Katzin

Born in Alexandria, Virginia, growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and coming of age in New York City, Zion Battle makes music as Katzin. At 13, he began writing and recording his own music and has been a studio rat ever since. Inspired by live CDs, watching concerts on YouTube, and witnessing music at church (his father is a theologian and priest), Zion wanted to make music that sounded good on a stage, any stage. At 15, he was part of a teenage music scene of bands playing New York City basements, rooftops, and wherever they could turn up the volume without, or with, threat of being shut down. Alongside the current Katzin line up, which includes drummer Matt Levesque and bassist Leo Kouklanakis, Zion has refined his live set. Together they’ve performed Zion’s expanding collection of songs at house shows in Greenpoint, record stores in Ridgewood, and the well-worn musical saloons of Bleecker Street and the Lower East Side. The work has paid off: In 2021, when Zion was 16, he went viral with “Getaway,” a tight nod to New Wave that sounds like New Order rewriting Smashing Pumpkins. Zion often prefers collaborating with friends, who are up–and-coming producers, but has also worked with Grammy winners like Mikey Freedom Hart, Sarah Tudzin, and John Baffa. He's continued writing, recording, and releasing music, and in 2023, he self-released Katzin’s Holy Cow! EP. Katzin was recently signed to Brooklyn-based label Mexican Summer to release his forthcoming debut album.