When Sycco, aka Sasha McLeod, started her debut album, she built it from the ground up, inspired by her rundown Brisbane sharehouse. With holes in the walls, rats in the ceiling, and housemates who felt like family, it was chaotic but felt like home. Synths pulsed from her garage studio, where gecko poop on her gear was just part of the process.
“It was this old, crumbling ’70s mansion with holes and rats in the walls, but we had panoramic views of Brisbane, a pool, and a massive garden,” McLeod recalls. “It felt like we were in our own little sanctuary.”
These scrappy surroundings inspired the album’s title, Zorb, a joke among friends and a nod to making something out of nothing while sticking together through tough times.
“We started living together near the end of the pandemic, and my housemates really became my community,” she tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “We’d hang out, stay up late, talk, and dance in the living room. Going through a heartbreak, I realised how special my friends were. They really got me through those times.”
Even though Zorb started DIY, the album grew far beyond its humble beginnings. American producers like Jeremy Malvin (aka Chrome Sparks), who’s worked with Khalid and Foster the People, added a pop shine, while Sycco also collaborated with Flume, Mallrat, and Melbourne producer Stylaz Fuego.
Still just 22 years old, McLeod isn’t new to the spotlight. She started making music in high school, taught herself to produce in her bedroom, and has opened for major acts like Tame Impala and Glass Animals. But creating her debut album was a fresh challenge, shaped by growing up, moving out, and her first love and first heartbreak.
“I wanted to release an album that was cohesive and thoughtful,” McLeod says about Zorb. “There was a stage where I was determined to produce it myself, in my home studio every day, but then I kind of just burnt out.”
Then came the chance to travel to LA – her first time going alone. “I’d never done that before. I was so nervous. I think that was a huge moment for me,” she says. McLeod teamed up with Malvin, whom she’d previously met and bonded with over their love of dogs, for studio sessions.
“A lot of these songs were already formed, but I didn’t know how to take them any further. I had met Jeremy before, and we really gelled. He’s just a synth wizard.”
They started with “Swarm,” a warm, breezy R&B track about being alone overseas after a breakup. It set the album’s optimistic tone, capturing both the joy and sadness McLeod was feeling.
Elsewhere on Zorb, “Monkey Madness,” written with two of her housemates after a house party, stands out as a dancefloor highlight. “They aren’t musicians, but we’d make all these silly songs just for fun because there was nothing else to do in Brisbane,” McLeod laughs. With skittering drum breaks and syrupy auto-tuned vocals, it could easily fit on a PinkPantheress record.
The swirling “Touching and Talking”, meanwhile, is sweet and sophisticated, focusing on self-acceptance and sexuality. McLeod also points to “The End” as a significant track.
“It’s about giving up on a relationship, which is pretty heavy because you put so much love and care into it and want it to work. I feel like that song is like a deep sigh—like we tried, but I couldn’t do it anymore. It’s also quite psych-rocky. I like it when the sonic worlds and the lyrics are opposite or contrasting.”
She adds, “The album has a lot of songs about heartbreak, but it’s not necessarily sad or angry. It’s more about reclaiming my independence and finding my community.”
McLeod notes her growing confidence and skills, crediting Zorb with helping her move beyond just making beats to focusing on her growth as a songwriter.
“I love melodies; when I listen to music, I focus on the melody first. It’s only in the past two years that I’ve found lyrics to be really powerful.”
She pauses and laughs, then continues: “I feel like I’m gonna get a bit deeper… I never think I’m vulnerable enough with people around me. But I always come back to the realisation that the way I share my vulnerability is through my music. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m writing about, and then I realise, ‘Oh, I was feeling that, wasn’t I?’ It helps me tune back into my body.”
McLeod is gearing up for live shows in Australia, including headlining triple j’s One Night Stand with artists like G Flip and Ruel on Saturday, September 14th. She’ll also be performing at Spilt Milk’s House Party in November, as well as Beyond the Valley later in the year.
McLeod recently moved to Melbourne with three of her original Zorb housemates. At first, she wasn’t a fan of the city’s flat, grid-like layout compared to Brisbane’s hills. “I didn’t like Melbourne at first,” she admits. “It felt so existential.”
Now, she’s thriving in the city’s music scene and planning a house party to blend her Brisbane friends with her new Melbourne crew. “My Brisbane ‘zorb’ is meeting my new Melbourne ‘zorb’,” she grins.
Sycco’s Zorb is out now via Future Classic.
