, the artwork, the texture of the vinyl. It feels like it was made with love, care and attention, feels real

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

Spotify it’s my main one. It just has everything, its crazy how you have so much music there, we live in a blessed time.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

The marketing strategy and the x factor that makes you stand out from the crowd. There is a lot of new music everyday, but nothing sounds really new or fresh, it’s hard to be true to yourself as an artist and try and create music that the masses like

Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?

Yes! Before Corona I played all the time, then i had to stop due to the lockdown but it’s starting to pick up again! And it’s my favourite thing in the world. I just love it, it makes me feel extremely powerful.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

YouTube, i have live sessions that are not available in Spotify, i feel they show a different aspect of my music, if you like the EP you will love those sessions

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

Shout out to all the people that were a part of the project! Collin Lanz, Andrin Haag, Allan Low, Basil Steiner, Dario Konstiger, James Gardner, without them this project wouldn’t exist.. I am not a very wise person, so i will just say to keep aiming, everyone misses, but only the ones who persevere hit their goal.