HoYoverse games are no stranger to fantastic music, but for my money, Zenless Zone Zero takes it to a whole new level. That goes double for their collaboration with legendary DJ Tiesto, who I was lucky enough to interview alongside ZZZ’s music producer Wutao Yang and learn a bit about how the hit single came together.
The Creation of the Hit Single ZENLESS
“ZENLESS,” a hit single for and about the world of Zenless Zone Zero, has made its way around the world, being featured at the Creamfields electronic music festival, and has its own music video available on YouTube. In this interview, you’ll learn about the conception of both the song and the video, and how Tiesto and the team were inspired by the game’s world and aesthetic.
What was it like working on a video game track compared to how you normally compose?
Tiesto: We wanted to capture the energy and vibe of the game in the track, something that would resonate with players as they explore this incredible world. Unlike my usual tracks where the mood evolves organically, this time I was directly inspired by the game’s visuals and story, which made the process really exciting and different.
How did coordinating with the team at HoYoverse differ from other collaborations you’ve done?
Tiesto: As a fan of the world-building in HoYoverse’s other games and seeing how incredible Zenless Zone Zero is, I was super excited to partner with them on this. The energy of my music is the perfect fit for the game. Generally speaking, it was an honor to collaborate with such an incredibly creative team, and I had the best time doing it! Zenless Zone Zero‘s music team brought a lot of fresh ideas to the table, and together we created something really special.
Yang: It’s been a great experience for us working with Tiesto, and it really has inspired us tremendously. We would love to work with him and other musicians in more creative and innovative ways in future music collaborations.
Was there anything about ZZZ’s world or aesthetic that changed how you approached the song?
Tiesto: Absolutely. The world, the characters, the music in Zenless Zone Zero — everything is designed to draw you in. When working on a project like this, I really want to capture the energy of the world Zenless Zone Zero has built and reflect that sonically. I was super inspired by the game throughout this process, and that definitely influenced the track.
How long did it take you to settle on an initial draft of the Zenless track?
Yang: For the entire creation of “ZENLESS,” including the music and animation music video, we shared a lot of common creative ideas, so creating the initial music was pretty fast and smooth. After we had the music demo, we started working on animation to align with the emotions and tempos of the music. As animation production normally takes more time, we developed the music and animation at the same time later on to a quite satisfying outcome. For the entire collaboration, we first approached [Tiesto] in November 2023, so the project took us more than half a year until the music was officially released on July 2, 2024.
While working together, we encountered many challenges, but because of these, we came up with many great ideas. For example, to better integrate in-game elements into our music, we gave Tiesto samples of Fairy’s in-game voiceover lines. In the end, these samples became a key bridge between the lyrics and narrative of “ZENLESS.”
Did you find yourself needing to make more revisions to the piece, or did it come together the way most other songs do?
Tiesto: It was actually a very natural collaboration. HoYoverse reached out to me with this amazing opportunity, and as a fan of their games — it was a perfect fit. We shared a lot of the same creative goals, where we partnered up with Lucas & Steve and the vocals from Silent Child. It all just came together naturally from there.
My final question is a fun one, I hope. Of all the playable characters in the game right now, which would you want to sit down and have a long conversation with? I know Lycaon is probably a common answer, but he’d be who I’d pick. What about you?
Yang: Every character in Zenless Zone Zero is very charming and unique. It is very difficult to pick a specifc character as we always have unique connections with each character while creating music for them. For example, Nicole appears to be cunning and loves money. However, you will find via the game’s story and commissions that she is very kind and has a warm heart. This contrast is very attractive to me and I would like to know more about her story. Another example is Grace. Her obsession with machinery reminds me of how I give it my all in music creation. We can definitely resonate. Moreover, I am a person who is curious about everything. I would definitely learn a lot after talking with Qingyi, for instance, and would love to have a long conversation with every character in New Eridu if possible.
A big thanks to Tiesto and Wutao Yang for taking the time to discuss their collaboration on the “ZENLESS” single. It was a pleasure to discover a bit about how the music came together.
Zenless Zone Zero is available to play right now on Apple and Android mobile devices, PC, and PlayStation 5.
Published: Sep 16, 2024 09:40 am