BIOGRAPHY
"Zachery Allan Starkey Combines With New Order's Bernard Sumner On 'Force'. It's an electro-tinged piece of dark-pop... 'Force' pushes Zachery Allan Starkey's music into a fresh space, with Bernard Sumner's inimitable contribution opening a fresh chapter...There's an organic touch to Starkey's brand of synthetic pop, with the digital clouds parting to reveal some spectacular sonic landscapes….The barbed electronics are utilized to build Starkey's unique pop vision, one augmented by one of his heroes.....A brilliant partnership."
-CLASH
"Dramatic synthpop with more than an early touch of New Order."
-The Times UK
"New York-based DIY darkwaver Zachery Allan Starkey’s "Force," featuring Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division)....propulsive beats and jagged rhythms leap and reflect off of stacked synth chords and a commanding vocal hook. The video features scenes from contemporary New York as it currently undergoes lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic."
-Under the Radar
“Starkey’s new single, ‘No Texting On the Dance Floor’, is a groove-ridden effort that evokes all the arm-raising energy of a night out, a testament to the joys of inhibition-free connection.”
- WONDERLAND / ROLLACOASTER MAGAZINE
“NYC-based composer and producer Zachery Allan Starkey’s groovy new single, ‘No Texting on the Dance Floor’, uses electro-infused disco house sonics to capture New York’s hedonistic nightlife renaissance, and alarming crime wave, while maintaining an infectious rhythm that has us dancing along. The synth-led number brings his trademark techno style with hook-laden pop feels, carried by his smooth vocals.”
- Earmilk
"There’s a beautiful complication to the work of New York composer, musician, and producer Zachery Allan Starkey, a byzantine coupling of synthetic pop reverberations and darkly melodic dancefloor environments. Mashing together elements of techno, post-punk, Italo disco, and synthwave, Starkey possesses a preternatural ability to see the beauty beneath the grime and sludge, coaxing out some irresistible melodies and a certain lyrical wit. His album FEAR CITY is a jagged and propulsive exploration of synth-pop movements, electro-punk tenacity and the hedonistic affirmation of various techno soundscapes. Where some artists settle for practiced imitation, Starkey opts to openly dismantle his influences and revel in the chaotic deconstruction he’s wrought".
- BPM
"”Solitaire’ and ‘Bright Future’, by Zachery Allan Starkey, are hypnotic, visceral works, fully immersive experiences which take us through the underbelly of New York and into the dark spaces that come alive at night. Starkey creates mutant versions of techno, electro and disco, while still making his work undeniably current.”
- The Brvtalist
"Starkey’s XXX symphonically sweeps the sonic landscape with pure hedonistic ecstasy, delving deep into a sensual narrative painted neon by its New York influences...soaring melodies and pounding drums and percussion for a sublime dynamism that's unforgettable."
-Earmilk
“Starkey’s NO SECURITY is a sonic hardware assault, capturing the paranoia and instability of the current era while casting a hypnotic spell over the dance floor...we were instantly lured in by it's timely chaos."
-The Brvtalist
"Starkey's work brings to mind the best work of electronic pioneers Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley, whilst pushing firmly into the future."
-Broadway World
“Taking lyrical cues from artists like Public Image Ltd, Fad Gadget, NIN and Lou Reed, Zachery Allan Starkey is out for blood."
-Post-Punk Magazine
Zachery Allan Starkey is a New York City based Composer/Musician/Producer whose contemporary, forward thinking production and songwriting work is compared by critics to pioneers New Order, Giorgio Moroder, Patrick Cowley, and Lou Reed. Starkey collaborated with Bernard Sumner, leader of New Order, and founding member of Joy Division , on his critically acclaimed longform LP, FEAR CITY, which features Sumner providing synthesizers, guitars, drum programming, and additional production on the anthemic club track "Force", and the darkly powerful "Fear City". In addition to Starkey’s collaborations with Sumner, the ongoing FEAR CITY project also features the new sleek Disco House hit “No Texting on the Dance Floor”, the symphonic Techno single “XXX”, the deeply personal Post-Disco epic “Solitaire”, the dystopian Techno nightmare of “No Security”, the Mutant Disco “Bright Future’”, the chrome Industrial “Coked Up Biker Anthem” (remixed by legendary Berlin producer Mark Reeder), and the Synthpop protest song “Fallout”. Starkey uses elements of Techno, Post-Punk, Electro, Disco, and Industrial on FEAR CITY to make a firm, powerful musical statement about the modern world, looking towards an increasingly dystopian future, which has garnered rave press reviews across the globe.
The single and music video releases from FEAR CITY are an ever evolving visual project to both document and artistically capture life in New York during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, and are directed or co-directed by Starkey himself. FEAR CITY will see an expanded, physical release with new bonus tracks in Autumn 2023.
Zachery Allan Starkey opened for New Order on their sold out Music Complete Tour, including spectacular sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall, sparking a creative friendship and collaboration process with Sumner.
In 2019 Starkey remixed Chinese Techno band STOLEN and performed with them at a festival in Berlin, Germany. Starkey remix of the STOLEN single “Chaos” was released by respected Japanese Techno label UMMA, alongside remixes by Takkyu Ishino, and Mark Reeder.
Starkey’s 2017 release, the ZGRT - HARD POWER album, saw him producing lead single "HARD POWER" with former LCD Soundsystem member Gavilán Rayna Russom. HARD POWER also included single the "Connection”, an uplifting, House inspired ode to finding solace in solitude that received a glowing review in PASTE Magazine, the dark, dirty throbbing HI-NRG meets Synthwave powered "Black Angel", and the EBM inspired "Game Over”.
As a club DJ, Starkey worked with influential New York producers Lauren Flax and Gavilán Rayna Russom to co-found and produce C//TY CLUB, one of NYC's most respected and eclectic club nights, which held a 4 year residency at Brooklyn Techno hotspot Bossa Nova Civic Club.
In 2016, working Starkey released the sleazy Deep House COME INSIDE EP on the Italo/Deep House imprint Three Hands Records, featuring remixes by Lineki.
Starkey’s music career in New York began in 2013 with the release of his heartbreaking dance single, "Into the Sun", which became a club favorite from New York to Los Angeles. His follow up 2013 singles, "We’re All Fucked!" and "Rats", saw Starkey accurately predicting the current global political and economic turmoil to come. The singles were followed by the release of the buzz creating full length album, DIY.
Zachery Allan Starkey currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City, where he releases his work through the label DeathTrip NYC, in addition to releases on MFS (Berlin), UMMA (Japan), and Three Hands Records (Italy). He is also an accomplished photographer, as well as creative director, writer, and performance artist.