Five minutes with Zach Templar — the bedroom pop star who went from Somerset to sold-out shows

Zach Templar is the definition of a bedroom pop success story — except the ceiling is a lot higher than most. At just 18, the British-Colombian artist has gone from making music on “an old laptop my parents gave me” to commanding five thousand fans at Reading Festival. His breakthrough track “missin something” wasn’t some calculated industry play (“I made a big chunk of it in about thirty minutes. It was kind of just pouring out”), yet it’s racked up over 100 million streams and helped him sell out venues across the UK and US. Despite his rapid rise, there’s something refreshingly unmanufactured about Templar’s approach. He’s entirely self-taught through “trial and error” (which he admits “can be frowned upon by some”), creating a sound that blends “woozy guitar lines” with coming-of-age lyrics about “love, nostalgia, failed relationships, fond memories and betrayal.” While his homemade production aesthetic is evolving to fill bigger venues (“my recent production […] feels a lot more clear”) he’s committed to maintaining the intimate quality that connected with fans in the first place. 

And his ambitions? Characteristically straightforward: “For Zach Templar to be a name people are constantly hearing.” Here, we chat bedroom production, unexpected success, and why his first Reading Festival crowd gave him a rush that “[lasted] all night.”

How are you Zach? How’s life treating you? 

Life is great — my debut EP and listening party is set for Friday, so I’m excited! 

You’ve gone from making music on your laptop in Somerset to selling out the Courtyard Theatre in 24 hours — what’s been the most surreal moment of the past year?

As much as making music that connects online is the most amazing feeling, seeing it translate into real life with real people is unmatched. I would say playing Reading and Leeds and having around five thousand people turn up for me was probably a big highlight of the past year. 

“missin something” hit over a hundred million streams — did you have any idea when you were creating it that it would connect with so many people?

There was no specific idea in mind of how I wanted it to sound — I made a big chunk of it in about thirty minutes. It was kind of just pouring out… And that seemed to connect.

You write, record, and produce everything independently — how did you first start teaching yourself these skills? What’s your typical creative process?

Trial and error. Though it can be frowned upon by some, it leaves you with a unique and raw style of production and that’s what you can hear in my music. Of course, help from credible, well-trained producers and engineers is a great thing too. That’s something I’ll start doing this year. Saying that, there’s something so special about the music that solely comes from me. I started teaching myself these skills on an old laptop my parents gave me. I just downloaded Logic and tried everything to get to a point where I was good enough that I could spill out any of my ideas into cohesive music. 

The lo-fi bedroom aesthetic in your production feels very intimate. How do you balance that personal, homemade quality with creating songs that work in larger venues?

Well, before last year I had no shows so naively I didn’t ever think about this. Especially because I didn’t necessarily think I would be playing the stages I now play. So, my recent production – specifically this EP – has that in mind and feels a lot more clear. It will fill up rooms a lot better than some of my old lo-fi sounding tracks. But I’ve still retained that feeling within the music — that’s such a key component to me and my fans. 

Do you think that, as a British-Colombian artist, both cultures show up in your sound?

Not necessarily? A lot of my influence is American, or UK left-field artists. I’ve never been too influenced by Colombian genres sonically. Not for any particular reason, but because I’ve spent my whole life consuming American and UK media. 

Your music has been compared to Still Woozy and Steve Lacy — who were some of the artists that inspired you when you were first developing your sound?

The likes of Current Joys, Prince and Mac DeMarco were ones on my mind a lot at that time. In the past year and a half, Frank Ocean has been a big inspiration for me. 

What can fans expect from your upcoming EP that might be different from the singles they’ve already connected with?

The change in production and clarity in concept is huge — you will feel the music and the lyrics on a much deeper level. Sonically, this is my best prediction yet — on all scopes. 

Between your woozy guitar lines and coming-of-age lyrics, what experiences or emotions are you most drawn to explore in your music?

Common concepts are love, nostalgia, failed relationships, fond memories and betrayal. These are the first that come to mind — I just write about how I feel and people tend to relate. 

What was it like performing on the BBC Radio 1 stage at Reading Festival? Obviously he’s from a completely different genre, but when I spoke to KiLLOWEN about doing the same, he said it was so surreal that he kind of forgot about it as soon as he got off stage. 

It was surreal. Before my set nobody was there so I was slightly nervous, but soon after I was pretty shocked to see five thousand fans standing in front of me, screaming. It was a beautiful feeling. I’ll never forget it. I’m sure there are many of those crowds to come, but nothing will beat that first time. The rush afterwards lasts all night. 

You had to upgrade your LA venue months in advance due to demand, which is pretty mad for a debut US tour. What’s surprised you most about how your music has translated across different countries and cultures?

That was a great feeling! And I think I’ve been surprised as to how much the music has translated over to Asia. That’s pretty cool — I’ve never been, so a tour there would be unreal. 

Your rise has happened during this interesting shift in how artists build audiences — between TikTok, streaming, and traditional radio play. How intentional were you about platform strategy, or did things unfold more organically?

Things definitely unfolded organically. I never spent a penny on marketing, even during the “missin something” rise, but it didn’t happen by mistake. A mix of good music and just putting myself out there. 

Moving from Somerset to performing internationally is quite the transition — how’s your relationship with home changed within that?   

It has been pretty surreal, especially on the American tour. From having never been to America to touring America was ridiculous to me. We are all such small dots on this planet, so to do something that connects across it is very cool. 

At just 18, you’ve already accomplished so much — what’s next?

For Zach Templar to be a name people are constantly hearing.

Zach Templar’s upcoming EP in waves, drops on the 11th of April.