The moniker of South East London-based musician Zha Gandhi, tall child is a project born of both love and fury. Despite hailing from a family of musicians, Gandhi only discovered the communal power of music after finding a network of fellow artists at Goldsmiths University. Having been empowered within that space, they have since pushed to pave the way for a newly representative wave of acts within a historically (and detrimentally) straight, white, able-bodied indie scene. Pairing finely crafted melodies with emotional immediacy, tall child uses this position to paint an unvarnished picture of life—as a disabled person, a queer person, a person of colour—within a society which so often seems engineered to make such lives a struggle.
Released via Sad Club Records, new track ‘Stupid Body’ is a perfect introduction to this style, a grungey alt pop song that explores the frustration and exhaustion of persistent health issues. “I wanted this song to feel like you are inside my head during my lowest of lows,” as Gandhi explains. “I wrote it at a time when I was fed up with being dismissed by doctors and having issues with body image. I felt detached from my body, so I addressed it as a separate entity in the song. ‘Stupid Body’ is a space for anyone with disabilities or insecurities to scream, cry, and release.”
But, rather than write something soft and subdued, tall child instead explores these issues with cathartic directness. “Honestly, I was tired of feeling sad and writing sad songs, and then performing sad songs to a crowd of sad people,” Gandhi continues. “I have grown into anger now, and it’s much more fun to translate into music.”
Check out the visualiser by H Holliday below:
‘Stupid Body’ is out now via Sad Club Records and available from the usual places.