Interview: Zunsana

Zunsana is an ambient artist whose work balances raw emotion, dark textures, and unexpected humor. Based in Salt Lake City and soon relocating to Milwaukee, he reflects on 24 years of music-making with honesty and depth. In this interview, we dive into his creative process, from inspiration and gear choices to the challenges of mixing and staying motivated in uninspiring environments. Zunsana shares why ambient music offers both escape and critique, and why staying true to yourself is the most important thing an artist can do. It’s a conversation full of personal insight, poetic reflection, and a touch of tragicomedy.

General info

Artist Name: Zunsana

Age: 30

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Social Media / Music Links

zunsana.bandcamp.com

How long have you been making music?

24 years

Do you release music under a label or independently?

Independent

Creative process and inspiration

What drew you to ambient music in the first place?

People are probably never drawn to ambient music for one specific reason, rather, it's a mix of various proclivities and life experiences that suddenly make one realize "I love ambient music." For myself, by my teen years there was a lot of music I was geared toward, and it was only inevitable that I'd soon be into ambient. In a personal way, and I know many can relate, ambient music seems to soften the blow of our predicament. Where cars drive by blaring blownout speaker hell worlds, where factories and airplanes humdrum us into submission, while the media manufactures every man's desire... ambient music and art in general provides an escape, and sometimes, in my case, a critique or satire as well.

Can you describe your creative process when starting a new track?

I'm grateful for being inspired and even more grateful when the thing I'm making is keeping me locked in, and I'm three times grateful when a month later I still like the way it sounds. It all starts at the mysterious node known as inspiration, and from there on, anything that happens happens. 

Where do you find inspiration? Emotion, nature, science fiction, or something else?

This question reminds me of an interview with Henry Miller that I recently watched. I couldn't be more on board with him in the sense that, every single thing is a source of inspiration. Every sunset, every random gun shot in the city, every song I've heard, every bit of history whether obscure or well-known, and every letter as I write out this response. It'd be better and more challenging to find something that doesn't inspire me. I suppose I walk away from many situations feeling uninspired, only to become boisterous and elated, filled with a serene joy because I've escaped a cell and can be free again. So in that way, even the worst possible piece of art or moment in life will always inspire.  

How would you describe your sonic identity or the mood you aim to create?

Lately, I've been given to monstrosities. That's what I call them anyway. I think the things I create represent a darker side of humanity, even though I've never intended them to. Luckily, friends have told me there's a thread of sentimentality beneath all my stuff. That's good, because regardless of these dark tendencies my art has, it's all coming from a place of compassion and a yearning for a better world. And most importantly, the best and truest representation of man is neither a drama nor comedy, but a tragicomedy. A world without laughter is a sterile and ultrasafe world made for the unliving. Life is pain, so we must laugh.

Are there any artists that deeply influenced your style?

There's too many to name. At this point in my life, having spent so much time with myself, I can't help but feel like I've influenced myself a lot. That and Billy Murray, one of the first crooners going back to the early days of recording on wax cylinders. Billy Murray would often record multiple tracks a day. It was all commercial music that he'd get paid for day of so that the label could ship them out to buyers asap and then of course record more because those old wax cylinders didn't have long shelf lives after a few plays. Billy Murray would often say "screw this!" and skip his recording sessions to go fishing or walk around in a daze. And that's how I feel, except I don't get paid and no one in their right mind will ever pay me for it. But I've quit enough low wage jobs in my life that I can relate in some regard. So yeah... pretty much just myself and Billy Murray are my only influences.  

Gear and setup

Are you using hardware, software, or a hybrid setup?

Mostly Ableton. I've also used a Tascam 8track a lot in the past. My phone. Really just trying to pull in audio from any available source.

What’s your favorite piece of gear or plugin, and why?

I don't have a favorite. Gear comes and goes. I've lived in a few different places in the US... New England, Inner Mountain West, and soon the Midwest... and what I've found is that none of my gear goes with me, and when I die someday it won't be going with me either. Material means nothing to me. But I'd choose a guitar if I had to. It's the most spiritual thing for me to play a guitar and just relax and leave the world.  

Challenges

What’s been the biggest challenge so far in creating ambient music?

Mixing. I'm just okay at it. I'll probably have someone engineer mixing my stuff from now on. It took me all the way to 30 to realize that. But, it's not too bothersome and I of course publish my work because I'm happy with it. But yeah I'd like to collaborate more with engineers in the future.  

How do you stay motivated or inspired when you're in a creative rut?

Art is just a part of life. An artist is shit. He's nothing. He's not special. He's doing his time like every one else is. So in that sense, I don't worry about when I'm not inspired. But, I suppose I'm lying. I've lived in Utah a few years and no longer feel inspired here, so I'm moving to Wisconsin. I suppose without realizing it there's things I do to deal with the doldrums. Ultimately, art and life are not separate. My pessimistic attitude is that they encapsulate the same ring of suffering, the same ferris wheel in this carnival we're in. But art is the one vantage point where the clouds are divine.  

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I guess I should say that the best thing a person can do if they're going to create things and try to have others see it... just stay very true to yourself. A very bland bit of advice, but it really is that simple. In the same way each man has his own handwriting, he has his own voice. With his creations he can exploit or magnify every micro and macrocosm within him. It's all yours. It's no one else's. And we can even get a nice hamburger with fries and ketchup for just a few clams down at the local reincarnation center, the local artisan Forever21 Bakery. It'll never stop. We're all in this together and we're already dead.