Hushed Noise’s 10: Zhouzhengjie Yu on Daily Love, Gen Z Anxiety, and Making Music with Intuition
15 Apr 2025
Zhouzhengjie Yu is a musician and performer raised in a family of artists, where creativity was not only encouraged but inevitable. Influenced by the likes of Michael Jackson and grounded in themes of daily life, love, and self-expression, his work is intuitive and emotionally charged. In this interview, Zhouzhengjie opens up about Gen Z challenges like “Network Mindtwist,” his spontaneous creative process, and his 2023 musical The Final Appearance—a project that allowed him to channel identity and mortality through song.
Hushed Noise: Can you share a bit about your artistic journey? What inspired you to start creating?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: I was born and raised in a very artistic family, my mother was a pop singer and my father was a rock singer. Now they are both teachers in collage. My inspiration was quite simple: art was and still is, the all of my life. So it’s easy for me to start creating.
Hushed Noise: How does your cultural background or personal experiences influence your work?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: Since my family was easy for me to get to learn art, I can sort of feel the power of art from a very young age, I take all the good stuff and put them in my brain. I think all that, has become the source of my work.
Hushed Noise: Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you develop an idea into a finished piece?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: I usually go with my flow, there is no organized process actually. Most of the time I just sat there zoned out and the ideas popped out. Then I take some time to gather them up and that’s it.
Hushed Noise: What themes or messages do you explore in your art, and why do they resonate with you?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: I would say I explore daily life, love and inner self. Because these things can make me feel alive and well, energetic. I always say to myself, I love this world, I love my family and friends.
Hushed Noise: What challenges do you face as an emerging artist, and how do you navigate them?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: I often face a gen-z issue which I named it Network Mindtwist. It makes you senseless and becomes impatient. Sometimes I just drag myself out of it, go out, stay with actual people.
Hushed Noise: Are there any artists, movements, or experiences that have deeply influenced your work?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: Michael Jackson was definitely the most important artist to me, I started to listen his music when I was three and influenced by him ever since.
Hushed Noise: How do you see your art evolving in the next few years?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: Honestly I can’t tell, right now I’m learning how to be a musical director. We’ll see about that.
Hushed Noise: What’s a recent project or piece that you’re particularly proud of, and why?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: In 2023 my cousin and I, we made a musical called The Final Appearance. The show is about a former rock star tries to do a last live show before she dies. I love it because I sort of put myself into the character and made some good soundtracks.
Hushed Noise: What role do you think social media and digital platforms play in shaping the opportunities for emerging artists today?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: I’m positive about it? Part of the reason is it’s inevitable. Technology has grown too fast that we won’t be catch up for the next couple of years. AI is thriving, people’s mind are getting changed. If we don’t embrace it,eventually we will fall behind.
Hushed Noise: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Zhouzhengjie Yu: Jacob Collier. Because he is the pioneer of our time, it will be an great honor to collaborate with him.
Follow Zhouzhengjie Yu’s work on Instagram at @sherlock_yu47. For inquiries, contact Yu at sherlockyuuu@gmail.com.
Edited by Xeni R. Quine
Images & Audios by Zhouzhengjie Yu