ZHZ Podcast: Independent Music, Artist Interviews & The Utah Scene · Zak Davis & Matt Allen

Imposter Syndrome, STREAMING Hustle & Raising 4 Kids

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

Jeff says 100,000 songs hit Spotify every day and 20,000 are AI music.

1. ZHZ Podcast centers on Jeff Huso and his album cycle around Cold Circuit and Cult Machine. 2. Jeff Huso is the guest, and the host frames him as a songwriter, producer, DIY artist, and single father of four from Phoenix, Arizona. 3. The episode asks why Jeff keeps releasing music despite imposter syndrome, low stream counts, and a crowded streaming market. 4. Jeff says he first felt imposter syndrome while working with Dave Hunsaker and listening to peers whose work he admired. 5. He says he watched TED Talks on imposter syndrome to understand why he felt like he had no business talking to them. 6. He argues that praise from friends can become hard to trust when streaming numbers stay low on Spotify. 7. Jeff says 100,000 songs are uploaded every day and claims 20,000 of them are AI music. 8. He contrasts modern algorithmic discovery with the older habit of finding music in record stores, CD shops, and vinyl shops. 9. He says venues, labels, and booking agencies still check stream counts when deciding whether to take an artist seriously. 10. Jeff explains that after Ariel's Bones he wanted to take a break, but a week later he had a full album. 11. He names that seven-day project Seven Days and describes it as a mostly instrumental, improvisational keyboard-and-drum-machine record. 12. He says Cold Circuit came from learning a new Moog keyboard, working with drum machines, and using old-school MIDI sequencing. 13. He says Cold Circuit unexpectedly outperformed his other projects in its first month of streaming. 14. Jeff describes using pitch-shifted vocals in a few places while keeping the project from being tied too closely to his own name. 15. He says the money from Cold Circuit helped him buy a fuzz pedal, which fed into later guitar-heavy work. 16. He describes Cult Machine as a mix of analog synths, 808 drums, Moog keyboards, and industrial influences like Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Depeche Mode, and Sister Machine Gun. 17. The conversation is loose, technical, and reflective, with the host and Jeff trading stories about gear, mixes, streaming, and family life. 18. The episode moves between production details, career realities, and personal self-critique without a formal segment structure. 19. Listeners who like DIY synth music, music production, and candid artist talk. 20. Listeners looking for a short, plot-driven episode without gear talk.

As heard by us

A loose but sharp talk about Jeff Huso's music, his four kids, and why one song moved from Cold Circuit to Cult Machine.

Jeff Huso's return visit stays close to the practical side of making music while raising four kids. It moves through his work under Cold Circuit and Cult Machine, plus earlier projects like Machine Fetish, Trigger Thieves, Spring Tank, Ariel's Bones, and Scheisse Katzen, and…

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Why you'd press play

For when you want music talk that also knows what teenage boys sound like.

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