“It’s the end of shy little meek Ziggy who wrote the Obvious EP back when she had no idea what she could do, and hello to the new Ziggy who has a full band made of all her best friends.” Azzahra—better known as Ziggy 2000—grew up between Indonesia and the UK, always dreaming of playing guitar and being in a band. And so her journey began early, writing songs at just 10 years old, singing in choirs, performing at school talent shows, and absorbing the musical energy around her. Now based in Bristol, she’s become one of those shimmering artists whose work lives in contrasts: soft and loud, playful and raw, nostalgic and fresh.
Her latest single Crushing! captures this duality perfectly. Written “in the haze of a hangover, in the feral chaos of a breakup,” as Ziggy puts it, the track lets go of composure and embraces a kind of liberating messiness. It’s pop-rock with a pulse—starting out intimate, then bursting into euphoria. “I just wanted to scream, laugh, and not take myself too seriously,” she says. And that’s exactly what the song offers: a release, a reflection, and a celebration of being gloriously human.
In our interview, Ziggy opens up about picking up bass out of loneliness at university, and writing the song that got her signed while working night shifts at Waitrose. She talks about identity, style, her little sister, and the strange pressures of making art in a digital world. Through it all, she reminds us that growth can be chaotic, joyful, and wildly personal.
photography by Nellie Fratelli
Hey Ziggy, I just read your awesome bio – it’s amazing how everything started when you picked up a bass in your spare time at uni. What were you studying back then?
I was studying French and I was very objectively the absolute worst in my year! I really struggled to make any friends on my course at first, so I decided to learn the bass because I was super lonely and pretty depressed. During my year abroad in Marseille I made a Spanish, Ukrainian, Filipino and Portuguese friend, but not a single French friend. I got totally side-tracked doing music and I can’t speak a word of it.
So at the end you felt that guitar was more for you than the bass, picked one up, and played while your ex-boyfriend played FIFA during lockdown. Do you think you would have still picked up the guitar the same way if you hadn’t been in that situation?
I think however it would have happened, I always would have ended up playing my guitar. I was such a little tweeny bopper in my pre-teens and was obsessed with Disney, especially films about bands like Camp Rock and Lemonade Mouth. I’ve always wanted to be in a band ever since I was 10. I used to do performing arts as a kid but would always dream about playing the guitar.
What song did you write during that time that was the most personal to you?
A song called Obvious – which is the song that blew up and got me signed! I wrote a first draft during lockdown and hated it. I then spent an entire summer working 9pm to 6am shifts as an online order picker in Waitrose and would spend the whole time listening to my songs on voice memos – I saved up a ton of money, moved to Bristol, broke up with my boyfriend and finally finished the song.
I love how you took initiative, shared your songs on the Bristol Musicians group, raised £2,000 on Kickstarter, and later went viral on TikTok, catching a label’s attention. Looking back, did you always have a clear vision of yourself as an artist, or was it more like, I’ll give it a try and see what happens?
I wrote my first ever song when I was 10 and I’ve always loved singing; I was always in choir or singing in school talent shows. My mum is an amazing singer and would sing Indonesian ballads all around the house, so the idea of being a performer has always floated around my head. I used to compare myself to her because I couldn’t belt like she does, but I just realised we’re different! Once I caught onto the fact that I have a really interesting tone, I think it was inevitable.
“If I can be comfortable whilst also looking hot and whimsical, those are the best days.”
Your new single is called Crushing! It’s about a breakup. How does it feel for you today when you perform the song? Are there still a lot of sentimental emotions involved, or is it just fun for you to let all those emotions out again about that part of your story?
It’s so much fun because I’m in a place where right now where I’m (for the most part) stupidly happy and so it all feels so insane to me, like how did I put myself through that for 4 years? It’s definitely a song where I absolutely have to let it all out and go crazy otherwise the meaning is kind of lost. It’s supposed to be a song about that feral breakup phase where you’re just laughing about everything, including yourself, so that’s how I want it to come across every time.
With this song, you embraced a more fun, boisterous side of yourself. How do you think this shift reflects your growth as an artist, and what do you hope people take away from this new, more playful side of you?
I think it’s the end of shy little meek Ziggy who wrote the Obvious EP back when she had no idea what she could do, and hello to the new Ziggy who has a full band made of all her best friends. As I mentioned earlier, it’s been a dream of mine since I was little to be in a rock band, and I feel like the release of Crushing! symbolises this new era where I can get crazy, whilst also still writing really soft songs like I did way back when.
Who are your musical inspirations? In an interview, you mentioned Demi Lovato. Who else is there? Also bands from other generations?
Citing Demi Lovato as an inspiration is such an unserious but true answer from me, but yes, she’s so important in the history of Ziggy. A lot of my music and fashion inspiration comes from being a total fangirl of her and Selena Gomez in their prime Disney era. I listened to and would download all of their music and watched every show they were in! They were kind of the blueprint for me wanting to be a singer.
However, the majority of my musical inspiration at the moment comes from early 2000s and the indie sleaze era. I cannot get enough of Sleigh Bells, MGMT, this adorable whimsical band called The Marshmallow Kisses and most recently this band called Panchiko who I would describe as a glitchy-computerised-whimsical Radiohead. Basically anything that can get fun, hardcore and silly but with a twinkly glockenspiel in the back is my kind of thing.
“I like looking really natural or going nuts with colours, there’s no in between!”
Your style is cute. How long do you take to get ready in the morning? And do you already think about what you are going to wear the next day the night before?
Not long at all! I love to dawdle and I always get distracted, but my daily routine is pretty quick. I used to have awful skin so I only wear blusher and highlighter on my actual face. I like looking really natural or going nuts with colours, there’s no in between!
If I’m busy I’ll lay everything out the night before, including pants and socks and accessories because it makes me feel like I’m pampering my very sleepy morning self. I always prioritise comfort and if I can be comfortable whilst also looking hot and whimsical, those are the best days.
By the way, is Ziggy your real name or your artist name? And is 2000 your birth year, or does it have another meaning?
No, my real name is Azzahra! I used to hate it, but I think that’s unfortunately just the territory when you’re a half-Indonesian kid in a very white primary school. I grew up and I realised it’s an awesome name – it means ‘the radiant and brilliant one’ in Arabic.
And you’re absolutely right! 2000 is my birth year and I think people really understate how cool it is being born at the turn of the millennium. It feels like I’m aligned with the universe sometimes; it feels really personal to me.
You have already moved 15 times in your life. Was that something that was difficult for you? And do you take inspiration for your songwriting from all those changes and experiences in your life?
Definitely! It’s really made me cherish having a home and having close friends who I treat like my family. I really envy people that have roots and have huge networks of families and parents that know and love eachother.
It’s funny though because all my closest friends feel the same way. In short, I’m grateful for the life I’ve lived, however tumultuous it’s been, because it’s moulded me into the person who got to meet all of them.
With regards to songwriting, a lot happened to me and family when I was younger, but most of my songwriting inspiration came from my second year of uni when I got into a relationship that turned out to be pretty rough. I had a lot of awful things to process and make sense of.
“I do feel like this is also the hardest thing about being young today. Your art never exists in a personal vacuum where it can develop at its own pace – there is always so much pressure.”
If you could only take three things with you on a trip, what would they be?
My blusher, my phone and my headphones.
What is the best thing about being young today and what is the hardest?
The best thing about being young today is I feel like there are so many ways to be influenced artistically, so many cultural archives at the tips of your fingers and so many other artists all over the world to take inspiration from. I do feel like this is also the hardest thing about being young today. Your art never exists in a personal vacuum where it can develop at its own pace – there is always so much pressure.
Besides music, what makes you really happy?
My little sister. She’s 11, the youngest out of my 5 half-siblings and the sweetest most precious angel ever in the whole world. She’s also really weird; we’re best friends.
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