An Interview With Connor Zatopek

Kathryn Akers

Local Music Journalist

I met Connor last spring semester through a mutual friend. At the time, I was unaware he was a musician. Shortly after meeting Connor, he, our mutual friend, and I were at a fast-food chain in San Marcos. Connor brought up that he was promoting his recently released single, “Drunk on You.” Curious to see what his music was like, I listened to his new single on my drive home. I was instantly entranced by his electric sound and use of musicality to create an upbeat, catchy song.

Connor has been releasing beats on Soundcloud for the past four years, and he has been releasing music on major streaming services since 2024. Connor is located in Cypress, Texas, when he’s not in San Marcos for college.

Kathryn: In your most recent Instagram post on January 21st, 2026, the caption reads, “Christmas coming early this year, wonder what they’re cooking.” Is this hinting at new music?

Connor: It definitely is. The guy you see in that post is Derek. He and I go way back to high school. He’s been making music since eighth grade. The new music in question is a collab album with Derek. The album is going to be seven songs, and it’s going to be very hip-hop-based. I’m super excited, it’s coming out either late March or early April, so stay tuned for that, it’s going to be awesome.

Kathryn: You mentioned Derek started creating music quite a bit ago, so I’m wondering, when did you start creating music?

Connor: I started making beats in FL Studio around eighth grade. I started actually getting into songwriting around my early high school years. That’s when I started taking my shot at making actual songs. Granted, some of them weren’t really good at all. I only released two songs in high school. One of those songs isn’t currently out on all platforms, but it is out on Soundcloud.

Kathryn: And what song is that?

Connor: It’s called “Sad on Valentines,” and I released it after my first breakup, actually. The other song, “You Remind Me of a Shade of Red,” was released during my senior year of high school, and I consider that more like my debut single. Not to put anything on “Sad on Valentines,” but that was definitely my trial run at making music.

Kathryn: What is your favorite song from your discography that you’ve written?

Connor: Ooh. My favorite song has to be “CAN’T GIVE TO U,” my latest single. That song is just so special to me. Actually, I wrote it in a single night, and I thought it was really powerful. It was some of my best writing ever, and I really challenged myself vocally as well. That song will hold a place in my heart well along the line. I think it does mark a turning point in my production skills and my ability to write lyrics. I try to be my own producer, engineer, and songwriter. I try to be all of it, and I feel like I’m improving with every single I release.

Kathryn: How do you find time for all of that? You write, produce, etc., and school, and work, that’s gotta be a lot.

Connor: Yeah, it’s definitely a balancing act, and it’s not easy. One of the things I thought going into college was that I’m doing this sound recording technology major, where I thought, “Wow, this is going to be like I make music all the time,” but no. It’s actually a lot less making music and a lot more learning how to make music. But, yeah, what you were saying on top of school, on top of work, and all that. You have to prioritize some things over others, but music for me is

so, so important. I somehow always find time, whether it’s right as I wake up, I’ll start making a song, or I’ll be going, one, two a.m., still working on a project, recording vocals in my apartment. I’m sure my downstairs neighbors love it, but to answer your question: I try to find time anywhere I can.

Kathryn: That’s cool, I really admire that. Changing tracks, your singles “EXHALE” and “for the first time” were released last year, just over a month apart.

In your earlier single, “EXHALE,” you said, “I’ve been waiting for the exhale.” Similarly, in “for the first time,” you said, “So, I’m just waiting for the exhale.” What is “the exhale”? Have you found it yet?

Connor: I guess I’ll give some context for those two songs. A little insider thing right here: those two songs were meant to be back-to-back, and they were also supposed to be part of a bigger project, which I ended up kind of scrapping. I didn’t feel inspired to go any further with it. “Exhale” in the song, “EXHALE,” is me finally gaining a breath. I had started writing the song after school got out for the summer this past year. I finally felt the breath of release, the thought of “I can finally go more into music,” and that made me think about other things in my life that felt like a relief, or just places in my life where I didn’t have a burden of something. In “for the first time,” I think of “exhale” as like whenever I get there, whenever I’m good enough with the music, where I can be stable and make music full-time. When I say, “So I’m just waiting for the exhale, bide my time, by that time, bet I’ll make it,” I’m basically saying I’m just waiting until I can do this full-time, but until then, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, and I’ll see what makes of it.

Kathryn: Do you see yourself playing a show in San Marcos?

Connor: I really, really hope so. I really do hope I play here. I love this town, San Marcos is amazing.

Kathryn: What’s your dream venue?

Connor: I’ve heard a lot of people like to go to George’s, but I don’t know. It’s a weird thing because I work at the LBJ Student Center. I’ve been down to George’s, I’ve seen shows there, and I don’t think it’s my type of venue. I think that, honestly, wherever I can get a show here would be awesome. Whether that be a coffee shop, a bar, a nightclub, anywhere that can be bumpin’.

Kathryn: What genre would you classify your music as? You can break it down more specifically if you’d like. You have this electronic style, and I don’t know how I would classify your music, so I’d like to see how you classify it.

Connor: I’d say it’s, like you said, very electronic. I definitely use a lot of synths, and I’d say I’m very hyperpop-influenced. I like to listen to Glaive, ericdoa, and kurtains. Those are the main big three I draw inspiration from. I like to make a lot of different types of music. Honestly, I think “CAN’T GIVE TO U” is more of a pop record than anything like electronic or hyperpop. Generally, I like to lean more towards underground, hyperpop, all that type of stuff. I actually got my start in making trap beats, so I have a lot of influence from there. It’s not very specific, and I’m still trying to define my solid sound, but it is very electronic, hip-hop, hyperpop-esque.

Kathryn: You mentioned artists you draw inspiration from; do you draw inspiration from places that aren’t music?

Connor: Totally, I draw inspiration from my life all the time. The biggest thing that gets me to start writing a song is emotion. I’ll take an emotion I feel and think, “How can I make this be heard?” The biggest struggle for me is that I struggle to get my emotions down on paper, so

sometimes it’s easier for me to put my emotions down auditorially. Like, I can put down a synth or chop a sample. Outside of other music, emotion is the biggest inspiration for me to start writing.

Kathryn: I was doing some research pre-interview, and I stumbled upon your older Soundcloud discography. Your older releases, such as “regret” and “the moon is half full,” sound quite different than your newer releases. How did you curate your musical style as your music evolved?

Connor: My Soundcloud is essentially all beats plus my first two singles, “Sad on Valentine’s” and “Shade of Red”. That whole discography is very interesting, how I dropped it. In high school, I was making beats all the time, and they weren’t anything I was going to write lyrics over or anything. I just felt like the beats were useless sitting in my files, so I decided I was going to drop a ton of beats on Soundcloud. If there’s anybody out there listening, use the beats. They’re all yours. I thought, if any of them stick, then awesome, but I just like to make music for music’s sake. I carefully picked out the songs on my Soundcloud to be like “oh, I don’t like this one, but I like this one more,” and back then, it was all based on vibes. And I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t the best mixer or producer, I don’t claim to be back then.

Kathryn: What does your creative process look like?

Connor: My creative process is so random. The inspiration comes from a lot of different places. The biggest thing that gets me going is dragging a splice loop and almost freestyling over it. It’s just seeing what lyrics and flows stick. I usually start with music or a flow. There will be very rare instances where I start with lyrics that I have in mind. I’ve been trying to streamline the process of making music and recording over the course of the year, and I feel like I’ve been productive in how I record. Mixing, however, is more natural to me. I’ve been mixing since high school, but I’ve been learning a lot more since I’ve been at Texas State. My favorite part of my creative process is recording and writing lyrics; it’s a puzzle of “what should I say after this” or “how can I change this to fit a theme?” It’s all super fun, and it’s the reason I’m in love with music.

Kathryn: Do you think your love for music fed into you choosing sound engineering as your major?

Connor: 100%. Like I said, I thought the sound recording program was going to be more music-focused, but I’m glad it’s not. I’m learning so much about the music and sound industries in general. To answer your question, yes. It definitely drove me to choose sound recording, and I’m so glad I’m in this program. The people in it are awesome, and the program is amazing.

Kathryn: That’s all of my prepared questions. Do you have anything you’d like to add?

Connor: I’m working on a solo EP. I told myself January release, but January has come and gone, so I’m frantically trying to finish a single for that EP, and that will be out very soon. I plan to release the whole project either before Derek and my album, or pretty soon after. That’ll be very exciting. This EP will be my first relatively long-form project. Up until now, I’ve only released singles, so I’m excited to actually sit down and finish a project that’s five songs long. I’m excited to see how much I’m improving and leveling up my game.

Kathryn: I’m excited to hear it when it comes out!

After having the privilege of interviewing Connor, I felt like I understood his musical patterns and thoughts more. Post-interview, I went back and listened to Connor’s discography. I heard things I hadn’t really noticed before the interview, and it was a really cool experience. I highly recommend listening to Connor’s latest single, “CAN’T GIVE TO U,” and seeing if you hear the song differently after hearing the artist’s thoughts on it!

https://linktr.ee/connorzatopek

Apple Music: Connor Zatopek

Spotify: Connor Zatopek

Instagram: @cnr.z64