bat zoo
bat zoo’s debut EP “The Upward Bird” is a haunting, genre-fluid journey of grief, love, and rebirth
Emerging artist bat zoo unveils his long-awaited debut EP The Upward Bird, a six-track meditation on memory, vulnerability, and transformation. Blending R&B, soul, folk, and experimental electronic textures, the project captures the full range of bat zoo’s artistry - emotional, cinematic, and unapologetically human.
“This EP is me learning to hold chaos and beauty at the same time. Each song was born in solitude, but they all point to connection—ancestral, romantic, or cosmic. The Upward Bird is about shedding, rising, and finding light in the mess.” - bat zoo
The EP title represents a symbolic ascension—rising above past traumas, limiting beliefs, and emotional baggage. Every song is a chapter in the story of self-realization, identity, and artistic rebirth. The bird may be featherless, broken, even grounded at times - but it’s always rising.
STATS
STATS
“It’s a sultry, slow-burning explosion of soul, echoing the expressive weight found in many D'Angelo and Alabama Shakes records” — EARMILK (Lemon)
“The sound is mysterious and intriguing, while also maintaining an emotive essence.“ - ALFITUDE (Lemon)
“Bat Zoo’s delivery is effortlessly cool, it’s moody without being overly dramatic, introspective without getting lost in itself. There’s a relaxed confidence to his work, showcasing an artist who is comfortable being unique and genuine.” — Zillions Magazine (Lemon)
“(…) the sort of auditory indulgence that taste like citrus at midnight — sour, slow, and strangely seductive - URANIUM WAVES (Lemon)
“…, the song is a bittersweet and melancholic reflection on a love affair that has slowly unraveled.” — Joy of Violent Movement (Diamond Lane)
“captures that exact feeling: watching something beautiful drift out of reach, even when you try your best to keep up.” — C-Heads (Diamond Lane)
“a dreamy, emotionally charged single that threads together love, memory, and the fading afterglow of a life once electrified by thrill“ - ITSEZBREEZY (Diamond Lane)
“ bat zoo takes grip of your attention and leaves you in awe with the stunning musicianship on display..” — ACID STAG (Frozen Milk)
“…, a haunting meditation on grief, growth, and the quiet strength found in vulnerability” — ATWOOD MAGAZINE (Frozen Milk)
“this track reflects the struggle of feeling inadequate and the search for solace in the presence of someone who brings comfort.” — GOINGSOLO (Fearful)
“This performance along with the ever-flowing style of this production is top tier art.“ - SWANODOWN (Fearful)
“a dreamy fusion of emotional candor and sonic finesse“ - LASTDAYDEAF (Featherless Thoughts)
“The narrative addresses the inner search and the process of leaving behind pain, fears, and insecurities to reach a more authentic version of oneself.“ - RMAS (Featherless Thoughts)
Track 1: Intro
(The Origin
Of Things)
A celestial overture that sets the tone for the entire EP, Intro (The Origin of Things) explores the elusive nature of identity and memory. Inspired by cosmic documentaries and the theory of ancestral memory, bat zoo contemplates how trauma, wisdom, and experience may be encoded in our DNA. The track opens with reverent, spherical textures and sparse, delayed piano before evolving into mantra-like chants and IDM-style drums, blurring the lines between past and present, spirit and sound. It’s not just an introduction, it’s a statement of intent: music that reaches beyond selfhood into the ancestral, subconscious, and universal.
“This track is about the echoes of people and places we’ve never met, but who still shape us. It’s memory beyond memory.”
Frozen Milk strips everything down to its emotional core. Featuring little more than bat zoo’s falsetto, acoustic guitar, and subtle viola textures, it’s a haunting exploration of irreversible change and the clarity that comes with it. The lyrics play like journal entries - raw reflections on regret, the weight of honesty, and the realisation that some parts of yourself can’t be frozen in time. As “weeds grow near the Tennessee River” and “eyes reveal dreams,” the song unfolds like a melodic apology to oneself, and perhaps someone else.
“The title Frozen Milk is about something once nourishing, now spoiled or inaccessible. That’s what the song is about - what’s lost when we freeze instead of feel.”
Track 2: Frozen Milk
Track 3:
A Bird’s Song (Interlude)
The EP comes alongside a cinematic short film, accompanied by autobiographical musings from bat zoo about identity and homecoming - beautifully shot and executed by Dhanesh Jayaselan.
One of the most emotionally raw pieces on the EP, Fearful When The Sky Was Full Of Lightning was created alone with just a piano, lo-fi vocal loops, and silence. It reflects the internal chaos of healing - moments of shame, doubt, and self-questioning. bat zoo navigates trauma with emotional honesty, searching for solace in someone else’s presence while struggling to feel deserving of it. The song feels like a quiet storm: unsettling yet deeply intimate. The space in the production allows every vocal nuance to cut through, evoking vulnerability as both wound and offering.
“This one came out in a single sitting. I was falling apart, and this was me trying to put myself back together - piece by piece, note by note.”
Track 4: Fearful When The Sky Is Full of Lightning
Saturated in hazy synths and smooth R&B grooves, Diamond Lane evokes the dazed, glittery nostalgia of a relationship unraveling in slow motion. It’s not a breakup song in the traditional sense - more like a sequence of flickering memories, disjointed yet tender. bat zoo’s lyrics feel like text messages never sent, or thoughts remembered mid-dream. The song explores emotional limbo: knowing something’s ending but still floating inside its glow.
“It’s about memory as a drug. The highs feel surreal, the comedown is slow, and you’re not even sure it really happened.”
Track 5: Diamond Lane
A soulful standout that channels the emotional weight of 1960s soul through a modern experimental lens, Lemon is the EP’s most explosive and cinematic moment. It’s about heartbreak, yes - but also about cosmic ambition and spiritual confusion. bat zoo’s voice expands like a church choir and then folds inward with whispered falsettos. The production swings between guttural basslines, warped guitars, and euphoric vocal stacks - “stadium soul” with a broken heart and a busted amp. It’s both intimate and mythic.
“I wanted this to sound like if Marvin Gaye crash-landed in 2025. It's not a throwback. It’s a resurrection.”
Track 6:
Lemon
The spiritual and emotional climax of The Upward Bird, Featherless Thoughts is a celebration of transformation. Built on honey-toned guitars, sharp drums, and shifting vocal textures, it chronicles a journey from despair to self-actualisation. The track examines what keeps us grounded in reality - and what happens when we let go. bat zoo’s vocal performance moves through falsetto, rich tenor, and even pitched-up rap, evoking a shapeshifter grappling with identity and transcendence. The production is lush but never overwhelming, allowing the lyrics to land like affirmations.
“This is the end of the story, but also the beginning. It’s the sound of becoming, even when you don’t know what you’re becoming yet.”
Track 7: Featherless Thoughts
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