Zanca brings experimental electronic music to Bishop

Chicago-native and electronic dance music artist Nick Zanca of Mister Lies will perform with Hunter Child at 11 p.m. Friday at the Bishop.

Dan Coleman, the Bishop’s talent buyer, said he discovered Zanca through his agent.
“I was really into what he was doing, a kind of down-tempo, chill sound that I was totally on-board with,” Coleman said. “I played his stuff to some other people and they really liked it as well.”

Coleman has booked other EDM artists, such as Tom Krell from How To Dress Well. He said the Bishop has a good market for the EDM genre. Because of this, Coleman said he expects a good reaction.

“He’s still young and hungry,” Coleman said. “He also has a YouTube video with over a million views, so he has a very wide audience.”

The video, “False Astronomy,” was published last March. Zanca said he is proud of the video’s success.

“That was one of the first tracks I put out under my alias, and it took less than a year for it to reach a million views,” Zanca said. “It was great that I had that advantage”

Those YouTube videos led to many performances and worldwide tours. Even though Zanca has performed at larger venues, he said he likes intimate settings like the Bishop.

“There’s more of a margin to connect to the crowd instead of people going to a larger show,” Zanca said. “The bigger the crowd is, the harder it is to connect with them.”

Bloomington resident Aaron London said Mister Lies has good taste in vocal samples, allowing for a more individual style.

“I really enjoy how laid-back it is, and, as a person who loves hip-hop, I really like the drum samples that he uses for his beats,” London said.

London said he believes Zanca will succeed in the EDM market because of his sound.
“He has all the potential that he needs and the fanbase built up,” London said. “As long as he keeps going in the direction that he is right now, he’ll be up there.”

Even though London enjoys the echoes of EDM, Zanca said he does not try to categorize his music into one genre.

“I’m not focusing on a certain genre when I’m producing,” he said. “It’s more of a matter of environment and an atmosphere than anything else.”

Tickets for Friday’s show are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.