I highly recommend getting an alter-ego, if you don’t already have one.
Mine is Zhorli, the artist name I use when I produce electronic music.
Why have an alter-ego for this? It’s not that I feel like a completely different person when I make that kind of music, but I also don’t feel exactly like the same person who teaches people on YouTube how to play the frame drum.
So far, I’ve released three EP’s as Zhorli, as well as two singles in collaboration with my wife, the amazing vocalist and songwriter, Sahara Jane.
Living in Canada means living through an icy cold winter, a time of the year when more sensible creatures fly off to more hospitable climates. But I find that winter is a great time to create music as Zhorli. In fact, in the winter of 2025 I had a very abundant creative period where I actually created three different Zhorli EP’s. The first of those, Trip Hazard, was released in October 2025. I could have released it in the summer, but it felt like the music needed to wait at least until the chill of autumn.
As I write this (in January 2026) I’m in India. Technically, this is also winter… but it’s not Zhorli weather. (Don’t get me wrong. I’m quite happy walking outside in short sleeves and sandals in January!)
The thing I like about Zhorli is that no one asked me to write this kind of music, and even if someone asked me to stop, I wouldn’t.
The first time I did a live performance as Zhorli (for the release of my 2nd EP, Wine Saves Sine Waves), one audience member who knows “Ken Shorley the Drummer” was clearly confused and not into it. After watching my entire set (which went well – I used my two fave controllers from Novation : the Launchpad X and the Launch Control XL), she said to me, “so how much of that were you actually involved in”… or something to that effect. Umm… all of it?
Zhorli is an offering to those who, like me, love the comforting embrace of a pair of good headphones. I’ve taken Zhorli EP’s out for walks in the forest, I’ve listened while driving the backroads near my house… It’s good to block out the bustle of a café. Some nights it’s even helped me to fall asleep.
Oh, one more thing, about the “Zh” sound in Zhorli. I looked it up, and according to linguists (who write it like this /ʒ/), it’s a “voiced fricative consonant”. Basically, it’s like a “sh” sound, but you add some voice, like you’re humming. So, it’s like Shorley, but with a “zh”!